It was a moment that even seasoned political veterans were taken aback by. "Did he really go there?" "I have never seen anything like it." "The mayoral campaign just became a circus."
Those were a few of the reactions from the political class as they absorbed the shock. That shock came about 35 minutes into a live debate that began at 6 p.m. The candidates were given the opportunity to ask a question of each other. Gonzales aimed his at the Mayor. Here's the full transcript of the Gonzales/Keller exchange that will be long remembered:
Gonzales: Mayor Keller, Where is your accountability? There are serious misconduct allegations at City Hall under your watch, allegations of your own domestic violence incident being covered up by high ranking city officials. Another allegation of a high ranking city official who was driving drunk and was involved driving a city vehicle and involved in a crash. And the third is also you having allegations of having an affair with a city subordinate. How can the public trust you to fight crime in ABQ when you can't even fight crime at City Hall?
As you would expect the charges noticeably rattled the incumbent but he came back vigorously
Keller: What a disgusting prepared question you just read. . . I don't even know where to begin. . . I have never been involved in any of the incidents you mentioned and as my family will attest to have never, ever done things like had an affair. Look, if you're going to just make your questions the gossip on Twitter and Facebook. I mean, I hear all sorts of stuff about everyone all the time, I don't dignify it because I don't believe it because there's no evidence or truth behind any of it. And this is coming from a guy who has a litany of myths and mistruths that he says. . .
There is literally nothing behind anything your saying. You're just saying words you saw on social media. . There was something in there about a co-worker and you know that's defamation and you should know that, Sheriff. You can have a debate. We can talk about policies but unless you have any shred of evidence of any kind then that is actually to be on you. Talk about accountability. Fraud in your own campaign. Literally. And now just blatantly defaming people for a political stunt so that you can raise money off of it which is what you just asked voters to do. It's pathetic.
Gonzales: All I asked was a simple question. A yes or no answer if you could. How could the public trust you fighting crime when you can't even fight crime at City Hall. That was my question.
Candidate Eddy Aragon, wearing a look of astonishment from the exchange, concluded it by saying: "Real life TV drama here."
Is there a method to Gonzales’s madness? One theory is he threw out the unproven allegations to get Keller to deny them and now will present what he thinks is evidence to show that there is truth to them.
Following the debate the Gonzales campaign came with a statement saying it was awaiting a response to a records request to substantiate the sensational allegations:
“We have spoken to two high-ranking members of the Albuquerque Police Department with direct knowledge of the domestic incident stemming from the sexual harassment scandal and are awaiting IPRA responses based on that information (which we expect to be intentionally covered up until after election),” she wrote. The statement included the phrase in parentheses. IPRA refers to the state’s public records law.
That's a lot of smoke and mirrors but no hard proof. And then there was this from the newspaper that shot down the Gonzales charges:
Keller has previously denied the allegations in an interview with Journal reporters. A Journal public records request earlier this year seeking police incident reports and dispatch records for Keller’s home address since Jan. 1 yielded only a few calls around Jan. 6 – the date of the U.S. Capitol insurrection – in which there were reported threats to the home. Records show officers kept watch throughout their shift and found the home was secure. There were no other records.
The Keller campaign came with this post-debate comment:
Manny doubled own on his record of outrageous lies tonight with a disgusting, false attack on the Mayor's family and the integrity of police officers. We're appalled by these tactics but not surprised that Manny is so desperate, with no record to run on, all he has is internet conspiracy theories.
PAYNE'S TAKE
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| Greg Payne |
This may have been one of the most cringeworthy debates in ABQ history. Manny Gonzales is, ostensibly, the main rival to Mayor Keller's re-election. But the Bernalillo County Sheriff proved just one thing last night: his "consultant" calls the shots - and Manny's consultant is an idiot. The Sheriff's scripted and highly personal attack against the Mayor was the equivalent of Kryptonite-like voter repellant. The Gonzales campaign is done. If anything, it will be a moral victory if Gonzales beats Eddy Aragon on Election Day. Aragon was on message and actually won the debate. Keller will win without a run-off, but Aragon has a future in GOP politics.
Payne was not alone in pointing to a "consultant" as the source for Manny's maneuver.
Controversial Republican consultant Jay McCleskey, known for his slash and burn tactics and who hired on as a media consultant with Gonzales, was immediately tagged as the man behind the curtain as he was for Gov. Susana Martinez.
But for a number of consultants the verbal bomb drop did not seem to have any strategy behind it other than desperation and perhaps personal pique by Gonzales who is set to lose this race.
Gonzales recently imported a campaign manager from California and is also being "consulted" by some of the sheriff's staff who are not known for the art of gentle persuasion. Maybe one of them was the "mastermind" behind the misfire.
However the defining moment arose it was made by Gonzales and he owns it. As we weigh our bewilderment all we can add is: "Manny, we hardly knew ye."
GETTING GUIDANCE
MISSING OUT
Most political candidates tend to be avid newspaper readers but not all of them, including GOP city council candidate Renee Grout, seeking the District 9 seat held by GOP Councilor Don Harris who is retiring.
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| Renee Grout |
One of our readers from the district reports that Grout told him she was unaware that to get considered (or seriously considered) for the endorsement of the ABQ Journal she had to call the paper and set up an appointment to be interviewed. She never did and the paper ended up endorsing Democrat Byron Powdrell when it usually endorse the Republican candidate. Dem Rob Grilley is the other hopeful in the race.
The paper publishes a notice on the editorial page several times during the campaign season reminding candidates it is up to them to call for an endorsement interview. Maybe they should move that notice to the TV pages. . . or something.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021
(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021