Blogging NM

The Republican controlled ABQ City Council could attempt to block a stiff anti-abortion measure from appearing on the Oct. 8 city election ballot.

Activists have collected some 27,000 signatures asking for an election on the proposal that would prohibit abortion after 20 weeks into a pregnancy. It would take about 12,000 signatures of registered city voters validated by the city clerk to send the election issue to the council. The nine member council would have to approve an election day for the measure.

Republican Councilor Trudy Jones is asking the attorney general if such a measure would be legally enforceable in ABQ. If it isn't, she says there would be no point of putting it on the ballot. But if the signatures are validated, the voters may have to have a say.

Jones is one of six GOP councilors. If her reluctance is indicative of the other R's, the abortion election issue might not get scheduled Oct. 8, but at a special election at another time.

Our analysts say conservatives are already poised to come out for the October 8 election and vote to re-elect GOP Mayor RJ Berry. A severe anti-abortion measure would get Democrats out of their seats and into the voting booths. That could pump up Dem Pete Dinelli. If the Council R's can't stop the abortion measure, Dinelli will work to rouse the liberal base in the city which has been doing anything but paying attention to the mayoral election.

MARKS BOWS OUT

It's a clear field for State Auditor Hector Balderas as he pursues the Dem nomination for state attorney general. His only rival, ABQ attorney Jason Marks, announces in a letter to supporters that he's done:

It has become clear that the fundraising gap has put our campaign in a position where the prospects of winning are slim under most scenarios... 

Balderas doesn't need a troublesome primary battle. Republicans are expected to field Clovis area District Attorney Matt Chandler who ran for AG four years ago and showed himself to be a tough campaigner. Expect a Balderas-Chandler battle to get bloody indeed....

How much is this one going to cost ABQ taxpayers. A good guess would be "a lot.":

A 66-year-old man shot and killed by Albuquerque police earlier this month suffered nine gunshot wounds, with as many as six of the bullets going through the back of his body, according to the autopsy report provided by his family.

The number and location of gunshot wounds that medical investigators found in Vincent Wood’s body have prompted the Vietnam veteran’s family to accuse the police of “overkill,” and they wonder why officers didn’t wait just a little while longer for the arrival of an officer trained in de-escalation techniques.

HOW MANY COPS?

This comes from one of our Legal Beagles on the report carried here this week that the ABQ police department is short 150 officers of its targeted goal:

APD has certified and sworn cops. Certified are the those that carry badges, arrest people, carry guns, testify in court, etc. Sworn officers can be anybody including crossing guards (!). APD typically releases the number of officers but doesn't break down the certified officers from the sworn officers. If it did, you would see that APD is down a lot more than 150 officers in manpower.

APD AND YOU

APD sexcapades which Chief Schultz dismisses as "nature at play" and a statement on APD from ABQ Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry draw the ire of this reader:

A few stories recently aired in the media regarding APD are very concerning to me. I hope all city residents take issue with quotes given by high ranking Albuquerque officials.

"Nature at play" was the reason given by APD Chief Shultz on KOB-TV to explain the culture of infidelity taking place within the organization. What an absolutely ridiculous and offensive attempt to downplay a problem. Is this the best explanation Chief Schultz can provide? It is no wonder the department is in disarray and under federal investigation. 

I hold Mayor Berry accountable for his total failure in all aspects of public safety and the failed leadership of those he appointed. APD brass and city administration seem more concerned with social media policy than adultery while on the job. What are the priorities of APD and whose best interests are really at play here?

CAO Robert Perry also demonstrated just how out of touch city administration is when he gave the following quote to KOAT-TV on morale in APD:

"Oh, it's morale. Well, what do you mean by that? Can you give me specifics?" said Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry. "What would be in the contract that would change morale?"

Does he truly believe that morale is not related to contractual issues? What could be more specific than the number of officers leaving and the number of scandals within the department? I am certain that pension changes have had an effect but it is not the sole reason the department can't retain the target number of officers. Does he really believe that broken contracts, reduction in pay, changes in schedule and unrealized raises have no negative impact working conditions and attitudes? 

The arrogance displayed by the Mayor's office is outrageous and discouraging.

We are waiting to see if Chief Schultz's comments about sexual affairs at APD impact the ABQ mayoral race. The election is Oct. 8.

