On March 31, 2023, the Albuquerque Journal published the following news report  with a  bold, top of the fold  banner headline  “Public safety chief to be paid $187,000 yearly. The article was written by the Journal  investigative reporter Colleen Heild

“The city of Albuquerque will pay incoming public safety executive director Raul Bujanda $187,000 a year, a spokesman confirmed Monday.

Bujanda, whose appointment by Mayor Tim Keller will go before the City Council next month, retired from the FBI in April 2025 after 23 years.

Bujanda served as special agent in charge of the Albuquerque field office from 2021 to 2025, leaving federal law enforcement just months after President Donald Trump assumed office and named Kash Patel as FBI director in February 2025.

Prior to joining the FBI in 2002, Bujanda was a special agent in the U.S. Immigration and Naturalization Service and previously worked as a fifth grade teacher.

The INS was the federal agency that handled immigration, border patrol and naturalization until 2003, when its functions were transferred to the Department of Homeland Security.

Bujanda will be earning about $32,800 more a year than Keller, whose annual salary is $154,211, according to a city spokesman. He will report to Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel.

Bujanda, who will be a full-time city employee, and newly appointed Albuquerque Police Department Chief Cecily Barker still need to be confirmed by the City Council.

Barker is required to have a contract under a new city ordinance. She will be negotiating a contract, including a salary, with the Keller administration, said APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos.

Bujanda will oversee the APD, Albuquerque Fire Rescue and Albuquerque Community Safety. Their department heads, including Barker, will report to Bujanda.

[APD Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said] Bujanda’s office will be in the Mayor’s Office. He will not have staff, other than a shared executive assistant with other executive staff in the Mayor’s Office.

Gallegos said there were no other candidates for the public safety chief job.

The position, similar to a deputy CAO, existed under Keller’s predecessor, Mayor Richard Berry, who appointed former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White to the job in 2009. During his stints in office in the 1990s and 2000s, Mayor Martin J. Chavez filled the position with veteran APD commander Nicholas Bakas, and former city councilor Pete Dinelli.

 Up until Bujanda retired last year, Keller didn’t have a candidate he thought would be a good fit, Gallegos said.

 During Bujanda’s FBI career, he served as a section chief in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington. After stints in Portland, Oregon, and El Paso, Texas, he was promoted in 2016 to assistant special agent in charge of the National Security Branch in the Oklahoma City Field Office. He later served as the assistant special agent in charge of Oklahoma City’s Criminal Branch of the FBI.

 Bujanda was named section chief of the Criminal Investigative Division’s National Covert Operations Section in 2019. He managed and oversaw all criminal and national security undercover operations for the FBI.

The link to review the full unedited Albuquerque  Journal  article with photo is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/public-safety-chief-to-be-paid-187000-yearly/3013275

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

EDITORS NOTE:  In the interest full full disclosure, from 2002 to 2009, I worked for the City of Albuquerque and  held two jobs at the same time with and office on the 4th floor and an office on the 11th floor in the Mayor’s Office. For 8 years I was a Deputy City Attorney who was the Director of the Safe City Strike Force and a trial attorney, who organized the Strike Force and worked with APD sworn, the Fire Department sworn and Planning Department code enforcement initiating civil nuisance abatement actions and going to court. I was appointed by Mayor  Martin Chavez as the Chief Public Safety Officer to oversee  APD and the Fire Department and held that position for a year and a half from 2007 to 2009 while also being Director of the Strike Force as a Deputy City Attorney. I served  as the Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center dealing with APD and Fire  and was the former Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney which gave insight to law enforcement practices. I retired on November 16, 2009 after almost 28 years of public service.

Absent from the Albuquerque Journal article is the fact that Raul Bujanda was the Special Agent In Charge is the DWI bribery and dismissal  corruption scandal involving corruption within the APD, the New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sherriff officers. A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted or plead guilty to charges. 16 APD officers have been  implicated, charged or plead guilty to federal charges. Nine APD sworn  officers, including a Lieutenant, and one Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Deputy have plead guilty to federal charges of taking bribes. No one has been sentenced for the crimes they have plead guilty to, including two attorneys. The FBI investigation is continuing.

According to a March 26   KOB 4  TV report, Raul Bujanda said that after he retired from the FBI, he reached out to then Chief Harold Medina who then introduced him to Mayor Tim Keller before last years election to discuss how he could assist the city on law enforcement issues and other matters affecting the city.  Bujanda has not disclosed  if the DWI corruption case was discussed in detail with Medina or Keller as he sought employment with Keller. The conversations eventually led to Mayor Keller deciding to offer the position of Public Safety Executive Director to Bujanda.

Simply put, Raul Bujanda’s interview with KOB 4 was as simplistic and as evasive as it gets. He effectively sidestepped answering the question of conflicts by saying no one has questioned if there is a conflict with him taking the $187,000 city job. He did not say whether or not his appointment presents ethical conflicts or the appearance of impropriety to appoint an individual who investigated APD for government corruption and bribery for dismissal of DWI cases and to now be in charge of overseeing APD as well as the City Fire and Rescue Department and the Albuquerque Community Safety Division.

The link to view the full and more detailed KOB news report is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/meet-albuquerques-new-public-safety-executive-director/

It’s unknown if the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), which the FBI is a part of, was a reference for Bujanda, or if the FBI or DOJ were  conferred with by the city regarding the Bujunda appointment and if the appointment presents any conflicts or jeopardizes the continuing FBI investigations of other officers involved in the DWI scandal. Bujanda could disclose any and all information he may have to APD Chief Cecily Barker or Mayor Tim Keller on other corrupt APD Officers, but that likely is strictly prohibited by his FBI oath of office or the oath to keep evidence presented to a grand jury strictly confidential.

