• Former President Bill Clinton delivers eulogy at funeral of former Governor King Saturday morning. Video here. About 2,000 mourners attended services at the Moriarty High School Gym. Four of the five living former Governors were there as well as ex-Sen. Domenici
  
  
• The AP wrap on the funeral is here.

An old worry is back for NM Republicans. They are top heavy. While there is no shortage of 2010 GOP candidates for Governor or lieutenant governor--four Guv contenders are on the field--there is nary a Republican yet seeking to become State Auditor, State Treasurer, or Attorney General.

The R's do have a spirited three way race for Land Commissioner, a position they currently hold and have had some luck with in the past, but efforts to recruit candidates for the other statewide offices seem to have hit the wall.

Not that even a solid R candidate has much of a chance in Dem dominated NM to take a statewide office. The last GOP Auditor and Treasurer was in the 60's and the last GOP attorney general was elected in 1986. But with no names on the ballot, there is zero chance of pulling an upset.

R's expect to eventually have candidates for the offices, but with no early entrants raising money, they are signaling they are not prepared to seriously contest the re-election bids of of Attorney General Gary King, Auditor Hector Balderas or Treasurer James B. Lewis.

THE MAILBAG

Let's catch up on the mail. Reader Jane Babcock has a bone to pick when it comes to coverage of the candidates for Bernalillo County Sheriff. The county commission Nov. 30 will name a replacement for Darren White who is going to work for the city. Here's Jane:

Why are you ignoring the most qualified candidate for the Sheriff's position, Marie Miranda? Is it because she is not part of the old boys network? She recently retired as a Deputy Chief II, has a masters, cleaned up the (ABQ police department) evidence room mess, was a Deputy Secretary of the NM Department of Public Safety and started up the ABQ Homeland Security Department...

...Her integrity is unquestioned, her management ability is first rate, her resume doesn't have to be padded...and unlike your buddy, she is devoid of questionable activities and background. Perhaps, your prejudices are showing.

Give me a break, Jane. We don't have a dog--or a "buddy" in the sheriff's fight. We blogged what the insiders and Alligators told us--that Cris Sanchez and Conrad Candelaria were leading prospects to get the appointment. Sanchez has since dropped out. We're not slighting Marie. We're handicapping the game.

But you did get your plaudits in for your choice. Just don't confuse the message coming from downtown with this messenger.

OUR CONTRARY MARY

Let's do some more back and forth. First, reader Mary Vermillion weighs in and then we respond:

I've been surprised twice this week by comments on your blog. The first was when you referred to what you called "do nothing as policy" in the (Governor) Johnson years. As I recall, the policy of those years was fiscal restraint, and as a result, New Mexico was in good shape when the dot com bubble burst and things went south after 9/11. In contrast to the spend as if there's no tomorrow of Bill Richardson, that "do nothing" looks pretty sane.

The second was your description of the AP as a pure news gathering organization without an agenda. I seem to remember reading this year about AP's having adopted a policy of "accountability journalism"--a euphemism for the inclusion of substantial bits of opinion in "news" stories. And AP's having assigned eleven (!) reporters to fact-check Palin's book doesn't look much like pure news gathering.

Thanks, Mary. Well, the Johnson years were indeed ones of fiscal restraint, but we made little, if any progress, in moving the needle on NM social ills and continued to rank near the bottom in key measurements throughout his term.

Also, the major economic development program under Gary was pueblo-run Indian gambling, not known for high-paying salaries. The hi-tech boom--whose ill effects Mary contends we were spared--passed us by. Johnson was unable to deliver on his campaign pledge to bring more private business and high paying jobs to the state (Not that the current administration has had much success, either).

History will give high marks to Johnson for being a responsible manager and for running a government free of major corruption. He served honorably. However, his inability to work with the Legislature resulted in a "do nothing" administration when it came to attacking the myriad social ills that plagued the state then and now.

As for the AP, we don't see "accountability journalism" that reveals bias in their New Mexico coverage, which is our primary concern. And what's wrong with fact-checking the book of a major national political figure like Sarah Palin? Isn't that what we do when people talk about becoming President of the United States?

