Santa and his reindeer are just about here and that's our cue to wrap up the eventful year of 2016.

While 2017 will not be a general election year, there will be plenty to ponder and to blog. For example, who will be elected mayor of ABQ? What will the final field of 2018 gubernatorial candidates look like? Will the '17 session of the Legislature finally provide lasting solutions to the state budget crisis? Will the economic stagnation be with us for yet another year? That same question applies to ABQ's crime epidemic. What inevitable political scandals will grab the headlines? And will there be any new faces arriving on the stage of La Politica that generate excitement?

All of it is plenty of grist for the political mill but for now it's time for us to join you in pausing to celebrate Christmas and New Year's and to reflect on our good fortune. As such, blogging will be light from now until the new year.

Thanks for your continued interest and support. Enjoy our annual Christmas card and some holiday cheer from Frank. Also, below are some film reviews from reader Eric Lucero for your holiday enjoyment.

Merry Christmas, New Mexico!

AT THE MOVIES

Fences (PG-13), Social Drama *****Stars out of 5 is based on the Pulitzer winning staged play of the same name. The screen version of Fences is a real labor of love, helmed by actor/director Denzel Washington and is populated with great individual performances, especially by actress Viola Davis. Based on the Pulitzer-Prize winning play by the late August Wilson, “Fences” is centered on African-American father, Troy Maxson an illiterate struggling garbage collector living with his family in 1950’s Pittsburgh who once was a Negro League baseball star. His world becomes disrupted when he purposely derails his son, Cory’s (Jovan Adepo) plans to play college football. Denzel’s emotive portrayal of the doomed, selfish father trying to come to terms with his life is first rate, as is that of his long suffering wife, Rose’s response. Both performances are Oscar worthy, as is the film. Yet, it is painful to watch this slice of life, filled with lost hope and broken dreams, play itself out on the screen.

 Manchester by the Sea (R), Social Drama *****Stars out of 5 This is an Oscar worthy film with a challenging story. Great acting by Casey Affleck (Lee) and Kyle Chandler (Joe) allow this vehicle to purr on all cylinders. And there is a breakout performance by actor Lucas Hedges (Patrick Chandler), who plays an emotive millennial whose life is disrupted by the sudden death of his father, Joe. Lee, a ner do well janitor from Quincy, Massachusetts, has been made Patrick’s legal guardian until his legal emancipation. Lee reluctantly accepts the responsibility of guardianship. Through well edited flash backs, the audience gradually learns that both Lee and Patrick have serious anger issues, but for different reasons. Needless to say, just about every member of the cast is seriously flawed. Life happens so all of us in some form or another have experienced many of the issues that confront the Chandlers and their social circle. Theirs is not a pretty picture, nor does their plight necessarily resonate during the cheery holiday season. Yet the well crafted story, authentic showcasing of locale and the excellent ensemble performances makes Manchester by the Sea a standout film and worthy of your time.

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It's upside down world again at ABQ City Hall. The Berry administration wants to pay $17 million for a downtown parking garage to help out a developer while city revenues plunge because of the lousy economy, leaving a $6 million deficit for the budget year that ends June 30 and that could go higher.

Worse yet, the parking garage deals looks like a giveaway to the developers. While Mayor Berry wants to pay $17 million, a city study says it's not worth more than $5 million. Doesn't anyone remember how the city buying downtown parking garages bombed in the past and ended up costing taxpayers?

Meantime, look no further than the stagnant airport to see the overall stagnant economy. Earlier this year city boosters were touting a significant increase in passenger traffic at the ABQ International Sunport as a sign that the city's anemic economy was turning up. But that turned out to be a false hope, Figures for passenger traffic through October of this year--3, 979,000--compared to 2015--3,959,000-- show hardly any change. Southwest Airlines has cut back on the number of flights serving ABQ prompting complaints that it is more difficult to get in and out of ABQ.

There was a time when the ABQ Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and NAIOP--the establishment business groups of the city--were willing to administer at least mild criticism and occasional stern questioning to the city leadership whether it be Democrats or Republicans in charge, but these once important groups are now harshly partisan. Even the most egregious errors by the Republican administrations in ABQ and Santa Fe are met with a code of silence

OF course, the silence is deafening as the millennials flee for good jobs elsewhere, UNM descends into political chaos, the crime wave fed by meth feeds on itself and a years-long police officer shortage goes on and on with no end in sight. But some of the folks in the aforementioned business groups are making good money and they are keeping their mouths shut. Until, we suppose, a beheaded body with missing testicles shows up in their front yards. Yeah, Merry Christmas, Economic Forum. See you at your next breakfast. Not.

WHAT DO DEMS DO?

