Candidate character has emerged as a major issue in three of the four ABQ City Council races voters will decide tomorrow, often pushing aside the marquee issues of crime and homelessness.
In District Four in the NE Heights, City Councilor Brook Bassan has been embroiled in
allegations of voter fraud and misrepresenting her educational credentials.
In District 6 in the SE Heights a leading contender, Nichole Rogers, is fighting off last hour
reports that she badly mishandled a charitable nonprofit she founded. Previously in District 6 candidate Abel Otero had to suspend his campaign because
he lied about his background. And Dem Jeff Hoehn is being attacked for hypocrisy for not rejecting support from the conservative commercial real estate
HELP ABQ PAC even as he bills himself as a progressive Democrat.
In District 8 in the far NE Heights Idalia Lechuga-Tena is getting boxed in by past transgressions for voting when she was
not eligible and for a controversy over
living outside of a state House district she represented.
City Council District 2 in the Downtown/North Valley is the only race not dealing with ethics accusations.
In addition to the Council races, a major
ethics flap involving District 2 APS School Board candidate Robert Trujillo dominated that contest--not education policy.
Ethics is prime territory for campaign opposition research and perhaps more so today as voters appear less moved by sensational attacks over the crime crisis and the unhoused.
An ethics allegation can quickly distinguish you from your opponent. How many of the candidates don't believe the city should have more police or devote more attention to drug addiction? None. They all agree.
The city is now transitioning to an era where higher rates of crime and homelessness are seen as secular (long term) issues. That doesn't mean they are accepted as normal but they are becoming depersonalized.
That means ABQ voters realize no individual candidate--conservative or liberal--can convincingly offer a program that will lead to a drastic and quick reversal in our social ills. It is a slow and lengthy process that will require management expertise and innovation.
Meanwhile the ethics of those pursuing city office will play an unusually prominent role in tomorrow's election.
ELECTION NIGHT ON KANW
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| Election Night 2006 (KANW) |
We look forward to joining you on KANW 89.1 FM (stream
here) tomorrow starting at 6:45 p.m. as we anchor exclusive, continuous coverage of Election '23.
We've figured this is our 35th consecutive year of Election Night coverage for public radio. That is surely some kind of record but only relevant as a personal remembrance. What will be recalled about this election--as the others--is the results. And we've got you covered.
With us Election Night to explain how it all came down in the City Council races will be none other than current Council President Pat Davis of District 6.
Davis, who is leaving the Council this year after two terms, is also in the newspaper publishing and cannabis consulting businesses, so he's prepared to cover a lot of territory. But we'll keep him laser-focused on those Council races and what they mean for our city's future.
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| Councilor Davis |
ABQ westside Dem
state Senator and attorney Antonio "Moe" Maestas from District 26 is back for another Election Night on KANW. He's one of the Legislature's brighter bulbs and tomorrow he will be shining light on the state of city politics.
Moe's New Mexican connections are far and wide so we'll also ask him to keep an eye on results from the many cities and towns in addition to ABQ that are going to the polls Tuesday.
We've called on longtime political consultant Sisto Abeyta to scrutinize those APS School Board races which have grown more controversial in recent cycles as parents and administrators debate the role of public education. Three of the seven seats will be decided and now that the Board election is not held in February but at a regular city election, turnout and interest have risen.
And we won't forget the important extension of the mill levy that is on the ballot that is projected to raise $264 million over a six year period for APS capital improvements. (No tax increase required.) We'll also track the $80 million CNM bond for infrastructure improvements.
Election Night is not complete without having a lawyer. Yes, we have Moe. But Lord knows there are enough election rules and twists to trip up even our Senior Alligators so having two of them can't hurt.
We'll again enlist attorney David Buchholtz, one of the state's leading experts on municipal finance. That's good because there are $200 million in ABQ bond issues on the ballot. (Synopsis here and specifics here.)
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| Sen. Maestas |
Buchholtz will also have his usual all-encompassing political analysis which he'll apply to the elections here as well as those being held around the nation.
And just in case, we'll have ABQ attorney, state senator and election expert Daniel Ivey-Soto on standby at an undisclosed location known only to our KANW producer Kevin Otero.
Thanks for your support of public radio and yours truly through decades of Election Night broadcasts. We do hope you can drop by again tomorrow night at 6:45 for another visit and the exciting sounds of democracy at work.
Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan and this is. . .
The Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com)
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023