Another problematic area is if Mayor Keller or others will be asking Bujanda to run interference for the city with the FBI or the United States Attorney on the APD corruption scandal or any other cases of government corruption. Bujanda essentially admitted he will run interference when he said to KOB 4 “… I want to continue to do that collaboration we have, not only with the FBI, but any entity that is looking to see what we’re doing inside or internally.”

APD Public Information Spokesman Gilbert Gallegos said there were no other candidates for the public safety chief job.  Mayor Keller said he wanted to create the position since the beginning of when he took office over 8 years ago and he wanted a person with a background in law enforcement. Keller said he could not find anyone qualified for the job.  Both APD Spokesman Gilbert  Gallegos and Mayor Keller’s explanations are  laughable and disingenuous.  The position of Public Safety Executive Director was not advertised by the city nor were other applications solicited nor accepted. A national search was not done as was the case for APD Chief.

There is no need for the  position of Public Safety Executive Director that pays $187,000 to oversee APD, the Fire Department and the Albuquerque Community Safety Department whose primary duties will be public relations and community outreach which is already done by the Chief of Police, the Fire Chief and the Director of the Community and Safety Division. The City Council has the obligation to determine if the position of Public Safety Executive Director that pays $187,000 a year to perform public relations and community outreach is really needed. It is not.

The City Council should reject and vote no to confirm the position.

The link to a related article is here:

KOB 4 Interview With Raul Bujanda On Keller’s Rush To Appoint Him Public Safety Executive Director; Bujanda Downplays Likely Conflicts; COMMENTARY: No Urgent Need For $187,000 Public Relations Flack; Council Needs To Ask The Hard Questions On Duties Before Approving Bujanda Appointment

This is an in-depth report on the unhoused numbers in Albuquerque, APD’s  and the Courts response and the City’s financial commitment to the unhoused crisis.  It explores a viable solution to get the unhoused off the streets to provide them with the mental health and drug addiction treatment they need short of jail to get them off the streets.

PROREPUBLIC ARTICLE ON JAILING OF UNHOUSED

On March 4, ProRepublica, online and  non-profit investigative journalism organization,  published an investigative report entitled “Albuqurquerque’s Mayor Said Arrrests Were “Not the Solution” to Homeless. Yet Bookings Have Skyrocketed”. The article was written by ProRepublica reporters Nicole Santa Cruz and Ruth Talbot. The link to read the full unedited article is here: 

Albuquerque’s Mayor Said Arrests Were “Not the Solution” to Homelessness. Yet Jail Bookings Have Skyrocketed.

The report reveals statistics on the arrest and jailing of the unhoused by the Mayor Keller Administration since he was first elected in 2017. Following are quoted portions of the article providing the statistics with edits for brevity:

During his reelection campaign last fall [Mayor Tim Keller] …  criticized challenger [former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White] for suggesting the city should get tougher on the homeless population. [White boldly proclaimed: “When I’m elected, the homeless tent cities will come down on day one.”]  Keller said during a televised debate with White … that such an approach would be cruel and the city clears encampments and gives people citations “all the time…[but] this problem is complex and you cannot dumb it down to arresting people. … You simply cannot arrest your way out of this problem whether you want to or not.”

Despite his rhetoric, a ProPublica analysis found that under Keller’s leadership, Albuquerque has increasingly criminalized conduct associated with homelessness, causing a growing number of people on the streets to be arrested and jailed.

In 2025, people were charged 1,256 times for obstructing sidewalks, nearly six times the number of cases in the previous eight years combined. More than 3,000 trespassing charges were handed out last year, the highest for any year since 2017. And cases of unlawful camping increased to 704 from 113 the year before, according to previously unreported county data provided to ProPublica by the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts.

In recent years, a majority of these cases, once they were adjudicated, were dismissed. But not without consequences: Each citation lists a court date, which, if missed, can lead to a bench warrant and arrest. … And that’s often what has happened.

Over the past four years, the number of bookings in Bernalillo County’s jail classified as homeless or “transient” has skyrocketed — to nearly 12,000 in 2025, from 3,670 in 2022. In recent months, the share of people booked who are transient made up about 49% of the jail’s population… .  This has occurred as the average daily population at the jail from July 2024 through June 2025 reached its highest point in a decade. On some days last year, the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Detention Center held more homeless people than the largest local shelter.

The city’s homeless population has more than doubled from 2022 to 2025, while the increase in homeless people jailed by the county has more than tripled during the same time period. Police and court records and interviews with homeless people show the increase in their incarceration is primarily driven by the cascading effects of repeatedly citing people who are experiencing homelessness.

In an interview with ProPublica, Keller echoed his contention from the debate that citations and arrests are not a solution to homelessness. Still, he defended the actions police have taken. [Keller said this]:  “What we’re doing is following the letter of the law. There are much more punitive things that I’m sure a lot of people would want, that we don’t do because they’re inappropriate.” 

In a statement, a spokesperson for Keller [said] the city issues three citations before an arrest is made. … When ProPublica pointed out that citations can lead to arrests and jail time, Keller acknowledged that jail “is not the solution.” But, he said, people call the city and ask that laws be enforced.

In recent years, U.S. cities, facing record numbers of people on the street, have adopted more laws targeting them. In 2024, after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that cities may enforce bans against sleeping outside, more than 150 municipalities nationwide, including Albuquerque, either passed new laws prohibiting public camping or ramped up enforcement of existing laws. … .

