This long-awaited edition of Reader Vox Populi kicks off with a contribution from reader Brian Fejer and his dystopian journey from one end of ABQ to another.

Greetings Joe, Great local coverage! This Kamala Harris voter says cheers to (US Senate candidate) Nella Domenici for spotlighting the epic failure of Mayor Keller and the ABQ City Council when it comes to the ongoing fentanyl epidemic in the metro. 

Domenici is right on when she states, "The night belongs to the addicts and the criminals."  Has she seen ABQ in the day? 

I recently drove down Central Avenue from Tramway to Downtown. There were hundreds if not over a thousand of unhoused, the addicted and the mentally ill at every intersection, every bus stop. At no point did I see see a single APD officer, ABQ Community Service staffer, ABQ Ride Security or even a police service aide at any point. At the same time the Mayor was patting himself, APD, and ACS on the back for doing everything they can on this issue. 

I voted for Mayor Keller twice, but he’s lost all credibility. If you call 311 or 242 COPS – after being on hold for 5 – 15 minutes, they can only dispatch for one single person, not thousands. The next mayor of ABQ will need to be proactive on this crisis, not reactive. This city is in dire need of new leadership. 

Most Governors and Mayor’s on the west coast have gotten the message! CA Gov. Gavin Newsom has signed an executive order and is helping to clean up encampments. The Mayor of Portland declared a fentanyl emergency. The Mayor of Los Angeles declared a homeless public health emergency. Phoenix has been court ordered to clean up encampments. The US Supreme Court has ruled that local municipalities can indeed enforce their criminal codes and laws. 

Public relations stunts are not leadership and that is all the Mayor, the Police Chief, and the City Council have. The New Mexico GOP is a clown show – we don’t have an opposition party. 

INTERNET SOAPBOX

Our soapbox continues to get a workout when it comes to advocating for the state Broadband Office to start deploying satellite internet service in rural New Mexico instead of taking years to string expensive fiber to every remote area, many of which are barely reachable. We have an ally in reader Jim McClure: 

Joe, I’m glad to see you turning a spotlight on the state’s cumbersome approach to broadband deployment. The excuses for delays in broadband deployment outlined by the New Mexico Office of Broadband Access and Expansion (Broadband expansion is no high-speed fix) illustrate why government agencies are increasingly unable to build things. 

The article claims that legal processes and government permits will delay construction for years. You’d think a state government agency could streamline a process that politicians describe in moonshot terms, but apparently New Mexico’s broadband office is powerless to move things along. The biggest reason for the delay is that New Mexico chose a technology – optical fiber cable – that requires more construction, money and permits than the wireless technology that now accounts for a growing share of broadband deployments. 

Fiber cable works well but requires running a cable to every single house. This is economical in cities and suburbs but expensive and slow to install in rural areas. Newer technologies are doing the job faster at lower cost in other states. Wireless systems are now competitive with optical fiber, using transceivers on utility poles to beam the Internet to an antenna on each house. 

Another wireless option is offered by cell phone companies that deliver broadband through their network of cell towers. If you’re in a hurry, Elon Musk’s Starlink satellite broadband service deployed Internet service to war-torn Ukraine in a matter of days. But New Mexicans have to wait for years while the Office of Broadband Access and Expansion gets permits to dig trenches for fiber cable. 

Today’s technology offers a variety of options to build a hybrid network with a mix of optical fiber, wireless and satellite systems. If the state government was serious about building a network instead of building a bureaucracy, more New Mexicans would have Internet instead of excuses.

We second the motion, Jim. 

REMEMBERING A CLERK

Lynn Ellins

Longtime Las Cruces journalist Walt Rubel remembers one of the more famous county clerks in state history who died on May 30:

Lynn Ellins, 87, will be best remembered as the first county clerk in the state to have the courage to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2013. As he explained at the time, Ellins wasn’t trying to make a social statement about same-sex marriage. He was simply trying to apply the law as he and his staff believed it to read.

“The state’s marriage statutes are gender neutral and do not expressly prohibit Doña Ana County from issuing marriage licenses to same-gender couples,” he said. “Any further denial of marriage licenses to these couples violates the United States and New Mexico constitutions and the New Mexico Human Rights Act.”

The issue had been tied up in the courts, but the move by Ellins proved to be decisive. More than 40 couples received their licenses the first day, with marriage ceremonies conducted by former county public information director Jess Williams, who had routinely performed the same ceremony each Valentine’s Day for other couples.

The U.S. Supreme Court settled the issue in 2015.

Ellins had already established a distinguished career in law and politics before moving to Las Cruces. He had been legal counsel to a New York State Senate committee, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents and deputy Colorado secretary of state, along with working in private law in both New York and Colorado.

In 2002, both County Clerk Ruben Ceballos and Chief Deputy Clerk Aurelio Enriquez were arrested on criminal charges related to their mishandling of the primary election that June. They faced 14 charges including improper shredding of absentee ballots, demanding illegal fees and conspiracy. Ceballos was convicted of five felonies. . .

I don’t know if the sad state of affairs in that office had anything to do with luring Ellins back into public service. What I do know is that his two terms as clerk, from 2009 to 2016, brought a level of professional competency to the office that had been sorely lacking before his arrival.

Ellins was then elected to the county commission in 2018, and served as chairman for two years. He lost  his re-election in 2022 when he was 85. . .

He provided critical leadership on local issues for nearly two decades. He brought integrity to our elections and respect to all of the offices he held. And he had the humanity to end the wait for couples who were eager to begin the rest of their lives together. 

THE BOTTOM LINES

In our report about the possible contenders for state House Majority Leader Wednesday we omitted the name of Santa Fe Rep. Linda Serrato. And ABQ Rep. Joy Garratt confirms that she is not running for the post. The new leader will be chosen by the House Dems following the November election to replace Rep. Gail Chasey who is retiring.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.