Medina and Keller

APD Chief Harold Medina is leaving his job--but there's a catch. The Chief says he won't give up the reins to his controversial reign until December 2025. That just happens to coincide with the end of Mayor Tim Keller's second term in office. 

Keller says he plans to seek a third term next year and with Medina signaling that he will not be around for a third, the plan is obviously to remove the controversial Medina as a campaign issue. 

Well, good luck with that. 

--Medina has become somewhat of an albatross around Keller's neck as the ABQ crime scene settles into permanently higher rates, even though they have dropped from the spiked levels reached during Covid. 

--Then there is the rate of fatal police shootings, higher than ever in modern city history and the highest in the United States. This despite a decade long presence by the Department of Justice to bring that rate down. 

--Add to it the millions spent on a Federal Monitor for APD who has continually ghosted the city without repercussions, collecting his outsized checks but remaining a phantom.

--Then there is Medina's recent bizarre auto accident that critically injured an innocent civilian and brought into questions the Chief's temperament. 

--There are also problems at the City Council with a handful of the lawmakers expressing no faith in Medina but unable to garner a Council majority to approve a no-confidence resolution in the chief.

--There's more. The look the other way mentality when it comes to the huge amount of overtime pay going out the door at APD continues, despite Keller calling out the abuse when he was State Auditor as have other Auditors.

--Keller and company and public officials elsewhere continue to argue that the crime rate is down and that this is a perception problem. But that's only half true. ABQ homicides, for example, are down from the Covid spike but well above the pre-Covid rate.

--The APD DWI scandal that apparently goes back years continued under Medina's watch, a commentary on the checks and balances in the department.

--Also, the nature of crime--not only its frequency--is what raises public alarm.  

--Guns going off at Coronado Mall--the state's largest. 

--Brazen fatal shootings and others in the heart of Downtown. 

--Open air and ubiquitous drug use in the War Zone in the SE Heights. 

--Property crimes that reveal little fear among the city's drug-fueled criminal class. 

MAYOR 2025

Medina has been chief three years and under state retirement rules his high salary as chief--north of $200,000--will be applied to his retirement benefits. He could be eligible for as much as 90 percent of his current pay for the rest of his life. So Medina's decision to retire is not a shocker but as it is often the case with Medina it comes with a political angle, similar to his bobbing and weaving over the fatal police shootings and the ongoing crime wave

Keller may or not get re-elected. We won't know the lay of the land  until those hoping to replace him step forward. But if he fails to win again his decision to keep Medina will not be a fatal error. That would have happened soon after he took office in 2017 and promised a national search for a chief but ended up picking one from within the culturally dysfunctional APD. That pick didn't last but the culture did.

Medina has lasted but so has the lack of progress in reforming APD exemplified by the DWI scandal and the crime rate which can be partially explained by the pandemic but not fully. Medina or no Medina that will be key to determining the outcome of next year's mayoral election. 

DEBATING THE CANDIDATES

Some political notes to start with today. . . 

The race is on to replace House Majority Leader Gail Chasey of ABQ who retires from the Legislature at the end of the year. Four names are circulating for the position that will be decided by the House Democrats following the November election. They are ABQ Reps Day Hochman-Vigil of the NE Heights, Joy Garratt of the Westside and Snata Fe Rep.Linda Serrato. Rep. Eliseo Alcon, who represents Cibola and McKinley counties is also said to be weighing a bid. His thinking being that if Hochman-Vigil and Garratt split the ABQ votes, he might have a shot at the number two House leadership position. 

Will House Speaker Javier Martinez be challenged for re-election as Speaker after the election? Scuttlebutt has been heard for several months that progressive women in the 45 member House Dem caucus could make a move against Martinez who took over the position in January of 2023. Insiders say a challenge is far from a sure thing this cycle but could come in the future. They say Santa Fe Rep. Reena  Szczepanski, House Majority Whip and an acolyte of former House Speaker Brian Egolf, could be the challenger. 

But Speaker Martinez's supporters say he has been a strong leader, commanding respect from the caucus, standing up to the Governor when necessary and having the back of his members. Martinez, an unabashed progressive, made a bold move when he announced that he would support all of his caucus members--conservative and progressive--at the June primary election. Several Dem conservative reps lost to progressive Dem challengers and that is probably stirring the pot over the speaker's future.

SOUTHERN SHOWDOWN

Silva and Winterrowd

Community organizer Sarah Silva of Las Cruces is the latest progressive woman trying to make her way to the Roundhouse but she will have to fend off a strong GOP challenge.

