Once again the national media has landed here with a big thud. This time it's the New Yorker magazine stringing together the numerous institutional failures that collectively have given us what we refer to as "the APD crisis." The article is compelling as it implicitly indicts those institutions and the major players in them. It lets the sweeping dysfunction speak for itself.

The article is pegged to the fatal police shooting of Christopher Torres--who battled schizophrenia--and the details of how that shooting fell through the cracks of justice. For over 8,000 words the "Letter From ABQ" marches on, with regular diversions into the nasty culture that overtook the department and that led to the calamity that has needlessly cost lives, shamed the city and arguably lengthened the economic downturn here.

For readers of a political bent it was Mayor Berry's continued public aloofness from the plight that was of interest and the cause for further exasperation. From the piece:

Mayor Berry. . . told me he hoped that the department, by implementing the required (Dept. of Justice) reforms, would make Albuquerque a model for the rest of the nation. He traced the number of fatal shootings to the lack of mental-health services in the city, but declined to speculate about other factors that had led the department to its current state. “I just don’t spend any of my time or energy worrying about who did what, why, and when,” he said. “The last thing I want to do as mayor is play the blame game.”

Does that sound like a chief executive who wants to solve problems? National business leaders--who Berry is courting to come here--might be perplexed.

Berry's foes were quick to pounce on that quote. One emailed:

Berry's quote is an admission that he refuses to hold people within his administration accountable for their actions, even when their actions are negligent. Berry should have spent some time figuring out who was doing what wrong at APD and why during his first term and just maybe a few lives could have been spared. All Berry did for nine months during the last election was play the "blame game", saying that APD's problems were the fault of the previous administration and he still plays the "blame game" to this day.

This was not a hit piece on Berry. Former Democratic ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez was not spared for his manic push to have APD achieve a staffing level of 1000 officers:

The department accepted officers from other police forces, even if they had been disciplined or fired, and it sometimes waived the psychological exam. Steve Tate, the director of training at the Albuquerque Police Academy, said that, after the hiring push, he noticed new cadets “exhibiting some characteristics that I thought were a little strange.” “They were not in charge of their emotions,” he told me. “People were breaking down into tears.”

And there was this national punch to our already blackened eye:

Gilbert Najar, the director of the police academy in Silver City, New Mexico, who worked for the Albuquerque Police Department for twenty-five years, told me that the department “did policing one way in the South Valley, where there were a lot of immigrant families and people of lower socioeconomic status, and we knew we could violate their rights. But we did not dare commit those tactics in the affluent neighborhoods, where we knew they would file complaints on us.”

A SORDID CULTURE

The entire sordid, nasty (and deadly) culture that infected our APD is summarized in this paragraph about a former officer

Morrison said that officers were socialized to be cynical about civilians. “We’re taught to almost dehumanize them,” she said. “It just got to the point where it’s, like, they’re a piece of shit. We don’t care if they raped a baby or were speeding in traffic—everybody’s a piece of shit.” Early in her career, she was often injured, because she fought with people while arresting them. Then she took a forty-hour course offered by the department in crisis-intervention training. . . She never got injured on duty again. She became a senior instructor in the class, but it was held in low regard by many of her colleagues. By 2007, fewer than thirty officers were taking the course each year.

The systemic rot revealed in that recounting can only exist when a community at large refuses to engage in what the mayor terms the "blame game" but in reality is the "accountability game."

Reader Rick Allan says he was blown away by the article:

One would think the entire political and civic establishment in this state would cry out in pain, anguish, embarrassment, and outrage at this ongoing unspeakable stain caused by the APD and all those complicit with sustaining it. I don't think I've read a more devastating piece on a public institution so out of control in every imaginable way. Maybe Mayor Berry will be less likely in the future to be a featured talking head for Republican mayors on subjects having to do with such subjects as how well some cities are doing in innovation and economic development. I think they need to go looking elsewhere. I would also think the Department of Justice needs to reevaluate its "pussyfooting around" approach before it becomes complicit and part of the problem.

Mayor Berry says he doesn't want to know the "who, why and when" of this sad saga. He must be the only fella who puts the book down when the killer is about to be revealed.

NEW JOURNAL BOSS

William Lang

A new publisher for the ABQ Journal does not appear to foretell a change in its journalistic direction. The paper announced that William Lang, president and CEO since 2012, will now be publisher, taking over from his brother Tom who held the title since 1971. The paper did not explain the reason for the change. Insiders say Tom Lang has battled health problems in recent years.

There are few bright spots for newspapers these days, but the new publisher found one:

We continue to evolve with the times and the technology. At the same time we have continued to improve the graphic look and content of our print products, we have upgraded our digital products. That has resulted in significant growth in our traffic with more than 7 million unique visitors last year and more than 7 million page views in a single month.

The problem, of course, is all those page views don't make up for the tremendous loss of revenue the paper has suffered--along with most newspapers--as print ads continue to vanish, along with print subscribers. If the Journal, owned by the Lang family since 1926, is making a significant profit as a stand-alone enterprise and not being subsidized by the company's ample real estate interests, it would surprise most everyone.

