On this the 13th anniversary of the notorious September 11 attacks we're writing to you just miles from where the Twin Towers once stood. New York City still deals with the lingering effects of the trauma which include serious health issues for the first responders. Of late, the NYPD--like APD--has been dealing with a new menace--a department culture that has led to some very high profile police brutality cases.

The difference between here and our city is the swiftness and forcefulness that the authorities are dealing with the matter. There will be no need for a Justice Department civil rights probe as there as in ABQ. The police commissioner is calling for a top to bottom retraining of the force. In recent years the number of fatal police shooting has plummeted (far fewer than ABQ) and now it's about the use of force in making arrests.

ABQ has dithered when it comes to cleaning up its backyard. Maybe the difference is that there is so much on the line here--a global reputation, a thriving business community and a culture that has high expectations.

Mayor Berry and assorted officials have been in Las Vegas, NV this week seeking ideas on APD reform.  A similar visit to New York might be in order.

HEAD NOT HEART

A UNM professor argues that when Gov. Martinez garnered 40 percent of the Hispanic vote in 2010, it was a vote of confidence in her polices. But was it that or largely a ratification of her ethnicity and her personal appeal? We think the latter. . .

The matter arose when video surfaced this week of Dem Guv candidate Gary King asserting that Martinez does not have a "Latino heart." Well, it's not what's in her heart, it's what's in her head.

The minimalist austerity government she has presided over and that has seen New Mexico continue to languish is set for another four year run--and with hardly any debate. Does the state want another four years of the same? Now that's a heartfelt query. . .

READY TO SERVE

Silvio Dell'Angela, a longtime community activist and severe critic of APD and ABQ Mayor Berry comes with a satirical take on the recent appointment of GOP ABQ City Councilor Brad Winter as the interim Superintendent of the ABQ Public Schools. Some excerpts:

Mayor Berry, In the event Brad resigns his seat, I am a volunteer to replace him.  Be assured that as a registered Republican, I will care only for my District 4 and no longer think or vote independently in the best interests of the citizens of the entire city. I will also continue his practice of sustaining every one of your vetoes of legislation passed by those five evil Democrats.

If appointed, I will abandon my efforts to reform APD and do whatever you wish while deeming my loyalty to the Republican Party as the sole basis for my decisions.  I will also support your and Mr. Perry’s efforts to discredit news sources like the Eye on Albuquerque, Joe Monahan, La Jicarita, the weekly ABQ Free Press and Alibi and other news sources where good APD officers and others dare to tell them what’s really going on downtown.

Further be assured that that I will also abandon my former friends/activists, those “rabble rousers” as an ABQ Journal columnist properly called them, who would dare hold protests demanding change. Again, please consider me seriously for the District 4 position should Councilor Winter choose to resign. You can be assured of my loyalty to you and the Republican Party.

Councilor Winter says he will not resign. His council term ends in December 2015. He is not expected to seek re-election.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2014. Not for reproduction without permission of the author