Dems attack Ronchetti’s wife’s $2K loan, ignore MLG’s husband’s $229K loan
A recent piece in the Santa Fe New Mexican pointed out how Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Ronchetti decried Joe Biden’s $10,000/apiece student loan forgiveness but appeared to try and paint him as a hypocrite because his wife, Krysty Ronchetti, received a $2,500 Paycheck Protection Program (PPP) loan for her small business, SJ Communications, in May 2020 that was reportedly forgiven. The Piñon Post has not been able to independently verify the status of Ronchetti’s loan.
“This is completely unacceptable and wrong,” Ronchetti said in a statement about the Biden student loan handout. “I firmly oppose Biden’s elitist bailout.”
“Ronchetti personally benefited from thousands of dollars of … federal loan forgiveness but opposes student loan forgiveness for tens of thousands of New Mexicans,” Democrat Party of New Mexico spokesman Daniel Garcia claimed in a statement.
Enrique Knell, Ronchetti’s campaign spokesman, clapped back in a statement, telling the New Mexican, “The PPP program was designed to provide short-term bridge grants during a once-in-a-lifetime pandemic, where the Governor used the government to force businesses to close their doors,” adding, “There is less than zero similarity between that and a student loan, no different than a car loan or mortgage, which you agree upfront to pay the balance with no expectation of anyone else covering your debt. And you shouldn’t be allowed to shift the burden of your student loans to the mechanic, grandmother, or waitress down the street, either.”
Despite the Democrats’ attacks on Ronchetti over the loan, they forget that Lujan Grisham openly encouraged New Mexicans do take out PPP loans, writing on Twitter on January 14, 2021, “New Mexico business owners are strongly encouraged to apply for federal PPP funds, particularly those who have not yet received any PPP assistance.”
The New Mexican piece failed to mention one key detail: While it called out Krysty Ronchetti for a small loan during the Governor’s pandemic lockdown for her business, it failed to even glance at how much Lujan Grisham’s husband, Manny Cordova, received in PPP loans that were forgiven.
Cordova, who lists himself as the “Owner/President” of Southwest Collision Craftsmen, Inc., an automotive shop in Albuquerque, received at least two PPP loans, according to the U.S. Office of Personnel Management. Both loans are “ongoing,” according to FederalPay.org, meaning, “This loan has been disbursed by the lender and has not yet been fully repaid or forgiven. The exact status of ongoing loans is not released by the SBA.”
One loan approved on January 30, 2021, totaled $108,693, while another approved on the same day totaled $120,242 — adding up to $228,935.
According to the SBA, 80% of all PPP loans have been fully or partially forgiven, making it extremely likely Cordova’s business has been forgiven the loan.
These key details about Cordova were left out of the New Mexican report, but they show a trail of massive hypocrisy on the part of New Mexico Democrats for attacking Ronchetti’s wife for something Lujan Grisham’s husband is guilty of, especially since Krysty Ronchetti’s loan was a mere 1.09% the amount of that taken out by Manny Cordova.
Dems attack Ronchetti’s wife’s $2K loan, ignore MLG’s husband’s $229K loan Read More »