Back on the journalistic side, the current editor appears to have quite a long leash with the Langs--much longer than his predecessors--and has taken the paper markedly to the conservative side. But the widespread frustration is not expressed not only over the paper's obvious ideology but more seriously about its coverage of actual news.

The lengthy New Yorker piece, for example, strings together the stunning institutional failure ABQ has experienced in the fatal police shootings. The Journal will argue--as one of its editors did when the National Journal scooped it on the power of Governor Martinez's political adviser Jay McCleskey--that they have covered the story. Maybe. . .

It has been a Republican governor and Republican mayor who the Journal heartily and repeatedly endorse on its editorial pages who have benefited from the Journal's argument that is has covered the basic facts, even it has not offered the perspective, context and analysis that has the national media drooling when they come here. It is this bifurcation  in the journalism that the public is reading that has put the Journal's credibility on the line.

It's always muddy water when a blogger takes a critical look at the local newspaper but we don't have an axe to grind. We've praised the paper for it's investigative reports and its unabashed championing of government openness that has served the state well. We often admire its coverage. But now seems the right time for the new publisher to make the Journal itself more open to new ideas and perspectives and more relevant to a wide swath of the community that sees in its pages little reflection of itself.

THE BOTTOM LINES

It was state Rep. Rudy Martinez who John Zimmerman defeated in the November election. In our first draft Monday we had an incorrect name.

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Do you think there's a pattern here? The state budget is getting blown up by crashing oil prices, Bernalillo County is pleading poverty and is about to raise taxes, the city of ABQ  is announcing a $14 million hole in its budget for next year because of the APD crisis and sluggish growth and as we blogged recently even wealthy Los Alamos County is wrestling with budget woes. It seems that elsewhere the Great Recession has melted away like a spring snowfall but is acting like super glue around here. . .

In another sign of the times the city is going to clear out a large tent city for the homeless that has sprouted up downtown. Neighbors are upset about the problems it's causing. Hey, maybe as the homeless population grows Mayor Berry can divide them up by zip code so no neighborhood gets too offended?. . .

Finding a good paying job is a perennial New Mexico challenge and it can get more difficult when you take on the Governor and her political machine. Hard charging ABQ School Board member Kathy Korte and her husband Tim are finding that out:

The husband of one of the most outspoken critics of Gov. Martinez’s education policies is . . .soon to be fired. . . The Martinez administration denied, however, that Tim Korte’s firing is related to his wife’s vocal views. Korte, the public information officer for the Department of Finance did not want to leave the job, according to his wife, Kathy Korte. 

. . . Last year she lost her job as a spokeswoman at UNM Hospital after using social media to call ABQ GOP  Rep. Paul Pacheco a “traitor” for supporting Martinez’s education-reform agenda. She contends in a lawsuit filed against the university that she was forced to leave her job over her outspoken views.

Korte is seeking re-election in the February 3 ABQ School Board election but unfortunately for her, it isn't a paying position. She tells us both she and her husband are job hunting.

PEARCE UNCORKED

Pearce

Southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce is absolutely pummelling Dem Senator Martin Heinrich and northern Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan over their support for the SunZia transmission line that will run through White Sands Missile Range.

Heinrich

Heinrich has taken the lead on the project and over the weekend Secretary of the Interior Sally Jewell was in ABQ (video) with Heinrich and Lujan to make the approval announcement of the multi-state transmission line. It will feed wind and solar power to neighboring states. Pearce, who has been on the losing side of this one all the way, came uncorked:

Pearce blasted Heinrich and Luján, saying he is "extremely surprised" the two elected leaders "would agree with the destruction of sites fundamental to New Mexico's history and heritage. Regardless of our different views on national security and the role of the military, I am taken aback by their support for crony corporate welfare at the expense of our culture." Pearce said of Sec. Jewell:  "Green-lighting the completion of SunZia along the chosen route is a reckless rush to judgment without thorough examination."

Them there are fightin' words for sure and did not go unnoticed by the Alligators lazing along the banks of the Potomac. One of them struck back with this rejoinder:


NEW GUY ON THE BLOCK

Zimmerman, Hamilton & Morales

Here's a pic of a little known guy who rocked New Mexico politics on election night when he defeated Dem state Rep. Rudy Martinez 53% to 47%, giving the R's an unexpected pick-up that broadened their majority.

Newly elected GOP State Rep. John Zimmerman of Las Cruces smiles with fellow southern lawmakers--Rep. Dianne Hamilton of Silver City and State Sen. Howie Morales also of Silver City.

The question now is can the GOP keep Zimmerman smiling?  He's a retired US Naval Reserve commander as well as a retired missile engineer from White Sands who will  be atop the target list of the Dems when they try to reclaim the House in 2016.

Meanwhile, Zimmerman, who represents portions of  Dona Ana, Grant and Sierra counties, will serve on the House Appropriations Committee which isn't a bad start.

PITHY OPINIONS

Dem reader Stephanie DuBois comes with some pithy opinions on the state House Republicans dropping the Voters and Elections Committee and the proposal for parental notification for minors seeking an abortion:

Getting rid of the Voters and Elections Committee, must mean there is no need to look for "voter fraud" anymore. Ladies and Gentlemen voter fraud is officially over! I always knew the Republicans had all the answers. . . As for parental notification for an abortion in the case of a minor, I am concerned that the parent or guardian is the one that got her pregnant. Where does she go for permission to get a possible abortion? 

