That's Me

On the other hand, the glorification of fighter Holly Holm combined with the notoriety ABQ has received from the "Breaking Bad" TV series may not be the best PR for a city where the violent crime rate has soared and whose police department is under a federal consent decree. . . .

Do you get the vibe that deep down ABQ Mayor Richard Berry is kind of afraid?:

Since May, Berry and his spokesperson have repeatedly failed, or refused, to answer questions from ABQ Free Press on a wide range of public-policy issues, including the $100 million bus rapid transit project he wants to put on Central Avenue and the retention bonuses for 19 members of the Albuquerque Police Department’s command staff.

Please, not again. New Mexico has the dubious distinction of being named by 24/7 Wall St. as the worst run state in the nation:

New Mexico is the worst-run state in the country with some of the worst social and economic outcomes. . . More than one in every 10 households in the state earns less than $10,000 each year, the second highest proportion after Mississippi. The state also struggles with one of the nation’s highest violent crime rates. Close to 600 violent crimes are reported each year per 100,000 state residents, one of the highest rates nationwide. Like a number of other states towards the bottom of this list, more people left New Mexico than arrived from April of 2010 through the middle of last year. . . 

Maybe someone will ask Gov. Martinez what she thinks of that and what her plans are to turn it around? Oops. We forgot. It has always been that way, always will be that way, our political leadership has nothing to do with it and if you don't like it you can get the hell out of here. Okay, now everyone back to the Holly Holm parade coverage.

The Association of Commerce and Industry says:

ACI has partnered with other local businesses and organizations to generate a survey for millennials who have left the state. If you know any millennials from New Mexico who are now working somewhere else, please ask them to take a few minutes to complete the survey.

They need a survey to find out the millennials are leaving because the job market here sucks?

KILLING OBAMACARE

Republicans in the  US Senate Thursday night voted to unravel Obamacare. NM Senator Udall said the bill passed by a vote of 52-47, though it is expected to be vetoed by the president, and the Senate vote is far short of what would be needed to override that veto:

. . . Five and a half years ago, thousands of New Mexicans couldn't afford to see a doctor when they got sick. Many more were one major illness away from bankruptcy. . . and they could be denied coverage for a pre-existing condition. . . Today, over 230,000 more New Mexicans have insurance, and — thanks to the Affordable Care Act — health care is one of the strongest parts of our economy. Most importantly, I hear from New Mexicans regularly about how, thanks to the law, they can get life-saving care that they couldn't afford before.

We're hearing the same stories, Senator, and are perplexed by the hardcore opposition. In some cases, small business owners tell us their insurance costs have gone up. Maybe more work needs to be done in that regard. But with more than 230, 000 New Mexicans now insured, why make the perfect the enemy of the good?

KICK SOME

Judge Brack

NM US District Court Judge Robert Brack is overseeing APD reforms for the use of excessive force mandated by the Department of Justice. But clearly it is time for the judge--putting it directly--to kick some ass:

APD has failed to submit an acceptable use-of-force policy for its officers as required by its settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice, a special monitor in the case said. . . .James Ginger’s report covers APD’s progress from Feb. 1 to the end of May. Because there is no use-of-force policy, APD officers aren’t being properly trained in use of force, Ginger told U.S. District Court Judge Robert Brack. That means that cops can’t be properly supervised and judged on their use of force, which could lead to endless appeals by officers if they are disciplined for excessive use of force, Ginger said. Ginger submitted his 200-page report on the status of APD’s progress on the 280 goals established by last year’s settlement agreement with DOJ. So far, APD is in compliance with just 1.4 percent of those goals.

In compliance with only 1.4 percent of the goals? Come on Judge, if they're not laughing at your court they are at the least sporting big smirks. Or worse, they believe you are a softie and in cahoots with them because you are a Bush appointee. It's the APD brass who should be bending over and getting the boot on the butt--not you, sir.