The emphasis on enforcement has come despite evidence that such citations and arrests are costly. For example, Bernalillo County spends about $169 per night to jail inmates without significant medical or mental health needs, according to a county spokesperson. The cost increases for people with severe medical ($250 a day) and mental health (about $450 a day) needs,  … .  By comparison, housing an individual in the city’s year-round emergency shelter costs $44 a night.

Tony Robinson, a political science professor at the University of Colorado who has studied camping bans, said the share of homeless inmates in Bernalillo County’s jail is “unusually high” — even at a time when cities are ramping up enforcement. ProPublica found that jails in similarly sized counties, including San Francisco and Pasco County, Florida, have lower rates of incarceration for people who are marked homeless.

Citing people who are homeless can land them in jail because some lack cellphones or an address where they can receive notices by mail. This is a barrier to appearing in court, leading to a warrant for their arrest, he said. “Simple citations lead to jail time and arrest by a predictable path.”  … .

Since Keller took office [eight] years ago, Albuquerque has spent at least $100 million to expand the city’s Gateway system, which includes shelter for families and adults, a 50-person treatment program, and a place where people are supervised by medical professionals as they withdraw from drugs or alcohol.

[Keller said this:] “We’re one of the few cities who really has been proactive about building a new system. … It needs tons of work and tons of help, but we’ve at least built something that has gotten 1,000 people off the street.”

Meanwhile, the city’s homeless population, which was at least 2,960 last year, exceeds the shelters’ capacity even with the expansions. Keller has also become less tolerant of encampments in public spaces like parks and sidewalks, vowing to not allow “tent cities.”  … .

City statistics show … that the biggest jump in arrests from 2024 to 2025 was for misdemeanor warrants … .  Arrests associated with misdemeanor warrants were up 72%.

… .”

The link to read the full and  unedited ProRepublica  article with photos is here:

https://www.propublica.org/article/albuquerque-homelessness-citations-surge-tim-keller

THE UNHOUSED CRISIS IN ALBUQUERQUE 

On November 17, 2025  the New Mexico Coalition to End Homelessness released the  most recent 2025 Point-In-Time (PIT) Report for the numbers of unhoused in Albuquerque. The PIT survey  found that at least 2,960 people in Albuquerque called the streets or an emergency shelter their home with nowhere else to go. Of that number, 1,367 people were completely unsheltered with no roof over their heads, living on the streets or in emergency shelters. The 2025 PIT report revealed an 8% increase in homelessness going from 2,740 in 2024 to 2,960 in 2025, an increase of 220 people.

A 2025 report by the city found 30% of individuals experiencing homelessness self report having a serious mental illness, 25% self report having a substance use disorder and upwards of  66% experience some form of mental health condition. A report by the New Mexico Justice Reinvestment Working Group found that 65% of individuals who enter the state’s criminal justice system have behavioral health needs and the criminal justice system cannot provide necessary medical  treatment and facilities. A major  problem is that approximately 75% of the chronic, emergency unhoused simply refuse city services, yet the city continues spending  millions a year to benefit  so few that need assistance.

CITY’S FINANCIAL COMITMENT TO UNHOUSE

In the last three years, the city has spent upwards of $300 million on homeless shelters, programs and purchasing and remodeling motels for low-income housing. In 2021, the city acquired the Lovelace Hospital complex on Gibson for $15 million and has spent upwards of $90 million to remodel it into the Gateway shelter.  The fiscal year 2026 approved General Fund budget for the Health, Housing and Homelessness Department is $53.3 million. The sum includes $48 million for strategic support, health and human services, affordable housing, mental health services, emergency shelter services, homeless support services, shelter operations, substance abuse services and $4.2 million for the Gibson Gateway maintenance division.

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_42aba680-62c4-4228-95a2-da72df1a34e1.html

https://citydesk.org/2025/09/10/albuquerque-becomes-new-mexicos-homeless-hub-as-gateway-contracts-add-100-beds/?mc_cid=b9e7b25ad7&mc_eid=001367acf1 

The Gateway Network consists of 5 shelters costing a staggering $300 Million dollars spent over the last 4 years to assist upwards of 3,000 to 5,000 unhoused. The City has become New Mexico’s de facto “homeless capitol”  providing shelter and services to the homeless for all communities throughout New Mexico. The problem is that the City and the State’s unhoused numbers are getting worse and not any better after spending millions.

The Gateway Network of support for people struggling with homelessness and drug and substance addiction consists of the following:

1. Gateway Center– (Located on Gibson.) Campus providing medical, behavioral, and social services including overnight beds, first responder intake, medical sobering and respite. Old Lovelace Hospital city purchased for $15 million costing $95 million to remodel into shelter and supposedly providing  assistance to upwards of 1,000 unhoused per month.
2. Gateway West – Safe, supportive 660-bed facility for individuals experiencing homelessness, offering specialized resources and case management. (Annual Impact: 5,700 Individuals. Open 24/7 Since 2019)
3. Gateway Family – Supportive housing center for families with overnight beds, meals, and case management to help achieve stable housing. (Annual Impact: 987 Individuals Open Since 2020.
4. Gateway Recovery– 50-resident micro-community offering low-barrier beds, recovery services, and support for 18 – 24 months. Annual projected Impact: 50 – 100. Opening Early 2025
5. Gateway Young Adult – Housing and support for young adults ages 15-25 experiencing homelessness, tailored to their unique needs. Annual projected Impact: 120 Individuals. Opened March, 2026.

STATUTES AND ORDINANCES ENUMERATED

New Mexico Statutes and City Ordinances have been enacted that are relied upon to deal with unlawful camping and trespass and are used to deal with the unhoused. All the laws have been on the books for decades and are applicable and are enforced against all citizens and not just the unhoused.