FROM THE FRONT LINES

We're also fielding mail from state employees about the five day furlough ordered by Governor Richardson to deal with the huge budget shortfall. This writer vented anonymously:

I am a state employee who is faced with trying to determine where to cut groceries, utilities, Christmas spending...I can accept the furlough...However, I looked at the salaries at executive agencies and must ask how did the agency on aging become a full Department? Military affairs? Where did some of these commissions come from? Do we need them or should we place higher expectations on persons employed in these areas? For example, why isn't the Department of Homeland Security part of the Department of Public Safety?

Why not consolidate programs and eliminate some high salaried executives? Why are we paying outlandish rents for private buildings when there are vacant government buildings? I am not placing the blame on any branch of government, just venting.

And a good vent it was. And it's also a reminder to the public and policy makers that most state workers are pulling down decidedly middle-class salaries. It is the excessive bloating at the top of the pyramid that is the big problem.

Could we make a suggestion to the Guv and Legislature?

If we have to have more furlough days can't those making salaries of over $80,000 be required to take more days off than the secretaries, custodians and other working stiffs who are the backbone of the government? It may sound equitable that all state employees have to be furloughed for the same amount of time, but in reality it is not.

A SWITCH?

We omitted the name of GOP activist Bea Sheridan as an R candidate for lieutenant governor when we blogged recently about the entry of ABQ state Senator Kent Cravens into the race. That's probably because insiders expect her to switch gears and seek the Secretary of State slot under the R banner...

We had a typo in our blog on the latest city appointments by Mayor-elect Berry. Robin Dozier Otten, the incoming Family Services Department director, served as Human Services Secretary in the Johnson administration, not Human Resources.

By the way, KOB-TV reports that while most of the department heads Mayor-elect Berry announced this week have been given starting salaries of $97,000, Dozier Otten is starting at $107,000 a year. Valerie Vigil, who has served in the post for eight years, currently makes $97,000.

Thanks for tuning in this week. Send along your news and comments via email.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

News coverage of the state capitol took a major hit this week as industry insiders passed word that longtime Associated Press reporter Deborah Baker was included in the national layoffs the AP announced. Baker had been on the Santa Fe scene some 20 years. Her departure means bureau chief Barry Massey is the lone Santa Fe staffer for the storied AP which started distributing news over 160 years ago (An editorial assistant in the ABQ bureau also was also laid off).

We were struck by Baker's sudden departure because we had only recently mentioned to friends the obit she had written of former Governor Bruce King. It hit all the high points, had just the right pitch--and important to the AP--was on the wires within a couple of hours after the announcement of King's death.

And there was an AP piece she penned on complicated capital outlay issues. We leaned on that for our own analysis.

The AP is the main link for government news for many New Mexicans outside the ABQ/Santa Fe media market, and Baker's departure will have particular impact there.

But it's not just the AP hurting. The ABQ Journal now has only one full-time capitol staffer. They do send up troops for the legislative session and at other times when needed, but they used to have several full-timers up there. The Journal has protected its franchise by not dismantling its investigative reporting division which often finds itself uncovering government shenanigans. But if the shoe drops there, the politicians will have even more free rein.

The AP has proven irreplaceable, even as new sources of "journalism" appear. The wire service is the one source that you know is not agenda driven. There seems to be a school of thought these days that it's how you write a news story that matters, but we all know the decision of what to write is a key editorial decision.

What we are now getting as a replacement for traditional newspapers is "agenda driven" journalism financed by philanthropy from individuals and institutions on the left and right (More on that below). Which is fine. But it's not always objective news gathering. No way. No how. On the other hand, the AP is financed by fees from subscribing newspapers and other media outlets. It is not out to save the world, but just report about it.

The AP covers the news without ideological concerns. It does not advocate. And going into this new information paradigm, we are going to need that more than ever. That's why these layoffs here and elsewhere are unsettling.

WATCHDOG GROWLS AT DI

Schultz, Berry & White
You're a new mayor with no executive experience and the culture of City Hall looks about as familiar as a map of Slovakia. So what do you do? In the case of ABQ Mayor-elect RJ Berry you keep around a lot of old faces who know plenty about government geography and let them map out the details of what's to come.

Maybe you really do want a lot of change, but not before you at least learn where the bathrooms are, so you keep ABQ Police Chief Ray Schultz on the job, give Darren White, the Sheriff turned public safety director, a beefed up portfolio and keep Mayor Chavez's Chief Administrative Officer, Ed Adams, but bump him down to Chief Operating Officer (That word from KOB-TV).

