Sen. Ivey-Soto faces harassment allegations levied by lobbyist

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Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto, D-Albuquerque

SANTA FE — A lobbyist on Tuesday accused state Sen. Daniel Ivey-Soto — an Albuquerque Democrat and powerful committee chairman — of sexual harassment and abusive behavior this year as she sought support for a voting rights bill before his committee.

Ivey-Soto, in response, vigorously denied the allegations and said they left him “completely befuddled.”

The accusations are outlined in an open letter by lobbyist Marianna Anaya, who represents ProgressNow New Mexico and others.

She called on Ivey-Soto to resign and said she would file a complaint under the Legislature’s anti-harassment policy.

Ivey-Soto, she said, groped and pinched her in 2015 when she was a young congressional staffer at a reception — an incident she said she confronted him about during this year’s session.

But inappropriate behavior continued, Anaya said, as she met with Ivey-Soto while lobbying in favor of a voting rights bill heard by his Senate Rules Committee.

The senator, she said, drank and pressured her to drink in a meeting at his office Jan. 18 and later — at a restaurant — whispered for her to “come closer” as they say in a booth. Ivey-Soto said he’d been drinking since the afternoon, she said, and when she tried to change the subject to a home renovation project, he asked her a sexualized question about what she’d been wearing.

Ivey-Soto yelled at her at the restaurant, she said, and during a later encounter in the halls of the Roundhouse.

“I am sickened by your behavior,” Anaya said in the letter. “For years, so many women have remained silent and carried unjust burdens because we were made to believe that silence and acceptance were a prerequisite to advocating on behalf of the causes we hold dear.”

In an interview, Ivey-Soto denied the allegations and said he has championed legislation to help victims of domestic violence and stalking.

He said he never groped Anaya, didn’t whisper to her at the restaurant and never asked her what she was wearing.

Ivey-Soto said he made no advances on her.

“There’s nothing sexual between her and I,” he said.

Furthermore, he said, he didn’t yell at her or engage in abusive behavior. He said he was simply out of breath once while climbing the stairs and upset about a tweet written by someone else criticizing his handling of the voting bill.

“I’m completely befuddled by this,” Ivey-Soto said of the allegations.

He added: “I’m very sorry this is the experience she feels like she’s had.”

Any complaint filed under the anti-harassment policy would go before a handful of Senate leaders. If the complaint isn’t resolved informally, they would consult with an attorney and determine whether to investigate.

In 2018, ex-Rep. Carl Trujillo faced sexual harassment allegations levied by a former lobbyist.

A legislative subcommittee found probable cause to move the case against Truillo forward, but the charges against him were ultimately dismissed after the woman decided not to testify before a House ethics subcommittee.

Trujillo, a Democrat from Nambe, was defeated in the 2018 primary election but brushed off calls to resign.

Other allegations of sexual misconduct have surfaced against current and former New Mexico lawmakers in recent years — including at least one accusation of a then-lawmaker seeking sex in exchange for a vote during the 2009 session.

One lawmaker said female lobbyists, in particular, are frequent targets for harassment.

Top-ranking lawmakers adopted a revised anti-harassment policy before the start of the 2018 session, the first revision since 2008.

The allegations against Ivey-Soto come after a combative 30-day session in which a voting rights bill backed by Anaya and Democratic leaders died in the final hours of the session, blocked by a Republican filibuster in the Senate.

Dan Boyd of the Journal Capitol Bureau contributed to this article.

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