This column also ran in the ABQ Free Press

It's sad but true. It will be years before there is any noticeable progress in the struggle against violent crime in ABQ as well as the effort to reform APD.

The Wall Street Journal, one of numerous national publications to take note of the city's severe crime plight, reports that violent crime in ABQ reached a five year high in 2014, rising 14% in 2014 alone.

No less an authority than Shaun Willoughby, the VP for the police union, said in a recent interview: "If you think the numbers are bad now, wait until you see the 2015 reports."

The murders of 4 year old Lilly Garcia and APD Officer Daniel Webster was more evidence that things here are getting worse.

But given this urgent backdrop, why is there no change? We put that question to our readers and law enforcement experts. We received answers that may surprise.

First and perhaps foremost, in all the coverage of the crime outbreak the city's lousy economy is rarely cited. But the escalation of violent crime has coincided with the city's descent to the bottom of the national barrel in employment and business growth. The two are intrinsically linked. Improve the economy and you improve the crime outlook. By every conceivable measurement this is the weakest city economy in modern history.

Coverage of the economy is cheerleader driven, highlighting any glimmer of good news and ignoring the deep changes the economy has wrought on the social structure of the state's largest city. Experts agree that long-term the city is going to have address its economic woes, if it is to reduce crime.

Then there is the understaffing of APD. That is pinpointed as the chief cause for the violent crime outbreak by the aforementioned Willoughby. He argues convincingly that the chronic shortage of police officers on the street and the historically slow response times to priority calls has not gone unnoticed by the bad guys. Sure, the police department has been understaffed before Mayor Berry took office in December 2009, but it has worsened under his watch. Crime soared and he lost command and control of APD, forcing the Justice Department to come to town. An understaffed APD in these times is much more nefarious than days of yore.

Those are the big two. The Mayor and City Council might not be able to do much about the economy in the short-term but if they treated the police understaffing as an emergency they could attract officers from around the nation and also fill APD cadet classes by providing aggressive financial incentives. They must spend the money, but they won't. APD Chief Gorden Eden actually says that APD understaffing will get worse before it gets better and that a solution is years away. Incredible,

With that attitude there is certainly no challenge predicting that the failed approaches to the violent crime fight will continue until Berry is out of office December 1, 2017. Then the city must hope it gets new leadership that is ready to saddle up and lead.

Apologists for Berry argue--and with the backing of the public--that it is the judges and prosecutors who are at fault. In fact, the Mayor has shifted the entire blame for the crime debacle to the state Legislature, recently calling for various state laws to solve his problems. But all the laws in the world are not going to save him from presiding over a city in a crime crisis unless he adequately staffs APD, reforms its flawed command structure and starts dealing with this tepid economy.

Even if Berry chose to act, which he won't, he could not do it alone. The silent City Council, the acquiescent business community and the Berry-boosting media continue to disappoint as they aid and abet the non action that has become the collective response to the city's crime bedeviled streets. Like we said, it will be years before it change

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Mayor Berry is playing the numbers game again--some might say shamelessly--by saying in his state of the city address that, "We just finished the five lowest crime rate years in modern city history...five years of the lowest crime rates in history."

Maybe Berry is so used to having anything he says go unchallenged by the media, the Democrats, the city council and his sycophants in the business community that he feels he can say anything. But the truth still matters. And in the chart posted here from the FBI's Uniform Crime Report it's clear to see that truth when it comes to the city's crime crisis. Total crime has escalated each year since Berry took office December 1, 2009.

Berry is a master at evading responsibility and his legally troubled political adviser Jay McCleskey is the acknowledged master of the half truth--keep saying it over and over again no matter the facts. It's only the perception that matters--not the truth.

So Mayor Berry, take a good, long look at this chart. As author Aldous Huxley said:
“Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored."

McCLESKEY GOES NATIONAL

Now more of the political coverage you will get only here but you're used to that .

The problems of Governor Martinez's top political adviser Jay McCleskey--the man known as the state's "Shadow Governor"--went national when Martinez was asked about his legal woes by Fox News' Bret Baier.

