No-Answer Nella Uses Non-Profit School Ground as Campaign Prop

Mar

2024

PRESS RELEASE

No-Answer Nella Uses Non-Profit School Ground as Campaign Prop

Nella’s Insider Tour of Charter School Indicates Support for Harmful Trump-DeVos Vouchers

Last Friday, Nella Domenici used a visit to Solare Collegiate School in Albuquerque, a charter school that is a registered 501c3 non-profit organization, as a campaign prop, posting about her visit on her campaign social media and using it to raise money for her campaign. Nella and her husband Pat McDonough are donors and founders of Excellent Schools New Mexico, an organization that supports charter schools, including Solare Collegiate School. McDonough is also Chair of the Board of the organization.

As a registered 501c3 organization, the charter school is prohibited from involvement in campaign activities. But Nella leveraged her position as the founder of Excellent Schools New Mexico and her husband's position on the Board to receive an exclusive “tour” at the charter school that their organization supported.

Democratic Party of New Mexico Communications Director Daniel Garcia released the following statement about Nella’s unethical campaign visit at the charter school:

“Former hedge fund executive Nella Domenici unethically using a 501c3 organization she and her husband established to campaign for political office is just the latest example of how out of touch she is with everyday New Mexicans. Would this school have helped Nella’s campaign if it wasn’t for her financial backing and her husband's position as Chair of the Board of Excellent Schools New Mexico?

“Voters have to ask: does Nella agree with harmful Trump-DeVos style voucher programs that leave most public school students behind? We don’t know because Nella won’t say where she stands on any issue, including education. New Mexico’s students and teachers deserve a Senator who will fight to improve outcomes for all students, not one who will use them for a convenient photo-op.”

And in yet another example of how oblivious and sloppy Nella’s campaign is, when she later used her unethical visit to fundraise for her campaign, she couldn’t even be bothered to spell the school’s name correctly.