MLG & APD Chief Medina (Moore, Journal)

It was quite the spectacle late Friday when MLG announced a suspension of the right to publicly carry firearms in ABQ and Bernalillo County for 30 days. 

No sooner had she issued the emergency public health order than she expressed doubts about its constitutionality and enforceability. It was like watching someone build a bridge and then immediately blowing it up. 

(Public health order here. News release here. Full news conference video here.)

The Governor's grand gesture was welcome as an expression of outrage over the latest spate of shocking city violence--a road rage shooting death of an 11 year old boy after the Isotopes baseball game and the August murder of a 5 year old Westside girl by teens engaged in a shooting spree outside her home. But, politically, she jumped the shark and the backfire has only just begun.

Few politicians have the bona fides MLG does on gun control. She's been there since the beginning but this time the broad brush she used chased away law enforcement (BernCo DA Bregman, APD Chief Medina, BernCo Sheriff Allen) who would normally have her back.

Late Sunday our sources reported that members of the state House Dem caucus have decided to stay mum on the Guv's order. The House GOP is pursuing a lawsuit against the order. 

As with Covid, her critics say the order revealed a dictatorial tendency that slowly simmers within her, just below the smiling surface. They dismissed the gun ban, saying MLG basically admitted her order was wide of the mark and will do little, if anything, to interrupt the murderous atmosphere in ABQ fueled by a nonstop flow of fentanyl that is eagerly awaited by cartel-supplied drug dealers and desperate addicts. (Never mind the tongue-lashing MLG received from critic-in-chief Elon Musk)

Of course, there was another shooting murder only hours after MLG's announced gun ban, prompting one cynic to declare, "guess the criminals didn't get her memo."

The rage on social media over the order was palpable and some landed in our email:

Why isn't MLG organizing some sort of manhunt for the thug punks who killed this 11-year-old? Why is her focus on suspending the Constitution (which she doesn't have the power to do), but she's not using the state police to track down these murdering thugs? Tells you everything you need to know about the real target. She won't go after the thugs because it's easier to go after law-abiding citizens. They expect us to submit to authority. They know from experience the thugs won't. 

RAISING QUESTIONS

The ban drew widespread national attention and raised more questions about subduing the crime wave: 

So if teens with guns is the problem--and it is--why not target them--rather than the entire gun-toting population? 

If fentanyl is the forerunner to the unacceptable violence, where is the administration's sweeping behavioral health plan? A county-by-county case study of behavioral health offerings and then a plan to rebuild the system would find widespread support. But the years tick by and still we hear the addicts, their relatives and crime victims justifiably complain that "there aren't enough beds" for the drug and alcohol addicted. In a state with billions in excess revenue that should be viewed as outlandish. Here's a slogan for the administration: "Anyone who wants a bed, gets a bed."

If we're creating more criminals from youth suffering trauma at home, fix CYFD--not rearrange the chairs over there. Trauma has been found to be the root cause of disruptive behaviors later in life. In New Mexico child abuse has been a national scandal. A new and improved CYFD is essential to disputing the cycle but serious reform has been bogged down by administration resistance and a turf battle with the attorney general. 

If, as the Governor says, the US Attorney General is ignoring her pleas to deploy more federal agents in the state, where is the announcement that political pressure will be applied by the state's congressional delegation? After all, Sen. Martin Heinrich has--somewhat prematurely--expressed his interest in succeeding MLG. Does he have any stuff to show us amid the horrid murders that are now becoming normalized? He and the rest of the delegation have the power of the purse. Have them use it. 

And, as retired APD sergeant and crime watcher Dan Klein says: 

Pressure the Department of Justice to bring RICO cases against those who support the cartels (money laundering for example). These cartels exist due to large money backers who create legal businesses that cartel money is laundered through. Go after these people. The FBI and USA should not do press releases about seizing 500,000 fentanyl pills. That is just a drop of water in the pool. What they should be doing are news conferences in front of strip malls and businesses that are owned by or supported by the cartels and announcing that they are seizing all the assets. That is how you hurt them.

There is still hope that ABQ's violent streak can be curbed but frustration is now turning to grasping at straws. Real change requires a determined strategy and meaningful action that goes beyond the Governor's grand but ultimately feckless gesture.  

SAM'S RUN

She may have appointed him but BernCo District Attorney Sam Bregman is running for election next year with a new black hat and a tough on crime platform. He ran faster than his son Alex Bregman stealing third base when the Governor unveiled her controversial gun ban. In a brief statement the DA said: "As an officer of the court, I cannot enforce something that I do not believe is constitutional."   Any questions?