We did not see the interview and as of late Wednesday it was not yet posted on the Fox site. However, our Alligators who tuned in said Baier asked her about the federal grand jury criminal investigation of McCleskey that apparently involves campaign finance and other issues. She replied that she is a former prosecutor and was sure that McCleskey was not in trouble.

The hint of a possible scandal surrounding her was a blow to the two term governor's national image. She was also asked about speculation that she could win a place on the 2016 presidential ticket. She told the newsman: "I have not considered becoming vice-president."

We will work on getting a complete transcript as we continue to cover the big political story.

The McCleskey story has apparently not disrupted plans for Martinez to take over the chairmanship of the Republican Governors Association today in Las Vegas. That's where Fox interviewed her. Our Alligators report McCleskey is at the RGA meeting as is Danny Diaz, the campaign manager for Jeb Bush and a former top campaign aide to Martinez.

We half-joked on twitter that the RGA picking Martinez for the chairmanship is like picking up a ticking time bomb. You don't know when it's going to go off or if it's a dud.

ASK THE GUV

This seems like a pretty big story. Why isn't the Governor being asked about it directly?:

The state is proposing to pay as much as $10.3 million for a campus of aged office buildings in Albuquerque that – according to public documents on file with the federal Securities and Exchange Commission – sold seven months ago for $1.5 million. The administration of Gov. Martinez also has proposed spending another $18 million to $20 million to renovate the vacant buildings for the Children, Youth and Families Department and other state agencies that work with the same clientele.

Any political connections with this deal? Anyone asking?

STRONG PRESS

Our colleagues at the ABQ Free Press have put out an exceptionally strong edition this week, as you can see by the cover. It's now available at newsstands around the ABQ metro.

THE BOTTOM LINES 

Do three ABQ area state Senate Democrats--Ivey-Soto, Ortiz y Pino and Padilla--who at a recent news conference criticized Mayor Berry's performance in fighting crime--deserve some credit in getting him to move off the dime and craft a compromise over overdue police raises? Probably.

Isn't it ironic that KOB-TV is running a promotional campaign that asks viewers to "Stand Strong for NM" as the state explodes in criminality and one of its lead anchors--Nicole Brady--announces she is leaving the station and moving to Colorado, even though she has no job there? Well, as one of the Gators put it: "Nicole will be standing strong for New Mexico within the much safer, much friendlier, much more economically vibrant borders of Colorado." Hasta la vista, Nicole.

Is the green chile at Horseman's Haven on Cerrillos Road in Santa Fe the hottest in the state? After a recent visit we're voting "yes.". . . And how about a seafood restaurant that has only ho-hum seafood but steaks and prime rib that are first rate? That would be Pelicans on Montgomery in ABQ where they are serving up sumptuous USDA choice beef. . .

This is  it. . .

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We're under the one year mark until Election '16 and the candidates are starting to position themselves. Here's what we hear. . .

ABQ GOP State Senator John Ryan appears doubtful for a re-election run. If he retires, the plan is to have ABQ GOP State Rep. Monica Youngblood seek the seat. Dems say they are aware that Ryan may forego a campaign for the ABQ North Valley and Sandoval County seat and they are recruiting. The district leans R but was held by a Dem before Ryan took it in 2004. . .

ABQ Dem State Senator Daniel Ivey-Soto was expected to draw a heavyweight Republican foe as the Guv's machine put him in their sights. We're hearing Jose Orozco,  in his late 20's and who ran and lost an ABQ House race in 2012 on the heavy Dem SW mesa, is the GOP choice. Whether he's a heavyweight will be debated as Ivey-Soto's friends think the length of time one has lived in the district will be an issue. Orozco has worked with the Republican National Committee in Hispanic voter engagement. We were unable to contact him Tuesday . . .

Did Las Cruces Dem State Rep. Jeff Steinborn jump the gun when he announced he would leave the House and run for the state Senate seat held by Republican Sen. Lee Cotter? That's the question making the rounds in Dona Ana County with the news that former two term County Commissioner Oscar Vasquez Butler will also seek the Dem nod in next June's primary. Steinborn has good name ID and reputation but you can say the same about Vasquez Butler who also gets an edge with Hispanic voters who elected Mary Jane Garcia to the seat for many years before she was ejected by Cotter.