She was picked as the new nominee over two other contenders by eight State Dem Central Committee members from House District 53. She replaces Jon Hill, who won the June primary, but passed away from cancer. 

Silva says she raised $10,000 in the immediate aftermath of that vote but Republican and special ed teacher Elizabeth Winterrowd, who lost a close race (51-49) for the seat two years ago to Rep. Willie Madrid, is back and last reported over $50,000 in cash. 

The seat is one of the few swing seats left. It covers the eastern part of Doña Ana County and a slice of Otero County. Progressive Hill, who defeated the conservative Madrid in the June primary, endorsed Silva before his untimely death. Republicans are already calling Silva a "Socialist" as they try to snatch the seat.

NOT A PHOTO OP?

Forbiddden photo?

That scathing commentary on ABQ's fentanyl and crime problem in the SE Heights from GOP US Senate candidate Nella Domenci, who spent time touring the area with APD, had the Mayor's office reacting. Not about  the commentary but on the photo of her with APD officers sporting their official department patches. They say that is a campaign violation:

Her team made a rookie mistake by posting photos with APD's patch. The photos were not authorized and should never have been posted. She should have known better. Our lawyers are notifying her to remove the photos from her website. It violates APD's SOP 1-1-6E which states: "Prohibited political activities which include the following... F. Using Department-issued equipment to engage in political activity" and the Hatch Act. 

The City does sometimes accommodate ride alongs for candidates, but the photo was not authorized, especially not to be used for campaign materials. The department as an organization cannot and does not endorse political candidates, and the photo could give that perception. 

We asked Domenici's campaign for a comment but they did not respond. Her photos with APD officers remain on her website.  (The photos were gone by mid-morning Wednesday).

CHIEF MEDINA UPDATE

In a first draft Tuesday we quoted APD watchdog Dan Klein as saying the city ought to force Medina to be personally responsible for his legal fees in a lawsuit brought against the city Tuesday by the seriously injured driver of the car that Medina rammed into at a February accident. 

But even if Medina was found to have caused the accident, his legal fees still have to be paid for by the city, says ABQ attorney Tom Grover who has defended police in multiple cases

Medina has caused the city major exposure to liability because of his actions. Because his acts were “official” the city will have to indemnify him for his liability. 

Under a change to the City Charter approved by the City Council this year and that will be voted on this November, the Council would need to approve the firing of the Chief by the Mayor:

The Police and Fire Chiefs may only be removed from office for cause by the Mayor for any reason. The Police and Fire Chiefs may also be removed or with an affirmative vote of two-thirds plus one of the entire membership of the Council after cause has been determined by the Inspector General.

Seven of the nine Councilors would have to approve of a Chief's firing, if the amendment wins voter approval. The current Charter does not expressly say how or whether the Mayor can fire the Chief, although mayors have not been reluctant to fire them in the past and without Council approval.

And. . .We had APD Chief Medina retiring in March of next year. Not so. As we reported on April 14, Medina announced he will retire in December 2025, after the November '25 mayoral election.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.    

Carlos Sandoval-Smith (Journal)

The brazen in your face corruption revealed in audio recordings made last June by a DWI suspect interacting with an APD officer and a paralegal has sent the city back on its heels yet again and wondering if the decades-long rot at the department will finally be extracted.

The DWI scandal, on simmer for a while, exploded with renewed force when Carlos Sandoval-Smith, arrested for DWI, released audio recordings that detailed one method APD DWI officers allegedly employed to extort money from desperate defendants.

Leon Howard, Deputy Director of ACLU NM, summed up the city's reaction:

It’s shocking and quite frankly disgusting.

The taped revelations came in the midst of the bizarre news of an auto accident involving APD Chief Harold Medina who spun like a high-speed top to explain how and why he ran a red light, slammed into a mustang seriously injuring the driver all the while surveying a homeless camp in the SE Heights from an APD vehicle in which his wife was riding shotgun.

The outlandishness of the accident was appropriate to the moment, reflecting the chaos and a confounded public that has watched for over a month as command and control of the city's police force seemed to slip away like a handful of sand.

