New Mexico Safety and Justice is a left-of-center PAC that primarily supported Democrat Raul Torrez’s successful 2016 campaign in the Democratic primary and general election for Bernalillo County District Attorney. The organization is the New Mexico branch of the vast “Safety and Justice” network, a project of left-leaning billionaire George Soros which used a network of similarly named state-level PACs to finance the campaigns of progressive Democratic candidates for district attorney in more than a dozen of America’s cities.
Funding
According to New Mexico Safety and Justice’s campaign finance disclosures with the New Mexico Secretary of State, in 2016, the organization received one $107,000 contribution from George Soros, its only funding for that year.1
Political Activities
The organization’s campaign finance disclosures also reveal that the organization paid Berlin Rosen, a left-leaning campaign communications firm, $92,000 for ads supporting Torrez.2 The organization also reports that it made smaller payments to Safety & Justice, the national wing of the “Safety and Justice” network.3
Controversies
In 2016, Raul Torrez’s Democratic primary opponent, Edmund Perea, criticized New Mexico Safety and Justice’s heavy outside spending in support of Torrez during the primary, saying, “As a citizen, as a candidate and as a public servant, I find outside, big money like that very, very concerning … What is the interest of [George Soros] who has no connection to our community in selecting the next district attorney for our county?”4 New Mexico Safety and Justice reports that its address is not in New Mexico at all, rather, it shares a Washington D.C. address with Safety & Justice at the offices of Perkins Coie.5
Leadership
New Mexico Safety & Justice is led by treasurer Whitney Tymas, who serves as the head of the widely dispersed “Safety and Justice” network organizations. Tymas also served on the board of the Civic Participation Action Fund (CPAF).
References
- “Report of Expenditures and Contributions .” New Mexico Secretary of State. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/0_44417_2016_6_2_142458.pdf.
- https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/0_44417_2016_6_2_142458.pdf.
- https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/0_44417_2016_6_2_142458.pdf.
- Fish , Sandra, and Jeff Proctor. “Soros-Funded Super PAC Supports Torrez in BernCo DA Race with $107K.” New Mexico In Depth, June 24, 2016. https://nmindepth.com/2016/06/03/soros-funded-super-pac-supports-torrez-in-bernco-da-race-with-107k/.
- “Report of Expenditures and Contributions .” New Mexico Secretary of State. Accessed June 4, 2021. https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/0_44417_2016_6_2_142458.pdf.