Either Steinborn or Vasquez Butler will be a big headache for Cotter as increased Dem turnout in the presidential election year could return the seat to the Dems which they lost when ethics problems surrounding Senator Garcia exploded. She held the seat for nearly 25 years. Steinborn vs. Vasquez Butler. Put it on your races to watch card.

GHOST STORIES (CONT.)

More now on the ghost firms--or "front companies" set up by Governor Martinez's top political adviser Jay McCleskey to handle some candidates and campaigns. From the Senior Alligator pit:

The debate over the legality of McCleskey's fake businesses misses the point. The fact is he went to extreme lengths to hide the true identity of his fake businesses and the flow of money from special interests. In doing so, it begs the question as to why McCleskey and Gov. Martinez don't want public scrutiny of their money machine. Are they trying to cover up illegal activity? Did NM Court of Appeals Judge Miles Hanse hire McCleskey and turn a blind eye to his shenanigans as a quid pro quo in return for the Governor appointing him -- not once, but twice -- to serve on the Court of Appeals?

Hanisee said he allowed McCleskey to use a front company for his 2014 campaign as a strategy to confuse his opponent. McCleskey is the subject of a federal grand jury criminal investigation.

RANKING INTEGRITY

Reader Mike Lamb writes:

How does our state rank for integrity? New Mexico comes in at 34th place. However, the Center for Public Integrity notes:

“What really stands out is that of all 50 states, New Mexico has the widest gulf between the laws that are on the books and the vigor with which they’re implemented: the so-called “enforcement gap.” The striking enforcement gap in the Land of Enchantment punctuates a broader conclusion: when it comes to ethics and campaign finance, it can be pretty easy for bad actors to get away with breaking the rules in New Mexico.”

OUTTA HERE

KOAT-TV picked up on our blog report about how much more expensive it is to get a U-Haul out of ABQ than to rent one to come in here. That's because of the good old law of supply and demand. And it will stay that way until NM becomes competitive with the healthier job markets in surrounding states.

Mayor Berry gave his annual State of the City address Tuesday and in it everything was coming up roses. He did not mention the cost of a U-Haul to get out of town. He did repeat that he would not seek a third term in 2017. (Thank God for little favors) But he said he didn't know yet if he would run for Governor in 2018. (God Help us).

Just kiddin', Mayor, you can still buy us lunch sometime.

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Amy Bailey

Republican Alligators say a favorite is emerging to win appointment as Secretary of State by Gov. Martinez. They say Amy Bailey, former ABQ City Clerk under ABQ GOP Mayor Berry and now the general counsel for the Secretary of State's office, has been lobbying hard for the job and that the Governor seems to be leaning her way.

The office has been vacant since last month's resignation of GOP Secretary of State Dianna Duran who was charged with campaign finance irregularities. She has entered a plea bargain and awaits sentencing.

If Bailey does get the appointment in the days ahead she will immediately have to hit the campaign trail if she is going to keep it. The position will be on the ballot next November. The winner will fill the unexpired portion of Duran's term which runs through 2018.

Bailey, a UNM School of Law grad, would be unlikely to draw a GOP primary challenger but Dem Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver, who lost to Duran  in 2014, is again the probable Dem nominee and has been running hard for months.

Another name floating for the appointment is that of former ABQ GOP State Rep. Janice Arnold-Jones but insider R's are not seeing it, pointing out that Arnold-Jones has been a long-standing rival of the Guv's political machine and that is weighing against her.

MACHINE WOES

The legal woes of Gov. Martinez top political adviser Jay McCleskey have hit the campaign trail. Liz Thomson, seeking the Dem nod for the ABQ NE Heights state House seat held by Republican Rep. Conrad James, fired off this campaign missive:

While my Republican opponent raises big out-of-state money to give to the likes of Jay McCleskey to run negative ads against me, (if you've seen the news lately, you know the problem with that) I am proud to have the support of everyday New Mexicans like you. With your continued support, I know we can take back this seat and, along with it, the House.

Rep. James has been a client of McCleskey's. Will he and other GOP politicos up for re-election next year back off from their association with McCleskey because of the federal criminal investigation of him?

MORE ON GHOSTING

Meanwhile, the McCleskey R's pushed back against state Dems, saying the "ghost firms" or fictitious business names set up by McCleskey and reported on by the Santa Fe New Mexican, are completely legal. The Dem Party issued a news release following the report calling them illegal.

