We wrap the blogging week with a visit to the crime beat. . .

With ABQ's APD under a Department of Justice consent decree to reform, this this NYT piece sent in by readers is of interest:

When the Justice Department surveyed police departments nationwide in 2013, officials included for the first time a series of questions about how often officers used force. . . Obama and his top law enforcement officials have bemoaned the lack of clear answers to such questions. Without them, the racially and politically charged debate quickly descends into the unknowable. The Justice Department survey had the potential to reveal whether officers were more likely to use force in diverse or homogeneous cities; in depressed areas or wealthy suburbs; and in cities or rural towns. Did the racial makeup of the police department matter? Did crime rates? 

If a cop on the street doesn't report he/she used force, it doesn't get counted. No technology or amount of "reform" will change this fact. But when the data was issued last month. . . the figures turned out to be almost useless. Nearly all departments said they kept track of their shootings, but in accounting for all uses of force, the figures varied widely.

Reader Chris comes with a follow-up:
Back when ABQ had a decent Independent Review Officer (meaning [sorta] independent of APD), in 2004, he asked APD to release data on the number of times officers used any kind of force in the line of duty. They sent him a report, that revealed APD cops used force 551 times during the 2004 calendar year. They tackled somebody to the ground nearly 200 times; they used mace or pepper spray nearly 150 times; they Tasered 85 suspects; they punched or kicked 63 people; they delivered 22 baton blows; they sicced dogs on 12 suspects; they killed three people. That's a lot of force. And it most definitely did not accurately reflect the actual number of times officers used force. If a cop on the street doesn't report he/she used force, it doesn't get counted.

Is the public court hearing being conducted this month to determine whether two ABQ police officers will stand trial on criminal charges in the fatal shooting of James Boyd going to become standard procedure? The news:

California this week became the first state to ban the use of secret grand juries when deciding whether to indict police officers in cases of deadly force. The bill, signed by Gov. Jerry Brown, was a response to the unrest that followed the grand jury decisions in Ferguson, Missouri, and in Staten Island, New York, not to indict the officers who killed Michael Brown and Eric Garner.

"The use of the criminal grand jury process, and the refusal to indict as occurred in Ferguson and other communities of color, has fostered an atmosphere of suspicion that threatens to compromise our justice system," state Sen. Holly Mitchell (D-Los Angeles), who authored the bill, said in a statement.

The new California law leaves it up to the prosecutor to decide whether to charge a police officer with using deadly force, a change that many hope will lead to more transparency and accountability.

Thanks for stopping by this week.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.

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

The question on the minds of everyone in politics is when does The Donald go away? Brent Eastwood, a political scientist in DC with NM ties, explains why the waiting game may be far from over:

Donald Trump is not going away. The debate struggle and even the comments about Fox News' Megyn Kelly are not going to hurt him long term. 25% of Republican primary-voters hate government and the GOP establishment so much that they will still back Trump--warts and all. He has full support of the listeners of talk radio hosts Rush Limbaugh, Mark Levin and Michael Savage. That is very important. The mainstream media does not understand Trump’s talk radio support. I think Trump’s national support will eventually dip down into the teens, but he still has a lock on at least 15% of primary voters heading into Iowa He will clean up some stuff and come up with a few public policies, but what you see now –circus antics – will continue and he will still steal the media coverage from the others the rest of the way out. The potential for him to run a third party campaign should be taken seriously. He could actually create a new nationalist, “America First” type party.

Thanks, Brent. By the way operatives for Gov. Martinez have joined in the Trump bashing. Her former campaign aide--Danny Diaz--is working for Jeb Bush.

Former NM Dem State Rep. Bob Perls, working for an open primary system in the state, says the current political environment favors his cause:

When the majority of voters in most states are supporting the anti-establishment candidate, it means they are looking for a way to register their dissatisfaction with politics as usual. Most don’t know or understand that electoral reform is what is really needed to end the partisan gridlock and political dysfunction that is endemic in our country. That is what New Mexico Open Primaries is about-drawing the connection between what is broken in America and how changing the way we select and elect candidates can help fix it.

Martinez put a toe in the national waters this week when she appeared on conservative Fox News for a live interview in which she bashed the EPA over its handling of the toxic spill that polluted the Animas River in the Four Corners. What you won't see is Martinez appearing in anything that resembles an adversarial interview on networks like CNN, NBC or CBS. Her handlers are not confident. It's probably a key reason why you don't hear much serious talk anymore about her getting the GOP VP nomination next year.

