Media banned from political convention on tribal property

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) – The Republican Party of New Mexico says news media will not be allowed to attend its election-year state convention at a Native American-owned casino outside Albuquerque.

A spokesman for the party said the governor of Sandia Pueblo prohibited media access to the convention at Sandia Resort & Casino. The decision was scheduled for further discussion Wednesday by tribal leaders, GOP spokesman Tucker Keene said.

State political conventions for both major parties, from Alaska to Georgia, have opened their doors to the media with few restrictions in a tumultuous presidential primary year.

The New Mexico GOP convention will decide a heated contest for a seat on the Republican National Committee that has veered into recriminations about the state economy and criticism of New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and her top political adviser.

Martin Salazar, president of the New Mexico Press Association, said the refusal to allow reporters at the convention strikes him as convenient for a state party in the midst of a divisive leadership struggle. “I can't imagine that the casino would not allow journalists on the property if the Republican Party were to sanction it,” he said.

The New Mexico Democratic Party held its pre-primary convention in March without restrictions on news coverage at the Isleta Resort & Casino on the southern outskirts of Albuquerque.

Keene said that a Sandia official asked for a list of media outlets that would be attending the convention, and on Tuesday morning informed him the journalists would not be allowed on Sandia Resort property. He said there was no language about media access in the party's contract with Sandia and that the ban came as a surprise.

Convention organizers originally planned to charge journalists $100 to defray costs, but they waived the fee, explaining in a statement that “it was never their intent to discourage press from attending.”

Albuquerque attorney Pat Rogers is seeking to extend his eight-year stint as a Republican National Committeeman. He is being challenged by former party chairman and Artesia-based oilman Harvey Yates.

The New Mexico GOP also plans to name 21 delegates to attend the Republican National Convention this summer, where businessman Donald Trump has emerged as the presumptive nominee for president. The party chairwoman and two national committee members also act as delegates.

Susan Boe, executive director of the Foundation for Open Government, said the media ban raises concerns about secretive decisions even though the Republican Party and its convention are not subject to state open meetings requirements.

“It's certainly of great public interest,” she said of the convention. “What if we banned the media from covering national political conventions?”

This is the first time the Republican Party has held its convention at Sandia Resort.

State Democrats will select delegates to the national convention on June 25 at the Albuquerque Convention Center.