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Looks like the state House Dems have gotten a crumb from the R's. One of the Dem House committee chairs told us that there was concern that the former Dem chairs would not be allowed to sit on their committees now that the R's have taken over. But in the committee assignments released by the House leadership the former chairs were not banished. . .

Farmington area GOP Senate Bill Sharer, a regular sponsor of anti-abortion bills, is taking a break this year, saying he will be a "support guy" but will not carry a bill to ban late term abortions. How the state GOP handles abortion--an issue of importance to its base voters--is proving to be interesting. The Guv and her political advisers don't want happening here what happened this week to the House Republicans in DC, but it isn't easy to avoid when you have so much emotion behind an issue.

Well-known ABQ Pastor Dewey Moede fires the first shots at Gov. Martinez over abortion:

 Governor Susana Martinez MIA: It’s a very sad day in New Mexico, when a Republican Governor who says she is pro-life does not show for the once a year pro-life rally at the State Capital, but will show up for every photo opportunity to open any kind of business or new highway project, what is Governor Martinez afraid of? I am tired of reading comments that Martinez is a “great Governor”, what makes her great? Skipping a rally that is held to encourage support to stop the killing of babies? I say again, what is the Governor afraid of?

Feeling the heat, the Guv's office says:

Gov. Susana Martinez would support a bill to place restrictions on late-term abortions, her spokesman said Thursday. The state's three Roman Catholic bishops say the anti-abortion measure is their top priority for the legislative session, and they hope a lawmaker or lawmakers will step forward to sponsor it. "As the governor has said many times, she is pro-life, which would of course include opposition to late-term abortions," Martinez's spokesman said in a statement.

Interesting stuff and we are on it for you.

EMAILGATE

It's not over yet:

A dozen high-powered attorneys are beginning to wage a pitched legal battle in federal court involving Gov. Susana Martinez and her most outspoken critics. To the casual observer, the lawsuit might appear unrelated to the state’s highest elected official. Its plaintiffs are two former state workers and two others and its defendants are behind-the-scenes politicos. But the civil filing is the next chapter in an email scandal that rocked the Martinez administration and sent her first campaign manager to federal prison.

THE BEAR

It's one of the richest counties in the USA thanks to the federal funds flowing into Los Alamos Labs, but that doesn't mean the Great Bear is passing it by:

Chief Financial Officer Steven Lynne presented the Los Alamos County Council with grim news. Gross receipts tax revenue is projected to be $3.6 million lower than expected in FY 2015 and $2.1 million lower in FY 2016.  The change is largely due to lower than anticipated spending and tax rates for Los Alamos National Laboratory. According to Lynne, LANL spending bottomed out at a figure lower than anticipated and the spending recovery after the government shutdown has been slower than projected.The lab has also refined its tax management policies so it is paying less tax. 

APD AND SANTA FE

Karl Mofffat of White Rock, NM writes of the APD crisis:

Regarding police shootings and the fight between APD and the District Attorney, where do our state lawmakers stand? For instance shouldn't we be talking about a possible state law governing the policy and procedures by which these kind of cases are handled? Should there be a special prosecutor automatically assigned to oversee them? Should the public defender's office be involved, the law enforcement academy or state attorney general? Should these cases automatically be going before a judge for an open hearing so the public can see and hear evidence in these cases? Because many people right now don't seem to trust the current legal system. And whether that's because of a lack of transparency, accountability or immunity from the kind of political chicanery we're seeing in Albuquerque, it obviously needs to be addressed and our state lawmakers should be weighing in on it.

There has been a bill introduced in Santa Fe that would turn over the investigations of police shootings to the state attorney general. Bernalillo County DA Kari Brandenburg says she supports the measure,

THE BOTTOM LINES

Terrie Q. Sayre

KKOB-AM radio talk show host Terrie Q. Sayre has died. Friends say she had been suffering from the flu for a month.

Sayre held forth behind the microphone on weekend mornings from 7 to 10 at the conservative talk outlet and had been doing so for some 8 years.

She served as program director, news director and news anchor for radio stations in Nevada before coming to ABQ. She was also a well-known animal rights activist.

Rio Rancho GOP State Senator Craig Brandt was among those posting condolences on her Facebook page.

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Sens. Smith & Sanchez

To blast or not to blast? The 2015 legislative session is much focused on that question. And as far as we can tell--and to invoke Shakespeare again--Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez is not wavering ala Hamlet. No blasts, says he, and that's big.

Supporters of the controversial right to work law (RTW) have the Republican House in the bag but need RTW to bypass the Senate committees where it will most likely be killed in the crib. They want it before the entire Senate for a vote. That's where the "blast" comes in.

The 17 R's would vote to blast RTW from a committee and directly onto the floor. If 4 Democrats would join them they would have what they need--a 21 to 21 tie that would be broken in favor of RTW by GOP LT. Governor John Sanchez. Susana would then cheerfully get out her pen and sign on the line.

