Public Regulation Commissioner Joseph Maestas, who is running for state auditor, has returned a $250 campaign donation from an attorney who is a key player before the PRC.
Maestas wrote Friday in a text message he believes the donation in December from Mariel Nanasi of the nonprofit New Energy Economy was “legitimate” but that it nevertheless “became a distraction to our campaign” and was returned.
His opponent in the June 7 Democratic primary race for state auditor, Zack Quintero, reiterated Friday he felt Maestas never should have accepted the donation. Quintero called Nanasi “one of the most high-profile attorneys in the energy sector in New Mexico.”
He said it was a conflict of interest for Maestas to accept the donation from an attorney who frequently files briefs and testifies in hearings in cases the commission rules on. The commission oversees the energy industries in the state, among other things.
Maestas and Nanasi said the donation might have been made by her husband. “Apparently it was Mariel’s name that was entered at the time of donation,” Maestas wrote in a text message.
Nanasi said she has given money to the victims of New Mexico’s wildfires and to many other candidates for office. She said she and her husband donate “based on our values.”
“I have no concern about it,” Nanasi said of the ethics of the donation to Maestas. “No, I don’t. Because there’s nothing wrong with it.”
Maestas has said the Public Regulation Commission has no regulatory authority over Nanasi or her organization, so there was no conflict of interest in taking the donation. Besides the fact that it had become a distraction, he wrote in the text, his campaign returned the money because there was confusion “with respect to who actually donated.”
The International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 611 has filed a complaint with the state government over the donation.
Quintero said a state auditor needs to not only avoid impropriety but also the appearance of it. He called the situation “highly unethical” and said it didn’t matter if the money was returned.
