Marty Chavez’s former transit director – and head cheerleader of the $300 million trolley – Greg Payne withdrew his application for public financing today in his bid for city council, after failing miserably to qualify.
Payne is taking on incumbent Councilor Trudy Jones, trying to become a major thorn in Mayor Richard Berry’s side.
But it looks like Round 1 – and perhaps the bout - goes decisively to the mayor. Berry endorsed Jones early and the Jones campaign aggressively promoted it in literature and robocalls that advertised the mayor’s endorsement and warned voters not to be fooled by other candidates seeking $5 contributions.
The strategy worked…extremely well.
Insiders report Payne only managed to collect about 80 of the required 400 $5 contributions necessary to receive public financing. That’s not just unsuccessful, it’s downright embarassing for someone who has been clawing at the doors of New Mexico politics as long as Payne has. As a former Council member, Payne apparently couldn’t scrape together more than 80 friends and neighbors to support him.
Now the controversial Payne must raise private money for his race. After such a disastrous launch, one wonders if anyone will line up to invest in this ponzi-scheme of a campaign…