The Albuquerque Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices on Aug. 20 approved City Clerk Ethan Watson’s request to expand an investigation into fraud allegations against District 1 City Council candidate Daniel Gilbert Leiva.
The board voted 6-0 to allow the city’s inspector general to audit an additional 5% of Leiva’s qualifying contributions and review who signed as collectors on campaign forms. The investigation will focus on volunteers who collected the most contributions and avoid repeating earlier audit work.
It’s the first time Watson has pursued fraud claims against a council candidate since his high-profile 2021 challenge to then mayoral candidate Manny Gonzales’ qualification for public financing by similar means.
“We’ve had some very fruitful conversations with the campaign. They’ve been very transparent and engaged with us,” Watson told the board during the meeting. “We think we can come to a resolution with the campaign about these issues.”
The Inspector General’s office expects to finish the expanded investigation by the end of September, about six weeks before the Nov. 4 election. The probe will include reviewing more contributions and interviewing campaign volunteers and staff about collection practices.
Watson and Leiva’s campaign struck the deal after a week of talks, following the board’s move to table a formal investigation request. The agreement signals a softer approach than in 2021, when Watson denied public financing to mayoral candidate Manny Gonzales after formal complaints.
How We Got Here
Watson raised concerns with the board on Aug. 13 after the Office of Internal Audit flagged three questionable donations during its routine 5% audit of publicly financed candidates.
The audit, created as a reform following the 2021 investigation into Gonzales, conducts door-to-door verification to confirm contributors actually signed forms and donated the required $5.
The cases that triggered the investigation included a woman who said she gave only “pocket change” at a grocery store, with another customer covering the rest to reach $5. The form listed “Daniel Leva” as the collector, which Watson believed was the candidate himself.
In another case, a man initially said he didn’t recall donating $5 at a rally but later confirmed it after recognizing the volunteer. A third donor said the signature on her form wasn’t hers, which the campaign called a clerical mistake involving similar names.
During the Aug. 13 hearing, campaign representatives admitted errors but denied fraud.
“We did not commit any fraud here. We did not forge any signatures from any of these people,” campaign representative Damian Lara told the board. Lara is the elected Bernalillo County Assessor but appeared in his personal capacity.
They said volunteers often gathered contributions with incomplete details, which were later verified and signed by designated representatives.
The Office of Internal Audit expanded its review to 38 more contributions from the same booklets and found no further issues. Rather than file formal charges, Watson and the campaign agreed to a voluntary Inspector General review.
The board tabled the case for one week to give the investigation and settlement talks time to move forward.
The Gonzales case
Watson’s fraud investigation of Gonzales in 2021 uncovered what the Inspector General called “widespread” fraud, including forged signatures and fake $5 contributions, leading to the loss of more than $600,000 in public funds.
The Gonzales case stretched multiple hearings and appeals before Watson’s decision was upheld. The Paper. later reported that the Board of Ethics fined the campaign for fraudulent practices, a finding backed by an independent Inspector General review.
Under the city’s rules, council candidates who seek public financing must collect $5 contributions from registered voters in their district, with signed forms verifying each donation. The person who signs as the collector must be the one who actually collected the contribution.
Reforms after the Gonzales case gave the board new power to revoke public financing, a tool it didn’t have before.
Next Steps
Watson said Leiva’s campaign has already been certified for public financing and received its funds, allowing spending to continue during the investigation. While revocation remains possible, he said he doesn’t expect to pursue that option based on current talks with the campaign.
Board member Levi Green asked about the scope of the audits. Watson estimated that roughly 15% of Leiva’s qualifying contributions will be reviewed once all audits are complete.
The expanded investigation will examine both the substance of additional contributions and the campaign’s collection practices raised at last week’s hearing. Watson said the Inspector General’s work will be “slightly different” from typical field audits, including interviews and a review of finance records provided by the campaign.
District 1 covers much of Albuquerque’s Westside and is now represented by Louie Sanchez, who is leaving the seat to run for mayor in 2025. Voters will choose his replacement in the Nov. 4 election, with the winner serving a four-year term starting in January 2026.
The board will next meet Sept. 10 for an unrelated ethics complaint hearing. Watson and the campaign will continue working toward a resolution while the Inspector General conducts the expanded investigation over the coming weeks.