Mayor Keller

ABQ Mayor Tim Keller's trademark broad smile was nowhere to be seen at his Wednesday news conference, and with good reason. Keller was there to comment on the unnerving murder of 55 year old Jacqueline “Jackie” Vigil, the mother of two state policemen who was shot to death while warming up her car Tuesday morning outside of her westside home in a good neighborhood. (Complete news conference here.)

One question asked of the Mayor and APD Chief Geier was whether the woman may have been targeted for murder. They could not answer that but said the initial investigation points to robbery or a carjacking.

A targeted killing of a woman so closely linked to law enforcement would be chilling and raise even more troublesome questions about the nature of the violent crime epidemic here. A Cartel hit?

Another reason for Keller's somber mood was the news that ABQ has now had 72 murders in 2019, tying the all time yearly record and nearly certain to go higher in the final weeks of the year.

That makes for arguably the low point of his two year old administration.

While facing the bad news head-on, the Mayor and Chief could not offer any hope that in the short-term the violence will subside. Keller did say he will ask the Legislature for $20 million to update how APD deals with data, but for now what you see is what you get. And that's nothing to smile about.

LAW AND ORDER

Reader Mike Connealy joins us on the crime beat and doesn't agree with the assessment offered here Wednesday by retired APD Sergeant Dan Klein:

Klein, with his opportunistic law and order pitch, would have us conveniently forget that we just recently got rid of a "law and order" governor who did nothing to effectively combat crime in New Mexico. In fact Martinez starved and disrupted the public services institutions which are crucial to real progress. Lessening police oversight now is one sure way to undermine social justice while doing nothing to affect the root causes of crime in our State.

A LIBERAL PROBLEM?

Reader Dave came with this:

What we have in NM is a liberal policy problem. As long as Texas is red, they wont have these issues. The voters have done this to themselves, and will continue to repeat their mistakes because the opposing party (Republicans) has been labeled as racists, nationalists, and a host of other names. 

The truth is, the way to solve the crime problem is to move out of New Mexico to a state that has effective policies. We are so sick of the crime, but have no leadership to deal with it. At this point, I would be for dissolving APD and giving (BernCo Sheriff ) Manny Gonzales the resources to cover the entire city. Then maybe things would improve. The Chief of APD didn't even attend the ABQ law enforcement meeting with Attorney General Bill Barr, that is sickening, partisan, and completely unacceptable.

NOT GUN VIOLENCE

Jackie Vigil

Another reader came with this on the Jackie Vigil slaying:

The Mayor referenced "gun violence." This isn’t gun violence! It is criminal violence…criminal behavior perpetrated by criminals! They used a gun but just as easily could have used some other weapon. 

To be sure, if law-abiding citizens don’t have guns those that aren't law abiding could give a damn about a law and they will be armed. Have a nice day.

BAIL REFORM

Amid the violent crime wave, Rep. Bill Rehm, the lone Republican in the Bernalillo County state House delegation and a retired lawman, comes with this:

Rehm announced his plan to seek bail reform legislation designed to keep dangerous suspects off the streets. "The function of political leaders is to protect the safety of the community," said Rehm."And right now, communities don't feel safe." Rehm’s legislation would force judges to consider the seriousness of the suspect’s charge, the suspect's past criminal history and the defendant's court appearance record. Rehm wants a new law to consider these and other factors when courts consider release. . . The bill would modify the 2016 Constitutional Amendment that allows courts to deny bail to a defendant charged with a felony if a prosecutor proves the defendant a threat to the public. Rehm calls that a failed amendment that has led to release after release of dangerous suspects. 

It will be interesting to see if any Dems emerge to co-sponsor Rehm's bill.

Reader Richard Flores writes:

If we don't address the root causes of poverty, other proposals to address the scourge of drug addiction and violence are simply "band aid" solutions. Crime and drug addiction go hand in hand. I agree that the state and the feds must increase their efforts to stem the flow of drugs into New Mexico, but also into the country, because it is a nationwide problem. But our "political will" must first and foremost address the disparities in our educational system, starting with implementation of across the board early childhood education so that all of our children have the opportunities to succeed in school and to achieve their goals.

SENATE UPDATE

Elisa Martinez

There are now three GOP candidates for the 2020 US Senate nomination but none appear to pose a major threat to likely Dem nominee US Rep. Ben Ray Lujan.

Elisa Martinez, who was raised in Gallup and is of Hispanic and Native American descent and a member of the Navajo Nation, entered the race this week. While attractive and well spoken, her announcement did not present the Dems with any curve balls. It was mostly Republican boilerplate about "values."

Martinez says:

I believe I have the ability to connect with groups that maybe Republicans haven’t been able to connect with in the past.

But Martinez, 46, is executive director of the pro-life NM Alliance for Life, a group whose positions in the state are distinctly in the minority. Given that, how she is going to relate to Democratic women who are overwhelmingly pro-choice? That's a connection the R's are going to have to make to dig themselves out of a very deep hole.

(No Republican has won a NM Senate term since Pete Domenici was re-elected in 2002.)

Not to say Martinez doesn't have a shot at securing the GOP nomination next June. Her two opponents, Gavin Clarkson and Mick Rich, remain unknown. But without plowing fresh ideological ground for the Republicans, capturing the Senate seat remains a fantasy.

By the way, ABQ radio talk show host Eddy Aragon is exploring a possible run for the GOP nod and will make a final decision in January, and there could be others.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019