GET OUT, PETE!

The state GOP is calling on Dem Pete Dinelli to get out of the mayoral race because of what they term "lewd" emails he sent when he was working as public safety director for Mayor Marty Chavez.

It's not exactly an Anthony Weiner scandal, though. In one email Dinelli confirms to a correspondent who is not named that he looked at an email forwarded to him tilted "Fw.: NFL Cheerleaders."

Dinelli emailed back: "Mighty fine. I looked at them."

And in response to a thank you email sent to him by mayoral aide Scott Forrester, Dinelli writes: "No problem. I take very long lunches and dinners so you will need some very thick knee pads..."

The knee pad reference is an obscene joke from yesteryear that conveys that Forrester owes Dinelli a lot of gratitude.

The GOP says Dinelli should drop his mayoral bid in light of these emails which were released following Dinelli's criticism of APD Chief Ray Schultz who called sexual affairs at APD "nature at play." Dinelli said Mayor Berry "should sever all ties" with Schultz who is set to resign August 3, but has been given a $10,000 contract to work as an adviser in September.

The emails released by the GOP are here.

STATE FAIR TV

Reader Joe Barela's complaint about the state fair TV ads featuring what he said is an actress playing a "gangbanger" drew reaction. First, here's Michael Henningsen, spokesman for the state fair:

I am a big fan of Lynette and thought the ads last year were pure genius. Her accent and fashion sense do not make her a gang banger… and does anyone know that this is actually a very talented young actress from Albuquerque that we should be proud of. They are trying to relate to a young local audience and I think it succeeds - and it certainly didn't offend this 72 year old gringa.

Reader and State Fair Commissioner Charlotte Rode writes:

I read the item complaining about the advertising for the state fair. You might want to remind your readers that the State Fair is being run by the Governor’s office, not the State Fair Commission.

Larry Kennedy, the Governor’s choice for State Fair Commission Chairman and unable to be confirmed by the Senate, has called two meetings in two years. The Commission has not met since January and that meeting was only to elect Kennedy for a second time. The Governor’s office has appointed all five members of the management at the state fair and there is no oversight being provided by the Commission whatsoever. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

Chief Schultz

There was an air of unreality surrounding the primetime TV exit interview this week with outgoing ABQ police chief Ray Schultz.

The unreality morphed into utter disbelief when Schultz was asked about the revelation that there are numerous sexual relationships between ABQ police officers, raising questions about command and control at the department. His response:

In law enforcement you've got young, good looking folks that do this job. Our target group of employees--20, 30, 40 year old men and women--we ask them to stay in good shape. There's nature at play.

"Nature at play?" We know this town is asleep at the switch, but if that doesn't jolt the crowd from their sleepwalking, what will?

Schultz made no distinction in his response so we are left to believe that he has no problem with married police officers violating their marriage vows under his nose or for his deputy chiefs to have sex with their subordinates. A relationship between two officers working together is one thing, the examples above are an entirely different matter.

Schultz's cavalier (nearly smug) response comes on the heels of the murder trial of former APD officer Levi Chavez whose numerous sexual escapades figured prominently in the death--either by suicide or murder--of his wife, Tera Chavez. It seems "nature at play" can turn deadly.

Does Mayor Berry agree with Schultz's position that the sex going on at APD is "nature at play?" That it is not potentially destructive to the department's morale, the personal lives of the officers and ultimately to the public? And just what are the fraternization policies at APD? What should they be? What are they elsewhere? A few answers here but far from definitive.

Berry told the Journal in response to the chief's comments to KOB-TV:

As the Mayor and as a citizen, I expect the highest level of conduct from our police officers and other public servants. Fortunately, we see that high level of conduct almost all the time. In those rare instances that we don’t, it’s disappointing and should not be condoned.

But doesn't the Schultz interview demonstrate that we need a clear, written policy on APD sexual conduct, Mayor?

Dem mayoral candidate Pete Dinelli took advantage of the opening provided by Schultz and said:

I call on the Mayor to sever all ties with Chief Schultz on August 3rd and cancel the $10,000 consulting contract Schultz is set to receive. These comments are frankly disgusting and offensive. There is no place for someone with these beliefs to give advice to our city and we must immediately change the moral tone of APD leadership. The Mayor’s complete failure to hold Schultz accountable is a total disgrace.

