"How long has this been going on?" So asks a great pop hit from 1974 and it's the question the city and state are now pondering about the APD DWI scandal. It may not go back as far as that song but close, say two prominent Legal Beagles.

First, longtime activist, politico and blog contributor Steve Cabiedes, 56, summed up the feelings of Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque when he appeared before the City Council meeting Monday night to lament the decades-long fiascos that have damaged the department and the community:

I was a 29-year-old young man in 1996 asking for this city to get a handle on its use of force and police corruption. Now, I have wrinkles in my eyes, gray hair on my chin — and we’re still dealing with the same thing.

An ABQ Legal Beagle with lengthy experience comes with personal insights about a lawyer who is now wrapped up in the scandal. 

Mayor Keller says the alleged bribe-taking by cops in exchange for walking on DWI court cases goes back a decade. But our Beagle says think again:

Joe, Tom Clear III has provided entertainment, food, and drink for ABQ police officers at his home in Tanoan for years. This entertainment was not, to my knowledge, on a strictly quid pro quo basis, but it does not seem to be a coincidence that in, primarily metro court cases, a coterie of officers would fail to show for interviews, trials, and pretrial proceedings when Mr. Clear was on a case. The idea that this is only a decade-long case of corruption is laughable. I first heard of Clear’s shenanigans almost 30 years ago. There are several now retired stars of the APD who were complicit at some level over the years. 

Another of the city's legal veterans, attorney Kari Morrissey, says our Legal Beagle has it right:

I will say that as a lawyer who has been practicing criminal defense in Albuquerque for almost 25 years, I am not surprised as to these developments.

That's a lot of potential criminal activity left uncovered. With cops getting away with this kind of caper apparently for so long, it's little wonder that a culture of corruption has persisted up to this day in the DWI division. 

SENATE CHASE

Nella Domenici

Here's one of the first pics of Nella Domenici on the campaign trail taken at the Sandoval County GOP convention. 

Domenici, 63, who apparently became wealthy from a stint at a Wall St. hedge fund and other business ventures, says she is kick-starting her campaign with a $500,000 personal donation. That easily makes her the frontrunner for the nomination which is also being chased by former BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales. 

In addition to coming with cash, Domenici's campaign says she has recorded this early success: 

. . .She received over 4,000 verified signatures of her primary nominating petitions on the same day she launched her campaign. Further, Domenici reached the minimum threshold of 2,351 signatures within 4 hours of officially announcing her campaign. . . 

Whitney Port

Meantime, Dem Sen. Martin Heinrich, taking note of Domenici's pedigree as the daughter of the late GOP Senator Pete Domenici, comes with this: 

My parents weren’t politicians — my dad was a union lineman with the local utility company, and my mom was a seamstress and an automobile tire factory worker. I was a mechanical engineer before I went into politics, not the former CFO of the largest hedge fund in the world. I’m not in this fight to prop up Wall Street. I’m running for re-election to continue delivering meaningful change for New Mexico, like protecting reproductive rights, passing more common-sense gun safety legislation, and taking action on climate change.

On that gun legislation, Wednesday Heinrich hosted a roundtable in DC on his new assault weapons bill--(GOSAFE ACT)--in response to mass shootings. Among those taking part was TV reality star and  fashion designer Whitney Port. Video is here. 

WHY NO CYFD?

Sec. Schardin Clarke

It's not as if MLG's administration isn't involved in child-well being, despite the criticism it endures for failing to reform the troubled Children, Youth and Families Department. 

The successes the Governor has had establishing programs aimed at the state's youngest were recently outlined in an op-ed by Stephanie Schardin Clarke, secretary for the NM Taxation and Revenue Department. The impressive list makes it all the more baffling why the Guv is stalled out on CYFD which would be another substantive accomplishment. The secretary writes:

The new state child tax credit is the latest in a succession of policies adopted by Gov. Lujan Grisham’s administration to improve the lives of our children from cradle to career. 

These initiatives include the creation of the Early Childhood Education and Care Department, one of the first cabinet agencies dedicated to early care and education in the nation. 

The establishment of the Early Childhood Trust Fund ensures consistent funding for our youngest children over the coming decades. Eligibility for New Mexico’s child-care assistance program has been expanded, making child care free for a majority of New Mexico families.