‘Breaking Bad’ Actor|Decries Dirty Politics

ALBUQUERQUE (CN) — The actor who played DEA Agent Steven Gomez on "Breaking Bad," now a Democratic candidate for a county commission in New Mexico, claims in court that opponents defamed him as a gang member.

Steven Michael Quezada sits on the Albuquerque Public School Board and is running today for the Bernalillo County Commission, whose seat is Albuquerque.

He won a closely fought three-way primary battle in June and is on the ballot today in District 2 on the county commission, but the race has been far from simple.

In March, Quezada posted a video on his Facebook page saying that he'd received an email threatening him with exposure of a criminal past.

Quezada said he'd always been open about his past, including pleading guilty to DWI in 1998 and two DWI charges that were dismissed in 2002.

"I have to face up to the mistakes that I've made in my life," he said in the Facebook video post.

Now, he says, a card has been bulk-mailed in Bernalillo County, claiming that he "beats women in front of children," was arrested for child endangerment, and was a member of the West Side Locos Gang.

None of that is true, Quezada says in his Nov. 3 lawsuit against John Davis and the Committee for the Truth District #2.

A post-primary letter from Quezada's attorney to the secretary of state in June states that "the person identified as the treasurer of this group, John Davis, may not exist." The letter asks the secretary of state to investigate "this bogus mailer."

Quezada says in the lawsuit that he never was arrested for child endangerment, never associated with the West Side Locos was, and though he was involved in a domestic violence incident in 1999, he "was the victim of domestic violence," and was identified as such in the police report.

The allegedly defamatory card, which is attached to the complaint, state, among other things: "The information on this flyer is true, factual and very disappointing," that his position on the school board "can still be legally challenged," and concludes: "May the Lord guide your Vote!"

Quezada also claims the political committee has concealed its sponsors and failed to respond to the New Mexico Secretary of State's investigation of his complaints.

He seeks punitive damages for defamation.

He is represented by Robert Avila of Albuquerque.

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