Coalition renews demand Ivey-Soto be stripped of committee assignments

Daniel Chacon, The Santa Fe New Mexican
·1 min read

Aug. 27—A coalition of advocacy organizations renewed its demand Friday that leaders in the New Mexico Senate strip Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of his interim committee assignments amid allegations of sexual harassment and other misconduct.

The group, which released a new Facebook video on the issue, made a similar request last month to no avail. It said the issue has taken "increased urgency" because the Albuquerque Democrat is scheduled to chair a meeting of the New Mexico Finance Authority Oversight Committee on Monday and Tuesday.

Ivey-Soto also chaired a meeting of the committee two weeks ago.

The group, which includes the Center for Civic Policy and Common Cause New Mexico, also called for the swift release of an investigative report into Ivey-Soto's alleged misconduct, which it said is "reportedly complete."

In a telephone interview, Ivey-Soto declined to disclose the status of the investigation, calling it "confidential per the rules."

"There's a process. I'm participating in the process. It appears these advocates want to bypass the process," he said.

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.