KELLER AND MEDINA

ABQ Mayor Keller and APD Chief Medina were indeed "thrown under the bus" as some Republicans gleefully asserted in the aftermath of that MLG news conference. The two city leaders said the gun ban will be enforced by state police not local law enforcement. That had the hecklers cackling that not enforcing the laws is par for the course for Medina and APD.

Chief Medina sat next to the Governor at the news conference. He looked sadder than Zozobra just before the match is lit. The painful murders of the children are a disaster for him and his department. We predict his tenure will end soon. As for Keller, the tire tracks from getting thrown under the bus by MLG are going to be hard to wash off. 

The Democratic Party with MLG, Heinrich, Torrez, Haaland and Keller vying for control is in for some turbulent times as the party starts to split apart on the crime crisis.

ABOUT THAT LAW

As a Assistant General Counsel for the NM Department of Health Santa Fe attorney Cliff Rees had a major hand in drafting the 2003 law that MLG invoked to ban the carrying of firearms openly or concealed in ABQ and Bernalillo County Some thoughts from him:

The NM Public Health Emergency Response Act defines a "public health emergency" in New Mexico as "the occurrence or imminent threat of exposure to an extremely dangerous condition . . . that poses an imminent threat of substantial harm to the population of New Mexico or any portion thereof;" (Section 12-10A-3.G. NMSA 1978). Public Health Orders under the PHERA terminate automatically after thirty days unless renewed by the Governor after consultation with the Secretary of the NM Department of Health [Section 12-10A-5.D. (2) NMSA 1978]. 

Shouldn't New Mexico be using our overflowing public coffers thanks to the gusher of oil and gas revenues to fund free substance abuse treatment, both outpatient and residential, no questions asked, to address the root of the violence here and across the country? Along with substance treatment, we also need to invest in affordable housing and job training to solve this problem. Public health experts refer to this as addressing the problem "upstream" rather than waiting for the casualties to appear "downstream". Reasonable regulation of the sale and possession of guns is also needed. I expect the Second Amendment advocates will be in Federal District Court in Albuquerque before the ink is dry on the Governor's Public Health Orders seeking a Temporary Restraining Order against all or part of the Governor's measures.

Karin Jean-Pierre

The White House has apologized for a rare press office error made when giving President Biden's reaction to the passing of former Gov. Bill Richardson. 

We reported here exclusively the error made in the first official statement which said that the President extended his condolences to Richardson's wife Barbara and "daughter Heather." Trouble is there is no daughter Heather nor any other daughter that anyone is aware of. 

CBS News Senior White House Correspondent Weija Jiang last week asked White House Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre about the mistake in the White House statement. Here's the video of the White House press briefing with the Richardson issue starting at 23:15:          

Q: I have a question about fact-checking here at the White House. The initial statement from the President about the passing of Gov. Bill Richardson included condolences for his wife of 50 years, Barbara, and their daughter Heather. That line about Heather the daughter has been removed. He didn't  have a daughter named Heather--or daughter. So could you walk us through how these press releases are fact-checked, who signs off on them in the end and then in this case how this error was made?

Weija Jiang

A: So look. We apologize for the error. Certainly. That is not. . .something. . .we want to do. Right? We went to make sure that we get this information out clearly and in a straight forward way to the American people. So that was not done intentionally. . . 

When we realized that error it was removed from the website. We do have fact checkers here. We do have multiple people who take a look at the press releases especially from the President. This was just a miss, unfortunately, and we apologize for that miss. . .Again, as soon as we realized it we removed it from the website. . . I just want to reiterate our condolences to the families. . . Bill Richardson was a friend to the President and so again we apologize for that error. Certainly that is not something we want to see happen. It is not a common occurrence. . . that happens from this White House. 

Q: Has the source of the error been identified and dealt with to prevent it from happening again? 

A: We will do our best. . to make sure that doesn't happen again. Again, it was an error. We apologized. I apologized just now. . .and we certainly removed that. . .the moment we realized that error was made.

Sure, an error like this is not not the end of the world but glad to have this piece of NM history on the record correctly and not have the White House spin out of it. There was speculation that the error may have arisen when a staffer took the erroneous information from a random website which is not the way to get "information out clearly. . to the American people." The White House did not say how the error occurred. 

Richardson will lie in state at the Capitol Rotunda Wednesday from 11 A.M. to 4 P.M. A funeral mass will be held at 11 A.M. Thursday. Both are open to the public. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

One of the first candidate forums for the November 7 ABQ election happens today:

Indivisible Albuquerque will meet on Monday, September 11, at 5:30 pm at O'Niell's, 4310 Central Ave SE, Albuquerque, NM 87108. Doors open at 5:00 pm. You can also join via Zoom. Our meeting will feature a candidate forum for City Council District 6. The candidates are Abel Otero, Jeff Hoehn,  Kristin Greene and Nichole Rogers.

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