State Auditor Tim Keller continues to get under the skin of the Guv's political machine as he reports on his investigation of possible preferential treatment of a former client of the taxation and revenue secretary. The ugly rhetoric raining down on Keller prompts NM columnist Ned Cantwell to write:

That rush to judgment mentality, the hate and vilify your opponent mindset, is exactly the reason so many younger citizens find the political system a joke and therefore refuse to identify with either party. They don’t take politicians seriously. . .And if Martinez prefers knife throwing to diplomacy, she is doing the state a significant injustice. A common thread of commentary concludes New Mexico is losing steam. People want to leave. Companies don’t want to invest. Raising capital is difficult. Last on every list. Etcetera. I wonder why?

Keller's findings of possible wrongdoing are on the desk of Attorney General Balderas and await action. Balderas is watching closely the abuse Keller is taking. And the Machine knows it.

THOSE GOVT JOBS

Oh, no! Not more government jobs. Someone call the "diversification cops" because what job growth we're seeing is a result of tax dollars at work:

Employment growth in education and health services outperformed all other industries in New Mexico in June. Not only that, but the industry also added more jobs than it has since January 1991 — 7,700 jobs. Growth in the industry made up about 45 percent of the sum of all year-over-year job gains in June and education and health services' gains have not fallen below 4,000 jobs in the past 10 months.

Much of the growth in health care employment can be traced to expansion of the Medicaid program for low-income New Mexicans. Education funding is the largest component of the state budget and also subsidized by federal spending.

DATELINE SPRINGER

Colfax County Commissioner Landon Newton, a resident of Springer, writes:

I take issue with your comment this week that the rural towns are being hammered hardest by poverty and if you'd like to see an example just drive around Springer or Raton.

Our town, Springer, is a clean well kept town. The town employees work hard to keep the town in great condition. Our local leaders are working toward growing economic development in Springer. The Chamber of Commerce is active and promotes our town. The same goes for Raton and our other communities in Colfax County. Are there things that need improvement; do we have some vacant buildings and homes? Yes, of course we do. However, we are definitely not what I would consider a depression town of the 1930's.

Colfax County has some of the most beautiful scenery in the state of NM. There are many things to do in the county. Philmont Scout Ranch employees over 1200 seasonal employees every summer. 

Finally, come up to Springer for the Colfax County Fair and Rodeo on August 8th. We will treat you to an old fashion parade, home cooked BBQ and a great Rodeo.

We just might take you up on that Fair and Rodeo invite, Landon. The scenery is spectacular and the people friendly.

That's it for this week. Thanks for stopping by. We appreciate it.

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(click to enlarge)

They're outta here. You're probably aware that more folks are leaving Albuquerque than moving in but this map from Bloomberg puts the problem in stark perspective. ABQ ranks #19 among the top 20 cities in the USA that folks are ditching. The info is based on 2013 numbers but we're not seeing signs of any explosive group. Stagnant or slow-population growth could be a long-term trend.

The reason why more people are leaving here than moving in seems pretty obvious--jobs, jobs, jobs. And some may be leaving because of crime, crime, crime.

Remember, this is not only the ABQ city limits being ranked, but the four county metro area of Bernalillo, Valencia, Sandoval and Torrance counties.

We have seen no statements from Mayor Berry or Gov. Martinez about the fleeing folks. Has anyone asked them?

And how about El Paso ranking #1 among the top 20 cities losing residents? Again, the prime reason is jobs. We've done extensive reporting on the Las Cruces recession. But the "R" word rarely makes it into the mainstream media in Cruces or ABQ. Seems folks just don't want to deal much with the fact that folks are hoofing it out.

DE LA CRUZ BLOGS IN

We ran into Dem Bernalillo County Commissioner Art De La Cruz the other day and he strenuously disagreed with us about future population growth. He said he has watched the area grow for 40 years and growth will soon resume. He said that's why he supports the controversial Santolina Development that projects tens of thousands of new residents for the West Side area in the decades ahead.

