Along with Berry’s victory over Chavez, one of the bigger surprises in 2009 was the inability of a large California developer to win at the Legislature.
The SunCal Corporation has plans for a huge development on the west side of Albuquerque, and had lobbied state lawmakers to pass legislation allowing it to tap future state tax receipts to pay for roads, water lines and other infrastructure for the development. But in a drama-drenched test of wills on the last night of the 2009 legislative session, the state House of Representatives twice defeated the bill, disappointing supporters, including House Speaker Ben Lujan, and thrilling opponents.
The opponents’ victory became all the more surprising when it was revealed later that SunCal had spent more than $230,000 to pay for an all-out advertising campaign in the weeks leading up to the legislative session. That campaign included billboards, radio and television ads, and direct mail that encouraged people to go to the company’s Web site about TIDDs. That Web site then encouraged its readers to call, write or e-mail their legislators in support of the TIDD legislation. It’s unclear whether SunCal will go back to the Legislature to seek similar legislation in 2010.
Recently the Albuquerque Journal reported that lenders filed a foreclosure lawsuit against SunCal in New Mexico. The suit aims to collect more than $180 million in outstanding loans the developer used to finance the property purchase from Atrisco Land Grant heirs.