AN OUTRAGEOUS BETRAYAL

The Sandoval-Smith recordings reveal an outrageous betrayal of the public trust and stain every law-abiding law officer in the city. His contact with APS went like this:

Officer Joshua Montano stops Sandoval-Smith on suspicion of drunk driving, conducts tests, takes his Apple Watch and bracelet and has him booked. Days later the arresting officer calls Smith to tell him his jewelry was misplaced but he can get the items back from an attorney friend of Montaño's. Smith goes to the law offices of Tom Clear where he encounters paralegal Rick Mendez who tells him (on tape) that the guaranteed way to avoid a DWI conviction is to hire Clear for $8,500. He can even make payments if he likes. 

The deal as we now know is that Montaño will not show up in court and the case will be dismissed. Sandoval-Smith did not take the offer, hired a public defender and the case was dismissed but not before he notified the Feds of the scheme.

This scenario or similar ones have apparently played out for years, right under the noses of APD and city leadership. Now the question is will the wheels of justice crush the corruption of today and inhibit it from occurring tomorrow. 

WHAT'S NEXT?

We called on one of of our Legal Beagles of long experience for details and analysis on how the FBI's ongoing investigation into the DWI scheme may unfold from here:

Joe, It appears the status of the corruption case is that the Feds are still gathering evidence. My experience is that the Feds are much more cautious than NM in preferring charges. They have a very high conviction rate and don’t want to see it go under the national average of 90-95%. Also, they are looking to expand the circle of defendants. 

One of the reasons for this is the more defendants, the more likely it is defendants will roll to save their own necks. I know they would be extremely interested in finding not only more law enforcement (and expanded to more agencies) but in an ideal world more lawyers who engaged in this corruption.

We can expect an indictment in the very near future, but of whom is not certain. Indicting attorney Tom Clear, alone, would not accomplish the goal of cleaning house at APD, but indicting him along with a couple of other unindicted co-conspirators and, more importantly, others as yet unknown would cause a great shudder and could have the effect of creating a rush to make deals with the US Attorney.

This is a non-stop topic of discussion in the local legal community. There is, of course, a certain amount of schadenfreude in the hearts of defense lawyers who do not stoop to the illegal methods used to gain DWI acquittals. 

Good stuff and the kind you get only here. Thanks Beagle.

THE GREAT HOPE

The hope in the Duke City is that this will be the scandal to end all APD scandals. Readers can be forgiven if they approach that hope with a healthy dose of skepticism as seen in this email to your blog:  

Corruption starts as a tiny weed. If ignored it takes over your garden. Welcome to APD. Since the evidence room scandal under Mayor Martin Chavez, police chiefs, mayors, district attorneys and the attorney general have just ignored corruption. 

The Taser pay to play scandal under APD Chief Ray Schultz? The DA and AG did nothing. Mayor Berry allowed Schultz to retire and the corruption was ignored. 

--Seven government audits confirming the potential for corruption with APD's payroll were met with silence from chiefs, mayors, the DA and AG. 

--An APD public information officer (Simon Drobik) was investigated and found to be taking a taxpayer check during the same work hours he was working overtime for another entity. This caused the state auditor to refer it to the attorney general. What happened? Nothing. 

All of the chiefs, mayors, district attorneys and attorney generals are all complicit because they allowed the weed of corruption to grow.  If these new allegations involving DWI arrests are true all of them again helped to cause it by not weeding the garden.

And don't forget the asleep at the wheel city councilors over the years. Still, hope springs when it comes to cleaning up the corruption--if not eternally--at least once in a while.

ANTISEMITIC DOG WHISTLE? 

Zuckerberg

Several readers detected a note of antisemitism in a quote we had on the Thursday blog from a columnist writing in the Rio Grande Sun. The comments strike a chord. Here's Michel Hays, a commentator who sent this to us and his email list: 

In his February 22, 2024, issue of New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan, Mr. Monahan included an extensive passage about Progressive influence on legislation in this year’s legislative session. It reads: 

Conservative columnist Tom Wright, writing in the Rio Grande Sun, ponders the power of progressive Democrats: 

New Mexico has a Democrat majority, but most Democrats here are not progressives. One must ask, why was there so much progressive legislation being considered in this session? Progressive politicians get elected here because big money, from outside the state, funds their campaigns. Super-PACs funded by the likes of George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg and other elites with power agendas, make sure their handpicked and groomed candidates get elected and support their outside agenda. . . A truly local politician, funded only by locals stands little chance of being elected in a super-PAC funded race. 