Mesa del Sol was another land development projected to have tens of thousands of residents but the crash took care of that. And economist Dr. Kelly O'Donnell has come with an erudite analysis of why she believes Santolina's projections are off base:

I have reviewed the economic and fiscal impact analyses submitted with the Santolina Level A Master Plan, and find that although both analyses are methodologically sound, they each contain unrealistic assumptions about the population and economies of the middle Rio Grande Valley and consequently overestimate the project’s net benefits. When these assumptions are replaced by more accurate ones, estimated net benefits decrease by 56 percent, the jobs to housing ratio falls from 2:1 to .6:1.

Good stuff, Kelly. We're going to add her to our list of "no bullshit economists" which includes Dr. Chris Erickson at NMSU.

No crystal ball is perfect and maybe Commissioner Art will be shown to be right 25 years from now. If we're still around we'll buy him an adult beverage of his choice.

THE SPACEPORT PAUSE

There's nearly a zero chance that Virgin Galactic will launch flights into space from the NM Spaceport next July but the head of the Spaceport put that out as a possibility when lawmakers pestered her over the operating expenses for the facility near T or C.

Predictions of Virgin taking tourists into space have been going on for 11 years. Industry insiders say last year's fatal test flight crash has made the future of manned spaceflight  in NM unknowable. The Legislature has been subsidizing the $225 million state-owned Spaceport to the tune of over $2 million a year, and if they want to keep the place going they're going to have to keep it up into the unknowable future.

BLISTERING TOM

Sens. Udall & Vitter

Sen. Tom Udall has a reputation as a leading environmentalist but he continues to get blistered by both the right and left for championing a chemical safety bill, even as he announces that over half the Senate is now supporting the measure. Here's the latest Udall thumping from the right from the American Spectator:

Here’s the ugly. The American Chemistry Council, Dow, Dupont, BASF, 3M, Honeywell and Koch Industries spent $62.9 million in 2014 lobbying members of Congress, according to the Center for Responsive Politics and lobbying disclosure forms filed in Congress. While the disclosure forms don’t link the lobbyists to specific bills, a study by the Environmental Working Group found that most of the forms referred to TSCA. . . Senator Tom Udall, in Congress since 1999, has been largely ignored by the industry—until the 2014 election, when he turned up in the top 20 recipients of American Chemistry Council money, according to opensecrets.org. The Chemistry Council also ran television ads supporting Udall’s successful race against Republican challenger Allen Weh. It appears they’re getting a decent return on their investment.

Udall's office defends the measure:

This bill was written by Sen. Udall and Sen. Vitter in one of the most open and inclusive processes for a major piece of legislation to ensure all sides got a chance to be heard -- environmental advocates, industry, public health NGOs and others all were involved,” she said. ACC had no more input than environmental groups, and as a result of the input from many stakeholders, the bill has moved further toward what environmental groups and others said they wanted to see.

THE BOTTOM LINES

A proposed gross receipts tax hike of one-eighth of 1 percent to finance improvements to the ABQ BioPark will be on the October city election ballot thanks to a petition drive that gathered the required 14,000 signatures of registered voters. The city clerk's office says it has verified the signatures. The petition drive was managed by Steve Cabiedes of S C Consulting. He says it was hit or miss during the months-long drive but a push at the end put the BioPark foundation over the top. Cabiedes has been doing petitions for decades.

Cabiedes had better luck on this deal than when he last made the news. That was in 2012 when he managed the campaign of the primary foe of ABQ Dem SE Heights State Rep. Sheryl Williams Stapleton. It got so heated that Cabiedes was attacked in mailers by Dem interest groups for having worked in the past for GOP candidates. Cabiedes is a longtime contributor to our election night coverage for KANW 89.1 FM in ABQ.

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We kick off the Wednesday blog from downtown. . . .