Mayor-elect Berry says he is a big believer in experience, and through these appointments seems to readily admit he has yet to accumulate enough of it to make any bold strokes.

"He is sending a signal that he is not going to micromanage. These are experienced personalities who know their way around. He will not be a hands-on administrator. I think we will see him much more in the figurehead role than we did Mayor Chavez," analyzed Mike Santullo, communications officer under ABQ Mayor Ken Schultz (1985-89).

But by design or happenstance Berry has formed a team of rivals that will keep power in check while he's off cutting ribbons or addressing the Rotary Club. The new chief administrative officer, David Campbell, will be checked by the old CAO and now COO Ed Adams. If David screws up, Ed is ready to take over. And if Ed screws up, David will be ready to call him out.

For White, who it appears will be more deeply involved in police department operations than previous public safety directors, the check on him will be that increased power. He is going to own police department failures and infighting as well as successes. There will be plenty of both.

And checking all of the above is the nine member city council where grumbling broke out only moments after it was announced last night that Schultz and Adams--both Republicans--would be retained.

THE CRITICS CORNER
Councilor O'Malley
Councilor Brad Winter scored the new mayor on KOB-TV for not delivering on the change he had promised. The powerful police union leadership signaled approval of the Schultz retention, but Winter warned that is not an opinion shared by many rank and file cops.

Councilor Debbie O'Malley wasn't pleased with the possibility of Adams becoming COO, saying the culture he represents needs to change

And Alligators were snapping at Berry, chiding him over his campaign TV spots that unloaded both barrels on Chavez for the runaway property crime rate in the city, yet he retains the chief who presided over what Berry said was a failed policy? In that regard, Chief Schultz, who tried to position himself as an agent of change as his reappointment was announced, was doing the big stretch.

Then there were those West Side serial killings of young women that have dominated news of the department. Wouldn't now be a good time for some new faces at the APD?

Well, who is to say that Schultz, chief since April '05, and Berry's Team of Rivals on the 11th floor will be there a year or two from now? While Schultz is the first chief to be retained by an incoming mayor in the modern era, the long knives are out for him and one big mistake will have the peanut gallery calling for his ouster. How long he wants to live with a sword over his head is anyone's guess.

Berry was as surprised as anyone over his first round election victory and while he may have been caught unprepared to fully take the helm, he is smart enough to know it. The question is does he grow from here and gradually take back some of the power he is so generously doling out, or is what you see what you get for the next four years?

ANOTHER SPINNER?
T.J. Wilham
While Berry is talking about running a tight fiscal ship, that isn't stopping him from creating a new public information slot. In fact, in addition to keeping the police and fire department PIO's, incoming Public Safety Director Darren White will get his own communications staffer. That's a new position and to be held by ABQ Journal police beat reporter T.J. Wilham. He will do spin patrol for the city’s public safety departments such as police, fire, emergency management and the Safe City Strike Force.

Observers immediately asked why the job was necessary. To help White garner more publicity? He sure doesn't need much help doing that. And It seems the responsibility of the APD and fire department PIO's is being substantially reduced with the addition of Wilham, so will self-described fiscal conservative Berry also reduce their salaries or working hours?

The ABQ Journal says Wilham will make $75,000 and that that is less than his predecessor, but Wilham has no predecessor. There has never been a PR flak to oversee public safety agencies. Chris Ramirez, who will handle PR other than public safety for Berry, will also make $75,000. That is less than Deborah James who held the job under Mayor Chavez, but together the two new PR spinners are making $150,000, considerably more than James and, I believe, her one assistant.

Well, Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque will look the other way on this and other patronage plays---for now. But tight economic times--and a more grouchy city council--should keep the leash from getting too long.

RJ'S DOUBLE DIPPERS

Mayor-elect Berry also isn't showing any fiscally conservative stripes when it comes to the issue du jour---double dipping by government employees. Tito Madrid, his pick to become constituent services director, has been retired from the state environment department for 10 years, drawing a monthly retirement check. Now he will add his $75,000 city hall salary to that retirement.

(What about other new mayoral appointments? Double dippers? Maybe the newspaper can give us a story.)

Double-dipping has become a red flag for the electorate who see the retirees taking the jobs of a new generation and also costing taxpayers money because the retirement contributions for these jobs are paid by the government agency they work for, not the double dipper.