Veteran journalist Peter St. Cyr, recognized for his work on open government issues, says the fictitious business names are not illegal but the activity of those used by McCleskey raises important questions, including how they may block the ability of journalists and the public to follow the trail of campaign money, whether there is illegal coordination between PACS and campaigns and whether publicly financed campaigns are exceeding their spending limits.  

McCleskey operatives--led by former GOP state Senator Rod Adair--are impugning the  integrity of two of the three New Mexican reporters who worked on the story--Justin Horwath and Milan Simonich--their usual tactic in trying to corral the media into their way of seeing things. They are not attacking the third reporter--Steve Terrell--nor are they attacking the FBI or US attorneys office as the state awaits word on whether McCleskey and others will be indicted as a result of the confirmed federal grand jury investigation.

There are also no attacks by the McCleskey operatives on the ABQ Journal which has run only one report on the McCleskey investigation since it became public knowledge well over a week ago.

This McCleskey story appears to have tentacles all over the place. We won't say it's akin to Watergate, but it is potentially big. Back in '73 the Washington Post made a couple of major mistakes in tracking that complicated story, but it did not shake its conviction to follow the money. The paper turned out to be very right.

HI, MICKEY

And we get this next one from our Alligators. While McCleskey has been receiving little vocal support as news of the grand jury probe of his political activity spreads far and wide, there was one voice recently raised in his defense. Lawyer/lobbyist Mickey Barnett, who has served as a personal lawyer for McCleskey, told a gathering of the conservative Rio Grande Foundation that McCleskey's legal woes will blow over in a matter of months and there's nothing to worry about.

Well, not that the Rio Grande Foundation attendees are worrying about McCleskey.

Barnett has been tied to McCleskey's hip for years and is a beneficiary of that political connection. It's no surprise to see him try to damp down the speculation over McCleskey. Hey, we haven't heard anything from that other Martinez Machine lawyer, Pat Rogers. If we do, you know this party is really going to get crazy.

NOT EXISTENTIAL

Reader Peter Katel writes of our Monday blog in which we asked Senators Udall and Heinrich to reconsider their opposition to placing 50 special forces troops into Syria:

An argument in favor of Obama’s Special Forces deployment doesn’t need the unsupported analytical leap into calling the Paris massacre an “existential threat.” The attacks are not an abstract matter for me. One cousin lives within easy rifle range of one of the massacre sites. Another would have been near the soccer stadium but for a change of plans.

But horrific as it was, this terrorist strike did not threaten the foundations of European or Western civilization - any more than the Madrid train bombings and London transport bombings of 2004 and 2005, which between them killed slightly more people than died in Paris.

The ISIS terrorists like to think of themselves in grandiose terms. But there is no reason to share their delusion. My father served in the French Army during the 1940 German invasion of France. Now that was an existential threat.

Meantime, Gov. Martinez has joined many other GOP governors by doing this:

Gov. Martinez says she’s opposed to the Obama administration’s plan to accept any more Syrian refugees until there’s a clear plan in place to properly vet and place them.

Did Martinez have any choice in light of the Paris attacks? Are the Dems falling behind the curve here?

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The monstrous evil that came to Paris has even the most isolationist among us rethinking the American role in the war against the Islamic State (ISIS).

The diabolical and damnable attacks on innocent civilians have now reached a scale that they threaten the everyday functioning of democracy. The dove of peace lies bloodied and dead, slaughtered by savages intent on returning the world to some kind of Dark Age.

The Paris massacre and the existential threat it presents to all we value must be answered with the full force of the United States. To that end, New Mexico Senators Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich should drop their opposition to President Obama's decision to place a handful of special forces troops in Syria.

Their argument that the introduction of troops presents the risk of a quagmire--even if correct--is no longer relevant in a world that faces far more ghastly consequences if we pursue a risk-averse strategy that handcuffs us in ridding the world of this barbarous menace.

It doesn't matter anymore that President George W. Bush paved the path for this catastrophe by so mistakenly involving America in Iraq and that it should be a lesson for nonintervention. With casualties mounting worldwide, with a hideous slaughter in a citadel of Western civilization and another in the skies of the Sinai--an  attack on all humanity as President Obama called it---we have no choice.

