Hiding Behind Layers of Lawyers

As expected, when the challenged Mayor RJ Berry is caught with his hand in the cookie jar, his response is not to be honest and ethical, but to hid behind layers of lawyers.
 

You see, RJ Berry has directly received over $17,000 in contributions from persons & company's who do regular business with the city. People like Neal Greenbaum who owns "Park It Place" parking lot management services and contracts with the city or Gail Armonstrong of "Pro-Fab, Inc." or Dale Armstrong of "TLC Plumbing & Utility."
 

So when confronted with this issue, where's Berry? You know Berry is always looking for a photo op; Does he go on camera? No. He lets a press aid issue a statement. And what do Berry's backers do? They file lawsuits. And that is what the above persons did. Under the pretenses of the Citizen's United case, Berry's lawyer pals at the Barnett Law Firm have brought an action against the city for violating these people rights. But apparently, they forgot to appreciate what the Citizen's United case really means.
 

Citizen's United simply allows corporations and unions to donate freely in support of a candidate, but NOT TO a candidate. Let's try this again for the sake of Berry and The Barnett Law Firm; BUT NOT TO A CANDIDATE. That usually means they can send their money to PACs or promote their own YouTube efforts.

While the silly lawsuit asserts that the case invalidates one of the "harshest restrictions still standing" they are simply wrong. In the Citizen's United opinion, the US Supreme Court was clear to say the case DID NOT erase laws concerning corporate contributions to candidates, and it DID NOT address whether the government could regulate contributions to groups that make independent expenditures. If the Citizen's United case did in-fact do what the folks at Barnett's law firm says it did, the the 1907 Tillman Act's ban on corporate campaign donations would be dead--but it's not.

In short, this is a lawsuit that will get tossed in court because it's based on false precedent analysis.

But we shouldn't be surprised by all of this because Berry's predecessor took actions he didn't like to court as well. Remember the Almighty Alcalde? Well he didn't like the restriction on term limits so he challenged that in court as well:

http://alibi.com/news/28735/For-I-Am-the-Mayor-of-Albuquerque.html
http://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro/274750metro01-04-08.htm
 

But unlike Berry, Marty Chavez would step forward and answer questions directly from the media and wasn't afraid to engage reporters. Unlike the current office holder who appears to be showing simply that, he is merely an office holder....

But ironically, back when Berry was running for Mayor, rules meant everything to him. As he criticized Mayor Chavez, "Chavez’s unwillingness to abide by the will of the citizens of Albuquerque is one more demonstration of “politics as usual” at City Hall, said Berry." Albuquerque Journal, July 16, 2009.

Well Mr. Berry, the voters have said they do not want people doing business with you to have any influence in the election, and your response when called on it is to hide once again behind lawyers and press agents...