HANDLING HEAT

Some of the NM congressional delegation has been taking heat for not being more in the fore when it comes to the Animas River spill impacting Colorado and an area near Farmington. The office of northern Dem Congressman Ben Ray Lujan, who represents the Four Corners, comes with this:

Congressman Luján and our office have been very engaged on this from the moment we heard about it. He went to Farmington on Saturday for the first community meeting that was held and also talked with EPA Regional Administrator Ron Curry that day. There were still a number of serious concerns and questions that Rep. Luján and the community had following the meeting so he led the effort to send a delegation letter to EPA Administrator McCarthy calling for more action and better communication from EPA. That was followed up with a very frank conversation with the Administrator that is resulting in her visit to New Mexico today. He will meet with her. In addition, one of our district offices is in Farmington, so our man on the ground has been attending all the meetings and in constant contact with our constituents and EPA staff on the ground. In addition to calling on EPA to use every available resource at their disposal to clean up this mess, Rep. Luján has also been very clear that everyone impacted by the spill must be made whole – state, local, tribal governments and individuals, businesses, and farmers.

On the state level, Attorney General Balderas says he will watchdog the feds clean-up to ensure local governments get the resources they need. Earlier, Gov. Martinez issued an emergency declaration to free up funds for the stricken area.

Senators Heinrich and Udall signed a letter to the President urging him to direct federal resources to the area. However, neither of the two Dem lawmakers, both ardent environmentalists, have visited the spill region.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.

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

Valentino

That was fast. The brand new superintendent of the ABQ Public Schools wasted no time embracing the Guv's political machine and by doing so sent an icy message to those Dems and teachers who have been opposing the administration for some five years. But Luis Valentino's bow to the Machine was anything but smooth. He sent out a text message to state education chief Hanna Skandera vowing to bust APS finance head Dan Moya, an open opponent of the Guv and Skandera. But instead of sending it to Hanna, he sends it to Moya. Looks like Super Valentino failed the text test. Not a good start to the school year for him. He has put Moya on paid leave as he looks to axe him.

Why Valentino--who came into ABQ from San Francisco--is so quick to kow-tow to the Fourth and Fifth Floors is an open question but the meaning is crystal clear. One of the Alligators comments:

Did you see the Don Moya firing text to Skandera? My question is how did the new APS super get so close to Skandera so fast to be texting her about "going after" people at APS? It tells me that this guy is tight with the Machine and that ought to send shivers up the spines of Dems and APS leaders. Did the APS School Board know this guy was going to be a hatchet man for Martinez/Skandera when they hired him?

"Shivers up the spines of Dems?" Well, the critics would say detecting spine in the Dem camp has been their problem.

Reader Richard Flores has more analysis of this:

I am astounded that the new APS superintendent would reach out to an unpopular state bureaucrat for advise on how to oust a Finance Director who has been with district for five years. . . What is even more disconcerting is that Valentino would launch an early campaign to disassemble what is already in place at APS so soon after starting his job. It's almost as if he was hired to "clean house" instead of bringing a new vision and leadership that promotes a positive work environment and educational reform. I understand that managing the district's finances is a critical part of the job, but the way this was done appears to open the district up to liability and does further damage to APS in both it's credibility and public image. This fiasco is not a good way to start and makes me wonder if the APS Board hired this guy to strengthen collusion with the state, and thereby, crush teacher, student and community opposition to the Martinez/Skandera agenda.

So jut how did Valentino become a Machine member in good standing? The strongest argument is that former interim APS Superintendent Brad Winter--who is an ABQ GOP city councilor and a member in good standing of the Machine--helped scout Valentino as his replacement and put him on the Machine-friendly path. APS is a billion dollar a year operation with scads of contracts, jobs etc. You can take it from there. . .

DON'T BLAME R'S

Not all were sympathetic to the blog argument Tuesday that the Governor and the economic development secretary should be put on the spot for the decision by Google to move its aerospace subsidiary in Moriarty to the San Francisco Bay area. A reader writes:

Don’t be so hard on the Republicans for Google leaving Moriarty. Don’t think the Dems could have made any difference. It was a matter of logistics, or lack thereof that facilitated this move. They literally had to send out of state for every part they needed. Made sense that it should be moved closer to its suppliers.

This reader took the other side:

Losing jobs in our state is worse than the Animas river having toxins in it. The governor made an appearance on news stations to say how awful this was and has a lawsuit. But where was she when Google left and jobs were lost? Probably reading a book to 3rd graders for a positive photo-op.

Speaking of the Animus problem, Edwina Gardner writes:

Joe, as someone who grew up around mines, I put the blame squarely on the company that owned the mine tailings that spilled into the Animas River. New Mexico suffers deeply from a proliferation of uranium poisoned wells, powdery tailings that blow in the wind, and well contamination. Companies came in and looted our natural resources and then left the mess to poison our state. No one cares, until tragedies like the Animas River occur. Politicians scream jobs from oil and mining companies, but the legacy of the destruction to land, and most important to people, can never be truly repaired. 

