DA, but not opponent, accused of elections violations
Amy Orlando
Among the allegations is that Amy Orlando failed to disclose on her campaign website who paid for it, but ProgressNow New Mexico failed to mention that Orlando’s opponent did the same thing.
Most political candidates interpret state law to mean they need to put a “paid for by” disclaimer on campaign websites, but Doña Ana County District Attorney Amy Orlando doesn’t have such a disclaimer on her site.
That’s one of two reasons the left-leaning group ProgressNow New Mexico slammed Orlando, a Republican, last week. From a blog post on their website:
“A recent mailer from Orlando to prospective voters and supporters failed to disclose the name of the person or group behind printing the mailer. … Similarly, Orlando’s campaign website, www.amyorlandoda.com, fails to disclose the person or group responsible for paying for and publishing the site.”
Mark D'Antonio
ProgressNow cited the relevant state statute: “According to New Mexico law (NMSA 1-19-16), failing to disclose either the printer of mailers or persons responsible for paying for campaign advertising and communications is a fourth-degree felony, punishable by up to 18-months in jail.”
Orlando said Friday that she and her campaign team have complied with the law, but she didn’t elaborate. Three days later, her website still doesn’t state who paid for it.
Orlando told NMPolitics.net she personally paid to register the domain name.
The campaign website for Orlando’s Democratic opponent, Mark D’Antonio, also doesn’t state who paid for it, though it does state that the campaign copyrighted it, just as Orlando’s states that it’s copyrighted by “Amy Orlando – District Attorney.” ProgressNow didn’t mention the problem with D’Antonio’s website or accuse him of a felony.
Not picking and choosing which laws to follow
As ProgressNow pointed out, Orlando said this recently when explaining why she challenged D’Antonio’s candidacy in court after he left the district number of the office he was seeking off his nominating petitions:
“As district attorney, I cannot and will not pick and choose which laws I will follow.”
The Supreme Court decided to let D’Antonio and other candidates in that situation stay on the ballot.
ProgressNow called on the attorney general to investigate Orlando and called on the DA to “make it clear to the residents of Doña Ana County that she truly is the law-and-order candidate she claims to be. Ms. Orlando should self-report these two individual violations of the Campaign Reporting Act and then either appoint a special prosecutor to investigate these violations or request that New Mexico Attorney General Gary King conduct an investigation in order to avoid the potential conflict of interest.”
The state GOP responded late last week with a robocall to Doña Ana County residents that called D’Antonio a “politician” who has the backing of a liberal special interest group, referring to ProgressNow.
Update, 10:50 a.m.
Orlando pointed out that her website does disclose who paid for it on the “contribute” page. But the disclosure isn’t on the home page, which is where most candidates put it to maximize visibility.
Update, 11:25 a.m.
D’Antonio described the website he has up now as a “placeholder” that was put up by a friend about eight months ago. He said he “didn’t even know it was up until recently” and it “was never intended to be the webpage for my campaign.”
D’Antonio said he’s in the process of building a campaign website to replace the other and, in the meantime, will have his friend take down the existing site that doesn’t include the “paid for by” disclaimer.
A prior version of this posting incorrectly said the GOP robocall identified D’Antonio as a “career politician.” It actually identified him simply as a “politician.”
Are you ignoring the truths pointed out by Heath in an earlier article about the legitimacy of the real law regarding the details required on the petitions or did you not see that. The only reason D’Antonio wasn’t disqualified was because the NM Supreme Court was pressured (I’m just being polite) by others from both parties who were involved in passing the law (did they not understand their own law?) and failed to include the very detail that was a primary basis of that law. Spin – spin and spin again. Do you really think that if the shoe was on the other foot D’Antonio would have looked the other way? And maybe a certain Spin Politics organization should turn the page before they go pointing fingers and why did they not waggle a digit at D’Antonio for not knowing what was on the internet with his name on it, after all he was an FBI Special Agent. The record of Susana Martinez speaks for itself — exemplary — as does Amy Orlando’s, also exemplary. For the last 15 years despite how people twist, bend or spin the truth we have not been in better hands law enforcement wise since Susana unseated her apponent and surrounded herself with honest, talented like minded people interested in the welfare of the people of Dona Ana County. Key among them, Amy Orlando who has taken the reins with both hands and is doing one hell of a job. You can criticize and make false accusations but whats new, it’s been going on since the job was taken from someone who wouldn’t do it by someone who did do it and passed it on to the one person who has what it takes to take it to the next level — Amy Orlando.
The state GOP responded late last week with a robocall to Doña Ana County residents that called D’Antonio a “career politician” who has the backing of a liberal special interest group, referring to ProgressNow.
From what I have read in the Sun News, Mark D’Antonio has never run for office before. He has been an FBI special agent though. So I didn’t know that the New Mexico Republican Party now considers people who serve in law enforcement as “politicians”. When it’s convenient for them, these same people are “public servants”.
I’ll tell you who the career politician is: Susana Martinez. 14 years as the D.A. in the county and 4 elections that she won.
Amy Orlando is the career government lawyer. Almost 20 years in the same D.A.’s office.
Wanna bet she’s going to be out of the office just as much if not more than as she was in 2010 when she was basically full time on the Susana Martinez campaign?
Heath, this is the worst article I have read on your site in some time. Sounds to me like a hit piece on D’Antonio than anything else. You have been accused of being in the bag for Susana Martinez in the past and you don’t want people saying that you are in the bag for Amy Orlando who just happens to be Susana’s best friend.
Sounds like you didn’t even call D’Antonio to see of this website is legit. Sounds like you didn’t call Amy Orlando to get her reaction to the Progress Now allegations.
I got the robocall from the state party the other day. I guess Susana had Jay McCleskley help defend her friend. I am not voting for any Republican or Democrat who sued to kick their opponent off the ballot for leaving the district number off the petition just to deny voters a choice. I am sick of career politicians who are always gaming the system in their favor. Amy Orlando is the career politican in this race.
Gee, I bet there are a lot of campaign sites that don’t have a “paid for by” disclaimer.
How is it obvious Hemingway?
Dona Ana County District Attorney Amy Orlando was playing a political card in suing Mark D’Antonio for not fully completing his petition to run for office. Obviously Governor Martinez pressured her. However Ms. Orlando had to drop the bogus suit. This smells of politics not law.
ProgressNow did a good job in exposing Ms. Orlando!
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