During the campaign Mayor Chavez asked his double dippers to make a choice--either city employment or retirement. We did not see Berry quoted on the issue, but we watch what they do, not what they say. In this case, that appears to mean the green light for double dippers, unless the Legislature flashes the stop sign.

THERE ARE FIVE

With the death of Bruce King last week, there are now five living former Governors. They are: David Cargo, 80, (1967-71); Jerry Apodaca, 75, (1975-79); Toney Anaya, 68, (1983-87); Garrey Carruthers, 70, (1987-91) and Gary Johnson, 56, (1995-03).

There have been 26 men who have served as Governor since statehood in 1912. We had Spanish Governors from 1598 to 1822, Mexican Governors from 1822 to 1846, Pre-Territorial Governors from 1846 to 1851 and Territorial Governors from 1851 to 1912.

A records check shows that since 1598, Bruce King, who served three, four year terms, served longer than any New Mexico Governor under any flag.

THE SHERIFF CHASE

The jockeying goes on for the Sheriff's chair. The Bernalillo County Commission will meet Nov. 30 to name a replacement for Republican Darren White who resigned to become the city's public safety director. From our email:

...You have neglected to mention the candidacy of Manny Gonzales for Sheriff. When he announced September 26, there were over 400 supporters on hand...Manny is a lifelong resident of Bernalillo County...served honorably in the military, and earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Management...He is a Captain with the Sheriff’s Department...Manny has spent his entire career in public safety...He is an effective administrator, a knowledgeable and first-rate police officer..Make no mistake about it, he is a strong contender.

The commission--three Dems and two R's--will pick someone to fill out the remainder of White's term. It runs until 2011. Gonzales and others are lining up for the 2010 election to go after the next four year term.

WINSTON'S WAY
Brooks
ABQ Public Schools Superintended Winston Brooks and APS School Board President Marty Esquivel disagree with those who argue that NM public school districts are top heavy with administrative costs. But the latest edition of the Legislative Finance Committee newsletter makes the case:

New Mexico spends less of its public school dollar on instruction than the national average and, while it spends about the same on school-level administration, it spends 40 percent more on state and district-level administration, according to the Digest of Education Statistics. Nobody wants to cut classroom spending but maybe we can save on spending outside the classroom.

But administrators and school board members are going to have to reckon with reality if we are going to trim the administrative ranks. It isn't easy. Superintendent Brooks claims only 1 percent of the billion dollar plus APS budget is for administration. Just what does the Super consider administrative costs? Sounds like good subject for a legislative hearing.

BEHIND THE NUMBERS

When stats were released on attendance for the 2009 NM State Fair, they showed a slight increase over last year. But that is far from the story. Again, from the LFC newsletter:

Attendance at this year’s State Fair increased by 1.5 percent but paid attendance was down 20 percent. Overall total revenue for the 2009 fair was down 8 percent...

The persistent recession is the obvious factor for the decline, but the fair may have been remiss in not cutting prices enough.

This is the home of New Mexico politics. Email your news and comments. Interested in advertising here? Drop us a line.

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2009
Not for reproduction without permission of the author

Garcia & Madrid
Old government hands are beginning to populate the new administration of ABQ Mayor-elect RJ Berry, signaling that this is going to be a time of mechanics not architects. The big vision days are gone, a victim of the new and miserly economy. A trio of names were announced Monday by Berry. Here's the take.

John Garcia, former head of economic development in the long ago Guv administration of Gary Johnson and more recently the economic development officer for the University of New Mexico, will take the econ role for Berry. Garcia won't be the sort to set the city on its ear with shiny new proposals, but he should have accumulated enough wisdom to keep from falling head over heels for things like the now failed Eclipse Aviation.

Bruce Rizzieri will head the transit department, replacing Greg Payne. Rizzieri has "been there and done that," having served in high-ranking positions in the department during Jim Baca's term and more recently working at the Regional Transit Manager for the Mid-Region Council of Governments (MRCOG). That's the place where you hang out with MRCOG boss and Dem Light Guv candidate Lawrence Rael.

Berry will look to Rizzieri to administer but not necessarily innovate. The mayor-to-be campaigned heavily against a "trolley" car and even opposed the extension of the quarter cent gross receipts tax dedicated to transit and other transportation needs.