One more on Animus from John G.:

Joe, you're asleep at the switch. What, if anything, is our congressional delegation doing to assess and mitigate the economic impacts of the Animas river disaster?

Hey, John, we can't let our blogging pajamas go to waste, but we hear you on the DC delegation. Let's see.

OUR BOTTOM LINES

We get this from ABQ's Congregation Albert:

Ambassador Joseph Wilson will speak on "The Iran Nuclear Deal: Why it is in the US and International Community's Interest" on August 26 at 6 p.m. Admission is free and the public is welcome. . .

Mario Sanchez writes:

Our agency has ended a six month process and is now officially announcing our new brand. After nearly 30 years, we have changed from Cooney, Watson & Associates to CWA Strategic Communications.

CWA is a longtime ABQ marketing and public relations firm. For you politicos out there, that's not to be confused with CYA.

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.

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

You know the economic spin is out of control when the administration claims "New Mexico taxpayers are ahead" now that one of the most valuable companies on the planet has decided to get out of here. The bizarre statement came in reaction to Google repaying the state $1 million in economic development funds as it pulled its Titan Aerospace firm out of Moriarty. True, the state did recoup its money but it failed abysmally in its effort to keep Google in the state. While the Guv and administration spinners pat themselves on the back, they ought to be kicking one another in their posteriors. . .

But what else is new? We have seen Intel drift away and become a shadow of its former self without a peep from the state econ director who used to work for the semiconductor company's Rio Rancho plant. Reader Jason Lewis vents the exasperation that is spreading over the state's inability to get it right:

So what happened that caused Google to exit stage left? And how can the taxpayers be “ahead” when one of the most innovative, well-known and well liked companies decides to to say adios! to the Land of Enchantment? I’d really like to know who screwed this up.

Then there are those intermittent and mysterious announcements from Santa Fe that we are experiencing "record breaking exports" from NM. That would be nice but it turns out the spin on this one is also over the top. Dr. Chris Erickson of NMSU, a member of our list of "No BS Economists," does the fact check:

This is more of an issue of things being warehoused and resorted and reclassified [than] where they were originated.

In other words, a jumble of numbers that don't reflect economic reality on the ground. But that's what seems to happen when you breathe the rarefied air of the City Different. (Remember, those tourist numbers they put out?)

PRICE CHECK

Let's do a quick oil price check since it is so important to the tax revenue generated for the state's budget. It appears that there is more than a slight chance that the bean counters are going to miss in their projection that oil for the current budget year will average $56 a barrel. A reader writes:

Goldman Sachs released a report on the state of the oil market that predicts prices will remain around $45 a barrel for West Texas Intermediate.

For each dollar the price stays below the $56 mark, the state says revenue slides about $6 million. It's hanging at around the $45 level today.

And there you have the real deal econ news.

ANIMOSITY OVER ANIMAS

Now to the Colorado mine spill that's polluted the Animas River in the Four Corners. Reader Larry writes:

Mr. Monahan, I have read many criticisms this weekend of the EPA over the Animas River mine spill, including from Governor Martinez. The EPA only accidentally popped the cork on the Gold King mine tunnel above Silverton Colorado but I know that there is much blame to be spread around for this fiasco. The correct attitude at this point should be to stop the finger-pointing and get this ongoing problem under control. Also, many residents of Silverton have resisted the designation of this area as a Super Fund clean-up site which would have headed this event off

The following links are to an unbelievably pertinent series the Durango Herald published in August of 2013. The articles provide some good background information. Bill Simon is quoted frequently. He has been very involved in the mine remediation problems around Silverton for decades. The articles are here, here and here.

Good stuff, Larry. Thanks.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Is there any political satire more humorous than the Borowitz report? Here's a sample that should tickle your ribs:

Tempers flared in the aftermath of last Thursday night’s Republican debate, as rival candidates accused the billionaire Donald Trump of failing to back up his misogynist slurs with concrete and workable anti-woman proposals. Florida governor Jeb Bush and Wisconsin governor Scott Walker led the charge, as both of them asserted that Trump’s sexist rhetoric paled in comparison with their own strong records of opposition to women’s rights. “As governor of Florida, I defunded Planned Parenthood,” Bush said. “Donald Trump is good at creating misogynist sound bites, but I’ve actually rolled up my sleeves and gotten things done.” 

