Digging through campaign finance reports.
The air is getting cooler, the leaves are beginning to turn and congressional candidates Patricia Madrid and Heather Wilson are two steps away from ripping each other's hair out on live television.
You gotta love October in New Mexico.
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The final days of the 2006 election season are here, and several tight races are hitting a crescendo as the Nov. 7 general election approaches. Which is why SFR is here to tidy up the mess of campaign finance in New Mexico. The following statistics are taken from the Oct. 9 campaign finance report filings. The numbers effectively cover each candidate's contributions and expenditures from June 2 through Oct. 9.
• Amount given by Santa Fe County assessor candidate
Domingo Martinez
(D) to state treasurer candidate
James Lewis
(D), Martinez' only expenditure in three months: $125.
• Amount of contribution given to
Lewis
by Edward Lewis, chairman and founder of Essence magazine: $1,000.
• Number of 18-month subscriptions to Essence
Lewis
can purchase with that donation: 55 (at 74 percent off the newsstand price!).
• Amount of expenditure spent by secretary of state candidate
Mary Herrera
(D) to reserve a table at the Bernalillo County Democratic Party picnic: $7.
• Amount of "in-kind contribution" given to
Herrera
by Lesman's Music store in Albuquerque: $100.
• Approximate number of
The Very Best of Kool & the Gang
albums the self-avowed "Celebration" fan (and amateur DJ)
Herrera
could have bought from Amazon.com to play at the BCDP picnic: 7.
• Amount of contribution given to secretary of state candidate
Vickie Perea
(R) from Straight Talk America, a political action committee affiliated with Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.): $5,000.
• Amount of total contributions given to District 4 public regulation commissioner candidate
David "bringing home the" Bacon
: $11,273.70.
• Percentage of the money
Bacon
received that was publicly financed through the state: 97 percent ($10,920.70).
• Contribution given to attorney general candidate
Jim Bibb
(R) by the Republican State Leadership Committee: $300,000.
• Number of times that contribution alone would violate the donation cap ($2,100) recommended by the Governor's Task Force on Ethics Reform: 142.
• Amount
Bibb
paid to be a sponsor for the New Mexico State University "College Republicans" golf tournament: $150.
• Donation given to
Bibb
by Reliable Chevrolet of Albuquerque: $5,000.
• Donation given to Bibb's opponent,
Gary King
(D), by Reliable Chevrolet of Albuquerque: $5,000.
• Total amount given to
King
by 17 different donors that listed "optometrist" or "eye care" as their occupation during the week of July 7-14: $4,250.
• Contribution to land commissioner candidate
Jim Baca
(D) from environmentalist Hansjorg Wyss, who, among other ventures, owns the Halter Ranch vineyard in California: $10,000.
• Bottles of 2003 Syrah
Baca
can purchase from Halter Ranch with Wyss' donation to drown his sorrows if he loses the election: 357.
• Estimated total value of contributions given to state Land Commissioner
Pat Lyons
(R) from donors with ties to the oil and gas industry: $32,500.
• Expenditure spent by the
Lyons
campaign on July 13 at a Phillips 66 gas station in Oklahoma to purchase "fuel for campaign vehicle": $846.08.
• Approximate number of times
Lyons
can fill up his campaign vehicle using that $32,500 in donations from the oil and gas industry: 38.
• Contribution given to gubernatorial candidate
John Dendahl
(R) by John and Alice Jurkens, owners of the Octopus Car Wash chain: $10,000.
• Amount paid by the
Dendahl
campaign to reserve a table of 10 for the New Mexico Broadcasters Association Foundation's annual Gridiron Table event: $1,000.
• Amount
Dendahl
paid for a table at an event for the New Mexico Gun Collectors Association: $81.
• Expenditure paid by
Dendahl
to AmeriWest Construction Incorporated for labor costs related to moving office furniture: $77.49.
• Total number of pages in
Gov. Bill Richardson
's Oct. 9 campaign finance report: 1,182.
• Total number of pages in
Richardson
's autobiography
Between Worlds: The Making of an American Life
: 384.
• Approximate number of individual contributions given to
Richardson
that would violate the donation cap recommended by the Governor's Task Force on Ethics Reform: 250.
• Total expenditures spent by the
Richardson
campaign on contributions to political candidates and organizations in New Mexico: $191,000.
• Total expenditures spent by the
Richardson
campaign on contributions to political candidates and organizations in states outside New Mexico: $175,000.
• Total amount contributed by
Richardson
to political candidates and organizations in key presidential primary states New Hampshire and Nevada: $83,500.
• Number of people in New Mexico who still believe that
Richardson
won't make a run for the Oval Office: 0.
