Montoya sprints to victory in contentious Democratic primary for treasurer

Jun. 8—Laura Montoya was heading to a resounding victory late Tuesday after grappling with two opponents in the state treasurer's race — her Democratic rival and the man who currently holds the office and didn't want her to run.

If her momentum holds in the Democratic primary, Laura Montoya will face Republican candidate Harry Montoya — no relation — who ran unopposed in the GOP primary.

The state treasurer helps oversee about $11 billion in funds, including the $8.5 billion state budget.

Laura Montoya, 44, a former Sandoval County treasurer, sounded buoyant Tuesday night as she sprinted to a 16 percentage point lead over Heather Benavidez, the chief of staff in the State Treasurer's Office.

"I'm very grateful to the voters," Montoya said. "I feel the voters have spoken. People had a very clear message to send."

Montoya said she is proud to be the first Latina elected as state treasurer in New Mexico. She plans to use the position to promote financial literacy in schools, combat predatory lending and do what she can to deal with the economic inequity within the state.

Benavidez couldn't be reached for comment.

State Treasurer Tim Eichenberg, a Democrat, was irked his onetime ally Montoya chose to run against Benavidez.

With Eichenberg stoking the flames, the Democratic primary turned into a fiery battle, especially for this traditionally staid office.

Eichenberg bought radio ads slamming Montoya and wrote a letter asking the state attorney general, secretary of state and the State Ethics Commission to investigate her alleged misconduct.

During the race, Montoya dismissed Eichenberg's attacks as a desperate ploy to help Benavidez win the primary race.

In the end, his actions didn't block her victory.

Montoya said she was thankful news outlets dug into the allegations and spotlighted the ones that were false.

Benavidez now stands to lose her job as chief of staff in the Treasurer's Office as well as the race.

Montoya said she aims to eliminate the chief of staff position. She also plans to conduct a full internal audit of the office, saying she wants to ensure she is inheriting a system that is clean and in order.

During the election, Benavidez said being the treasurer's chief of staff taught her the culture of the office and how it functions within state government.

And her time as a municipal judge gave her an understanding of the legal system, which is important in this job, she said.

But Montoya called into question her opponent's qualifications, arguing Benavidez's résumé indicated little experience working in the financial sector.

Montoya touted the two terms she served as Sandoval County treasurer and 23 years working mostly in finance for local, state, federal and tribal governments.

Still, being of the same political party, the rivals shared some similarities.

Both candidates supported creating a public bank, which they say would offer community lending that commercial banks won't. For instance, it could approve loans to ranchers who lost grazing land in a wildfire or offer money as collateral for lower-income borrowers seeking business loans from regular banks.

That position drew fire from critics, who noted only North Dakota has a pure public bank.

Legislative efforts to establish one in New Mexico so far have failed.

The two also backed development of a financial literacy program to teach kids about the monetary system so they can better handle their personal finances — instruction they and other advocates say could help prevent people from falling into poverty.

Both said they wanted to better manage the "local government investment pool," into which rural and tribal communities, as well as schools and local governments, funnel money.

But Montoya said the investment pool would be one of her priorities.

She also wants to strengthen the relationship between the Treasurer's Office and tribal communities, which she contends is either poor or nonexistent. And she said she will talk to small business owners and people in rural areas to learn more about their needs.

"Now I get to fulfill a dream of service for my state in a way that as a little girl I would have imagined, but now it's finally coming true," Montoya said.