The specific statutes are:

1. NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-1 (1995), defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
2. NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-4 (1969), defining wrongful use of property used for a public purpose and owned by the state, its subdivisions, and any religious, charitable, educational, or recreational association.
3. Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-3, defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
4. Albuquerque City Ordinance 8-2-7-13, prohibiting the placement of items on a sidewalk so as to restrict its free use by pedestrians.
5. Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-10, prohibiting being in a park at nighttime when it is closed to public use.
6. Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-7, prohibiting hindering persons passing along any street, sidewalk, or public way.
7. Albuquerque City Ordinance 5-8-6, prohibiting camping on open space lands and regional preserves.
8. Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-3, prohibiting the erection of structures in city parks.

MCCLENDON V. CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE

All the above laws are classified as “non-violent crimes” and are misdemeanors. The filing of criminal charges by law enforcement are discretionary when the crime occurs in their presence. In 1995 the  federal  class action lawsuit of McClendon v. City of Albuquerque was filed to prevent severe  overcrowding  and to mandate  improving jail conditions with a Permanent Injunction issued against the City to prohibit jail overcrowding.

In 2017  the McClendon case led to a settlement agreement after the city was accused of conducting street sweeps of people whom APD had referred to as the “homeless mentally ill.” As part of a settlement, the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department agreed that only citations will be issued and no arrests would be made for violations of the state statutes and city ordinances to reduce jail overcrowding.

In March 2025, the City of Albuquerque filed a Motion to Dismiss and be released from the McClendon case. The City  contends that the 10 requirements imposed by the settlement have been met and, in some instances, exceeded.  The Motion and the issue of the city’s compliance is now  before U.S. District Judge James Browning of Albuquerque, who now oversees the class-action lawsuit.  The Motion states in part:

“While the City intends to continue its programs designed to prevent unnecessary incarceration … it should be permitted to do so without judicial oversight, without remaining a defendant in a decades-long lawsuit, without the duty to pay attorney’s fees whenever Plaintiffs believe they have grounds to complain about the City’s actions  …”

Private attorney Ryan Villa, one of the Plaintiff attorneys in the case against the city contends the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department have failed to live up to a 2017 agreement to remedy unconstitutional and unlawful practices affecting those living on the streets. Villa said this:  “In our view, the city is using Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC)  as a temporary homeless shelter.”

In a response to the Motion to Dismiss,  the plaintiffs’ attorneys contend the city has “turned back the clock” and resumed the “very same tactics” that led to the agreement. Villa in a  30-page response to the city’s motion wrote this:

“The City has significantly and openly increased criminal enforcement against nonviolent misdemeanants, particularly the unhoused and those with mental illness, and begun crowding the jail via the adoption of systematic practices and formal enforcement policies at odds with the Settlement Agreement terms and purpose. ”

The City’s Motion to Dismiss is still pending.

The link to the relied upon and quoted news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/attorneys-say-city-using-jail-as-homeless-shelter/3003486

CLOSURE OF CORONADO PARK AND ENSUING CLASS ACTION LAWSUITE

On June 27, 2022,  calling it “the most dangerous place in the state of New Mexico”, Mayor Tim Keller ordered the closure of Coronado Park. On  August 18, 2022, pursuant to Mayor Keller’s closure orders, the City of Albuquerque closed Coronado Park because it had become a de facto city sanctioned homeless encampment with the city evicting up to 100 unhoused who camped there nightly. The city cited numerous reasons for closure of the park including lack of sanitation posing severe health risks, overall damage to the park and extensive drug trafficking and violent crime, including rapes and murders at the park having reached crisis proportions. It was costing the city $54,308 a month to clean up the park only for the homeless encampment to return.

The city park had an extensive history lawlessness including drug use, violence, murder, rape and mental health issues. In 2020, there were 3 homicides at Coronado Park. In 2019, a disabled woman was raped, and in 2018 there was a murder at Coronado Park.  APD reported that it was dispatched to the park 651 times in 2021 and 312 times in 2022. There had been 16 stabbings at the park in 2 years.  In 2023, APD had seized from the park 4,500 fentanyl pills, more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine, 24 grams of heroin and 29 grams of cocaine. APD also found $10,000 in cash. All the seized drugs were tied to a single bust that occurred at a nearby motel, not the park, though an APD spokeswoman said the suspect was “mainly doing all their distributions [at the park].”

On December 19, 2022 the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, the NM Center on Law & Poverty, and the law firms of Ives & Flores, PA and Davis Law New Mexico filed a “Class Action Complaint For Violations of Civil Rights and for Declaratory and Injunctive Relief” against the City of Albuquerque on behalf 4 men and 4 women identified to be homeless. All 8, along with upwards of 100 unhoused, were evicted by the city from Coronado Park. Not one of the 8 plaintiffs allege they were charged nor arrested for refusing to leave Coronado Park on the day it was closed nor were they jailed. The lawsuit contends it is unconstitutional to punish or threaten to punish unhoused people for the “crime of being in an outdoor public space when there are inadequate indoor spaces for them to be.”

The Plaintiffs allege they were displaced from Coronado Park when the city closed it and that the city did not provide satisfactory shelter options to them. The city said it did give notice and offered shelter and services, including vouchers.  According to the ACLU the lawsuit was filed to stop the City of Albuquerque from destroying encampments of the unhoused all over the city and preventing the city from seizing and destroying personal property and jailing and fining people for being unhoused.

The lawsuit alleges the city unlawfully seized personal property, denied due process of law, and violated constitutional rights by destroying property and forced all the unhoused at Coronado Park out with nowhere for them to go and with the city not providing shelter for them. The lawsuit sought court orders that required the city to cease and desist enforcement actions to stop the unhoused from camping in public spaces which include public streets, public rights of ways, alleyways, under bridges and city parks unless the city has shelter or housing for them.

