After years of hearing that a broken criminal justice system is to blame for the ongoing crime crisis, the voting public is still able to sort out what is really behind the problem--rampant drug abuse, stubborn systemic poverty and homelessness--all making for fertile ground for fentanyl pushers and wannabe criminals.

A full 26 percent of likely voters point to drugs as the "leading cause" of crime with 16 percent citing poverty and 12 percent homelessness. 

An argument can be made--and tough on crime advocates make it--that if law enforcement is stepped up and the flow of fentanyl from Mexico and the cartels is interrupted the crime crisis takes a major hit. 

But it is mainly people on the lower income rungs who are looking for a fix or a house or business to break into to feed their habit or themselves. The public rightly believes drugs combined with impoverishment has caused this hard rain to fall.

As for how serious voters consider crime, the poll confirms the theory that this is chiefly a city problem:

The poll found that 60% of those who live in the Albuquerque metro area, where the majority of the state’s crime occurs, feel it is a very serious problem while 37% in eastern New Mexico and 39% in Las Cruces and the southwestern part of the state agree. In north central New Mexico, 22% see crime as a minor problem. Pollster Brian Sanderoff pointed out that area encompasses more than just Santa Fe and includes Taos, Las Vegas and smaller communities. “So we’re seeing a big difference in perceptions regarding the seriousness of crime when it comes to how very serious it is,” he said. 

The Legislature and Governor have a major role in crafting solutions to the underlying causes of crime such as poverty and drug addiction but when it comes to actual law enforcement, this poll shows why local mayors and city councils--especially in ABQ--should be held responsible.

Speaking of which. . .  

BACA BAN BOMBS

ABQ City Councilor Joaquin Baca, whose district includes downtown, was almost run out of town when he proposed banning the homeless from sleeping on downtown sidewalks. But that liberal attitude is a relic of the past in liberal San Francisco where homelessness has been rampant for years. The latest:

Sidewalks once teeming with tents, tarps and people passed out next to heaps of trash have largely disappeared from great swaths of San Francisco, a city widely known for its visible homeless population. The number of people sleeping outdoors dropped to under 3,000 in January, the lowest the city has recorded in a decade, according to a federal count And that figure has likely dropped even lower since Mayor London Breed — a Democrat in a difficult reelection fight this November--started ramping up enforcement sof anti-camping laws in August following a U.S. Supreme Court decision.   

This raises the question of how a city proposal that would invest millions of dollars in tax revenue into downtown redevelopment would ever work if people are allowed to sleep on its streets.

CABINET SHUFFLING

Padilla (Journal)

As for the state crafting long-term solutions to the drug and poverty mentality, that falls in part on the leaders of the Public Education Department (PED) and  the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). The news from there is not especially encouraging: 

“I will be here till the end,” said the incoming Secretary of Public Education." 

If that sounds something like a death march keep in mind that Mariana Padilla is the fifth PED Secretary under MLG's watch and the same stubborn education issues persist.

Other than having spent time as an elementary school teacher, Padilla, a longtime ally of MLG who worked in her congressional office and has been serving as director of the Children's Cabinet, does not have substantial education experience. 

Previous Secretary Arsenio Romero was forced out when the Guv objected to him applying for the presidency of NMSU. Romero made the wrong bet and last week was not chosen by the school's Board of Regents. Talk about flunking out. . .

Another MLG political ally, Teresa Casados, was taken from the Governor's office and put in charge of the dysfunctional Children, Youth and Families Department. Like Padilla, her credentials for the position were sketchy and her leadership is now being faulted by an impatient Legislature balking at the agency's continued failures. 

House Speaker Javier Martinez says a bill calling for more stringent oversight of CYFD will be brought back at the next legislative session. (And come on Teresa, stop with the pushback. This is your shot to make a real difference.)

The state has literally billions in excess revenue because of the oil boom but remains stymied when it comes to the critical areas of education and child well-being. 

As we've said four previous times, congrats to new Secretary-designate Padilla. . .or something. 

GABE BOLTS ON BILLIE JEAN

It seems as if the legendary Billie Jean King, who ran circles around her opponents on the tennis court, has southern NM US Rep. Gabe Vasquez on the run. 

Vasquez, apparently worried about keeping his swing House seat this November, took a walk on a measure awarding Billie Jean, a prominent advocate for the LGBQT community, a Congressional Gold Medal:

MEDAL FOR BILLIE JEAN KING: The House has passed the Billie Jean King Congressional Gold Medal Act (S. 2861), sponsored by Sen. Kirsten E. Gillibrand, D-N.Y., to award a Congressional Gold Medal to King, a women’s tennis player of primarily the 1970s and an advocate for higher status for women athletes. The vote, on Sept. 17, was 308 yeas to 87 nays.

YEAS: Stansbury, Leger Fernández NOT VOTING: Vasquez

The act now goes to President Biden for his signature. We don't suppose Gabe will be at the signing ceremony. 

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