But the odds appear to be growing longer for the blast, and if it doesn't happen RTW will have a much tougher path.  RTW bills could be stuck in Senate committees where they will RIP.

Our sourcing tells us that at the recent caucus of Senate Democrats all agreed not to take part in blasting legislation because it would pretty much make the committee system a sham. We're told just about every Dem Senator was at that meeting.

Insiders further report that Leader Sanchez has been diligently working Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith and Senate President Pro Tem May Kay Papen--two Dems who often lean conservative--not to be blasters, or from a Democratic perspective--bastards.

Still, that does not mean RTW advocates are out of the game. There are other parliamentary maneuvers that could still be employed to get the bill through. And there's the wheeling and dealing and horse trading with the Governor and that has yet to unfold that could create a path for passage.

Former ABQ Dem State Senator Richard Romero--who served as president pro tem over a decade ago--told public broadcasting's Gene Grant that he believes Sanchez will prevail. He said blasting of bills occurred when he was there and resulted in chaos and the decimation of the cherished committee system that gives a number of Senators significant power. They lose that power when blasters bring out the dynamite. . .

Speaking of committees, GOP House Speaker Don Tripp has announced the chairs of all the standing committees in the House. Some of the committee names are going to be changed and some committees will be abolished including the House Voters and Elections panel. Said one Democratic wall-leaner embittered about that: "You don't need a voters committee when you don't want people to vote."

LIFE FOR PRO-LIVERS?

In her state-of-the-state speech, Governor Martinez made no mention of hot button social issues that excite GOP base voters. Neither has the GOP House leadership yet. But a big pro-life rally sponsored by the Archdiocese of Santa Fe Wednesday had to get the attention of those Republicans who do not want to mess with abortion or other high voltage issues. The GOP embraces pro-life positions but they are at odds with a majority of voters.

This report on the rally expresses optimism that a number of anti-abortion bills will sail through the newly controlled GOP House. We're not so sure:

. . .Bills that would require minors to get parental notification before obtaining abortions, call on doctors to distribute information on medical risks and alternatives to the procedure to women seeking abortion and banning all late-term abortions. Each measure has been introduced as a bill in recent years, yet none of them have ever cleared House committees. The bills haven't been formally introduced this session yet, but with a new Republican-controlled House, they're expected to at least clear the House. They'll likely face a tougher time in a state Senate still controlled by Democrats, who usually lean in favor of abortion rights.

Parental notification is the easiest of the bunch and has the best odds of making it through the House, but a ban on late-term abortions? That could put the Governor on the spot and give Dems a major social issue against the R's in the '16 election, especially in the swing ABQ seats. At the ABQ special election in November of '13, over 55 percent of the voters rejected a late term ban.

It's a slippery slope for the Governor--who has shown little zeal for the pro-life cause--and the House. They've dodged the bullet in the weeks leading up to the session. They'll have to keep bobbing and weaving as the GOP base comes to collect on promises made.

MONITORING A MONITOR

Ginger

The selection of James Ginger as the federal monitor to oversee Department of Justice ordered reforms of the troubled ABQ APD seems to be getting a pretty warm welcome by most parties involved. But much trust has been lost. Some critics of the department say they haven't much faith that Ginger and company will be effective. Chuck McCoy, writing in the newspaper's comment section, summed it up this way:

Expecting the current APD officers to voluntarily "buy in" to policies that restrict their authority to do as they damned well please is about like expecting toddlers to "buy in" to an earlier bedtime. This fellow says his job is to identify areas in which the APD is found wanting and to leave it to them to figure out how to improve. We've already identified the areas where the APD needs improvement, and expecting them to improve themselves on their own with academics looking over their shoulders periodically saying "That's not quite good enough, and you'll have to guess how to do better" doesn't seem particularly bright. At the end of the day nothing much is going to change in the nasty attitudes of the APD officers on the street who are going to sit through all the yadda-yadda-yadda from these consultants and then go do as they please. We're paying millions for suits to nag them into better behavior, and I don't think it's going to have much effect.

We're going to have a long time to see if it has any effect. The monitor could be here four years or more.

And City Hall appears to have met its match in Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg. Here she comes:

The four-term DA said she has no plans to step aside from the prosecution of officers Dominique Perez and former detective Keith Sandy (in the killing of homeless camper James Boyd), or any other police shooting case, despite an aggressively worded letter from ABQ Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry calling on her to appoint a special prosecutor. Perry claims Brandenburg and her entire office have a conflict of interest in the case — and in all other police shooting cases. She disagrees. “At this point, we don’t see any legal reason to appoint a special prosecutor. Neither has anyone given us a reason up to this point … We think we’re following the law and, for doing that, we’re getting push back from the brass at APD and from the Mayor’s Office.”

Maybe the Justice Dept. should have made DA Brandenburg the federal monitor for APD?

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We didn't see Governor Martinez crossing her fingers for good luck as she gave her State of the State address Tuesday but that seems to be the strategy when it comes to dealing with what is shaping up as a severe budget pinch.