Senators Udall and Heinrich need to give a green light to engaging in any way possible this vilest of enemies and to end this scourge before it turns up on the streets of America.

GHOST STORY

Yet another leg of the federal grand jury investigation of Gov. Martinez's top political adviser Jay McCleskey is revealed as the Santa Fe New Mexican continues to lead on the state's big political story:

The use of the front companies raises questions about the sizable influence McCleskey had over huge piles of money in various campaigns and political action committees for which he worked, all with little or no scrutiny. The FBI is now investigating different fundraising vehicles used by McCleskey and the Martinez political campaign, though it is unknown whether M3 and CD are subjects of the probe.

State Dems pounced on the report:

After learning that Governor Martinez's own PAC helped create illegal shell companies to hide political dollars, it is no wonder there is an FBI investigation. Purposefully laundering campaign funds through fake corporations to fool the public is clearly a breach of trust and a serious ethical violation. Instead of trying to sweep this under the rug, Governor Martinez needs to explain why she helped create this illegal scheme to mislead New Mexican voters about her political machine," said Democratic Party Chairwoman Debra Haaland.

As the story develops, it's becoming clear that the federal probe of McCleskey is (or was) multi-faceted. Previous news reports confirm the FBI has looked at expenditures for Martinez's 2010 inaugural and allegations that her political opponents had their tax returns audited.

NATIONAL NONSENSE

The notion that Gov. Martinez could be on the 2016 presidential ticket always had an alien ring to it, given that she has exhibited little interest in national politics or policy and has not sat for any substantive national interviews on the issues of the day (not to mention the in-depth vetting she has avoided).

Now with a potential scandal involving her political adviser McCleskey threatening to put her administration under water, the notion of Martinez advancing to the highest reaches of American politics seems more remote than Uranus.

That brings us to Senator Marco Rubio. When he threw Martinez's name out as possible vice presidential timber last Thursday was he unaware that the Governor's administration had just encountered a long shadow cast by its "shadow governor?" It's hard to believe he had not. By then the news was five days old.

If you like conspiracy theories maybe Rubio's name drop can be seen as a passive aggressive move. Rubio mentions Martinez which immediately draws attention to the latest news about her--which is the FBI investigation of McCleskey and that instantly undermines her nationally as she prepares to take the helm of the Republican Governors Association later this week.

Play along with us. Maybe Rubio and his allies aren't keen on the idea of Martinez becoming the RGA head and prefer someone like Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker? Maybe the Rubio camp needs to keep its place in line as the leading Hispanic VP candidate in case of his bid for the top slot falls short? Seeing Martinez's bad news spread  doesn't hurt.

After Rubio's rumination the national Dems instantly moved to downgrade Martinez by issuing a release mocking the mention of her as a VP choice, pointing out the federal grand jury cloud hovering over McCleskey and her administration.

Conspiracies aside, it is fascinating watching the RGA taking on Martinez as chairman this week. They look like they are picking up a ticking time bomb.

HOT AND HEAVY

Hot and heavy debate already over a proposed constitutional amendment that would reform the state's bail laws in reaction to the wave of violent crime. Reader Alan Wagman has rebuttal on another reader missive we carried Friday:

Joe, The reader comment in your Friday blog about the proposed bail amendment claims that the last sentence of the amendment states that "If [people accused but not convicted of crimes] are poor or indigent, turn them loose on their own recognizance." This is a demonstrable misstatement of the proposed amendment. The actual last sentence of the proposed amendment says, "No person eligible for pretrial release pursuant to this section shall be detained solely because of financial inability to post a property or money bond."

It does not say that people are to be turned loose because they are poor. It says that people are not to kept locked up solely because they are poor. Without this last sentence, a rich person charged with repeatedly and brutally torturing and beating a household member can be released upon posting a million dollar bond, while a poor person who gives a a single prescription painkiller to a friend with a toothache can be held in jail for inability to post even a minimal bond. That, in fact, is what happens now and is what the amendment is designed to address.

If the bail amendment is approved by the Legislature next year it would be sent to the voters for an up or down vote.

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