As he heads for the exits, there's much the chief just doesn't seem to get.

In the interview with KOB-TV anchorman Tom Joles he dismisses most of the 26 police shootings over a three year period--17 of them fatal--as an "anomaly." But a jury has already slapped the city with a $10 million judgment for one of the shootings, with millions more in damages for others sure to follow. That is a very costly "anomaly" in blood and money.

Schultz characterized the federal Department of Justice civil rights investigation of APD that resulted from the shootings as "probably not" necessary. History will be the judge of that assertion.

Chief Schultz has had his hands full and he has many good men and women under his command. ABQ has becoming an increasingly violent city and not all of the police shootings will be found to be unjustified. But as he heads for the exits, it would have been best if the chief left us with his vision for improving APD, not his myopic and astonishing view of the immediate past.

(Editorial writers: Feel free to use all or some of the above).

COP SHORTAGE

Schultz leaves behind a department that needs to add 150 officers to reach the targeted goal of 1,000. New retirement rules and poor morale are seen by police observers as the main reason for the
shortfall. Also, a college education requirement for new cops has drawn fire. This would seem to be another issue for the so far seemingly nonexistent mayoral campaign.

FLATLINED

Mayor Berry says gross receipts tax collections have picked up in recent months, giving hope that a growth spurt is underway but for the entire 2013 fiscal year--July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013, gross receipts collections were up an anemic 1.3 percent. That's hardly the sign of a robust economic environment and barely keeps up with inflation. Berry--seeking re-election Oct. 8--says GRT collections are up 4% in recent months, indicating we may be picking up. The 7% tax is the city's main funding source. And then there's the jobs problem.....

USE TWITTER, STEVE

Some more email on that $20,000 dollar plane ticket the State Department bought southern NM GOP Congressman Steve Pearce so he could visit state national guard troops stationed in Egypt. Reader Jeffrey Baker writes:

Rep. Pearce said he bought a $20,000 plane ticket to fly to Egypt to personally invite American soldiers to consider working in the oil and gas fields in southern New Mexico after they finish their military service. I wonder if the Congressman could have sent the same invitation by Twitter, at a fraction of the cost? C’mon Steve, no serious person objects to members of Congress visiting the troops--but next time, fly economy.

BIG BILL (COMPLETE)

We left morning readers hanging when we posted an incomplete version of this Big Bill update. It wasn't that long to begin with, but here it is in full:

Remember that story about former Governor Big Bill having a state worker paid $250,000 in order to avoid having her file a sex harassment suit against him? The case was investigated by a federal grand jury which ended its probe with no indictments. Now some background info has surfaced on the probe. Nothing earth shaking but interesting. And in December 2011 we blogged what our sources told us about the relationship.

STATE FAIR TIME

Okay, so string us up in the South Valley. We agree with Rio Rancho reader Joe Barela that running last year's state fair TV ad featuring a pig and a gangbanger--or something similar--is this summer's dumbest idea:

Joe, while watching TV, the "gangbanger girl" with the heavy accent and gangbanger rap came on in an advertisement to talk about the State Fair. This ad was the butt of a lot of controversy among many Hispanics last year who felt that this was in very poor taste and does not reflect the best of the deep rooted culture New Mexico has to offer. I was sickened that our State Fair Commission would again allow such a trashy portrayal of our young Hispanic women....

The gangbanger narrating the ad says you can't have a fair without rides "that make me want to throw up." Hey, you can do that just by watching the ad.

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Aspen

Governor Martinez will spend most of this week in Aspen, at a summer session for the Republican Governors Association. It doesn't get much friendlier for Susana. The group gave her $1.3 million for her 2010 campaign and more is likely in the pipeline from the group for her '14 run...

Martinez's potent fund-raising ability could be keeping potential challengers on the bench, although the leadership bench these days is pretty shallow.