On March 18, 2024, State District Court Judge Joshua Allison ruled the landmark  United States Supreme Court case of  Grants Pass v. Johnson that gives cities the green light to enforce criminal laws against the homeless for living and sleeping outside on public property does NOT apply to the City of Albuquerque and it is “flawed.” 

The class-action lawsuit is pending and is expected to go to trial in September, 2026, unless it is settled.

US SUPREME COURT CASE GRANTS PASS V. JOHNSON

On June 28, 2024 the United State Supreme Court announced its ruling in the case of Grants Pass v. Johnson where the court held that local laws effectively criminalizing homelessness do not violate the U.S. Constitution and do not constitute cruel and unusual punishment.

The case challenged a municipality’s ability to bar people from sleeping or camping in public areas, such as sidewalks and parks. The case is strikingly similar in facts and circumstances and laws to the case filed against the City of Albuquerque over the closure of Coronado Park.

The case came from the rural Oregon town of Grants Pass, which appealed a ruling striking down local ordinances that fined people $295 for sleeping outside after tents began crowding public parks. The homeless plaintiffs argued that Grants Pass, a town with just one 138-bed overnight shelter,  criminalized them for behavior they couldn’t avoid: sleeping outside when they have nowhere else to go.

Meanwhile, municipalities across the western United States argued that court rulings hampered their ability to quickly respond to public health and safety issues related to homeless encampments.  The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, which has jurisdiction over the nine Western states, ruled in 2018 that such bans violate the Eighth Amendment in areas where there aren’t enough shelter beds.

The United States Supreme Court  considered whether cities can enforce laws and take action against or punish the unhoused for sleeping outside in public spaces when shelter space is lacking. The case is the most significant case heard by the high court in decades on the rights of the unhoused and comes as a rising number of people in the United States are without a permanent place to live.

In a 6-3 decision along ideological lines, the Supreme Court  reversed a ruling by a San Francisco-based appeals court that found outdoor sleeping bans amount to “cruel and unusual punishment” under the United States Constitution. The majority found that the 8th Amendment prohibition against cruel and unusual punishment does not extend to bans on outdoor sleeping in public places such as parks and streets.  The Supreme Court ruled  that cities can enforce bans on homeless people sleeping outdoors, even in West Coast areas where shelter space is lacking.

BERNALILLO COUNTY METROPOLITAN DIVERSION COURT

During the 2025 regular session of the New Mexico legislature, the legislature enacted what was referred to as the Omnibus Crime Package.  It included 6 bills, one of which is the criminal competency legislation. It specifically requires that competency evaluators determine whether defendants are dangerous to themselves or others. After a competency hearing, and if a defendant is found not to be competent, a judge  then decides whether the defendant poses a threat. Based on that determination, a defendant is either  ordered to attend an assisted outpatient treatment program or  sent to the state Behavioral Health Institute in Las Vegas, New Mexico. During the October 2, 2025 Special Session of the New Mexico legislature the legislature enacted legislation which will allow the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court to determine competency which previously required district court involvement.

On January 6, 2026 the Metropolitan Court Diversion Court was launched. The new court redirects people with serious mental illness into treatment as an alternative to criminal prosecution for minor and nonviolent crimes. The new court  deals with people who previously have had criminal charges dismissed because they were found incompetent to stand trial. The criminal competency Diversion Court is the fifth such program statewide and is the first in the state’s largest county.

During the Special Session of the New Mexico legislature that ended on October 2, 2025, the legislature enacted legislation which allows the Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court to determine competency which previously was only allowed by the State District Court.  A recent report by the New Mexico Justice Reinvestment Working Group found that 65% of individuals who enter the state’s criminal justice system have a behavioral health need and the criminal justice system cannot provide necessary medical treatment and facilities.

State lawmakers appropriated $293,000 a year for the Diversion Court which will pay for a program coordinator and two case managers, or navigators, to direct people to appropriate mental health and substance-abuse treatment and basic services such as housing. The funding also will pay for the program’s behavioral health service provider, Albuquerque-based A New Awakening.

The Diversion Court  provides people who are unhoused with the opportunity to resolve pending misdemeanor cases, outstanding warrants and unpaid fines, all of which can pose barriers to housing and employment opportunities and hinder progress toward self-sufficiency. The Diversion Court will be able to do more when it comes to the homeless who suffer from severe mental illness or who are drug addicted and are a danger to themselves and others.

Candidates for the program are people charged with misdemeanors and nonviolent felonies, excluding those facing drunken-driving charges. The program comes at a time when encampment sweeps around Albuquerque have increased significantly and have  led to an increase in misdemeanor charges like unlawful camping and blocking the sidewalk. The program provides an alternative for a judge who otherwise would have little choice but to dismiss the charges.

In cases involving the unhoused or those with mental illness, misdemeanor citations often lead to jail stays down the line due to missed court hearings. According to a Bernalillo County jail population dashboard, just over 7,000 people were booked on misdemeanor charges in 2025. The competency diversion program is intended to guide people with severe mental illness into services that may include housing, medical needs and appropriate mental health or substance-use treatment.

