New Mexico learning lesson of South Dakota's red state failure

New Mexico is one of only 13 states to have implemented some kind of public financing system and the cities of Albuquerque and Santa Fe have adopted the rules. State Auditor Tim Keller, a Democrat, is leading in Albuquerque's mayoral race.

The state's legislators are unpaid and it’s one of just eight states without an independent ethics commission.

In November 2016, for example, South Dakota voters passed Initiated Measure 22, which provided for an overhaul of the state’s campaign disclosure laws and other major reforms, including tough new rules on lobbying and ethics and the creation of a new state ethics commission. Two Koch-backed groups—Americans for Prosperity (AFP) and Concerned Women for America—spearheaded a campaign called Defeat22, with AFP providing $590,000 of the roughly $610,000 raised. Although the campaign failed to stop the ballot measure, which passed with 52 percent of the vote, it was apparently enough to persuade the state legislature to step in. Invoking an “emergency” clause, legislators repealed the changes that the voters had just approved, undoing the much-needed reforms. [The Fight Against Dark Money in New Mexico and Beyond]

To address Pierre's culture of corruption a task force of four South Dakota Democratic legislators, four Republicans and three people representing Republicans have voted to tighten provisions that currently allow gifts to public officials but the SDGOP earth haters prevailed in blocking lower campaign limits.

Supporters of IM22 in South Dakota have collected some 50,000 signatures to put an analog measure on the 2018 ballot so voters can have another chance to overturn the whims of that state's Koch-mad reactionary electioneers.

Steve Pearce, an earth hater running for his party's nomination for governor has sued New Mexico's Democratic secretary of state to release campaign funds Pearce raised as US representative from his district.

New @UNM report shows public financing could be solution to curb money in politics. #nmpol https://t.co/QwoI0woV7C

— Common Cause NM (@commoncausenm) October 17, 2017