Protesters demand Santa Fe mayor apologize to veterans groups

Sean P. Thomas, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·2 min read
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Oct. 22—The Hispano Round Table of New Mexico on Thursday demanded a public apology from Santa Fe Mayor Alan Webber for accusing three local organizations, including two veterans groups, of political misconduct.

Ralph Arellanes, chairman of the Albuquerque-based organization, said the group held an afternoon news conference at Vietnam Veterans Memorial Park in Albuquerque to "hold Webber accountable" for what Arellanes called a "frivolous" complaint.

"Politics is politics," Arrellanes said. "People are going to make allegations, but when we are talking about veterans, that is a different subject. The honor of veterans shouldn't be thrown into the mix."

In September, the city of Santa Fe's Ethics and Campaign Review Board dismissed a complaint filed by Webber's campaign accusing the Hispanic fraternal organization Union Protectíva de Santa Fé, the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 2951 and the American Legion Post 1 of acting as political committees for one of his rivals in the mayor's race, City Councilor JoAnne Vigil Coppler.

Ethics board members found the three groups didn't meet the definition of a political action committee and dismissed the complaint.

In response to Thursday's news conference, Webber's campaign spokeswoman, Sascha Guinn Anderson, declined to comment on what she called a "last-minute election stunt."

The race between Webber, Vigil Coppler and environmental engineer Alexis Martinez Johnson is in the Nov. 2 local election, and early voting already is underway.

Webber's complaint was the second of three in the race to have been filed and dismissed so far.

The first came from Martinez Johnson, after Webber's campaign advertised his upcoming appearance at a city event using his campaign email address.

The third complaint was filed by Union Protectíva President Virgil Vigil and Gilbert Romero, another vocal Webber critic. It alleged Webber and his campaign had bullied city employees.

At the time, Webber's campaign called Vigil's complaint "frivolous."