Governor’s Mansion Used State Funds for Party Costs

By DANIEL J. CHACÓN, Santa Fe New Mexican

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) — Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham’s workplace tapped right into a taxpayer-funded expense account to pay for a political occasion on the governor’s mansion in October, prompting her reelection marketing campaign to quietly reimburse the state two months later.

Paperwork obtained below a public information request present New Mexicans for Michelle, the governor’s marketing campaign committee, issued the state a $1,837 verify in December to pay for bills stemming from a Democratic Governors Affiliation occasion hosted by Lujan Grisham in Santa Fe.

On the time, Lujan Grisham was serving as chairwoman of the affiliation, a Washington, D.C.-based political group devoted to electing Democratic governors and different candidates.

The reimbursement appeared within the governor’s marketing campaign finance studies as a “marketing campaign occasion.”

“The marketing campaign transparently and expeditiously reimbursed the state for an occasion hosted by the Governor as chair of the Democratic Governors Affiliation,” marketing campaign spokeswoman Kendall Witmer stated in an announcement Wednesday.

Witmer didn’t present every other remark or details about the occasion, and the Democratic Governors Affiliation didn’t return messages in search of remark.

Whereas the marketing campaign reimbursed the state for purchases associated to the occasion, “the contingency fund does enable to be used (of the expense account) to host dignitaries and different visitors from any political occasion,” Maddy Hayden, a spokeswoman for the governor, wrote in an electronic mail.

Bills reimbursed by the marketing campaign embody an $890 buy from Colorado Celebration Leases for 100 12-inch ivory-gold chargers, 100 10-inch ivory-gold dinner plates and stainless-steel forks, knives and teaspoons.

Lujan Grisham’s contingency fund spending has been a supply of controversy prior to now, and it’s given the governor’s critics, significantly Republicans hoping to win again management of the Governor’s Workplace in November, ammunition to make use of towards her as she runs for a second time period.

A overview of expenditures final yr discovered spending on alcohol, dry cleansing and 1000’s of {dollars} value of groceries for the governor’s mansion, together with Wagyu beef, a purchase order that has generated stinging criticism towards Lujan Grisham.

Complaints in regards to the governor’s spending initiated a “danger overview” by the State Auditor’s Workplace, which discovered the contingency fund has broad parameters.

“Statutory authority stays ambiguous with out definitions (throughout the legislation) regarding what constitutes ‘bills instantly related with obligations of the elected workplace of governor,’ which may very well be broadly interpreted, or what may very well be thought of ‘perquisites or allowances for state staff,’ ” in keeping with a report the workplace issued final yr.

“Because of this, the New Mexico state Legislature could want to overview the matter and think about whether or not additional statutory clarification is critical with respect to the fund,” the report said.

Because the controversy with Lujan Grisham erupted, The New Mexican has been requesting invoices and receipts associated to the contingency fund frequently. On April 21, the newspaper made one other request for invoices, receipts and expense studies from September to April.

The New Mexico Division of Finance and Administration referred to as the general public information request “excessively broad and burdensome” and stated it wanted extra time to assemble the paperwork, first on Might 4 after which once more Might 6. The division fulfilled the request Friday.

The most recent batch of receipts and invoices since September turned up at the least eight purchases of alcohol, together with liquor, wine and beer.

“The bills are instantly related with obligations and necessities of the elected workplace of governor — precisely what the contingency fund is meant for use for,” Hayden wrote.

Hayden didn’t reply to quite a few questions in regards to the contingency fund spending, together with whether or not the acquisition of alcohol is an acceptable use of taxpayer {dollars}.

“I observed you check with ‘the governor’s contingency fund,’ ” Hayden wrote. “I simply wish to ensure you are conscious that this fund has been obtainable and utilized by many previous governors and is budgeted by the state legislature. Governor Lujan Grisham is the primary governor to reveal detailed details about using the fund to taxpayers and continues to make use of it in a fiscally accountable method.”

In accordance with Hayden, lower than 19 % of the overall budgeted contingency fund for the yr has been spent, leaving round $78,000 unspent.

“In the course of the (administration of former Gov. Susana Martinez, a Republican), for the six-month interval from July 1 to December 31, 2017, we estimate that common month-to-month contingency spending was round $5,000 a month, primarily based on information (as there have been no reporting necessities at the moment). For comparability, the spending you’re inquiring about averages to round $2,200 a month,” Hayden wrote.

The fund created complications for Martinez, too.

Martinez tapped into the fund to pay for what turned out to be a raucous vacation occasion on the Eldorado Lodge & Spa. The occasion drew calls to police following studies of bottles being thrown from a balcony — an incident some say could have ended Martinez’s hopes for nationwide workplace.

At a bit over $5,200, spending for the month of September was the very best for Lujan Grisham in the newest overview of invoices and receipts.

Included within the September spending was a $1,551 bill from Cowgirl BBQ in Santa Fe.

The bill confirmed an Aug. 30 supply to the governor’s mansion of “mesquite smoked BBQ beef brisket” and different dishes for 45 visitors.

“This was a night gathering that honored state staff for his or her service in the course of the COVID-19 pandemic,” Hayden wrote.

The occasion isn’t listed within the governor’s official schedule, which is posted on-line.

Copyright 2022 The Related Press. All rights reserved. This materials is probably not printed, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.