ABQ District 6 City Council Candidate Joanie Griffin Masquerading as a Dem

This is a must read. Go directly to Coco's post at Duke City Fix and find out how Joanie Griffin, running for City Council in Albuquerque's District 6, has been masquerading as someone she's not and intimating she's received the endorsements of Dem politicos that she hasn't secured. Griffin, a PR and marketing maven who's reportedly the favorite of Mayor Marty Chavez, is running against progressive Rey Garduño and others in Martin Heinrich's district now that Heinrich is running for Congress. Griffin worked as a press person for Mayor Chavez during his 2005 reelection campaign.

Not only does Coco relate that Griffin was a registered Republican for years until changing her voter registration to Democrat in April, a few days before she declared her candidacy, she does a little digging to unearth the fact that Griffin has made generous campaign contributions to the Republican cause. Quote:

... her Republican credentials are pretty hard-core. A check of the Federal Election Commission website (search for "Griffin, Joan", and "Griffin and Associates" in New Mexico) reveals that Griffin is a major donor, contributing a total of $4,200 to the Republican National Committee, the Republican Congressional Campaign Committee, and Congresswoman Heather Wilson.

Griffin's website and other campaign materials don't mention her recent conversion from Republican to Democrat (at least on paper), her connection to Mayor Chavez or her past support of the Republican cause. What they do seek to communicate, using the sort of cleverly constructive language common to PR spin, is that prominent Democrats like Gov. Bill Richardson and Martin Heinrich have endorsed her candidacy when they clearly have not. As Coco says:

You have to hand it to Joanie. It's all slickly and shrewdly laid out – the overall context creates an illusion of endorsements by prominent and popular Democrats. But the words don't really say that. They're recommending her ad agency skills, not her candidacy to the voters. Pardon me for saying so, but the packaging is deliciously deceptive.

You have to wonder why a candidate like Griffin would be so ashamed of her Republican orientation that she's done everything in her power to mask it. You also have to wonder why a Democrat like Marty Chavez would apparently annoint her as his choice in the District 6 race when real Democrats are in the running.

As noted on Rey Garduño's blog, Martin Heinrich has publicly endorsed Rey:

“I’m proud to endorse Rey for City Council. I know that he will continue to stand up for our neighborhoods in District 6, and make Albuquerque a better place for us all to live. Please vote for Rey Garduño for City Council on October 2nd.” —MARTIN HEINRICH, Current District 6 City Councilor

Other real Dems and progressive organizations that have endorsed Garduño's campaign include ERIC GRIEGO, Former City Councilor; PAT BACA, Former City Councilor; CISCO MCSORLEY, NM State Senator; ISAAC BENTON, City Councilor; DEBBIE O’MALLEY, City Councilor; MICHAEL CADIGAN, City Councilor; the Hispanic Round Table; AFSCME; and the Central NM Central Labor Council.

Besides Griffin and Garduño, Blair Kauffman, who describes himself as a moderate Democrat, and Kevin Wilson, a Republican, are candidates in District 6. The Albuquerque municipal election is set for October 2, 2007.

Also see the post at on this topic. To read our previous posts on the October 2, 2007 municipal election, check our archive, including our recent post on how Mayor Chavez is working against the reelection of City Council President Debbie O'Malley in District 2.