Gina Naomi Dennis

A UNM political science student is among a number of readers and political observers who are urging that insiders give ABQ city council candidate Gina Naomi Dennis a second look. That's after her candidacy challenging incumbent Dem Councilor Pat Davis was given short shrift on the Monday blog.

The student and others argue that if any contender has a shot at pulling off an upset in November's election it is Dennis. That's because the SE Heights district continues to grapple with epidemic levels of crime and other serious issues.

Monday we chatted up Dennis, 40, who is an attorney and four year resident of the district. She tells me she grew up in DC where her father was a neurosurgeon and her mom an activist (as was her father).

Like her parents she became politically aware and eventually took her law degree from Spelman College in Atlanta, "a global leader in the education of women of African descent." She said she departed Spelman feeling "empowered."

Along her life path she snagged a top White House internship under President Clinton, helping to  compile his news briefings as well as clipping out the crosswords puzzles for him when he traveled on Air Force One. She also spent four months living in China, where she learned how to speak Mandarin while working on environmental issues (she is also a green building specialist).

Dennis wasted no time plunging into politics when she moved here to practice tribal law. She became president of the District 6 Coalition of Neighborhoods who face steep challenges with drugs, crime, vacant and abandoned buildings and poverty. She says the difference between her and Davis is this:

He is not being honest about the crime problem. Unlike him, I am not telling people crime is going down because it isn't. Because of apathy there is widespread underreporting of crime. And when police are called response times are still too slow. We as a community need to manage APD. For example, by getting officers who are on patrol that are experiencing low call volumes to get on a beat with higher volume. We also need improved lighting throughout the district. And vacant and abandoned properties continue to be a major problem. My opponent is part of a Democratic Party clique. I am not. But I can get the job done.

Dennis calls herself a "true progressive" who was a Bernie Sanders NM delegate to the '16 Democratic National Convention.
Dem ABQ Congresswoman Deb Haaland has openly endorsed Davis. No big surprise there since Davis dropped out of the US House race and then gave Haaland an important endorsement which helped propel her to victory in the 2018 primary and eventually to the US House.

DAVIS VS. DENNIS

Pat Davis

Dennis says she would not be running if she had not heard from a cross-section of residents who want a change. She is pursuing public financing, as is Davis, and if she qualifies by the end of the month deadline she will have the money to carry her message.

Part of that message will be ART, the controversial transit project that Councilor Davis heartily backed under Republican Mayor Berry and which turned into one of the most bungled public works projects in city history. Dennis says:

The supposed leadership in District 6 drove right over our public input and gutted our historic Route 66--Central Avenue--and crushed our businesses.

Councilor Davis continues to campaign on the idea that his district (and the city) are turning around and are "back on the right track" especially on the crime front. That is a debatable proposition. Each time he says it there seems to be another shocking slaying, like the one this past weekend of 23 year old UNM athlete Jackson Weller.

Davis' high name ID and previous council win have insiders putting him in good shape for re-election. But there's no question a serious and lively campaign is in the best interest of the city--and Ms. Dennis assures us we're going to get one.

TOUGHEN UP?

While the city council campaigns heat up over crime, more calls to get tougher on it seem to be circulating on social media in the wake of the ongoing violence. Here are two samples from Facebook:

Greg Cook--It seems most of the offenders that are caught have already been in the justice system and released...hint! The judges are not using their power to hold and imprison these offenders. People will say rehab before prison...I say rehab IN prison!

Mike Johnson--Rampant crime enabled and encouraged by left wing, soft-on-crime judges, DAs, and politicians. That is New Mexico True.

Republicans have stayed mostly under the radar on the city's #1 issue. No wonder. They had the helm of the city for eight years--from 2009-2017--when the trouble started and stayed.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Dem US Senate candidate Rep. Ben Ray Lujan has named his campaign manager, a familiar name in political circles. From the campaign:

Brad Elkins will serve as campaign manager for his Senate bid. . . Elkins managed. . . Senator Martin Heinrich’s reelection campaign. . . Elkins oversaw all operations for a campaign that generated a 24-point victory for Heinrich in a three-way contest. In 2016, Elkins served as deputy campaign manager for Jason Kander’s U.S. Senate race in Missouri. . .

This is the home of New Mexico politics.

E-mail your news and comments. (jmonahan@ix.netcom.com)

Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. 

(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019