The crashing price of oil--the proverbial elephant in the room and the one costing the state millions in tax revenue--did not even earn a mention. Nothing could interrupt the Governor's state of euphoria. . .

(Full text and video here.)

She sported a confidence more noticeable than in such speeches of the past. And why not? She won re-election in a landslide and the state House is now under her wing with the GOP in charge. For this Governor it's a Sally Field moment: "You like me, you really like me!"

The growth in this governorship has been in cosmetics and symbolism. The speech was well-delivered--one of her better efforts--and the optics just right. She looked fit and engaged. The ubiquitous school kids were brought directly to the podium this year. But the content was like summer TV--heavy on the reruns.

For example, making their annual appearances on Susana's greatest hits list was holding back third graders who don't perform and repealing driver's licenses for undocumented workers.

Right to work might be called a new idea, but it was an original series back in the 80's when it passed the Legislature twice only to be vetoed. In a rebuttal to Martinez following her nearly 50 minute speech, Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez predicted that the Democratic Senate will kill the right to work bill. He sounded convincing.

(For you policy nerds, 2014 Dem Guv candidate Alan Webber came with an in-depth study of RTW).

Applause in the chamber for Martinez was as modest as her initiatives. Seasoned lawmakers know they have a budget crisis on their hands and are already looking past the gubernatorial rhetoric and grappling with the new reality. Against that backdrop her desire for targeted tax cuts seems out of sync.

The Governor got the emphasis she wanted from the speech--education and right-to-work. That was the easy part. The hard part has only been postponed--not eliminated.

BREAKING PROTOCOL

The enmity between Governor Martinez and her predecessor is so deep that it led her to break with protocol and actually attack Bill Richardson by name, ripping him with this:

We have recovered over $29 million in taxpayer money that was squandered in the Richardson-era pay-to-play scandals. But there’s more to do.

We had her getting an "A" for rhetoric, but that took her down to a B. It revealed what Mother Jones magazine and others have called her "petty and vindictive" side.

It also conjured up what could go awry in her own second term. Remember the racino lease for the ABQ Downs? The behavioral health upheaval?  The NCIC license plate checks?

Out with the old and in with the new. Here's a shot for the books--Democratic Speaker Ken Martinez welcoming new Speaker Tripp to the House rostrum. The peaceful transfer of power is a given here, but not for much of the world. . .
NEVER TOO EARLY?

From Dem US Senator Martin Heinrich on his 2018 re-election bid (yes, 2018):

One rule I have always followed in politics is that it is never too early to get your campaign started. As I watched the election returns this past November, then saw Senator McConnell sworn in as Majority Leader last week, I knew that rule was as important today as it ever has been. That is why we set a goal of raising $7,500 online this month. Can I count on your early support?

Never too early? What's next? Susana announcing that she's taking on Heinrich in '18?

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As the 2015 session of the New Mexico Legislature opens today the state has settled into a long-term stagnation that hardly anyone expects to be turned around by whatever comes out of the 60 day confab. . .

Flat to declining federal spending combined with a crash in energy prices will ensure that this year will mimic the others since the Great Recession tagged us its favorite place to hang out. . .

Governor Martinez now owns whatever one thinks of today's circumstances. She wasn't punished for it at the November polls. She will continue to put a smiley face on matters, proposing itty bitty solutions to a macro problem. . .

Democrats will spar some with the R's but will have their hands full simply trying to put a finger in the dike as conservative economic legislation floods into the state Senate from the newly GOP controlled state House. . .

Dem Senator Carlos Cisneros is first out of the gate with a specific budget prediction. He's saying that because of the bear market in oil prices Santa Fe will be "lucky" if there's even $40 million in new money to spend for the budget year that begins July 1. . .

That's essentially no growth for the budget. If lawmakers and the Governor are going to get to the $6.3 billion number they propose, they may have to eat further into the state's cash reserves. . .

Our legislative Alligators are already reporting that a budget proposal of $6.1 billion will soon be making the rounds. . .

Most of our legislators are comfortably middle or upper class so the world of many of their constituents--especially those who don't vote--can be unfamiliar. The separation of the haves and have nots permeates politics everywhere:
MARK YOUR CALENDAR

Here's the special events calender for the 60 day session, ranging from tonight's annual legislative dinners by both the D's and R's to American Indian Day later in the session.

THE APD DRAMA

That decision by Mayor Berry's administration to exclude the Bernalillo County District Attorney from the scene of last Tuesday's fatal police shooting is drawing national attention--and outrage. The WaPo's criminal justice blogger came with this scorcher

. . . This is really reprehensible behavior. . . It’s also just the latest example of law enforcement officers and their supporters demonstrating incredible petulance in retaliation for public scrutiny or the rare attempt to hold rogue cops accountable for their actions. Keep in mind, this is all occurring in a city that has a long history of questionable police shootings, that recently entered into a consent decree with the Department of Justice after an investigation found a pattern of unconstitutional use-of-force incidents, that seems to have a problematic shoot-first culture within the police department, and that has a history of law enforcement officials retaliating against whistleblowers.

PASSINGS

Tijerina in 1969 (Bralley)

Reies Lopez Tijerina drew sharply divergent opinions but his reach across NM history is not in dispute. He died Monday at 88, ending a life that was lived large.