Mayor Berry's eagerness to engage protesters upset that a confederate flag is displayed in ABQ's Old Town is in sharp contrast to his willingness to engage with other activists, particularly those bird dogging APD. One of the Alligators says it's a sure sign that Berry is eyeing a political life beyond city hall:

Berry must be getting ready to run for something otherwise he wouldn't be making such a big deal out of meeting with folks on the Confederate flag issue. He has hid under a rock the last 5 years and you had to pry him out to get him to meet with the public. How long did it take for him to meet with victims from the police shootings? Nine months? Now he puts out a statement the day after a "protest" and actively engages the Old Town Confederate flag issue. Something is up because his far Northeast Heights political base could care less about this issue.

What's up is that Berry is eyeing a Guv run in '18. That may sound surreal to those who are fully aware of the heavy baggage this mayor carries but it's what you get when you have a city council, a Democratic Party and a newspaper that has given him a pass. Possible Republican foes of Berry for the GOP Guv nomination might want to think about that?

BUSTING BUSSEY

Secretary for Workforce Solutions Celine Bussey brought the Alligators out of the pond when on the Tuesday blog she supported building a dental school at UNM. Here's one of the critters (a Republican) who calls himself "C.U. Laytor Gator" (no kidding):

First, as a Gator who remembers previous dental school debates, it would be wise to do a cost benefit study before breaking open the coffers for a somewhat specific field of advanced medical training like dentistry. The state has, in the past, found it much more cost effective to pay neighboring state tuition to get New Mexicans trained up as dentists. Before this administration goes down that path, it ought to do an updated analysis. My hunch is that, even with some folks going out of state for dental school and then not returning, it was much less expensive than the dis economy of scale involved in creating our own dental school.

Those in favor of the dental school say cost is not the issue but the opportunity it provides to New Mexicans to enter the profession and to staff the state with dentists who are committed to staying here. Would it be cost effective to send New Mexicans who want to be doctors or lawyers to out-of-state schools? Probably but we don't because the point isn't the subsidy it takes for the education but the beneficial impact to the state's long-term future.

When you stick your neck out in La Politica you can be sure it will get snapped at. Here's a Senior Alligator strike on Bussey:

Secretary Bussey cannot even run the Workforce Solutions Department, making people wait on hold up to 45 to 60 minutes. The fact that the Workforce Solutions secretary is talking about the need for a dental school is backwards. I agree 100% with you about the need for a dental school but I would suggest that it is a conversation that the regents at UNM should have. The workforce solutions secretary should spend her time seeing if she and her department could not do a better job putting people back to work and administering the programs that fall under her domain.

Another of Gov. Martinez's cabinet secretaries--Monique Jacobson of Children Youth and Families is taking hits. They come from ABQ Dem State Sen Michael Padilla. That story is here.

VIDEO MYSTERY

A reader who is a friend of the family who lost their son in a fatal shooting in March at the Los Altos Skate Park in ABQ's NE Heights says he expects more transparency in the case if APD is truly undergoing reform:

APD was quick to put on a PR show to portray Jaquise Lewis, a 17 year old African-American, as a perpetrator who was gunned down in "self-defense." APD released to the media several highly selective screen shots from a video taken that night as part of that effort.

Jaquise's mother has repeatedly called on APD to release the full video because she believes it shows Jaquise did not start the fight that occurred that night, that he did not have a gun, and was shot in the back twice in an act of premeditated murder.

While willing to release selective screen shots from a video that is almost three minutes long, APD refuses to release the full video. After repeatedly asking for the video's release Jaquise's mother was forced to file a public records lawsuit against APD in order to get the video released. She has stated publicly that she will drop the public records lawsuit if APD will release the full, unedited video. APD says they won't release the video because there's an on-going investigation. 

That development certainly raises the curiosity quotient about just what went down at that skate park.

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When it comes to the rate of child well-being in New Mexico, it's still "Thank God For Mississippi."