ABQ Dem state Senator Linda Lopez is one Dem Guv contender, but she has never been a big fund-raiser. It could present a problem for her . But one of our Alligators, reacting to Lopez tackling the Governor recently on the awarding of the ABQ Downs racino lease, comes with this:

As Susana and the GOP proved in 2010, and it's truer today than ever, it's all about the match-up. Why did the GOP leadership throw its popular former state chairman (Allen Weh) under the bus for an obscure Hispanic, female, former Dem and district attorney out of Las Cruces?  Simple, they wanted to win, and it was no secret that Lt. Gov. Denish (who despite all the Richardson baggage was still trouncing Weh in the polls) did not have the best relationship with the majority Hispanic wing of the Democratic party.  It's all about the match-up. Now, the question today is--has the DPNM leadership learned anything here?  

And no doubt Lopez will be using that argument as she campaigns for the nomination against Attorney General Gary King. So far they are the only two announced Dem Guv candidates.

A PATTERN?

A reader writes of the storm over the Martinez administration cutting off funding to 15 providers of health services for New Mexicans getting treatment for drug addiction, suicide prevention and other mental health issues. The administration says there may be overcharging and fraud in the delivery of the services. Our reader says:

--Governor Martinez and her education secretary designate accused school districts across New Mexico of gaming the system" regarding special education funding. Only they weren't. 

--They arrested and charged John Duff with securities fraud and racketeering and fired Rick May at NMFA when a special audit by the state auditors' office found no money missing and a grand jury subsequently refused to indict Duff on a single count. 

--Now we have the administration accusing mental health service providers with widespread fraud and unilaterally cutting off their funding. The administration has refused to allow the providers to even know what they are actually accused of and won't even give a copy of their "audit" that is supposed to show this alleged fraud to the state auditor's office whose job it is to root out fraud. 

Does anyone see a pattern here?

Martinez's shut off of funds for the mental health programs has divided Attorney General King and State Auditor Hector Balderas.

King is on the Guv's hit list as he seeks the Dem nod for Guv. Balderas is on the hit list because he is running for attorney general and Martinez is expected to back Clovis area GOP District Attorney Matt
Chandler.

BIG BILL UPDATE

Remember that story about former Governor Big Bill having a state worker paid $250,000 in order to avoid having her file a sex harrassment suit against him. The case was investigated by a federal grand jury which ended its probe with no indictments. Now some background info has surfaced on the probe. Nothing earth shaking but interesting. And in December 2011 we blogged what our sources told us about the relationship

RIEDEL AND SUSANA

Riedel

A number of attorneys in the past couple of weeks have asked us to mention this next item but we got stacked up so we're late. But here it is:

New Mexico's Public Defender Commission is brand new, but it is off to a controversial start because of a challenge to one member's qualifications. Republican Gov. Susana Martinez appointed longtime prosecutor Susan Riedel to the commission, a decision that at least two Democrats in the Legislature say violated the law.Riedel, 54, worked as an assistant under Martinez when Martinez was the district attorney of Dona Ana County. Less than two months after Martinez took office as governor in 2011, she appointed Riedel to a district court judgeship. Riedel lost her seat on the bench in last fall's election and has since retired from practicing law.

The administration insists Riedel is qualified. One of  our Legal Beagles disagrees:

This is a cynical maneuver by the Governor  to maintain her control when it has been removed by the voters and the legislature. Even if it doesn’t matter to some, to those who believe in the importance of effective criminal defense, this is just an effort by the fox to stay in the hen house despite the rule of law. Nobody close to this situation thinks of Riedel as anything other than the Gov’s assistant, like she was for many years in the Dona Ana County District Attorney's’s office.
DATELINE MOSQUERO

From the Mosquero County Courthouse in Harding County, reader Pete Callahan comments on the depopulating of rural New Mexico:

Hey Joe. Not all rural counties and towns are losing population. Harding County is one of four Counties in the State to gain in population recently, up 1.7%. That was an increase of 12 people from 696 to 707 hardy souls. Thought you’d like to know.

A population explosion in Harding County? Quick, someone call the Sierra Club.

THE PIT

Reader Rodger Beimer writes of our view that the $60 million spent remodeling the UNM Pit could have been better spent building an entirely new basketball arena:

Sharpen your pencil. Your estimate of a new arena cost is way too low. A quick Google found a new arena in downtown Lincoln. 15,000 seats = $179 Million. It would appear the University of Nebraska basketball will be primary tenant. It’s part of a $344 Million development to include housing, retail, etc…the same kind of thing Albuquerque talked about years ago – and couldn’t/wouldn’t/didn’t do.

