At 4:09 pm today, Rick Lass and a broad coalition of supporters filed more than twice the required number of signatures to get on the ballot for the 3rd District PRC seat. Additionally, the campaign collected 500 five-dollar contributions, almost twice the requisite number needed to qualify for public financing. "The most exciting part," commented campaign spokesperson Todd Doherty, "is that we collected almost double the required signatures and contributions in only ten days. And we had an amazing diversity of volunteers out collecting throughout the district. This is clearly a campaign with support from a wide range of political and citizens groups."
Doherty attributed the rapid and wide-spread mobilization to the high-level of dissatisfaction among voters with the Democratic nominee. “A clear majority voted for someone more qualified than Jerome Block, Jr.” Doherty added, “Also a factor was how well-known and well-respected in the community Richard Lass is for his efforts on behalf of small business, environmental causes like renewable energy, and voting reform. His advocacy at the legislature for measures like repealing the food tax and his years of work helping organize the Santa Fe Independent Business Alliance all mean there are a lot of people who know he’ll be an effective Commissioner, willing to take on the big utilities on behalf of the people who pay the bills.”
Rick has been a long-time advocate for more fairness in the electoral process, so it's only fitting that he's now running in one of the few races that uses a pool of public financing to level the playing field, and to help keep big moneyed special interests out of buying influence with campaign contributions.
Rick laid out the key to his campaign: “For too long, these big corporations have been given a free ride by the Commission. I will be an unwavering advocate for ratepayers, small businesses, and our local economies.” He described the massive volunteer effort that gathered the signatures and contributions, in record time, that will qualify his campaign for public financing as “an extraordinary outpouring of volunteer activism.”