NM ranks 49th in the nation in the just released national Kids Count rankings for 2015, the same as 2014. Mississippi, as it so often does, spares us from the bottom of the barrel by coming in 50th. Some details from the annual Annie E. Casey Foundation report:

New Mexico’s child poverty rate was 29 percent (using 2012 data). That has risen to 31 percent in the new report that uses 2013. . . .The number of children living in high-poverty areas has increased by 25,000 kids, and 27,000 more children live in families where no parent has full-time, year-round employment than did in 2008. “Over the last several years we’ve seen 38,000 children fall into poverty in New Mexico. That is simply not acceptable,” said Dr. Veronica García of NM Voices for Children. “Poverty has very detrimental effects on children. If we want them to succeed in life. . . we need to ensure that they have the opportunities that will put them on the right path early in life.”

The ranking is more bad news for the state's political class which for years has struggled to adequately address widespread poverty here. A proposed consittional amendment that would ask voters to tap the state's $15 billion Land Grant Permanent Fund to fund very early childhood education (ages 0-5) is one of the more prominent ideas in circulation to break the poverty cycle. It has been stalled in Santa Fe for several years.

Based on our visits and those of others, rural NM continues to be getting hammered worst with poverty. Political observer Hal Rhodes has likened it to a second Great Depression there. Travel around Raton and Springer, for example, and you can see for yourself.

WE'RE #1!

While NM finds itself near the bottom in the child poverty rankings it is #1 in the USA in one category: the amount of federal spending coming in here. That's according to  Wallethub, a personal finance resource website. About New Mexico, it says:

In the Land of Enchantment, residents get $2.19 for every dollar they pay in federal income tax, the fifth highest rate in the country. 37.89% of New Mexico's state revenue is supplemented by federal funding, which is the eighth highest in the country. New Mexico also has 18.50 federal employees for every 1000 residents, which ranks sixth highest in the country, and 9.03 non-defense federal employees per 1000 residents, which is the third highest rate in the country.

Thanks Uncle Sam, and please don't take too seriously those who believe all that funding is detrimental and who claim "diversifying" away from it will be good for our little isolated place. We're already feeling enough pain from your scissors.

DUSTING OFF

Sec. Bussey

Some things get really dusty around here. Like the idea of building a dental school at UNM to provide career opportunities and dentists for a state that has far too few. Former politicos Bill Richardson and Jeff Bingaman were supportive as is the state dental association. But the dust has just kept gathering. But hold on. Now comes a lady with a can of Pledge in her hand to wipe away some of it. Republican Celina Bussey is Secretary of NM Workforce solutions:

Bussey said her office is watching the physician shortage, for example, and is applauding the forthcoming medical school on the campus of New Mexico State University. For several years, health care companies have struggled to fill open positions and the medical schools here have not kept pace with demand. “It’s 2015, and I cannot believe just now we’re having this conversation,” Bussey said. “We have no dental school. We send [students] away and hope they come back.”

Welcome aboard, Celina. Now could you pass that can of Pledge on to Gov. Martinez? The dental community says a full-fledged dental school would complement the successful UNM medical and law schools that have turned out so many state professionals over the last 50 years and more (no, we don't know if Bussey is going to run for something, but it is on the Alligator radar).

COMMISSION SCRAMBLE

Steven Michael Quezada will bring star power to next year's race for the South Valley Bernalillo County Commission seat. Whether he'll be able to take political power is an open question. Quezada, an ABQ native, has joined three other contenders already seeking the seat being vacated by term-limited Art De La Cruz.

Quezada, 52, gained fame as an actor on the Breaking Bad TV series filmed in ABQ, but he also has experience acting as a public official. He was elected to the ABQ school board to a term that expires in 2017.

The race for the Valley (and West Side) commission seat always draws a crowd because it is kind of like being mayor of the South Valley. Most of the district is not in the ABQ city limits and is not represented by a city councilor, giving the county commissioner for the area special status.

One of he big issues in the race is the proposed Santolina development project for the West Side. Quezada has voiced opposition. So has candidate Adrián Pedroza.

Others in the race so far include another school board member--Analee Maestas--and retired police sergeant Robert. G. Chavez. There will likely be more. All the candidates are Democrats. No R's need apply in this heavy Dem district

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Guess who?