That's the question posed to former NM Governor Bill Richardson recently:

It’s a very serious concern. I just went on TV twice today on the Cabinet appointments and I winged it. You need something right now. Trump every day is doing something outrageous. What do we do? Criticize everything he does? Hold back a bit? I know we need to develop an economic message but that's long term. We need something now. Most of the Democrats I talk to are down, and they're asking who’s in charge.

IF SHE GOES. . .

Reader Richard Flores believes if NM Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera lands a job with the education department in DC, as expected, that will be a good thing:

Skandera's departure would  usher in renewed hope that teachers will once again take charge of the educational process in New Mexico, and will concurrently bring back some sanity to the educational experience. With a lame duck governor, and Democratic control of the legislature, I forsee that the PED will be more in favor of greater support for teachers, and educational models designed and implemented by teachers. Skandera will fit in best where her ideas and partisan perspective are appreciated. New Mexico was not that place.

THE BOTTOM LINES

In a first draft Tuesday we blogged yhat Attorney General Balderas had been criticized by fellow Dems for agreeing to a 30 day jail sentence for Secretary of State Dianna Duran who was convicted of corruption charges. Actually, Balderas recommended no jail time for Duran. A judge imposed her 30 day sentence. The linked article explained:

Asked why the Attorney General’s Office argued at Duran’s Dec. 14 sentencing hearing that she should be placed on probation without any incarceration, Balderas told The New Mexican through a spokesman that his office “investigated, charged and negotiated a resolution that contemplated the Court using its discretion to impose up to 8 1/2 years of incarceration. Our recommendation was only a baseline and gave the Court full discretion to sentence up to 8 1/2 years. We must respect the Court’s ability to exercise judicial discretion.”

However, it is not uncommon for prosecutors to argue for jail time when the law allows for it.

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The Christmas mail bag is full so we have a lot to get to in this edition of Vox Populi. Here's a reader with lengthy political experience who is thinking about the '17 race for ABQ mayor:

Joe, Who is tough enough to fix APD both by growing it and holding bad actors accountable? Who can navigate the unions and nine city councilors to ultimately achieve success for the city? Who can work with APS in a meaningful way to help our kids succeed? Who can really latch onto what needs to be done to keep our kids from leaving and both grow our local economy and attract new companies to locate here? Which of the candidates has a long term vision, a plan to realize the vision and the skill set to execute it? I frankly don't see a "change" candidate and if Albuquerque ever needed change, it's now. I'm really afraid of the downward spiral that we're in--a dysfunctional APD fails to inhibit crime which destroys our quality of life and economy; a failing school system both contributes to crime and the lack of a solid work force which in turn discourages economic investment and all of that means our kids are leaving. 

THOSE ABQ BLUES

Attorney and former APD officer Tom Grover writes:

A little more than two years ago this city saw protests on an unprecedented scale when a mentally disturbed person was shot and killed in the foothills of. Yet here we are in 2016 and we have seen more of our city's children murdered, tortured, mutilated, sexually assaulted, and defiled than anytime in recent memory and there's all but a shrug here in town. We even get the grotesque opportunism by Mayor Berry as he enshrouds himself in the most recent tragedy to be weeper-in-chief. I am beyond outraged at what Berry, (Chief Administrative Officer Rob) Perry, and his cronies (that's you Chief Eden) have endorsed and let grow and spread throughout this city like a cancer: Indifference. 2017 is when we take this City back.

AWFUL DISCOVERY

Reader and former ABQ City Councilor Greg Payne writes of the gruesome discovery this week of the body of a  man found dumped behind an ABQ Wal-Mart in the NE Heights who had been decapitated and who was missing his genitals.

What the hell is going on in this town?  And why the hell isn't the public holding Mayor Berry, Eden and the City Council accountable for our death spiral downward? If you had an Hispanic Democrat mayor and/or a Hispanic Chief of Police you would see a much different response from the older, white conservative voters in this city (which is also true of A.R.T.). What that voting block thinks - but won't say out loud - is, "Well, it would be so much worse if we didn't have a white Republican running the show." But how much worse could it possibly get after having an honest to goodness Okie from Muskogee in charge for the past seven years? Would it take Albuquerque looking like Aleppo before they got upset and held the city leadership accountable? I really have my doubts if even that would outweigh their baser motivations.

We can only add that the leaderhip vacuum in this town is abhorrent. In preparation for the mayoral and city council contests, we're erecting a "No Bullshit Zone." What are they going to do about it? By the way, Mayor Berry is from Nebraska, not Oklahoma, but he may as well be in either of those places for all he's doing here.

HECTOR'S OKAY

Balderas

Reader Theresa Trujeque, writes:

Hi Joe, Regarding Attorney General Hector Balderas and your comment that a large segment of the Democratic population thinks he is too soft on Governor Martinez. I don't know whom you are defining as the Democratic population. As an involved Democrat both in the party and in the community, I have heard nothing but praise for what Hector has done as Attorney General. In fact, a very involved Democrat for more than 40 years told me that Hector has done more in his 2 years in office than the past 4 attorneys general. Hector has been in office less than 2 years and he's already taken down two of Martinez' cronies. What other attorney general has done that? So, let's give credit where credit is due. If Hector had not prosecuted Secretary of State Dianna Duran we would not have Maggie Toulouse Oliver as Secretary of State. I believe Hector does what he thinks is best for the state of New Mexico and not what your "population" of Democrats think is best.

Thanks, Theresa. Let's explain.

--Balderas has come under criticism in some Democratic quarters for being less than aggressive as state auditor when he was presented with possible wrongdoing regarding the Martinez administration's controversial awarding of the Downs at ABQ racino lease.

--He has also been scored for not recommending any jail time for former Sec. of State Duran who was convicted on corruption charges. A judge imposed a 30 day sentence.

--He received criticism from Democrats for writing a letter, along with former NM Dem Party Chairman Brian Colon, urging the state Senate to approve Republican Matt Chandler as a member of the UNM Regents. Chandler ran a political action committee attacking Dem legislative candidates.

--The attorney general also was attacked by other Democrats when upon taking office he dismissed many Democratic attorneys who had worked for his predecessor, Democrat Gary King.

The second "crony" Theresa refers to is former Taxation and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla who resigned last week when the attorney general's office escalated its investigation of criminal allegations against her.

NOT RAINING

On the Monday blog the self-described "Crockagator" referred to the state's $15 billion Land Grant Permanent School Fund as a "rainy day fund" and also criticized State Senate Finance Committee Chairman John Arthur Smith. That got reader Mick up in arms:

Joe, It ain't a rainy day fund! It's for the entire state when the extracting industries run out of things to extract. That we already tap the interest generated by the fund is cause for caution. Looking at the economy's future, we may need those dollars sooner than we thought. As for John Arthur Smith, but for his hand on the tiller the ship of state may have sunk into bankruptcy given the demands for funds for New Mexico's "needs." He's been conservatively responsible in his approach to finances. There are other Senators and Representatives who would like to either run rampant with tax increases or run rampant with tax cuts. Senator Smith has trod the middle (well slightly left of middle) ground. We taxpayers should be thankful.


NO FOOD TAX

A reader writes of the move afoot in Santa Fe to reinstate the food tax:

We just had an election where the very flawed Republican candidate for President won by picking off alienated working class Democrats who felt neglected by the out of touch elites in their own party. This food tax proposal is just a money grab. It is easier to go after this pot of money than to take on the special interests who are protecting their own honey pots. I don’t see how Rep. Brian Egolf, who will be House speaker,  keeps control of the House in 2018 with a slogan of “you put us back in charge of the House and we re-imposed the food tax!” 

BE TOUGH, MARTIN

Reader David Dekker doesn't think Dem US Senator Martin Heinrich was too tough when he called Secretary of Energy-designate Rick Perry "utterly unqualified" for the office:

I think Heinrich 's response to Perry is spot on. Playing nice has resulted in the Democrats defeat for years. It's actually refreshing for Heinrich to speak forcefully for once. Dems better fight or we will lose our democracy.

MOVE EXPO

Suzanne Shannon writes:

I agree that moving Expo NM out of Albuquerque is an excellent idea--to Moriarty, perhaps? That small town is a natural for the state fair and would benefit from the business. But I also feel somewhat skeptical that the fairgrounds would then be developed in a thoughtful and prudent way. Look at what happened with the West Side of Albuquerque over the years. Look at Mesa del Sol. Both are “planned” as miles and miles of unbroken tracts of tacky-tacky housing, not an “urban oasis” interspersed with parks, walking paths, trees, adequate public transportation, etc. I’m afraid all-powerful developers would take over such a project because of their political influence and create a mess there instead of a well-planned residential and commercial area/ The people of Albuquerque haven’t in the past tried hard enough to fight for the creation of a beautiful city. Paris, it ain’t.

GOING PRIVATE

ABQ Dem State Rep. Debbie Armstrong writes of the contention made here by a Republican analyst that Dem governor candidate Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham has no experience in the private sector:

Michelle was co-founder, with me, of Delta Consulting Group. We opened the business in 2008 and it is still operational. At the time of Michelle’s involvement, we were awarded a contract to manage the New Mexico Medical Insurance Pool and numerous other small consulting contracts. We employed 2 or 3 others, in addition to us, as well as occasional contract employees. So, she has indeed been a business owner, employer and responsible for writing paychecks!

PEARCE'S DEEP POCKETS

A reader writes of Rep. Steve Pearce, a possible '18 GOP governor candidate and the over $1 million he has in his federal campaign account:

Joe, You ponder Pearce moving his war chest to a SuperPAC, but couldn't he also use it for ABQ TV in a brand building way if he never says what he's running for? Perhaps not once he's formally declared, but a few hundred thousand in human interest type pieces talking about helping little old ladies fix their social security challenges would be just an initial salvo in a much pricier overall 2018 campaign season.

FASHION ADVICE

Kamala Harris

Reader Leslie writes:

I sure am glad you blogged that Rep. Lujan Grisham sported a navy blue dress with pearl strands in the video she released announcing her run for the Democratic nomination for governor. 

Can you tell her that as we women get older and the ol' neck starts to sag wearing a rounded neck can appear very frumpy and not flattering to the face. Her best bet if she wants to look like a CEO is to wear suits, dresses, blouses that are V necked. Not so V necked as to be provocative with cleavage. I think a good example is California Senator-elect Kamala Harris.

Oh, you hit the funny bone with that one, Leslie.

Now that was one of the better editions of Vox Populi. Keep it coming, folks. . .

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Barbara Damron

Who will replace Bob Frank as president of the University of New Mexico now that the mess over his departure has been resolved, much to the embarrassment of our Harvard on the Rio Grande? One prominent name circulating is that of Dr. Barbara Damron, currently the Secretary of Higher Education in the Martinez administration.

The cabinet is known for having few stand-outs but her advocates say Damron is one. She has a Ph.D in educational psychology and once worked as an associate professor of nursing at UNM. She has received kudos for promising a reform report in September of next year to resolve the dysfunction of higher education in the state which has too many institutions, too many governing boards and a shortage of money to fund them.

Damron would be the first woman president at UNM, but there will be plenty of competition.  One problem for Damron: People are weary of the politicization of the school with its regents beholden to the Martinez administration and how it has become a dumping ground for the administrations of both Martinez and her predecessor Bill Richardson. The regents will choose the next president so that complaint may fall on deaf ears. The current board is a fully owned and operated subsidiary of the Fourth and Fifth Floors.

UNM Provost Chaouki Abdallah has been named interim president. He says he expects the new permanent president to be named in about six months. Frank is through Dec. 31.

HANNA'S HIGHTAILING 

Another prominent figure in the Martinez administration, Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera, is back in the blog headlines. On of our Senior Alligators (who have a 99% accuracy rate) reported here back on Nov. 28 that it was expected that Skandera would be leaving the administration and perhaps heading to Washington. Well, Politico now confirms that Skandera is under consideration for several high ranking positions in the U.S. Department of Education. That's not quite out the door but very close. Skandera, 43, has got to be exhausted from six years of infighting over education reform and looking forward to getting out. Of course, her many critics are cheering her on.

NOT ENOUGH MONEY

With the state economy stagnating for years, impatience is growing as people move out of here and those that stay behind have plenty of targets to blame for the mess. Here's the self-appointed "Crocagator" joining the blame game:

Joe, Since Senator John Arthur "Dr. No" Smith took over as chairman of the state Senate Finance Committee the financial status of New Mexico has spiraled downwards. I am not a follower of Governor Martinez nor an apologist for her but since the death of Senator Ben Altimirano nothing positive has come out this committee to help our state grow. Now is when we need leadership. The rank and file of NM residents cannot understand why some of the $15 billion sitting in the Land Grant Permanent Fund cannot now be used as a rainy-day fund to come to our rescue. Rather than to make the working class pay more tax we should be using this fund to get our economy growing. The Crockagator.

At the time of his death in December of 2007, Altimriano was the longest serving state senator in history. He served as the chair of the powerful finance committee for 17 years before becoming Senate President Pro Tem for three years. His death came less than a year before the national financial crash that helped take the state economy down and from which it has yet to recover.

By the way, the longest serving state senator in history is now Democrat John Pinto who celebrated his 92nd birthday Thursday. He has been in the senate since 1977.

NO MORE MONEY

In case you missed it, the move to increase the amount of money ABQ mayoral candidates get when they publicly finance their campaigns will not be put on the Feb. 7 ABQ school board election ballot, an administrator at APS tells us.

Mayoral candidates who get public funds currently receive  a dollar for every registered city voter or around $362,000. The new proposal would have raised that to $630,000. However, we're told most school board members are against it as were members of the Bernalillo County Commission who rejected the idea of placing it on the November  election ballot.

Not all the mayoral candidates will publicly finance, but those that do may now look to outside political action committees even more to bolster their presence.

SHINING LIGHT

One of the state's more intrepid journalists and one with a reputation for making government officials feel the pain when they hide public records will be the new executive director of the NM Foundation for Open Government (FOG). Peter St. Cyr, working of late as a freelance reporter, has been breaking major stories on the state's medical marijuana program and many more. He says he is particularly proud of his record of forcing public officials to comply with the state's public record acts (IPRA). In his new role he won't be looking for secrets but instead passing his on to fellow journalists hungry for a look inside the state's bureaucracy.

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