Hays responds: 

What I noticed is “the likes of.” The phrase calls attention to “George Soros, Mark Zuckerberg, Michael Bloomberg” as Jews. They make up an elite differentiated from “other elites” (emphasis added) and are associated with “power agendas” [understood to be hidden]. Thus, Mr. Wright insinuates the old antisemitic canard about Jews with their wealth controlling governments. Mr. Monahan gives credibility to this canard by including it in his blog on New Mexico politics. It is unfortunate if the likes of these columnists believe it and repeat it to others. I prefer to think of it as evidence of antisemitism latent in New Mexicans, most of whom are unaware of it in themselves and unaware of it even when it emerges and reveals itself, as in these instances. 

Reader John Campbell writes: 

Would you ask Tom Wright if he can think of any "elites with power agendas" who use massive wealth to pull strings from the shadows but aren't of Jewish descent? I found it a little weird to see that kind of view featured uncritically on your blog, but maybe that was my mistake. 

Insightful comments and the points are well-taken in this corner. 

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.  

E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com

About that 10 percent raise the Guv is now proposing for new school teachers. Our read? Martinez may be suffering some from the chaotic public debate over teacher evaluation tests. The raise seems aimed at shoring up public support that could be waning.

The $30,000 a year starting pay for teachers has not been raised since we passed a Constitutional Amendment increasing teacher pay back in 2003.

The administration has not been showing any olive branches on the education front, but as we say  polling could be picking up discontent. That will get the olive branches waving--faster than the starting flag at the Indy 500....

Maybe another reason Martinez is waving a bone under the noses of potential teachers is the number we are losing. This education blog argues it is due in part because of the new teacher evaluation system.

Also on the education front....do you think we can do better than this?

. . . Many students in the Española School District do not have textbooks. The lack of books became the focus of a Española School Board meeting. . . .The discussion started during Superintendent Danny Trujillo’s report, when Board President Ralph Medina asked, “Where are we on the math books? Or any instructional material in the classroom?” “We’re still missing a few books,” Trujillo said. He said all the books the schools have ordered have come, but in some cases, there were not enough books for the class sizes. To fill this gap, schools were having to copy pages from textbooks. . . .

The kids have gone from copying one another's homework to having to copy entire books...

Meanwhile, the Legislative Finance Committee reports: 

New Mexico lawmakers in the last 10 years have increased spending on public schools by three-quarters of a billion dollars, or more than 42 percent. Even during the deep recession, public education was made a priority....

Maybe we might want to audit where all the book money goes?

THE APD PLIGHT

Events involving the ABQ police department continue to pound away at Mayor Berry in the early days of his second term. We recently blogged that his legacy is going to be defined in large part on how the many lawsuits against the department are settled and how he resolves the historic issues facing APD. Retired police Sergeant Dan Klein is back on the Berry/APD beat today:

Joe, KRQE-TV reported Thursday night that $900,000 has been paid out by APD in another shooting settlement.

The ABQ Journal reports the Police Academy director was or is the target of an internal affairs investigation but won't say why.

Word has it the current APD Academy has lost almost half of their cadets in just one month, down to 15 cadets and they still have 5 months to go.

And we may or may not have a contract for the APOA. Regardless, it will be too late to stop any officers who planned to retire at the end of the month....

Thanks, Dan. So Amid this havoc the Mayor awards his chief administrative officer a $33,000 a year pay raise--a 22% increase?

Maybe Mayor Berry, who prides himself on his private sector experience, has been in government so long he forgets how the private sector works--that employees are rewarded for success not failure.

This ongoing crisis at the police department--the subject of a federal civil rights investigation--is hurting our city's reputation and its economy.

We need strong leadership from City Hall. That means a new, confidence-restoring police chief who is not associated with the current contaminated culture, an aggressive posture in bringing our police force up to the needed number of officers and competent civilian oversight of APD from the mayor, the CAO and the police oversight panel.

We simply are not getting the results we are paying for. How many years do we have to wait?

PUT UP JOB?

Is Colonel Robert Cunningham--whose far right-wing rant against ABQ state Rep. Mimi Stewart we blogged on Thursday--a big put on? An ABQ Alligators has been doing some checking:

Google searches and sites show this whole Col. Robert F Cunningham thing to be weird. First of all, he apparently died in Puyallup, Washington on February 2, 2011. He has (had?) a daughter living in Albuquerque. He and/or his name is linked to all kinds of Tea Party/Patriot action, and really strange out-there stuff. One would be led to think that this person has some really serious mental issues. One site about Egypt and Thoth has a picture icon of him as a twentysomething black male! The whole "Col Robert F Cunningham" thing, whomever he may have been/is in real life, seems like a put-on.

You mean a put up job on the Internet? Shocking...truly shocking...