Veteran photographer and blogger Mark Bralley is one of the few media figures still around who covered the heyday of the land grant activist. He posted this obit on his blog. . .And retired (and legendary) ABQ Journal reporter Larry Calloway--who as a wire service reporter was taken prisoner during Tijerina's '67 raid on the Tierra Amarilla Courthouse--posted on his blog a remembrance of that historic event.

And tragic news has come to us. The 31 year old daughter of Robert and Peggy Muller Aragon, Amberlee, died in an early Sunday morning auto accident on ABQ's westside, family members confirm on social media. Robert Aragon, an ABQ attorney, is a member of the State Board of Finance and was the 2014 GOP state auditor candidate. Peggy Muller Aragon is a candidate for ABQ School Board in the Feb. 3 election. . .

And oldtimers will remember Eric McCrossen, for many years the editorial page editor of the ABQ Journal. McCrossen, 83, died Sunday. We first met him in '74 when we covered our first NM Guv's race and when McCrossen's columns on the subject were a must read. In '76, we met up with him on the campaign trail, covering Senator Joe Montoya's unsuccessful re-election bid. (Reporters actually went out on the trail back then. Today the trail is a TV studio).

That day we shared some of the hard stuff with McCrossen, "Little Joe" and his hangers-on and then did some hard news. As retired political reporter Rodger Beimer often says: "Those were the best of times."

Before the focus switches tomorrow to the 60 day legislative session that kicks-off in Santa Fe, we pause today to celebrate Martin Luther King, Jr. Day. As for La Politica. . .

Let's take a look at a fresh angle in that political brawl that broke out last week featuring ABQ Mayor RJ Berry and his Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry as they piled on Bernalillo County District Attorney Kari Brandenburg.

It all started Tuesday night when ABQ had its latest officer involved fatal shooting and Brandenburg's office was barred from the scene. Berry and Perry claim that because Brandenburg has charged two police officers with murder in a 2014 police shooting and because APD has investigated her on bribery allegations, she has a conflict of interest and can no longer be involved with police shooting cases. It was a shocker and drew  Alligator comments. This one wonders if the city is opening up a can of worms:

The administration appears to be laying the groundwork to have a special prosecutor appointed for officer involved shootings. Police protesters have long been saying that there is a conflict of interest to allow the DA to determine if an officer should be charged. Now they can use the administration's argument to support their call for a special prosecutor. I would not be surprised if they call on the City Council for a policy change to resolve any and all conflicts. I would also not be surprised if they call for a special prosecutor to investigate previous shootings where people died. There is no statute of limitations on a murder charge.

But who would pay the hundreds of thousands of dollars needed for these special prosecutors and their staffs? Is the city willing to write the check since it is their employees--police officers--who are at issue? There will be a bill introduced in this session of the legislature to have officer involved shootings investigated by the state attorney general's office.

EARLY GRUMBLING

In Santa Fe, they haven't even had the opening day hugs and kisses and the grumbling has already started. We get this from the camp of Dem State Rep. Eliseo Alcon:

I will no longer be caucusing with House Democrats. Not once did the House Democratic Caucus look to it's core members for advice during the election. I take special offense because it seems that I am the only one with experience winning against Gov. Martinez. Until the current leadership can prove they won't lead us off a cliff, I won't follow. I will be meeting largely with rank and file union members and nonprofit groups for advice on legislation that is difficult to take a stance on.

Alcon recently sought the post of House Minority Leader. That job went to Santa Fe Dem Rep. Brian Egolf.

BILL WATCH

This is one of the more interesting bills we've seen as the Legislature prepares to meet tomorrow:

A lawmaker wants to make it mandatory for parents or guardians to receive court-ordered family services when abuse or neglect of a child is suspected. Rep. Kelly Fajardo, R-Belen, said: "By intervening and requiring parents in abuse cases to seek help, we are adding another layer of protection for our children while at the same time keeping the family together." Under the proposed legislation, it would be mandatory for families to receive services in abuse or neglect cases that require intervention but may not rise to the level of removing the child from the home. Those services could include drug or alcohol counseling, parenting courses or anger management classes.

And don't forget to urge your fellow R's to approve funding for that intervention, Kelly.

BILLION DOLLAR MISTAKE

You think you have trouble balancing your checkbook? Bet you didn't make a billion dollar mistake:

Public Service Company of New Mexico told state regulators that its cost estimates for replacing the coal power it generates near Farmington have climbed over $1 billion in the last year as the company corrected calculation errors, and it will have to pass those costs on to its ratepayers. . . 

We thought DC was the only place a billion bucks could disappear with hardly a trace.

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Why has the relatively obscure issue of "right to work" become the be-all-end-all of the 2015 legislative session? Several factors have pushed the anti-union measure to the fore, not the least of which is the national political positioning of Republican Governor Susana Martinez.

Soon after their historic November takeover of the state House, Republicans began fretting about their crazy aunt in the basement. She's the one who wants to ban gay marriage, late term abortion, loosen gun control laws and doesn't believe in climate change. All are positions that are entirely out of step with majority New Mexico opinion but are embraced by a strong majority of Republicans.