THE BOTTOM LINES

A couple of corrections: It's Veronica Garcia--not Gonzales--who heads up NM Voices for Children . . .And Democratic Public Regulation Commission (PRC) candidate Cynthia Hall is not now employed at the PRC. She was once an attorney with the agency.

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 2015

The fight for the 2016 state political narrative is underway with the GOP marketing "an all crime all the time" agenda and the Dems saying it's all about corruption that Gov. Martinez promised to clean up but hasn't and thus the state economy remains in the gutter.

In Alamogordo, the Dem Party executive director advanced the argument this way:

Right now I think you're seeing a big push from us talking about the corruption in Santa Fe and what we can do as a party to fix that. (Martinez) ran in 2010 to clean up corruption and specifically said when you clean up corruption then you create jobs. What we're seeing is that she's done neither. Economically, you can't read a paper in this state daily without seeing some concerning sign about the economy.

Meantime, a group of GOP legislators is calling on the NM Supreme Court to liberalize the amount of time ABQ police and prosecutors have to present evidence of a crime to the defense or risk getting cases dismissed. ABQ has been struck by a violent crime wave that has dominated recent headlines. Of course, the R's will also hammer Senate Dems over the perennial issue of driver's licenses for undocumented immigrants and try to paint them in a corner over a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow judges to deny bail to criminal defendants.

The stakes are future control of the state House which the R's took over in 2014 for the first time in 60 years and the GOP effort to add the state Senate to their column.

At the starting gate it appears the status quo--the House stays under the R's and the Dems continue to control the Senate--is the safest bet. But starting in a few months millions will be spent by both sides to advance the above narratives and to change the odds of the eventual outcome.

NOT FOREVER BLUE?

We posted a comment from the chief WaPo political pundit this week saying that NM is now reliably blue when it comes to presidential contests. We agree but veteran GOP politico and DC lobbyist Jim Richards, who has ties to NM, comes with the counterargument:

I have to take issue with the Chris Cilizza blurb you posted on a Blue New Mexico. While we did lose NM in 2000 (thanks to an Eastside snow storm!) and lost again in  '08 and '12, the last time I checked my home state currently has a Republican Governor and State House, the latter for the first time since most of your readers were born and the former, much to the chagrin of many on the left, is a Hispanic Female Republican! Contrary to the conventional wisdom of many, I would argue that Hispanics are not a Democrat monolith.  In fact, as a strong supporter of Marco Rubio and someone who is actively working to advance his campaign, I would argue that a Rubio led ticket has great potential to turn NM red again. When that happens I will happily serve the pundits a healthy plate of crow. . . 

Thanks, Jim. But Chris and I are on the same page on the prez race here. We're looking very blue for a very long time. That, however, does not play out on the state level where the R's have done a good job in advancing their party, thanks in part to the much lower voter turnout in non presidential years. But if we're wrong about the prez race, please serve our crow medium rare with a side of Hatch green chile to soften the taste.

AMENDMENT BATTLE

Rep. Javier Martinez

Not much is expected to change in the legislative battle over a proposed constitutional amendment that would allow voters to decide if they want to tap the state's nearly $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund and devote about $125 a million a year of it for ten years to very early chil hood programs--from infancy through five years old.

Advocates, of which we are one, will introduce the measure in the '16 session of the Legislature to keep momentum for it going. ABQ Dem State Sen. Michael Padilla will carry it in the Senate and ABQ Dem Reps. Javier Martinez and Antonio "Moe" Maestas will sponsor it in the House.

Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith is the annual brick wall to the proposal and he says he will again oppose it. The GOP controlled House is also not friendly toward the measure. But the state has slipped to some of its worst social conditions rankings in history in recent years, prompting Veronica Garcia, head of NM Voices for Children, to describe herself as "angry." That anger will again be channeled through debate over the amendment, even if immediate success is not on the table.

