UNM AD says Alford didn't know he would be raising money for White
Is Steve Alford endorsing Darren White or not?
A day after blogger Joe Monahan reported that " University of New Mexico men's basketball coach Steve Alford would lend "his name and fundraising power to the campaign of ABQ GOP congressional hopeful Darren White" by posing for VIP photos for $1,000 a pop at a fundraiser, Monahan reported today that UNM has gone into "damage control mode."
Paul Krebs, Vice-President for Athletics for UNM, told KKOB-AM radio that he and Alford were unaware that the coach's appearance at the July 16th event at the home of UNM lobbyist Joe Thompson would be used to raise money for White, Monahan reports. Krebs said he asked Alford to attend the event to hob knob, not to endorse White or raise money for his campaign. Krebs' assertion that neither he nor Alford knew the intent of the event was met with disbelief by some of the radio station's callers, Monahan notes. But others strongly felt the non-political Krebs and Alford were duped into participating.
Calls in to UNM and Alford have not been returned. Thompson is out of town on personal business, his wife said.
And an e-mail to White's campaign seeking response was not immediately returned.
Now we wait to see if Alford and Krebs will cancel the appearance, which will be attended by two Republicans who also happen to be UNM regents, Jack Fortner and Don Chalmers.
Alford's a curious celebrity these days when it comes to politics. He previously attended a fundraising event for Democrat congressional candidate Harry Teague. Wonder if he knew that was a fundraising gig? Alford didn't hawk photos for Teague, however.
Is he a "political tool" as Monahan asks, or just a sports celeb in a town with a shortage of any who got caught up in the PR machine when he was asked to headline the party. Krebs is going to have to clear things up. We'll wait.
Comments:
Posted 07/09/2008 23:01 with
i also understand, besides helping Democrat Harry Teague, Alford also also helped the Governor during his presidential run during another fundraiser. So why is there excitement over just this White appearance? Is it just more bias in the media?
Posted 07/10/2008 20:31 with
This
Posted 07/10/2008 20:33 with
Sorry about that. The scandal here is that the lobbyist was using his position to advance an openly partisan perspective. The other scandal is that the White campaign was exploiting Alford’s name without his permission. Both of these show a gross lapse of judgment.
The lobbyist should be terminated as he has violated the Regents’ policy that “The University shall not be an instrument of partisan political action, in order to assure its autonomy and integrity.” If they want a Republican lobbyist, they should find one with better judgment.