There would be no quicker way to alienate the state from the freshly empowered GOP House and its newly re-elected governor than to allow those "crazy aunt" issues to dominate the pre-legislative debate. That was the cue for the Governor's political advisers. Among the first bills prominently filed by GOP legislators were right to work bills. They attracted plenty of news coverage and signaled to the public that this would be the premier issue of Session '15, not the divisive social issues.

In a right to work state you have the right to decline joining a union and you cannot be required to pay dues to the union unless you choose to join the union.

Even Republican Mayor Berry, who has the same political adviser as the Governor, got into the act by conducting a news conference with the ABQ Chamber of Commerce to tout right to work.

The crazy aunt in the basement has been handcuffed. Longtime social conservative Republicans were silenced, content to buy into the argument that if the lightning rod issues were unleashed, it would endanger the GOP's future grip on the state House as well as Martinez's national reputation. That reputation rests on her image as a  Republican of a moderate stripe, not a spear-carrying radical

Martinez hopes her next stop is the national stage. Seizing on right to work as a banner issue strengthens her with base Republican voters even as she ignores their most emotional issues. If successful, it will bolster her argument that she is a Republican who appeals to Democratic voters, something the minority R's desperately need (we saw that recently when US House Speaker Boehner punished Republicans who rebelled against him).

With legislative leaders of the anti-abortion and anti-gay marriage movements muzzled and appearing to have bought into Martinez's view, you wonder about the grassroots members of those movements. They give much money and votes to Republicans. Will they emerge during the session to rock the boats of Martinez and the House leadership?

As for the legislative battle over right to work, it passed the Legislature twice in the early 1980's only to be vetoed by Democratic governors. Even though experts in selecting locations for businesses say such a law is no longer relevant and even though a minuscule 4 percent of the state's private labor force belongs to a union, it has a shot of getting to Martinez's desk for her signature.

The Republican controlled House is a no-brainer. The bill passes there. It then heads to the state Senate where the R's can be expected to unanimously vote for the bill. They will need four conservative Democrats to join them to get the win. Can they get them?

If Martinez prevails it will be a major legislative accomplishment for a tenure that has few of them. If it fails you can bet she'll blame the lack of economic progress on the Senate Democrats who all face re-election in 2016.

It seems the wind is completely out of the sails of the forlorn New Mexico Democratic Party after the disaster delivered to them by the gubernatorial candidacy of Gary King and their loss of the state House. National labor unions so far have shown little interest in tangling over right to work here. They spent millions to try to keep the state House out of GOP hands and failed. They and other traditional Democratic interest groups seem spent.

The Governor and her political minions have been able to shape the pre-legislative debate in a vacuum and to their liking. Going into the session it is they who have the momentum.

This column is also published in the ABQ Free Press, on newstands now.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

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E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)

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DA Brandenburg

The city of Albuquerque is finally getting the long overdue political brawl it sorely needs. Will it lead to the clean-up of its deeply stained police department?




DEFENDING SAM

Slamming Sam has become a popular pastime of La Politica but today we have his defenders as well.

NM Dem Party Chair and attorney Sam Bregman has most recently been taking heat for taking on the case of Keith Sandy, one of two police officers charged with shooting and killing homeless camper James Boyd. Ken Rooney writes:

I've got to address some of these Democrats that are "slamming" Sam for, gasp, defending an individual who has every right to a vigorous defense and a fair trial. The cognitive dissonance is astounding. Sure, I get it. People have to ask, "how can they defend these people?" That question is probably no less true for the defense attorneys that defend the Tsarnaevs of the world. In a word: the presumption of innocence, one of the most basic building blocks of our criminal justice system (alright, a lot more than one word).

This has nothing to do with politics and everything to do with what every good attorney does: zealously advocate on their client's behalf. Sure, Sam was an awful Dem Chair but he is a damn good attorney.

Nor should defending the accused be a principle that is diametrically opposed with the ideals of the Democratic Party. I had grown up with a Democratic party that embraced the idea of equality and justice for all. . .

Chris Erickson writes:

Joe, I don’t find it that odd that Dem Party Chair Sam Bregman is the defense attorney for an APD officer accused in the killing of homeless camper James Boyd. After all, John Adams defended the two British soldiers accused of murder during the Boston Massacre in 1770. So Bergman follows in a grand American tradition. The re-enactment of the Boston Massacre trail from the HBO John Adams mini-series can be found here.

Of course, Bregman alone doesn't share the burden of the Dems November disaster. There was that hyper-controversial corporate tax cut supported by a number of Dem liberals that also put the party on a collision course with its base. Maybe they can take a page from the playbook of their neighbors over in Arizona:

In the better late than never category, the BernCo county commission finally got around to approving the minimum wage increase that it was supposed to put into effect January 1:

The  Commission Tuesday evening approved a cost of living increase for minimum wage workers in unincorporated Bernalillo County, to $8.65 an hour. The measure takes effect on Jan. 26, 2015. Future cost of living increases, if applicable, will be brought to the County Commission for consideration in September of each year. 

