Senate Rejects Matthew Chandler

On near party lines, the state Senate rejected attorney Matthew Chandler's confirmation to the University of New Mexico Board of Regents after a day of heated political discussions over the vote.

The vote on Chandler marks the first time the state Senate rejected one of Gov. Susana Martinez' appointments since she began serving as governor in 2011. Chandler, a former district attorney and former treasurer of a right wing political action committee during last year's elections, lost on a narrow 23-17 vote. All Senate Democrats voted not to confirm, except state Sen. Pete Campos, D-San Miguel. All Senate Republicans voted in favor of Chandler.

Chandler's PAC, Advance New Mexico Now, came under fire during last year's election season when it released a mailer that falsely accused state Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, D-Los Alamos, of voting for a bill to expunge some criminal records during the 2013 legislative session. Garcia Richard actually voted no on the bill cited in the PAC mailer.

Chandler admitted the PAC got the facts wrong.

"Perhaps the more appropriate citation," he wrote SFR at the time, "is her statement to the Albuquerque Journal that she supports legislation to hide certain criminals' arrest records—removing their arrest records from public view."

Garcia Richard went on to win reelection, but the PAC played an large role in the Republican Party's historic takeover of the state House of Representatives for the first time in more than 60 years. The PAC's troubles didn't stop there. Yesterday, New Mexico In Depth reported that Advance New Mexico Now's biggest donor recently pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor domestic violence charge.

Martinez submitted Chandler's nomination to serve on the board of regents for the state's flagship university in January. During committee hearings on his nomination, Chandler downplayed his role with the PAC, implying that as treasurer his role was separate the PAC's political material.

It wasn't enough to save his confirmation.

After the floor vote, state Sen. Stuart Ingle, R-Chaves, who sponsored Chandler's nomination, read a letter of resignation from UNM Regent James Koch, a lifelong Democrat, who anticipated the Senate's rejection. In the letter, Koch called Chandler an "eminently qualified nominee" and criticized the Senate's move as political.

"In my long career I cannot recall a lower point from the Senate," Ingle read from the letter.

Chandler also ran for Attorney General in 2010, losing to Democrat Gary King. He also lead prosecution against former Santa Fe County Sheriff Greg Solano the following year.

Santa Fe Reporter