If she takes the presidential prize next year two New Mexicans appear to have a good shot at having Hillary's ear. A Dem consultant reports:

Former ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez and former US Ambassador to Spain Ed Romero have both raised in excess of $100,000 for Hillary and are on her national finance committee, known as Hillblazers." There's only 122 members nationwide. Chavez and Romero are two of six Hispanic names on the list. Thought it might deserve a mention.

It does deserve a mention given New Mexico's deep relationship with the federal government. Chavez has been a Clintonista since Bill befriended him during Chavez's first mayoral term in the early 90's (remember them golfing together in the city?).  Romero was named ambassador by Bill. The businessman recently hosted a high-dollar fund-raiser for Hillary at his ABQ home.

Establishing a relationship with the presidential contenders is more difficult for NM since we are no longer a swing state and fall safely into the Dem column. The Romero-Chavez connection to Clinton should help keep New Mexico in her sights. On the GOP side, state R's have solid ties to both of the former presidents named Bush. They hope those ties will translate to Jeb Bush should he take the White House.

And speaking of the feds impact on New Mexico. . .

What makes ABQ's Sandia Labs tick this deep into the 21st century as the number of nuclear weapons decrease? The Center for Investigative Reporting comes with the answer and more about the impact of the nuclear complex here and on the world. It also takes on the controversy over the huge amounts of money going for  nuke "modernization:"

The B61-12 bomb’s Life Extension Program at Sandia is among those projects. This year, the $643 million for that program accounts for more than a third of Sandia’s $1.8 billion Energy Department budget. . . Obama pledged that the United States would produce no new nuclear warheads and that life extension programs of existing weapons would not provide “new military capabilities.”Officials from the Obama administration, Pentagon and Energy Department continue to argue that the B61-12 stays within the bounds of that pledge by modernizing an aging family of bombs and in the process ensuring a reliable nuclear arsenal to scare off adversaries.

The state is more dependent than ever on federal dollars as the Great Stagnation continues. The latest news that the slot machines at area Native American casinos are seeing a lot less action is hardly surprising. Flat population growth and flat incomes make sure of that.

Casino gambling is now a mature industry here. It has been unable to establish much of a foothold with out-of-state tourists, forcing the gambling houses to compete against one another for a shrinking customer base.  It doesn't appear that any of the casinos is in danger of going out of business. But the state is saturated with gambling and until there's a major uptick in the economy and/or population growth, it can be expected to stay flat as a tortilla.

AN ONGOING STORY

In the timeless category of "the more things change, the more they stay the same," we get this from one of our Legal Beagles avidly following the APD crisis:

Attached is a major study and report done for the city of Albuquerque about police oversight and the excessive amounts paid in judgments and settlements in police misconduct cases. It is not about today but for 1990 to 1995. It reports on the cost to the city and what the money could be used for if there were not such excessive settlements. Just increase the amounts and dates in the report and it is still relevant. Here's the the report's conclusion:

"We conclude that a major part of the current problems with the APD are the result of the failure of other city officials to exercise their oversight authority. We believe that the City Attorney should develop a policy of examining chronic problems in police behavior and providing the appropriate feedback to command officers in APD. Together with Risk Management the City Attorney's office should develop specific goals and timetables for reducing tort claims against the city. We believe that both the mayor and members of City Council need to take a more active role in overseeing the APD."

THE BOTTOM LINES

Reader John Saucedo writes of the ABQ October city council election in District 6 in ABQ's SE Heights:

Sam Kerwin is running for council and I was wondering why you hadn't mentioned his name. I've been helping him with his campaign and heard that you had mentioned the other competitors, but not him. He has been going to neighborhood meetings, building coalitions in neighborhoods and maintaining his regular volunteer work. I would appreciate it, as well as everyone else involved, if you were to actually mention his name in your blogs. 

We have mentioned Kerwin but not each time we blogged of the race to replace retiring Dem Councilo Rey Garduño. The leading candidates are Democrat Pat Davis and Republican Hessito Yntema. Kerwin is a Democrat. Here is his Facebook so John can tell him we mentioned his name.

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