(updated 9/1/2009)
The League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico is a non-partisan organization that provides information about political issues and candidates for public office in order to promote greater citizen responsibility and participation in government. Because the League is non-partisan, it DOES NOT support or oppose any political party or candidate. It does publish and distribute factual information for citizens to use when preparing to vote.
p> The information in this Voters’ Guide was obtained by means of questionnaires sent to all the candidates. Their answers are printed exactly as received by the League. Because of space restrictions, candidates are limited to a specific number of words. Also, lists are converted to paragraphs and responses are converted to normal text. Certified write-in candidates will have only their names listed. All candidates are listed in the order they will appear on the October 6, 2009 ballot.The information in this Voters’ Guide has been carefully assembled and compiled to assure maximum accuracy. However, the LWVCNM and the LWVCNM Education Fund assume no responsibility either for correctness of all the information or for errors or omissions. In instances where there is a question of potentially defamatory content, the League will defer to the opinion of counsel.
Candidate Responses and Word Limits: The responses of candidates to our questionnaire are printed exactly as received by the League. The League assumes no responsibility for the content of any candidate's reply. Further, the League publishes this information neither to endorse nor reject the views of any candidate. The League has in no way edited for meaning, grammar, punctuation, or spelling. Because of space restrictions, the League has pre-advised the candidates of the word limits on their responses.
The Open and Ethical Elections Code establishes voluntary limits on campaign spending and equal public financing of campaigns for mayoral and city elections. Participation from the candidates is voluntary. To qualify to receive funding from the public financing fund, candidates have to gather $5 donations from 1% of the registered voters in their district. The $5 donations colleted by the andidates are deposited in the public financing fund that is supplemented by contributions from the city's operating fund. In general, candidates who elect to participate in public financing receive from the fund $1 for every registered voter in their district to fund their campaign for public office. In exchange for getting disbursements from the fund, candidates are not alllowed to accept or spend private campaign contributions. The participating candidates may accept in-kind contributions totaling a value not to exceed 10% of the amount the candidate received from the Open and Ethical Eection Fund.
Pursuant to City Charter Article XV!, Section 17, the following list of candidates have qualified as participating candidates and have agreed to the terms and conditions of the Open and Ethical Elections Code:
Voters are obligated to report voting offenses to the City Clerk or the District Attorney. Voting offenses are: