The forum comes just days after the city set a new yearly homicide record (it stands at 84) and ten weeks before the November 2 election. Unfortunately, because of Covid, the forum was switched from being live to being held on zoom. Here's a link to attend the virtual event.

While our mayoral trio preps for their showdown, there's eyebrow raising news from the Gonzales campaign. His former campaign manager, Meg McMillan, has lawyered up to the hilt in the wake of forgery allegations that have rocked the sheriff's effort. And we mean to the hilt. 

McMillan & Gov. Martinez

McMillan has hired high-powered criminal defense attorneys Bob Gorence and Jason Bowles as the swirl of events over the forgeries continues. 

The Office of Inspector General came with a report for the city's ethics commission that says there were indeed forgeries by the Gonzales campaign as they worked feverishly to collect thousands of $5 donations and signatures to qualify for over $600,000 in public financing. 

The Gonzales campaign, in response to the ethics complaint from the Keller camp, said there had been apparent forgeries but they were inadvertent not intentional.

McMillan and longtime sheriff's aide Michele Martinez are in the middle of the mess, although no one has been charged with a crime. McMillan's lawyers said she would talk with the OIG but only if she was subpoenaed. Martinez ignored efforts by the OIG to get an interview.

The sheriff has admitted there were forgeries and forced McMillan out of his campaign. Her hiring of the top lawyers (what do they charge anyway? $500 an hour?) has raised the specter of a possible fourth degree felony prosecution. But how or whether that would come down is unknown. The Bernallio County DA, the Attorney General or the US Attorney could conceivably start a probe. None has yet said anything or been asked to. Whatever the case, McMillan isn't taking any chances. 

The twentysomething consultant is the granddaughter of the late Colin McMillan , a prominent and wealthy Roswell Republican rancher and politico.

Shannan Calland

The new Gonzales campaign manager is Shannan Calland from southern California and the Keller campaign is wasting no time working her over. They pointed to this 2018 news article:

Los Cerritos Community News exclusively reported that Shannan Calland, Montebello Planning Commissioner and partner of current Montebello City Councilwoman Vivian Romero, received over $26,000 from Romero’s State Senate Campaign committee. . . The company was found to be shadowy at the time, with little or no social media presence and no website. . .Romero only defended Calland saying, “she has tons of experience.” When asked about the questionable optics of paying her partner Romero said, “maybe so, but I had to pay professionals I can trust, we always have to pay for experienced people.”      

Keller campaign manager Neri Holguin questions the hire, saying:

Welcome Shannan, or something.    

There is now a judge to hear Gonzales' appeal of the city clerk's ruling denying him taxpayer money for his campaign because of the forgeries. He is Judge Bryan Biedscheid of the northern 1st Judicial District. He was appointed to the bench by MLG In 2019. No hearing date has yet been set. And the clock is ticking. If Gonzales loses his appeal for the $600K he will need all the time he can get to raise private money to compete with Keller. 

Progressives are frowning over MLG and Keller teaming up again and having the state police--about three dozen of them--patrol the city as the violent crime wave continues. 

Responding to our Monday blog Monday several progressives told us that more gun restrictions and a universal basic income need to be enacted to tamp down the violence. But those measures are nowhere near getting approved. While Keller and MLG often take the progressive side of the equation, it is the middle and right of the political spectrum that is breathing fire at the to do something about the spilled blood. Keller puts it this way:

The progressives point out that the last ABQ state police intervention from MLG was riddled with problems and that many of the arrests made were thrown out of court. The state's top cop--Chief Tim Johnson --says that won't happen this time. We'll see. 

The state police intervention comes at a critical political time with the Mayor's campaign in full swing and the crime wave the #1 issue. MLG, to use an old phrase, is "giving him a gift from the north." At least it looks like a gift. 

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