The links to relied upon or quoted news sources are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/new-pilot-program-aims-to-break-cycle-for-nonviolent-offenders/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro-court-program-offers-new-treatment-options/2955055

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/metro-court-program-aims-to-treat-mentally-ill-defendants/2952594

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Being unhoused or being destitute are not crimes. Government, be it federal or local, have a moral obligation to help and assist the unhoused, especially those that are mentally ill or who are drug addicted. The City of Albuquerque is spending upwards of $60 million a year on homeless services with 120  service provider contracts including for two  emergency shelters, subsidized housing, food and medical care and drug counseling. The city under Mayor Keller has also spent upwards of $300 million to build or remodel 5 shelters. Notwithstanding all the money spent, the vast majority of the chronically unhoused refuse or decline city shelter, housing, services and financial help offered or simply say they are not satisfied with what is being offered by the city.

The unhoused are not above the law. They cannot be allowed to just ignore the law, illegally camp wherever they want for as long as they want and as they choose, when they totally reject all government housing or shelter assistance. The City has every right to enforce its laws on behalf of its citizens to preserve and protect the public health, safety and welfare of all its citizens. Unlawful encampment squatters who refuse city services and all alternatives to living on the street, who want to camp at city parks, on city streets in alleys and trespass in open space give the city no choice but to take action and force them to move on and perhaps even arrest for felonies found. Allowing the homeless to use, congregate and camp anywhere they want for as long as they want in violation of city laws and ordinances should never be considered as an option to deal with the homeless crisis given all the resources and  the millions being  spent  to assist the homeless.

Too many elected and government officials and civil rights advocates have a hard time dealing with the fact that many homeless adults simply want to live out  their life as they choose, camp where they want to for as long as they can get away with it, without any government nor family interference and especially no government rules and no regulations. No county and no municipality should ever be required to just simply ignore and to not enforce anti-camping ordinances, vagrancy laws, civil nuisance abatement laws and criminal laws designed to protect the general public’s health, safety and welfare of a community.

Squatters who have no interest in any offers of shelter, beds, motel vouchers or alternatives to living on the street really give the city no choice but to make it totally inconvenient for them to “squat” anywhere they want and force them to move on. After repeated attempts to force them to move on and citations, another option short of arrest and jail must be considered.

FORM SPECIALIZED UNIT TO INITIATE MENTAL HEALTH COMMITMENTS

It was very disingenuous  when  Mayor Tim Keller said when running for reelection in 2025 that “you simply cannot arrest your way out of this problem whether you want to or not”  when that is exactly what has happened during his 8 years in office as evidence by the dramatic spike in arrests and the jailing of the unhoused when there is a viable alternative.

It is likely that the Albuquerque Police Department and the city’s Community Safety Department know who the “frequent flyers” are and who need to be taken immediately off the streets because they pose and immediate threat to themselves and others. Both departments could and should assist the District Attorney or the City Attorney with civil mental health commitments of the unhoused and file civil mental commitment actions.

Under New Mexico statutes, the legislature has empowered  District Attorneys authority to initiate civil mental health commitments. The Bernalillo County District Attorney and the Albuquerque City Attorney’ office should form a specialized unit of at least four attorneys to deal exclusively with civil mental commitment actions in the Metropolitan Court’s new Diversion Court. The state or courts would  provide  funding for  the mental health services provided by the state through the Behavioral Health Trust Fund and  the Behavioral Health Reform Package.

The District Attorney should  cross deputized Assistant City Attorney’s, supported with para legals, to initiate mental health commitment proceedings to work in unison with the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. Such an arrangement of cross deputization of Assistant City Attorney’s has occurred in the past with the City Attorney’s Metro Court Traffic Court arraignment program that processed at one time 60,000 cases per year negotiating plea agreements. Under the process, citations are issued by sworn police and dates for arraignments by the court are immediately scheduled in the citations. The arraignment dates could be the initial step to begin the process of civil mental health commitments.

It is understood the Gateway Shelter on Gibson, which is the former Lovelace Medical Center and Hospital, is still largely vacant and has upwards of 200 patient rooms that are vacant. The Gateway Shelter on Gibson should be utilized for referrals by the Metropolitan Court’s “Diversion Court” with the State providing mental health services to those committed for mental health and substance abuse treatment.

CONCLUSION

Arrest and jailing is not the solution to the unhoused crisis. The homeless crisis has not be reduced  by the city nor by Mayor Keller, but it can and must be managed. The management of the crisis is to provide support services, including food and lodging, and mental health care needed to allow the homeless to turn their lives around, become productive self-sufficient citizens, no longer dependent on relatives or others. With that said, Civil mental health commitments must be included as part of the solution to provide a viable alternative to jailing.

On March 24, and after over three-month national search, Mayor Tim Keller announced his appointment of Interim APD Chief Cecily Barker as the new APD Chief. In a surprise move, Mayor Tim Keller also announced the appointment former FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda to the role of a newly created position of “Public Safety Executive Director.”

Mayor Keller said he had been considering creating the position of “Public Safety Executive Director” since the beginning of his first term but was never able to find the right person for the role until now. He said he believed the role needed to be filled by someone who had law enforcement experience but was not from APD.

KOB CHANNEL 4 INTERVIEW

On March 26, 2026 KOB News  Reporter Trevor Thompson interviewed  Raul Bujanda on potential conflicts with Barunda taking the position. Following is the transcript of the  abbreviated news story posted on the KOB web page:

ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – A former FBI official in New Mexico says his time investigating the Albuquerque Police Dept. will not impact his new role with the City of Albuquerque.

Raul Bujanda, who served as the FBI Special Agent in Charge in Albuquerque from 2021 to 2025, was recently appointed by Mayor Tim Keller as the new Albuquerque Public Safety Executive Director.

He is set to oversee and advise three different agencies in his new role – police, fire, and community services (ACS) – and will be paid approximately $187,000 a year to do so. 

Bujanda still needs confirmation from city councilors but told KOB 4 he expects to meet with them in the coming days and then looks forward to helping the City in his new position.

