New ethics complaint targets Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto

Aug. 16—SANTA FE — An ethics complaint filed this week accuses Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto of violating state law by leveraging his power as a state legislator for financial gain and to seek sexual favors.

Much of the allegations center on Ivey-Soto's employment by an organization that serves county clerks throughout New Mexico — an arrangement the complaint describes as a conflict of interest, given his dual role as a legislator who crafts election laws the clerks must carry out.

The complaint also cites previously disclosed allegations of sexual harassment and abusive behavior against Ivey-Soto, accusing him of conduct that violates ethical principles written into state law.

Santa Fe attorney Daniel Yohalem filed the 20-complaint — plus 131 pages of supporting documents — on Tuesday with the State Ethics Commission.

In an interview, Ivey-Soto said he will respond to the complaint formally through the ethics process. But any allegation that he violated state law is false, he said.

"It's a politically driven complaint," Ivey-Soto said.

He added: "In a system where we have a volunteer Legislature, we all need to have jobs. I work for an organization that provides technical assistance and training to county clerks, among other people, and I work hard."

Ivey-Soto, an Albuquerque Democrat in his 11th year in the Legislature, has repeatedly over the last year denied allegations of sexual harassment and abusive behavior.

Work for county clerks

The complaint describes Ivey-Soto as someone who positioned himself as a sole-source vendor for county clerks in New Mexico and served as their lobbyist at the Capitol, even as he's supposed to represent the public at large as a legislator.

He is accused in the ethics complaint of pursuing legislation that would boost his income and of failing to fully disclose his financial interests.

The complaint alleges a number of instances in which it says Ivey-Soto's role as a lawmaker overlapped with his work for the county clerks. It says, for example, that he jointly sponsored a bill that sought to exempt the kind of work he does for the clerks from the definition of lobbying.

The complaint also said Ivey-Soto sponsored a measure that included incentives for clerks to complete training, even though Ivey-Soto had been paid to teach training classes in the past. Neither bill passed.

"Ivey-Soto has leveraged his power in the Senate to advance his own personal and financial interests," Yohalem alleges in the complaint. "He has also repeatedly put his various roles in direct conflict with each other by working on behalf of the county clerks at the same time as he is supposed to be fulfilling his independent duties as a state senator, causing harm to his clients and to the people of New Mexico."

Sexual harassment allegations

The complaint also touches on public allegations of sexual harassment that have already cost Ivey-Soto a powerful leadership post.

He resigned last year as chairman of the Senate Rules Committee, the panel that vets election legislation.

Ivey-Soto, however, has resisted calls to leave the Legislature altogether.

He has maintained the harassment allegations against him are false and politically motivated. He stepped down as rules chairman, he said last year, to avoid being a distraction.

The sexual harassment allegations surfaced after the 2022 legislative session when a lobbyist for progressive causes, Marianna Anaya, filed a complaint against Ivey-Soto under the Legislature's anti-harassment policy. She called on him resign in an open letter.

Anaya accused Ivey-Soto of groping and pinching her in 2015 and of sexual harassment and abusive behavior in 2022 while she sought support for a voting rights bill pending before his committee.

A month later, a coalition of advocacy groups accused Ivey-Soto of a pattern of abusive behavior against women, citing other allegations.

In this week's complaint, Yohalem outlined the harassment allegations in detail and said Ivey-Soto had violated the "ethical principles of public service by engaging in harassing, hostile, and retaliatory conduct."

Altogether, Yohalem accused Ivey-Soto of violating state laws on financial disclosure, lobbying regulations and governmental conduct.

"In sum," according to the complaint, "Ivey-Soto has demonstrated a pattern of leveraging his power as a legislator to pursue his own self-interested agenda, attempting to obtain both financial renumeration and sexual favors in exchange for access to the legislative process, all in violation of the public trust and a number of New Mexico laws pertaining to government operations."

Defending himself

Ivey-Soto said Wednesday that has taken care as a lawmaker to comply with all legal requirements and that any allegations he violated state law aren't accurate.

But "I'm a state senator," he said. "That part is true."

Financial disclosures filed by Ivey-Soto say he is employed as executive director of Vandelay Solutions, which provides technical assistance and training for local government officials, and as an attorney at InAccord PC.

The complaint's reference to sexual harassment allegations, Ivey-Soto said, is gratuitous and underscores that it was filed for political purposes.

Ivey-Soto's seat in the Legislature, where he represents a chunk of Northeast Albuquerque, is up for election next year. He hasn't said whether he will seek reelection.

In the meantime, Ivey-Soto said he looks forward to making his case before the State Ethics Commission.

"I will be responding to the allegations through the process," he said. "That's the appropriate way to do it."