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 2015

Publisher Lang

Newspapering remains an uncertain and treacherous enterprise in this digital age with a broken business model and an opaque future. The ABQ Journal is no exception. The news:

The Journal has laid off more than half of its customer service team. According to Joseph Leong, vice president and chief revenue officer for Albuquerque Publishing Company, which owns the Journal, the move was in the works for the last couple of months and takes the 15-person staff down to seven.

That layoff announcement comes on the heels of the Journal's decisions to abandon its vending machines and to purchase a used printing press for $3 million instead of a new one for $28 million.

All the activity has the Alligators speculating over the future of the paper which like others has seen its print circulation continue to plunge year after year. Is the Journal getting itself in tight fiscal shape to weather the stormy years ahead and eke out a decent profit? Or is the belt tightening in preparation to sell off the family owned newspaper? And if it is, are there any buyers out there?

The new publisher of the paper is William Lang, brother of Tommy Lang who retired from the position earlier this year. Our Alligators inform that William Lang is not enamored with the newspaper business but is a proficient businessman.

The Journal seems to be making its going from its extensive real estate holdings rather than the expensive-to-produce newspaper. It is a privately held company, in the Lang family since 1926, so it is hard to determine if the real estate is subsidizing the newspaper operation.

We do know that Scripps-Howard still gets 40 percent of the Journal's profits, if there are any. That agreement dates back to when Scripps owned the now defunct ABQ Tribune. Would that arrangement prevent a Journal sale? Probably not, if the 40 percent interest isn't doing much for them.

How about Hearst, the owners of KOAT-TV which partners with the Journal newsroom, buying the paper? They could combine the newsrooms  and save a lot of money. But what about FCC rules that restrict ownership of a TV station and a city's newspaper by the same owner? From what we have researched a waiver might be able to be granted to allow such a sale.

Whether it's the bookkeepers looking after the bottom line or the new publisher looking to a company future without a newspaper, the Journal, like most papers, will be sailing in rough waters until someone figures out how they can again become money makers.

STAFFING UP

Frequent blog contributor and retired APD Seargent Dan Klein comes with an insightful analysis of the major shortage of APD officers.

Joe, law enforcement experts are pegging 1,100 as the number of police officers needed for a city the size of ABQ. We have barely over 800 and the reasons city officials are giving for the chronic understaffing don't hold up under scrutiny. When Mayor Berry took over in 2010 we had 1,055 officers. This shortage is a problem in ABQ but not elsewhere in the state as city leadership claims. 

APD is down 263 officers from the original budgeted strength of 1,100. The NM State Police is currently 100 percent staffed with 678 officers. The Bernalillo County Sheriff's Deponent is also 100 percent staffed with 332 officers, 

Mayor Berry and APD Chief Eden will tell you that police staffing is a problem statewide. That police officers have been retiring because of changes to the state pension plan--PERA. Well NMSP and BCSO belong to the same plan APD belongs to. So why are they fully staffed and APD is losing officers to retirements? It is because of APD mismanagement and it has nothing to do with PERA. If PERA were the problem NMSP and BCSO would also be having trouble.

Thanks, Dan. Mayor Berry will again ask the Legislature to permit "double-dipping" which would allow retired officers getting full pensions to rejoin APD and keep that pension as well as their salary. Klein's analysis makes passage of double-dipping even more problematic.

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 2015

Those who thought corruption in state politics would stop with the advent of the Republican administration were woefully wrong, so maybe it's time to turn our lemons into lemonade:

A resident of New York's capital city has an unusual economic development plan. . .For a $12.50 or so "bribe," visitors to the planned Museum of Political Corruption will get a tour of the state's long history of crooked politicians, shady deals and backroom power brokers, as well as a chance to learn about individuals who have fought corruption. . . The museum is the idea of Bruce Roter, a professor at Albany's College of Saint Rose, who is now raising money for the museum, which he envisions as both an educational institution and a tourist destination that focuses on the state Capitol's reputation for corruption. 

