By KRWG News
Las Cruces – Diane Denish this morning released the following statement on news reported in the Albuquerque Journal that Susana Martinez continued to buy office supplies from friend and former employee Janetta Hicks after being ordered by the state to stop. Martinez claims she was unaware of the directive. In the Journal story, the Martinez campaign is quoted calling the issue a "political smear."
The following is a statement attributable to Diane Denish:
"With each passing day, it becomes harder for New Mexicans to believe anything Susana Martinez says. First Martinez denies ever supporting a voucher plan that cuts money from public schools, then a video surfaces of her telling Republican audiences that she supports it. Susana Martinez talks about securing our border, then we learn she took more than $350,000 in funds that should have been spent on border security and instead gave it away as big bonuses. Now Martinez says she disclosed the $60,000 no-bid deal she was caught giving to her friend, but it turns out she never alerted the Department of Finance and ignored their instructions to stop. At a time when we so badly need a Governor who will look out for our families, Susana Martinez is showing herself to be just another Republican politician who New Mexicans can't trust."
On August 6, the Journal first reported that Susana Martinez's 3rd Judicial District Office bought office $60,000 worth of office supplies in a no-bid deal from one of her top deputies. Now, the Journal is reporting the office continued to buy supplies from the company after it was told to stop by the state.