JIMMY BASON

A reader in Santa Fe writes:

Joe, Overshadowed by the recent passing of former NM Governor Dave Cargo was the July 2 death of Jimmy Bason of Hillsboro. He was a former president of the NM Cattlegrowers Association and a friend of all in the ranching community. He was also the subject of western author Max Evan’s “Superbull” and the real father of the Spaceport (according to state Senator John Arthur Smith). See the Frank dubois blog, The Westerner for more.

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Just how much damage has been done to the ABQ metro in the epic economic downturn of the last five years? More than probably anyone thinks. We just crunched the numbers for job growth for the private sector for the past five years for 102 metro areas in the USA. ABQ ranks 101.

Actually, we've had no private job sector growth at all since the economic collapse of 2008, but a substantial decline.

According to the On Numbers survey from the Business Journals, ABQ has lost 8.55% of its private jobs in the past five years. Only Las Vegas, Nevada, suffering from a real estate and tourism recession was worse, losing nearly 10% of its workforce to the Great Bear Market.

ABQ also had a real estate bubble that led to a construction depression and the subsequent loss of thousands of construction jobs. But professional jobs have also been pummelled. Restoring the city to anywhere near the buoyant days will take years--absent another bubble economy.

In the past year, ABQ is finally posting some private sector job additions, but looking at the state employment reports, it appears we are adding them in the low paying sectors such as leisure and hospitality. Any job growth is good news, but the fact is the city is a lot poorer than it was five years ago. (The workforce here was over 400,000 in late 2007. Today the state says it is at around 371,900).

If ABQ has its hands full trying to prevent people from feeling for the exits, rural New Mexico needs armed guards to prevent the exodus. The latest example? Raton in the north, where the newspaper there--the Raton Range--has closed down. They hope to reappear in some form someday, but with the population there dropping--now about 6,800--and business in a long term slump, the good years are gone.

THE EYE HUNT

Retired APD Seargent Dan Klein, always on the beat for us, comes with this news about the hunt for the author of an anonymous blog critical of APD---the "Eye on ABQ" :

Joe, I just watched KRQE-TV at 5:30 pm tonight July 22. The lead story was about the Eye on Albuquerque and how APD believes it is one of their own that runs it (Really like we didn't already know this?)  They never name the person accused but do talk about the social media policy at APD. 

It seems that KRQE is getting their marching orders right from (Governor Martinez and Mayor Berry political consultant) Jay McCleskey and (ABQ Downs VP) Darren White--Go after anyone who speaks bad about Susana, Berry or APD Chief Schultz.

After the fiasco with the Santa Fe Reporter you would think they would put their foot down and not be the whipping boys for the governor and mayor. KRQE has lost a lot of respect...

Thanks, Dan. The hunt for "The Eye" comes after it has been publishing for nearly seven years and right in the middle of the 2013 mayoral election in which Mayor Berry is hoping to be re-elected.

The KRQE report fails to point out that the October 8 mayoral election looms and that the sudden interest in identifying any police officer associated with it could be politically motivated and an effort to quiet the web site before the election. You know, giving a full picture of what is going on?

KRQE-TV also failed to mention that in May of 2010 Republican Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson--then a candidate for the commission and an ally of Governor Martinez--would not answer when the ABQ Journal asked him if he was a contributor to the Eye on ABQ. He said at the time:

"My question is, 'Why would it matter?' 

You would think reporting all of this--the other side of coin--would be basic journalism in a town this size, but KRQE has already had to apologize once for being overzealous in reporting about a former campaign staffer critical of Governor Martinez.

We're saddened about what has happened to the CBS affiliate but if they keep using McCleskey and White as their assignment editors, they are going to keep getting burned. Don't say we didn't tell you...

IN THE MONEY PIT

VP Krebs

ABQ Dem state Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto writes in reaction to the report we carried on the blog about naming rights for the UNM basketball arena--"The Pit":

Joe, I am apoplectic over the statement by UNM VP Paul Krebs that without a naming gift the financial structure for The Pit is unsustainable. How irresponsible and disrespectful to taxpayers for UNM to break ground on renovation while they depend on a future, uncommitted $10 million dollar gift--more than 20% of the total cost of the project!

