The office of Secretary of State Mary Herrera is conducting an ethics investigation into one of Herrera's most prominent critics, Santa Fe County Clerk Valerie Espinoza.

According to a letter from Deputy Secretary Francisco Trujillo dated March 17, "A complaint was filed with our office by a Mr. James Damron alleging that you gave public notice of your intent to run for public office, in specific, Secretary of State and that as a candidate or potential candidate you failed to file a report with the Secretary of State's Office known as a Campaign Report of Expenditures and Contributions, which is required by New Mexico law ..."

Espinoza, in a brief response dated March 24, said that during the period in which she was considering a run for secretary of state, she raised and spent less than $2,500. She also said she never "authorized any person or committee to solicit such contributions."

Espinoza concluded, "Therefore I do not meet the definition of a 'candidate' under the provisions of the Campaign Reporting Act, and as a result, no filing of a report is required on my part."

Neither Damron, Espinoza nor a spokesman for Herrera could be reached for comment Friday.

The matter could drag on. The Secretary of State's Office can request additional information from both sides. Both sides can submit additional evidence within 10 days of Espinoza's response. The office has 15 working days to determine whether there is "reasonable belief of violation." But either party can request a hearing before an investigation officer, which has to take place within three months.

The two-term county clerk, who, like Herrera, is a Democrat, indeed was campaigning for secretary of state last year. "I'm actively running," Espinoza told a reporter in September last year, though she said she hadn't made a final decision about challenging the incumbent Herrera. Espinoza said she'd opened a campaign account and was seeking contributions for a race. At that point she agreed to appear at a Santa Fe County Democratic Party forum for secretary of state candidates scheduled for October 2009.

But about a week later, Espinoza decided not to run. She said in a news release, "I want to complete the tasks and goals that I have started at the Santa Fe County Clerk's Office."

The complaint from Damron, dated March 10, says he had been doing research on how to run for political office and requested clarification on whether a candidate or potential candidate has to file a campaign finance report when opening a bank account for campaign funds. Damron asked for an investigation.

Damron, a longtime chef at El Nido, is listed in a couple of campaign finance reports. In September 2009, Herrera included a $350 "in-kind" donation from Damron. In April 2006, he shows up for a $300 "in-kind" donation for Secretary of State Letitia Montoya. Montoya ran against Herrera in the 2006 primary. Since then, Montoya joined Herrera's political team, working as her northern campaign manager.

In-kind donations are donations of goods or services, as opposed to cash.

Even before she launched her brief campaign, Espinoza had been critical of Herrera. In October 2008, she told reporters that Herrera's office had caused "a lot of grief" by mailing a brochure to 90,000 voters in Santa Fe County mistakenly saying that the County Clerk's Office was open for early voting on Saturdays. A sign on the county building's door said, "We are sorry for any inconvenience caused by the Secretary of State who may be reached at 827-3600."

As recently as last week, Espinoza appeared in a news report by KOB-TV Channel 4 criticizing Herrera's office for blacking out reams of e-mails given to reporters in response to a public records request. At least one of the blacked out letters was from Espinoza's elections director and turned out to be a routine request for voter-registration forms.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.