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Monday, May 05, 2025Nasty But Necessary: Medina And Sanchez Clash Over Crime As ABQ Mayoral Campaign Gets Lit; APD Chief And Councilor Bicker Over "Disrespect"; What Crime Debate Needs To Focus On, Plus: Et Tu, Santa Fe?
Sanchez, a former cop and one of 11 candidates for mayor in the November mayoral election, understands law enforcement more than most. But his harsh attacks on Medina for wearing casual clothes while addressing the Council and berating him for not "consulting" the panel on the Governor's deployment of the National Guard here were a bit over the top. Still. it could be a starting point for something meaningful for the campaign ahead. We asked APD watchers where the candidates should head. --It's a given that Medina's usefulness as chief is on its last legs. The city needs to look beyond him by extracting a firm commitment from Mayor Keller that--if reelected--Medina will retire or be replaced --and end the chief's game-playing about his future. In other words, a drop dead date for Medina to leave is essential. --The 30 year old APD DWI scandal needs to be woven into the campaign debate and examined for what it reveals about the cultural problems that have made APD into a sometimes unmanageable morass. --Ditto for the over decade-long oversight role of APD by the US Department of Justice that has had little discernible impact on APD. --The candidates need to declare whether they will seek to change APD culture by going outside the department (and outside the state) for a new chief. Upon his first election Mayor Keller launched a national search for a chief only to fall back on the APD culture and insider leadership which then saw the Mayor's power over the rogue agency sucked away. A thorough house cleaning of APD is obviously overdue. But many of the candidates say they support adding more police to the culturally-rotted agency as the primary solution. They are also taking the campaign into a simplistic "back the badge" mentality when the need for a deep cleaning has never been more apparent. Sanchez may have missed the mark some in his heated argument with Medina but if his diatribe fuels a no-holds-barred campaign debate over the future of crime-fighting--thus the future of the city--the Councilor gets a pass.
Each day over the past week, law enforcement officers in and around Santa Fe dealt with gun-related incidents, from accidents to threats to shootings — and even a homicide. Together, they illustrate how firearms have come to play a larger role in resolving many day-to-day conflicts in Santa Fe. . . Deputy Chief Ben Valdez said the prevalence of firearms. . .has increased over the decades. . . In the past, shootings were considered to be “rare incidents” he said. "Our officers (are) seeing a lot more incidents that have individuals that are armed. They’ve even changed the way that they do their response to make sure that they can safely navigate that situation." There's also a mayoral election in Santa Fe this November. Perhaps the City Different needs a jolt to ensure it doesn't fall into a political slumber over their budding crime crisis. What if reputedly unpopular Mayor Alan Webber announces he will seek a third term? The vitriol from his many political foes would surely flow but so might a fierce debate over how the capital city can avoid the fate of its big city neighbor to the south. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
 
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