New Mexico Mercury

While the Koch Brothers were wining and dining Governor Martinez and some big name Republicans here in New Mexico last week, one group of New Mexico legislators were high-tailing it out of town for some wining and dining of their own.

The shadowy corporate lobbying group ALEC held a closed-door convention last week in Chicago and this week they sent an expletive filled public letter –supposedly signed by 300 ALEC member legislators who attended the national ALEC conference - to a U.S. Senator trying to investigate their involvement in passing “Stand Your Ground” laws in Florida and pushing them on states like New Mexico.

But we got ahold of that letter and a joint investigation by ProgressNow affiliates across the country found more than 30 fake names and an expletive filled rant all passed off by ALEC as real legislators – all to deceive the U.S. Senate and us.

Press outlets are already going after them for shamefully trying to mislead the Senate and the public, but here in New Mexico there is bigger news:  three more New Mexico legislators outed themselves as ALEC members by signing that letter alongside the names of imaginary colleagues. 

Which New Mexico legislators signed this ALEC member letter?

•  ALEC State co-chair Senator William Payne (R-Albuquerque)

and three new members:

• Senator Lee Cotter (R – Las Cruces)
• Senator William Burt (R – Alamogordo)
• Rep. Yvette Herrell (R- Alamogordo)

New Mexico is a target for corporations looking to buy our politicians – ALEC is adding members and the Koch Brothers are setting up shop.

In just the last two elections, we tracked more than $1,000,000 that ALEC members gave to New Mexico legislators all while pushing their corporate bills behind the scene (see the full list of donations here).  Last week they held a big national convention in Chicago but the list of legislators working behind closed doors with corporations was kept secret. 

Common Cause New Mexico has already asked our attorney general to investigate the secret ALEC “scholarship” slush fund that sends these legislators to ALEC outings but until he does they keep using it to fund lavish trips like this for some speed dating with big corporate funders.

The first thing we have to do to take back our democracy is get our legislators out of ALEC. 

Call these ALEC members and tell them to DUMP ALEC now.  Their numbers are posted here. They went to the ALEC convention and sold New Mexico as open for business – we have to welcome them home with another message.

Help us oust these Southern New Mexico legislators from ALEC – call them, ask them about the companies they met with at the ALEC convention, demand to see the agenda (it's about legislation they will introduce),  then tell them to DUMP ALEC now.

Last year when ALEC’s real agenda was exposed, our own State Senator George Munoz answered our call and resigned.  “ALEC is not right for New Mexicans,” he said.  Now's the time to send the same message to these newly outed ALEC legislators.