Tito Madrid was an underpaid aide (really) to former ABQ GOP Congresswoman Heather Wilson who will now head up Berry's constituent services, a new post. He was a key campaign aide for the mayor-elect and will be able to help Berry keep his ear to the ground at the neighborhood level.

Rizzieri and Garcia will make about $97,000 a year. That's less than the jobs paid under Chavez. It appears Berry has decided the $100,000 mark is the politically sensitive number in this environment. He may be on to something. Madrid will make about $75,000.

Meanwhile, outgoing Mayor Marty Chavez is getting $37,000--in a workers' comp settlement for a back injury he suffered on the job. That strange tale here.

THE HATCHET IS HERE
Campbell
Meanwhile, Berry has found what every mayor needs--a hatchet man. City Hall was buzzing with the news Monday that incoming Chief Administrative Officer David Campbell was personally delivering "thanks, but no thanks" letters to more than a few high ranking members of the outgoing Chavez administration.

The new CAO-to-be paid unwelcome visits to the offices of agency directors Valerie Vigil and Pat Miller, among others, to tell them the not so good news--that the exit signs are meant for them.

Campbell may have the sharpest axe in the bunch, but Darren White also took a turn swinging the blade Monday. We're told the Bernalillo County Sheriff--soon to be city Public Safety Director--visited another former Sheriff, Joe Bowdich, who is now deputy director at the ABQ police department, and personally notified him that he was out the door. Bowdich, a diehard Dem, was succeeded by White at the Sheriff's office.

Meanwhile, three of the conservative Republican city councilors--White, Lewis and Cook--are bitching mightily in the op-ed pages of the ABQ Journal that Democrat Campbell has yet to turn over personal financial information they've requested. The trio opposes the Campbell nomination, made by fellow R Berry, saying the land use lawyer has many potential conflicts of interest.

But there's only one relevant piece of information in this power game. Campbell has the support of six of the nine councilors, and they have all the information they need.

Councilors Lewis and Cook, welcome to La Politica.

NEW SPINNER

Insiders say KOAT-TV reporter Chris Ramirez will become Berry's new public information officer, replacing Deborah James who held the post under Mayor Chavez. Ramirez is a NM native with no PR experience. But that means he will probably be nice to the press for a couple of months before he learns otherwise.

And another tidbit. Leonard Garcia, head of the Solid Waste Department, won't have to worry about broken trucks and filled up landfills anymore. Insiders say he is on his way to Exit City.

LUNCH WITH JOE

A car crash in the motorcade of Vice-President Joe Biden seemed to make the biggest splash of news during his Monday ABQ fund-raising visit on behalf of NM Dem US Reps Martin Heinrich and Harry Teague, but there was some news going on inside the Hotel Albuquerque. In fact, it was a bit of news that the Veep was even at that particular hotel. The just opened Hotel Andaluz downtown--the former La Posada--was supposed to host the event, but a throng of protesters outside the hotel holding signs indicating a labor dispute had Biden steering clear and heading to the Hotel ABQ near Old Town. Lunch was served there with the cheap seats going for $1000 a pop and $2400 for a private meet, greet and photo with Biden.

Alligators on the inside report a couple of dozen takers for the $2400 reception and about 100 for the $1000 luncheon featuring grilled chicken. Our estimators estimate the take in the neighborhood of abut $150,000 with the proceeds split between Teague and Heinrich.

If that doesn't strike you as striking for a lunch featuring the USA's #2, you're right. The economy is clearly taking a toll on fund-raising. But many of the usual top Democratic suspects reliably turned out. They included NM House Speaker Ben Lujan, whose son, US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan, did not share in the booty raised by Biden but sported the nickname "special guest" for the occasion.

Also spotted in the crowd was Light Guv Diane Denish; University of New Mexico regents Raymond Sanchez and Jamie Koch; former US Senator Fred Harris who served in the Senate with Biden in the 1970's; former NM Dem Party Chairman Art Trujillo and current chair Javier Gonzales; Bernalillo County Assessor Karen Montoya; Santa Fe finance heavy Gerald Peters and Ed Romero, former US Ambassador to Spain and a long ago Bernalillo County Dem Party chair.

