State Rep. Stefani Lord (R-Sandia Park) has agreed to pay a $500 civil penalty to settle a claim to the State Ethics Commission that she misused campaign funds from 2020-2023.
The complaint filed in July 2023 by Roger Rael of Raton, claimed Lord used campaign funds for clothing, lodging, meals and other travel expenses, as well as technology costs and Amazon purchases.
“Following an investigation, Commission staff determined that Representative Lord improperly used campaign funds to cover expenses related to legislative session housing and apparel, in direct violation of the Campaign Reporting Act,” according to a commission news release.
Lord paid back the various expenditures to her fund prior to the complaint being filed with the commission, something it took into consideration in reaching its settlement decision.
“This settlement took into account that Representative Lord reimbursed the misused campaign funds before the complaint was filed,” the release said.
“In my freshman year I was told we can use campaign funds to pay for housing as long as we pay that back. I paid all of it back immediately when we got paid per diem,” said Lord.
Under the settlement, Lord agreed to a single violation of the campaign reporting act, according to the release.