Now those getting the minimum wage can use some of it to pay the quarter cent increase in the gross receipts tax that the commission seems bound and determined to approve.

Another spate of violence involving APD and it's raising questions on how much progress, if any, the city is making in reforming the troubled agency.

Tuesday night, only a day after District Attorney Kari Brandenburg charged two APD officers with murder for a 2014 shooting, APD shot and killed a suspect in the mid-NE Heights. Eerie.

And then we had APD shooting another cop by mistake. On top of that there was the shooting of a police officer by a suspect. All of this since the start of 2015.

US Attorney Damon Martinez and the Justice Department, which is working to overhaul APD, obviously need to step on the gas. Meanwhile, Mayor Berry asserts that the violence and police chaos that plagues this town is not impacting its national reputation and ability to attract business, that we are providing an example on how to reform a police department. Say what? That's like turning tragedy into farce. . .

THE THUGOCRACY

The bunker mentality of Berry and APD may have reached its zenith when a staffer for District Attorney Brandenburg was shut out from a briefing on the Tuesday night shooting. It was an outrageous action, turning on its head decades of precedent and legal requirement. But then Brandenburg has charged two cops with crimes and the Berry Bunker is in full attack mode.

The thugocracy that has taken hold at the police department and the acquiescence to it by a very weak chief executive is going to end badly. That an unelected rogue APD had the gall to bar the highest elected law enforcement official of the county from a crime briefing of a fatal police shooting reveals a dangerous arrogance. If that isn't enough to get our passive US Attorney off his seat, what is?

THE HOT SEAT

Talk about a hot seat. What New Mexico judge will end up presiding over one of the most celebrated cases of this young century?

After Bernalillo County District Attorney Brandenburg announced the unprecedented filing of murder charges against two APD officers who shot and killed mentally disturbed homeless camper James Boyd, District Court Judge Alisa Hadfield was assigned to preside over the preliminary hearing. Hadfield would determine at that hearing if Brandenburg's charges merited sending the case to trial. But it's unlikely that Judge Hadfield or any other ABQ District Court judge will end up wielding the gavel in this sensational case. Former Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney Pete Dinelli says:

The assignment of Judge Hadfield is not permanent and just the first one up. Cases are assigned on a rotating basis as they are filed and she was the first Judge assigned the case. The defense or prosecution can now disqualify her without cause or Judge Hatfield could recuse (disqualify) herself. This process will now happen with each assignment as it occurs. The prosecution and defense could approach the presiding Criminal Judge to assign the case or request an experienced pro tem judge (retired) to handle it. 

The case is so hot that the Legal Beagles say it could fall to the NM Supreme Court Chief Justice to name a judge. All the ABQ District Judges have had cases involving APD and that makes it difficult for any of them to preside over the Boyd case. Dinelli adds:

What is needed is a highly respected Judge with enough "gravitas" and experience to be able to preside over such a high profile criminal case who will not worry about political consequences and be completely comfortable dealing with the pressure of making a decision on whether there is enough evidence to prosecute. By going with a criminal information and a preliminary hearing before a Judge, the DA has made a politically smart decision and shifted the political consequences of a career-ending case to a Judge and away from her and a grand jury.

Don't expect that preliminary hearing to happen anytime soon. With all the legal wrangling to come it could be a year. And if a judge eventually decides the case should go to trial, don't expect to see it in media saturated ABQ. One of the APD officer's attorneys is already making noise about how no fair trial could be held here.

For cases that have received extraordinary public attention, Las Cruces is often selected as an alternative venue because it is outside the ABQ media market.

SLAMMIN' SAM

The Monday blog on the political impact of having attorney Sam Bregman--chairman of the NM Democratic Party--serving as the chief attorney for one of the accused cops, brought reaction. This one was typical:

Like many Dems I was astounded to see Sam Bregman on TV bashing District Attorney Kari Brandenburg and just as sickened to see the law firm of former NM Democratic Party Chair Brian Colon joining in with Bregman to fight against her. You would think that Colon's firm and Bregman would show some political sense and stay out of it. I wonder if they understand that (Gov. Martinez political adviser) Jay McCleskey, (ABQ Chief Administrative Officer) Rob Perry and Mayor Berry are likely shaking their heads in amazement about how easy it is to roll over these Democrats when you wave some cash.  But this is the state of the Democratic Party of New Mexico--because there's no leadership at the top, people are allowed to run amok and pledge that they are loyal Democrats with one hand and with the other they're taking government contracts or representing clients affiliated with the Martinez administration. 

THE HEYDAY AND TODAY

It was 2004--the heyday of Big Bill and ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez when the national media and the local biz community was imagining ABQ as a darling of the new century.  So very long ago, The  news today:

Albuquerque placed 179 out of 200 in the large city category, falling 24 spots from its ranking of 155 in Milken’s 2013 index of best-performing cities. The report says the index is designed to measure how well cities are “promoting economic vitality based on job creation and retention, the quality of new jobs, and other criteria.” For perspective, Albuquerque placed 20th among large cities in the Milken index in 2004.

Will ABQ ever return to those salad days when it ranked so high? No, the history of the city has been irrevocably changed , but certainly we can do better.