Governor Walker piled on, touting his own anti-woman achievements during his time in office. “In Wisconsin, I used my power as governor to repeal a law supporting equal pay for women,” he said. “No offense to Mr. Trump, but nothing on his résumé compares with that.” The attacks by Trump’s rivals seemed to sting the hotheaded billionaire, who hit back hard. “When it comes to coming up with solid anti-woman solutions, I do not intend to be lectured by Jeb Bush and Scott Walker,” he said, noting that the wall he intends to build on the border with Mexico would keep out many women.

One thing about politics: You can never say you've seen it all.

And this is. . .

The home of New Mexico politics.

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

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.

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

Rep. Lujan Grisham

Heads up Hector and Tim. Looks like Michelle is making a move. ABQ Dem Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Grisham
turned heads when she leaked that she was weighing a run for the '18 Dem Guv nomination as presumably are Attorney General Hector Balderas and State Auditor Tim Keller. Now she comes with another head turner, teaming up with the conservative leadership of the ABQ Journal for this:

Are you frustrated with issues related to the Affordable Care Act? Want to ask about a problem you’ve experienced? Or, have the changes been good for you and your family? Do you have questions about health care policy and delivery? Do you have questions about health insurance and the cost of health care? Or about Medicaid expansion? Medicare? Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham and the Albuquerque Journal would like to hear those questions and concerns, and provide an opportunity for as many of you as possible to pose those questions directly to the congresswoman during a forum in the Albuquerque Journal auditorium from 6 to 8 p.m. on Aug. 25.

Grisham's Republican ties are no secret and that gives her some entree with the other side of the aisle. But we wanted more on this so we strayed over to the Alligator pond and got this:

I think the Journal is somewhat fond of Michelle. Maybe because she has some Republican ties and they don't see her as a partisan political hack. But this event is kind of extraordinary. They never did this with Republican Congresswoman Wilson, Senator Domenici, Gov. Richardson, Senator Bingaman or even their favorite--Gov. Martinez. Maybe the Journal is trying to play nice and engage the people? We know readership is down. Maybe that explains it. It's really beneficial for Michelle because it plays to her strengths and gives her an issue to latch on to. (Maybe polling shows she needs some independents?) It must really worry Hector and Keller and anyone else thinking about running for governor. It's great for the Journal because after about 8 years of out-of-control conservatism, this makes them look moderate.

Hmmm. Keller hitting the Guv's Machine, Michelle warming up to the Machine press and Hector perhaps preparing to make a move. Are we finally about to get some tension in La Politica? From your lips to God's ears. . .

THE MIXED BAG

It's a mixed financial bag for lawmakers as the 30 day 2016 legislative session starts to come into sight. Here's how Sen. Carlos Cisneros of Senate Finance puts it:

We’re not in recession mode, but we’re not doing great, either. So long as we don’t have to make (budget) cuts, we’ll be in good shape.

Sagging energy prices could put a damper on the upcoming session but tax collections in other areas is fairly strong and Dr. Tom Clifford, state finance director, says things look "balanced." However, what doesn't look so balanced to some corners is the state's $600 million surplus while the administration holds off on filling hundreds of vacant state government positions. Putting some of that excess revenue to work could provide some stimulus to an economy that is still doing a slow walk instead of a jog.

The now $6.2 billion state general fund budget has been essentially flat for years. In the fiscal year 2007-08 the budget was $6.015 billion. Here we are seven years later with only a nominal increase and an actual decrease when inflation is factored in. Conservatives argued if we cut down the size of state government and the number of employees it would be a boon to the private sector. Despite the dramatic shrinkage that hasn't happened.

Clifford and his nest of budget hawks know this but they seem to have only one play in their playbook--cut taxes, hold state government at bay and accumulate huge surpluses they can brag about. Meantime, the state has some of the slowest job, income and population growth in the USA. Not working out too well, is it Dr. Tom?

EVEN CRAZIER

That crazy, convoluted deal that has WisePies Pizza promising to pay UNM $10 million for the naming rights for the famous Pit just got crazier. When the basketballs start bouncing this fall it won't be WisePies the fans chomp down on while enjoying the action, it will be Domino's pizza. That's right. The rights to serve pizza at the Pit recently expired, and you would naturally expect WisePies to be the new vendor. But WisePies makes fresh pizza to order and UNM says it can't be served fast enough in a venue like the Pit. Yet WisePies name is all over the Pit. As Jim Baca would say: "Only in New Mexico!"

Well, with the odds around 20-1 against that fledgling WisePies will be able to make good on more than a year or two of its $5 million, ten year Pit naming rights plan, it makes sense that this deal got even wackier. Geez, where's Dion's when you need them?. . .. .

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

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

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.

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