Excerpt:

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.