Biden was making western campaign swing that also included stops in Nevada and Arizona. Some of the national press is tagging along. They were not permitted inside the lunch, but the White House gave them the money quote as noted by CQ Politics:

Biden told the audience that Heinrich and Teague are "good Democrats, but they also have heads of their own and minds of their own and it seems to me that's what you guys produce out here."

CQ has Heinrich's seat rated "likely Democratic" and Teague's southern contest as a tossup. No one around here is arguing with that assessment.

Insiders say after the lunch Rep. Lujan caught a ride back to D.C. with Biden on Air Force Two. We don't know if Teague or Heinrich were also aboard, but if they were don't tell us the political newbies weren't at least thinking about pinching themselves.

MORE MONEY STUFF

They can't say US House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer isn't doing his part to protect New Mexico's two competitive US House seats in the 2010 cycle. Hoyer, who made an impromptu stop at Holloman Air Force Base near Alamogordo with southern Dem Congressman Harry Teague in early September, will be on the cocktail circuit in D.C. for ABQ Dem US Rep. Martin Heinrich today. Hoyer will host an evening reception for Heinrich. Contribution levels are put at $5,000, $2,500 and $1,000.

THE BEAR MARKET

Look who's eligible for Social Security. Big Bill celebrated #62 Sunday, and with the state budget deficit looming over the Roundhouse, early retirement may actually look attractive. But how about a national job with Obama? The buzz over that was intense when Bill traveled to Cuba a couple of months ago. Not so much now. From Politics & Policy:
And we have been so looking forward to hanging in Havana, smokin' cigars with Bill, Paul Blanchard and the rest of the gang.

THE RETICENT RICHARDSON

Bill has been reluctant to embrace the state's budget crisis and get cooking on solving it. In fact, he recently said it wasn't even a crisis. But cracks in the dam finally appeared last week when he agreed to furlough state workers, something previously off the table. He is also saying that some tax increases may be needed.

In Santa Fe and in watering holes across the state, they speculate whether Richardson's reticence to own this crisis is simply to protect his cronies high-paying jobs and/or the special interests of the nominating wing of the Democratic Party or whether it is because he sees his legacy jeopardized by the revenue collapse. Or are his advisers whispering sweet nothings in his ear when he asks for a briefing on economic policy? Or is it all of the above?

If it is his first-term legacy, Bill does not have to agonize. Those four years are secure for posterity. Among other things, he won long overdue teacher pay increases; launched the Spaceport and Rail Runner; made tremendous strides on DWI and reinvigorated the film industry. The spending was exorbitant but so were revenues and the Legislature approved every penny.

In 2003, after eight years of doing nothing was a substitute for policy, New Mexico was ready to get moving. Richardson got us moving.

The second term, as with most second terms, is a different story. We all know the gory details--pay-to-play, the complete breakdown in legislative relationships; politics infesting the university; lagging public school performance despite buckets of money and no significant economic diversification.

LEMONS TO LEMONADE?

The Governor and his advisors can still turn lemons into lemonade in the January legislative session. But they will have to fully own the budget debacle. They have been reactive, taking little bites as the crisis deepens. But the lame-duck Governor has an opportunity to get bold again.

The times may be better suited for a conservative, but how about a comprehensive plan to restructure state government for the lean years ahead? What should stay and what should go? What about our over dependence on oil and gas revenue? Instead of waiting for prices to rebound, how about a plan to wean us off that morphine drip? The Governor has formed a task force to look into the tax side of the equation, but we await a more holistic approach from the state's leaders on how to deal with this new era.

The Guv has admitted the state's failings in educating large swaths of the Hispanic and Native American students and begun to deal with it. Why can't he do the same with the budget and economy in his next state-of-the-state address?

It will take more than a glass of Gatorade for Big Bill to get re-energized. But if he does, he could give the state and himself a birthday present by developing a pragmatic template for the future. It also might give him a few white marks next to those black ones that already color his second term legacy.

BERRY BEAT

We're getting word that Eugene Moser, a five-year analyst with the Legislative Finance Committee, will become the new head of Human Resources for soon-to-be ABQ Mayor RJ Berry. Like the mayor-elect, Moser is a Republican. This is an important gig as the new hires go through HR. Moser served on the city personnel board courtesy of an appointment by Mayor Chavez in 2002. He previously worked in HR at the UNM Health Sciences Center. Patricia Miller, an early supporter of Mayor Chavez, has had the job for the past eight years. Berry takes office Dec. 1.