Imagine it. The New Mexico Museum Of Political Corruption under the wing of the Department of Cultural Services attracting tourists from far and wide, featuring life-sized wax figures of ex-treasurers Robert Vigil and Michael Montoya, forrmer Secretary of State Dianna Duran, ex-Senate leader Manny Aragon and the newest addition--Martinez political guru Jay McCleskey. And let's make sure it's all bipartisan. The exhibits could be jointly narrated by Governors Martinez and Richardson.

Come on New Mexico. We can do this!

BLUE FOR GOOD

Political pundit Chris Cililzza writes in the WaPO of New Mexico and the presidential contest:

. . . Winning more and more of the white vote will become an increasingly futile endeavor for Republicans if they can't find a way to win more of the Hispanic and/or black vote. It's a simple math problem. States like New Mexico (George W. Bush won it in 2004!) are no longer competitive between the two parties because of the whitening of the GOP. Arizona and, eventually, Texas, will move toward Democrats at the presidential level if current demographic and political trends continue unabated.

ANOTHER TRY

That proposal to take a portion of the state's huge Land Grant Permanent School Fund and devote it to very early childhood education will be introduced yet again in the '16 legislative session. The latest reports show the state falling even deeper into a social conditions crisis:

(Legislators) will announce at a press conference today their intent to sponsor legislation that will allow the voters to decide on using a portion of the state’s $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund for early childhood care and learning. . . New Mexico is the second worst in the nation for joblessness which is strongly correlated with child well-being as 31% of New Mexico’s children live in poverty. 

“All the tragedies we are seeing in New Mexico are symptoms of what is happening to our children. Early childhood education is the way to improve our state. Over the last five years our children have gone from 44th in well-being to 49th and 50th. We can turn this around,” said Allen Sánchez, CEO of CHI St. Joseph’s Children, the largest home visiting program in the nation.

SWEETHEART DEAL?

Newsman Peter St. Cyr, writing for the Morning Word, reports:

Former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid and her husband, Mike Messina, are under the microscope in Vermont after brokering a deal between a private law practice and that state’s attorney general, who filed a groundwater contamination lawsuit against 29 oil and gas companies. Messina and Madrid deny their donations to Attorney General William H Sorrell resulted in a sweetheart deal.

MAKE IT YEAR ROUND

Here's a good idea that would be even better if it were made permanent:

The city announced it would waive parking meter and pay station fees for spaces around Nob Hill, Old Town and Downtown during the holiday season. 

Continuing through Dec. 27, it will bag its meters in Nob Hill, EDo and Downtown and also offer free metered parking at its pay-and-display lot at Rio Grande and Central. The free parking has a two-hour limit.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Spanish language KLUZ-TV is so far alone among the TV news departments in taking a look at the  federal grand jury investigation of Jay McCleskey, Gov. Martinez's top political adviser. . . America's "one percenters" are keeping the Santa Fe Opera in good shape. It  says it had $8.7 million in ticket sales and 78,000 in attendance for the 2015 season--the second-highest season for ticket revenue in the company’s history.  Bravo!

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 2015

New Mexicans joined the traditional post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy but our subdued economy probably had many of them doing more window shopping than actual buying. Here's part of the reason. . .

In its latest report Kirtland Air Force Base--which includes Sandia Labs--reports that in 2014 the base had a $7.6 billion economic impact on the state. But looking at its 2012 report KAFB said it then had an impact of $7.8 billion. That's a whopping $200 million decline (not accounting for inflation) and much more when you account for the repeat effect of those dollars not being spent. And KAFB says since its last report the impact of base spending on the ABQ metro is down a stunning $500 million.