He stated that his primary role will be to facilitate communication between different agencies in addition to fostering relationships between those agencies and the public.

“Collaboration and building trust, and the trust is not only within our departments but outside with the community, so the community can know exactly what those three entities are doing on a daily basis,” said Bujanda.

THE DWI DECEPTION SCANDAL

But his previous role with the FBI, during a time in which the feds were actively investigating a DWI scandal that rocked APD, has led others to question what he will be able to disclose to police and city leaders in his new role.

“There’s a very fine line between what is going on and what he’ll be able to disclose and discuss with the powers-that-be, including the mayor,” said former Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer Pete Dinelli.

Dinelli, a former city councilor, also served in a similar role under Mayor Marty Chavez in which he was tasked with overseeing multiple agencies.

He wonders if Bujanda’s knowledge of APD and those who were involved in a scandal that saw officers take bribes to miss court dates, will alter the way in which he views those within the department.

“So, he is aware of those that have been charged, but he’s also aware of who else is going to be charged and who else is there and could potentially be indicted,” said Dinelli.

KOB 4 asked Bujanda if any others have brought up similar concerns over a potential conflict of interest regarding his new role.

“No, not at all, because if anything I want to continue to do that collaboration we have, not only with the FBI, but any entity that is looking to see what we’re doing inside or internally. That’s going to continue,” said Bujanda.

Dinelli said he has no doubt Bujanda is qualified for his role with the City of Albuquerque, but he still wonders how easy it will be for Bujanda to oversee a department he once investigated.

“It’s gonna put him in a very awkward position. There’s no getting around it, especially to what extent he is going to be in control of the Albuquerque Police Department,” said Dinelli.

The link to view the full and more detailed KOB news report with further information is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/meet-albuquerques-new-public-safety-executive-director/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

One of the highest profile cases that the FBI Field Office in New Mexico handled while Raul Bujanda was the Special Agent In Charge is the DWI bribery and dismissal  corruption scandal involving corruption within the APD, the New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sherriff officers. A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted or plead guilty to charges. 16 APD officers have been  implicated, charged or plead guilty to federal charges. Nine APD sworn  officers, including a Lieutenant, and one Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Deputy have plead guilty to federal charges of taking bribes. No one has been sentenced for the crimes they have plead guilty to, including two attorneys. The FBI investigation is continuing.

Simply put, Raul Bujanda’s interview with KOB 4 was as simplistic and as evasive as it gets. He effectively sidestepped answering the question of conflicts by saying no one has questioned if there is a conflict with him taking the $187,000 city job. He did not say whether or not his appointment presents ethical conflicts or the appearance of impropriety to appoint an individual who investigated APD for government corruption and bribery for dismissal of DWI cases and to now be in charge of overseeing APD as well as the City Fire and Rescue Department and the Albuquerque Community Safety Division.

According to the KOB report, Raul Bujanda told KOB 4 that after he retired from the FBI, he reached out to then Chief Harold Medina who then introduced him to Mayor Tim Keller before last years election to discuss how he could assist the city on law enforcement issues and other matters affecting the city.  Bujanda did not disclose to KOB if the DWI corruption case was discussed in detail with Medina or Keller as he sought employment with Keller. The conversations eventually led to Mayor Keller deciding to offer the position of Public Safety Executive Director to Bujanda.

Mayor Keller said he wanted to create the position since the beginning of when he took office over 8 years ago and he wanted a person with a background in law enforcement. Keller said he could not find anyone qualified for the job. Keller’s explanation is laughable and disingenuous.  An important point that must be emphasized that discredits Keller’s assertion that he could not find a qualified person is the position of Public Safety Executive Director was not advertised by the city nor were other applications solicited nor accepted. A national search was not done as was the case for APD Chief.

There appears to be no real urgent need for a position that will oversee APD, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Albuquerque Community Safety Department other than for public relations and community outreach, something already done by the Chief of Police, the Chief of the Fire Department and the Director of the Community and Safety Division as well as public information officers. It is understood that there is no written job description for the position of Public Safety Executive Director. Keller simply rushed to hold a press conference to announce the appointment along with the appointment of the new APD Chief of Police.

The APD corruption case is still pending.  Bujanda likely knows more about the cases than he is willing to disclose.  Raul Bujanda has knowledge of other potential targets that may still be working for APD as sworn police. He has not disclosed what efforts and what assurances have been made by Mayor Keller to prohibit Borunda from disclosure of confidential information in criminal cases involving the APD DWI bribery cases.

It’s unknown if the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), which the FBI is a part of, was a reference for Bujanda, or if the FBI or DOJ were  conferred with by the city regarding the Bujunda appointment and if the appointment presents any conflicts or jeopardizes the continuing FBI investigations of other officers involved in the DWI scandal. Bujanda could disclose any and all information he may have to APD Chief Cecily Barker or Mayor Tim Keller on other corrupt APD Officers, but that likely is strictly prohibited by his FBI oath of office or the oath to keep evidence presented to a grand jury strictly confidential.

Another problematic area is if Mayor Keller or others will be asking Bujanda to run interference for the city with the FBI or the United States Attorney on the APD corruption scandal or any other cases of government corruption. Bujanda essentially admitted he will run interference when he said to KOB 4 “… I want to continue to do that collaboration we have, not only with the FBI, but any entity that is looking to see what we’re doing inside or internally.”

Raul Bujanda  told KOB he understood his primary duties will be “community contact and outreach” which reflects a gross misunderstanding of what his responsibilities should be. A Public Safety Director implies a position that oversees the management and operation of departments, including setting forth objectives, policies and procedures and being involved with personnel matters.