Now when no one steps up to rename the venue, UNM will come back to the taxpayers for more and more financial support. I am researching to see if UNM even mentioned renaming the famed Pit when they sought legislative funding for the renovation...Meanwhile, UNM continues their claim that athletics pays for itself...

Reader Al Duran also weighs in on this one:

Joe, as to the cost of the Pit’s remodel it was about $60 million--not the $45 million cited by the  UNM VP. How do I know? I was in charge of providing builders risk insurance for all State owned buildings in New Mexico at the time of the remodel. Usually remodels are not subject to Builders Risk but because of the cost it was included. Add to the remodel the indoor football practice facility at $5 million that was done a little before the Pit and you have a cost over $65 million.

We've already opined how we were stunned by how little The Pit seemed to have changed when we visited the arena for the first time after the remodel. The addition of sky boxes to bring in corporate revenue and big screen TV's is about it. And the food remains lousy--really lousy.

For $60 million they could have started from scratch and built a new 21st style arena, but nostalgia got in the way of common sense.

BAILING OUT THE PIT

There's been talk around town that the Maloof family--once pillars of the local business community--but now long gone, could somehow come back and pony up $10 million for the naming rights for The Pit. Don't count on it, says one of our Senior Alligators:

The late George Maloof was a great supporter of Albuquerque and UNM sports. His wife, Colleen, was a UNM regent. However, times have changed and the Maloofs are being pressed to dispose of their own debts and probably not in a position to help with UNM's debt on the Pit. With the collapse of Las Vegas and sale of their Palms Casino, the Maloof obligations are significant. My guess is that they had to pledge equity in the Sacramento Kings (The NBA franchise they recently sold) to satisfy Palms creditors. Gavin Maloof recently had his 13,000 sq ft mansion in Las Vegas for sale for $12 million. The life and times of the Maloofs is fodder for an interesting movie. They were good for New Mexico.

The Maloofs are now gone from here but they are fondly remembered in ABQ and NM. A chief reason is the warm relationships they forged with the thousands of people they employed over the many decades they prospered.

BAD NEWS STREAK

Joe Monahan (with Gator)

By the way, the UNM naming rights controversy is among a string of bad news for UNM lately. The Regents have been called out for apparently violating the state Open Meetings Act and UNM President Robert Frank is drawing attention for paying over $1 million to consultants to provide it with advise on--among other things--"strategic vision." A big chunk of the payments raise the issue of cronyism:

Frank’s office paid a North Carolina-based consulting firm, Cirra, Inc., nearly $125,000 to help him transition into his role as president, according to UNM documents. Then he paid Cirra another $130,000 to come up with a road map of where the university wants to be by the end of the decade and how it plans to get there....To put together that plan, Cirra President Steve Sloate, who has known Frank since the two of them worked together at the University of Florida in the 1990s, flew from Durham, N.C., to Albuquerque every month for the last year and a half...

Hey, didn't the Alligators warn a couple of months ago that UNM's play to secure a larger management role for Sandia Labs could lead to political shenanigans there? In any event...

Like his predecessor, David Schmidly, who also hired and out of state consultants for hundreds of thousands who he had past links to, Frank defends the spending by saying outside consultants are necessary to get the vision thing right.

It all brings to mind that old saying: "An expert in New Mexico is anyone not from here."

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The twists and turns of the ABQ Downs racino deal drives the news of La Poltica in this Summer of '13. The latest....

The ABQ Journal coverage of the investigation of the controversial 25 year Downs racino lease continues to draw intense reader analysis and scrutiny.

When the paper on Friday hit with a front-pager with the headline:  "Early Inquiry Cleared Downs Deal," readers and Alligators responded, saying it left the impression that the Downs deal--in which bid-rigging is alleged--had somehow been cleared of any wrongdoing. It hasn't.

The accounting firm that came with an initial report favorable to the administration--and that the story cited--is working with State Auditor Hector Balderas. He will have the final say on what findings ultimately get his stamp of approval.

So what's really going on? Our readers are on the case:

About that headline, “Early Inquiry Cleared Downs Racino Deal”:  While making a weak effort to correct the record from their previous reporting record by stating that there is in fact an actual FBI criminal investigation underway, the Journal article seems designed to reassure nervous Martinez supporters that this is just a lot of partisan dirty tricks from Democrats and there's no need to be concerned. 
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