KAFB asserts that its economic impact on the ABQ area is $3.8 billion. We say asserts because we're always suspicious of these economic impact numbers as they are based on suppositions. But there's no denying that the decline in the amount of federal dollars here continues its long, slow grind. It has contributed to the downsizing of the economy which is symbolized by the multitude of payday loan stores, dollar stores and the flat housing market. Some reasonably argue that the fewer dollars in circulation has also contributed to the higher crime rate.

KAFB and our congressional delegation are quick to point out that the employment numbers at Sandia are actually up the past few years, but that obviously doesn't account for the bleeding we have had with contracts and other funding.

We ran into local advertising whiz and possible 2017 ABQ mayoral candidate Steve McKee the other day and he opined--as he often does--that ABQ must build a robust private sector economy to replace the federal dependency.

No doubt the conservative Republican is correct but we offered the opinion that there is no way on God's green earth that you are going to create private sector activity anywhere near the equivalent of the mammoth federal presence here. Has the private sector even replaced the $200 million in economic impact that the KAFB numbers says was lost here in the past two years? Not even close. It will take generations.

The current political leadership have been bystanders to the federal dollar decline, claiming that we must fight for the federal dollars but not showing us any specific plans or actions. The congressional delegation is aware but so far unable to land new federal installations or monies to offset the decline.

KAFB and the rest of the federal presence remains the backbone of the ABQ (and NM) economy but after 75 years it has fractures. What we do about it in the years ahead will largely determine the fate of the New Mexican economy.

PRC PRIMARY BATTLE

It looks as if we'll getting an interesting Dem primary in '16 for the Public Regulation Commission (PRC) seat that covers most of big Bernalillo County. Incumbent Democrat Karen Montoya, current chair of the commission which regulates utilities, among other businesses, will face off against attorney Cynthia Hall, a former staffer at the PRC and who ran against Montoya in the primary of 2012.

Back then Hall came in second and Al Park ran third. Both Montoya and Hall say they will take public financing which will give each of them about $32,000 for the run. So far Montoya and Hall are the only two announced contenders. No R's have surfaced yet in this fairly solid Dem district.

MORE SUPPLY?

City officials are gleeful over this news but we're wondering if we're not falling behind the curve in providing an even bigger and better Christmas Eve show for the many clamoring to participate:

Tickets for ABQ RIDE’s Annual Luminaria Tour on Christmas Eve have sold out.  All Tour tickets were sold by 12:30 p.m. November 27. That is the fastest-ever sellout of tickets. . . The tour. . . takes approximately 45 minutes and travels through Old Town and Country Club neighborhoods. . .Tour times are scheduled at 5:30 p.m.; 5:50 p.m.; 6:10 p.m.; 6:45 p.m.; 7:05 p.m. and 7:25 p.m.

How about adding a tour or two, going a little later and getting other neighborhoods to participate? This is a nice draw for ABQ now serving 3,600 participants, but if it's selling out in four hours the city could look at expanding and satisfying demand not just celebrating its current popularity.

A RAT HOLE?

That luminaria tour begins and ends at the downtown convention center which Mayor Berry is proposing to spend more money on in renovations. A reader disgruntled over that writes:

I can not figure out the fascination City Hall has with pouring money down a rat hole that is now some 40 years old and will never be able to compete on a national level. Why is it that this city always has to do things half assed and on the cheap? Mayor Berry just spent over $20 million to renovate the convention center and now wants to spend another $5 million to somehow convert it to an event center. A 10,000 seat arena he proposes is not what is needed, but rather a 16,000 to 20,000 multipurpose facility to attract national shows and events. It would have been far more practical just to level the damn building, start from scratch, and build a new facility for $45 or even $65 million that will be far more practical and will be used.

This corner has long advocated that Tingley Coliseum on the state fairgrounds be demolished and a 21st century events complex be built with a seating capacity north of 20,000 that would be a showcase for the entire state and also boost tourism. Unfortunately and with apologizes in advance to Vicki Harrison of Common Cause, our idea has about as much chance of winning legislative approval as an independent ethics commission.

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 2015