Record ABQ Murder Rate Nears; Keller Says It's To Be "Expected" But Human Toll Mounts, Plus: A Spirited Treasurer Race Develops, And: Following The Money In Moriarty

(Roberto Rosales, Journal)

The explosion in the city's murder rate is sometimes dismissed as mostly criminals killing criminals, but this searing photo of grieving parents from the ABQ Journal's Roberto Rosales reveals the very real human pain and trauma that is occurring to the soul of the city and its citizens as we near an all time annual record for homicides. 

Pictured are the parents of Sean Markey, embracing after the verdict was announced in the trial of Izaiah Garcia who was found guilty of first-degree murder in the 2019 shooting death of their 17-year-old son Sean Markey.

The explanation from Mayor Keller and Chief Medina that the record breaking murder rate is to be "expected" because of national trends appears woefully inadequate when taking in Rosales' grim portrait of deep emotional pain.

"I do expect Albuquerque to break 100 (murders) this fall," Mayor Tim Keller said. "We knew we were going to break the record," said Chief Harold Medina. "It’s something not only the city of Albuquerque is facing, it’s a national trend. . . We know El Paso's homicide rate is up 150%. Fresno is up 300%. Oakland is up 200%. Portland is over 1000%," Keller said. "We do expect these trends to continue and I do expect Albuquerque to break 100 this fall."

But we don't live in Oakland or Portland. We live in Albuquerque. Can we or can't we do better? That's the central question of the upcoming mayoral campaign between Keller and BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales. Is "to be expected" an adequate answer for the parents of Sean Markey or anyone else who cares about this special place?

SPIRITED RACE

The race for the Democratic nomination for state treasurer promises to be a spirited affair. Joining former Sandoval County Treasurer Laura Montoya in the contest is Heather Benavidez, who coordinates the ABLE NM program in the office of current Treasurer Tim Eichenberg. And, she happens to be the daughter-in-law of former State Senate powerhouse Michael Sanchez of Belen. Benavidez is married to Joshua J. Sanchez, son of Michael who earlier this year MLG appointed as a judge to Bernalillo County Metro Court so he'll also be on the ballot next year. 

Benavidez's political connections could help with fund-raising, a department Montoya also knows a bit about. A race to watch, for sure. . . By the way Judge Joshua J. Sanchez is not be confused with State Senator Joshua A. Sanchez who is a freshman Republican who also hails from Valencia County.

DATLEINE MORIARTY

New Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury is quickly learning that you can't please all the people all the time. Take that $5.25 million earmark to build a new fire station in Moriarty that she secured. No controversy there, right? Well, Kerrie Romero begs to differ:

 Joe, I have been a member of the Moriarty community for 30 years. I can assure you Moriarty does not need $5.25 million to upgrade our fire station. Surely $500,000 would do the trick. I can think of a dozen better ways that money could be used. Perhaps they could renovate our crumbling low income housing district or maybe improve our counseling facilities which are overrun with issues involving poverty, drug abuse and domestic violence or better yet bulk up enforcement efforts to to gain control over our raging meth problem. No offense to the upstanding Moriarty fire crew but this appropriation is just another fine example of earmark dollars wasted on cosmetic improvements rather than attacking the root of the problem in the community.

Rep. Stansbury's office comes with a response:

The Moriarty Fire Station has served the entire region—including the East Mountains—as a nearly 60-year-old facility. The funding totals that Congresswoman Stansbury secured are consistent with the average cost of renovating a fire station to serve the region in order to supplement the state and city funds. The National Fire Prevention Organization did a study in 2019 on how much it costs to replace these aging facilities, and the $5.25 million in the House bill falls within the normal cost estimates. Stansbury worked with the funding requests from local communities—and she remains committed to fighting for robust investments in the kind of infrastructure that communities throughout the district need to thrive.  

Moriarty Mayor Ted Hart added:

(The Congresswoman's) efforts to acquire the much-needed funding for a new Main Fire Station is greatly appreciated. This funding will be utilized to replace an aging fifty-nine year old facility, that services businesses and residents of the City of Moriarty, and the East Mountain community for fire protection and EMS service. This new Fire Station will be essential in meeting the increasing needs for the region, as it continues to grow.

Moriarty City Councilor Steve Anaya tells us the city was originally given a bid of only $1 million to build the 13,000 square foot fire station which was way off the mark. The city then worked with Stansbury who worked with Senators Lujan and Heinrich to get the needed funds. They will be added to nearly $1 million in capital outlay that State Rep. Matthew McQueen secured for the station.

Covering New Mexico politics takes us into the nooks and crannies but there is one constant wherever we go--following the money is always an interesting journey. 

Reporting from Albuquerque, I am Joe Monahan and this. . . 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021