Internal memo reveals Democratic Party official's plan to weed out miscreants running for office
A local Democratic Party official wants to start vetting the party’s own candidates, saying past candidates who were later discovered to have skeletons in their closet have given the party a bad name.
“In the past, the Democratic Party of New Mexico has had candidates who were discovered to be drug addicts, dishonest, and who misrepresented their qualifications and engaged in criminal behavior,” state Central Committee member Dick Lawrence wrote in an internal memo obtained by The New Mexican.
“These candidates reflected very poorly on the party,” he wrote. “In particular, Jerome Block Junior is an example. He appeared to the voters as the good old boy selection since his father had occupied the same position he was running for. There is nothing wrong with a candidate who is related to past officials running for office if they are qualified. He was not. We need a a party that is run for the benefit of all the people of NM rather than insiders.”
Block is a former state Public Regulation Commission member. In 2011, he served 60 days in prison for a psychological evaluation after pleading guilty to a series of felonies, including identity theft and credit card theft. Block also served time in jail for using illegal drugs, a violation of his court-supervised treatment program.
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