As we alluded to a couple of days ago, quite a number of organizations and candidates openly abuse New Mexico campaign finance laws.
There are several organizations—"big money" PACs who are big players in New Mexico legislative races—that take in contributions from perhaps only one or two sources. And because those organizations are planning to use their money, and do use their money for direct contributions to candidates, the contributions they are receiving are way over the legal limits permitted.
Similarly, for these same players who are planning on using their money to give to other PACs, these contribtuions are also way beyond the legal allowable limits.
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The Teachers Union is Also a Big Abuser
We have already mentioned the Carpenters' Union. We can add to that list the AFT New Mexico Solidarity Fund. This fund gets all of its money from only two sources, both of which are AFT-controlled bank accounts: the AFT-NM Solidarity Fund Holding and the AFT Educators United.
Conveniently all three entities are located at the exact same address: 530 Jefferson NE, Albuquerque.
Just as one example of how they operate in violation of NM statutes, we can look at their September 2014 First General Report. Here's what happened.
The Solidarity Fund received $24,300 from AFT-NM Solidarity Fund Holding and $20,300 from AFT-NM Educators United on August 28. Those are both over the limit if the intent is to use the money for direct contributions.
On that same date, aUGUST 28, THE sOLDIARITY FUND DISTRIBUTED ALL $44,600 dicretly to 16 Dempocratic candidates:
Harrison Todacheene, Doreen Johnson, Joanne Ferrary, Maggie Touslouse Oliver, Eliseo Alcon, Frank Otero, Patty Lundsrorm , Jeff Steinborn, Terry Forteneybrry, Rudopho Martinez, Gary King, Bill McCamely, Brian Egolf, Lucky Varela, Doreen Gallegos, Christy Thomas, Richard Mastin, Linda Sanchez Allison, Tomas Salazar.
What did th
AFT NM Soldidarlty fund Holding 530 Jefferson St 20,300
AFTNM Educators United 530 Jefferson St NE 24,300
August 28 to AFT Solidarity
on August 28 All of that to candidates and other washing machine PACs
or the American Federation of Teachers (Washington, DC).
Just as in the case of Carpenters Union, their total funds used — in excess of $250,000 for 2014 campaign — are well beyond what can legally be spent in direct contributions to candidates or other PACs.
hr the American Federation of Teachers (National Teachers' Union) the bulk of its PACand the American Federation of Teachers- occupation “national union”. These are mostly used for hard money contributions
This is also trufor direct contribtuions to candidates or even to those political committees taht use the money for direct contributions to candidates.
One of those we identified a couple of days ago was the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters (Carpenters' Union). The Carpenters Union' took in about $83,000 from it's own Vacation Fund.
Albuquerque Teachers Federation
We have no way of knowing where these funds come from. Why? Becasue these organizations violate New Mexico law and don't report that information.
However, we do know where these funds go.
688,886.31 in contributions. 671,783. out , in 6
National Education Association New Mexico- funded by “NEA NM Members” – not individually identified.
contributed in the 2014 cycle. $7,100 to Hector. $15,600 to Ken Martinez Leadership fund. (exceeds limit by $5,200) $202,017.16
Washing Machine PACs: How to become a "Maytag" Campaign Donor
PAC contributions made directly to candidates are limited to $5,200 per election (primary and general). However, for such contributions to be legal, a PAC must be able to show that its total contributions from a single individual are at or below that figure.
For example, one single unidentified contributor cannot fund a PAC with $100,000—or $1 million or whatever—and then have the PAC turn around and distribute those proceeds directly to candidates as it wishes.
Union Example
As an example, the Southwest Regional Council of Carpenters PAC (SWRCC) took in about $83,000 — all of their contributions — from one single solitary source: the "MWRCC Vacation Fund." But they turned right around and used all of the money to give directly to candidates.
Politicians and PAC Examples
The Committee on Individual Responsibility (COIR) and the Ken Martinez Leadership Fund (KMLF) for example, gave $5,200 to Phil Archuleta, or Joanne Ferrary, Doreen Johnson, Harrison Todacheene, Elizabeth Thomson, Emily Kane, Matthew McQueen and Stephanie Garcia Richard.
They maxed out to their favorite candidates, which is all well and good.
However, both the COIR and KMLF also gave to quite a number of PACs who then turned right around and gave the same maximum contributions right back to the same candidates.
So you could end up having the COIR or the KMLF giving as much as $25,000 to $30,000 to one single Democratic General Election candidate. How do they do this?
They give the max from the COIR and the KMLF, plus they give the max to any of perhaps a dozen other PACs, all of which got the funds from the KMLF or COIR.
Who was the biggest support and defender of these "washing machine" provisions in floor debates when they were adopted by the House? If you said, "Ken Martinez," go to the head of the class.
Why We Coined the Term "Washing Machine" PACs
Some political players, including PACs and other organizations, are so large, and so rich in contributions, that they take in far more money than they can ever legally contribute to candidates directly, under current New Mexico statute.
We coined the term “Washing Machine PACs” to describe what politicians, unions and PACs are doing to evade the contribution limits in the Campaign Reporting Act.
Washing Machine PACs represent the "middle man" (the second of three entities) that participate in these transactions.
They take huge contributions from the extremely large entities, and turn around and distribute the proceeds to legislative candidates. Their only purpose appears to be to allow large, over-funded entities to evade the contribution limits in hotly contested legislative races.
The Campaign Reporting Act has a provision that says:
A person, including a political committee, shall not knowingly accept or solicit a contribution, directly or indirectly, including a contribution earmarked or otherwise directed or coordinated through another person, including a political committee, that violates the contribution limits provided for in this section.
To be fair, the Committee on Individual Responsibility (COIR) appears to be receiving fully legal contributions from the trial lawyers who are responsible for supporting the PAC. The KMLF may be doing the same.
All well and good to that point in the process. However, reading the above provision closely, they run into trouble down the road. Here's how:
How to Visualize the Process
COIR and KMLF are analogous to heads of households who need to make sure each of their family members has plenty of clean clothes to wear. They go to a big commercial laundromat.
But instead of dropping five quarters into each of several machines to do a load for a particular family member, they drop $5,200 in each of several washers. Then they go to the next row of washers and do the same for the next family member, and on and on until all half dozen family members each has several loads being cleaned.
There are three entities involved in this process:
1) The Giant PACs who are the patrons of the laundromat—the folks walking in and dropping the $5,200 in each machine
2) The middle PACs, the owners of the laundromats who operate the washers;
3) The candidates, the folks who get lots of "clean" clothes to wear (i.e. money) at the end of the process.
A List of Washing Machine PACs Currently Operating in New Mexico
To be fair, all three entities described above are in violation of the cited statute. However, only the middle group constitutes what we call the Washing Machine PACs. They are small entities, used by the big entities, to pass through contributions directly to candidates.
Some Washing Machine PACs we have identified include the following:
A Strong New Mexico PAC
ATF Educators United
Leadership PAC for Rick Miera
Lobo PAC New Mexico
New Mexico Freedom
Our New Mexico PAC
Wolf PAC
2012 PAC
NM DLCC
?Ken MaRTINEz LEAGDREHIOP DFUND'
nm HOUSE MAJOITY FUND
rNM PAC
hOUSE LEADERSHIOP PAC
Email us (at nmpj@dfn.com) with your feedback, comments, questions and ideas.