The nine member Albuquerque City Council will ultimately decide to approve or reject the appointment of Raul Bujanda as Public Safety Executive Director.  The 9 member Albuquerque City Council need to ask the tough questions during his confirmation hearing, and not merely be a rubber stamp for confirmation to appease Mayor Keller. The City Council has the obligation to determine if the position of Public Safety Executive Director is really needed.  More importantly,  the City Council must decide and  Raul Bujanda is up to the task of performing the job duties of a job that pays $187,000 a year. ‘

There is not need for a public relations flack for Mayor Tim Keller and the council should vote NO and reject the appointment.

The link to a related article is here:

Mayor Keller Appoints Interim APD Chief Cecily Barker New APD Chief; Appoints Former FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda As “Public Safety Executive Director” Over APD, the Fire Department and Albuquerque Community Safety Department; Commentary: Does Bujanda Appointment Pose Conflict With APD Bribery And DWI Dismissal Corruption Cases?

On March 24, and after over three-month national search, Mayor Tim Keller announced his appointment of Interim APD Chief Cecily Barker as the new APD Chief.  Barker has been with the department since 2004. On December 31, Mayor Keller appointed her Interim Chief upon retirement of Chief Harold Medina on the same date.

Mayor Keller interviewed several candidates for the position.  A total of 19 people applied for the position but only seven were interviewed during the selection process. Mayor Keller and the City refused to disclose all 19 applicants. After the 7 interviews were completed, the search was narrowed down to three candidates:

• APD Interim Chief Cecily Barker
• Dallas Assistant Police Chief Gilberto Garza
• Former Seattle Assistant Police Chief Perry Tarrant

BIOGRAPHY OF APD CHIEF CECILY BARKER

Cecily Barker was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. After attending college out of state. Interim Chief Barker has an associate degree in criminal justice and a bachelor’s degree in justice administration. She is also a graduate from the Major Cities Chiefs Association Police Executive Leadership Institute and the Police Executive Training Program.

After attending college, Cecily Barker  returned to Albuquerque and joined the Albuquerque Police Department in 2004.  She is a 21 year veteran of APD who has rose through the ranks during her career at APD. After graduating from the police academy, Barker served in the Field Services Bureau from 2004-2012. During that time, she held  collateral duties of Gang Suppression Officer, Crisis Intervention Officer and Field Training Officer.

Baker was promoted to Sergeant in 2012 where she served in the Field Services Bureau and later in the Violent Crimes Division and the Missing Person and Cold Case Sergeant. Baker was promoted to Lieutenant in 2017. As a Lieutenant, Cecily Barker served in the Juvenile/Property Crime Division and the Criminalistics Division. Cecily Barker was promoted to Commander in 2020 and served as the Northwest Area Commander and later as the Chief of Staff.

In 2021, Cecily Barker was promoted to Deputy Chief of the Investigative Bureau by then Chief Harold Medina where she lead the Criminal Investigations Division, Investigative Services Division and the Scientific Evidence Division. In October of 2023, Deputy Chief Barker took over the Field Services Bureau where she oversaw the departments 6 Area Commands.

APD is the largest  law enforcement agency in the state. As APD Chief  Barker will oversee a police department that employs 1,880 full time employees which includes more than 950 sworn police officers and that has an annual approved budget of $271.5 million dollars. APD employs upwards of 20% of all city hall employees and has the largest budget of all the 27 departments.

CHIEF BARKER REACTS TO APPOINTMENT

Former APD Chief Harold Medina in the past expressed support that Barker would be his successor. He was her sergeant when Barker joined the department. Chief Barker said she plans to take a different approach to managing her staff than did Chief Harold Medina. Barker said this:

“[Chief Medina] did great things, but I will tell you that my leadership style is different than his. … I think he had really big shoes to fill, but I have my own shoes… I’m not Harold and I’m here to do what’s right for this police department at this time.” 

Barker said one of her goals as chief will be to move APD forward using the standards created through a yearslong settlement agreement with the U.S. Department of Justice after the DOJ found in 2014 that officers had displayed a pattern and practice of excessive force.

Barker said while she was honored to be the first female police chief, she doesn’t want to only be remembered for the historical accomplishment. Barker said this:

“I want people to recognize that females can be chiefs. I don’t want to be the last. … We all want a safer Albuquerque. Moving forward, we are building on that shared goal. We will continue to hold ourselves to the highest standards, strengthen trust with the community and stay focused on results.”

Mayor Keller said this of his appointment of Barker:

“Cecily Barker is the right fit she brings a fundamental understanding of the community, department, and strategies that have helped us turn the corner on crime, while also bringing fresh ideas about where we are going. … As Deputy Chief, she led efforts to revamp investigations and most recently led all uniformed officer field operations. Paired with the new Executive Director of Public Safety, Chief Barker can sharpen her focus on crime fighting and the safety of our neighborhoods and businesses.”

BACKGROUND ON CHIEF SELECTION PROCESS

It was on  December 31, APD Chief Harold Medina retired after three decades in law enforcement and on the same day, Mayor Keller announced his appointment of APD Deputy Chief Cecily Barker as Interim APD Chief. Cecily Barker has been with  APD 21 years and has come up through the ranks.

On January 8, Mayor Tim Keller announced that he had begun a national search process of selecting a new APD Chief. Community input sessions were  scheduled so residents, advocates, organizations and businesses could “identify the leadership qualities, experience and priorities desired in the next chief of police.”

Residents were able to take a community survey to “ensure broad and meaningful input.”  Mayor Tim Keller said he was looking for someone who can meet today’s challenges, including fentanyl and long-standing cracks in the criminal justice system.

The Keller Administration hired the outside firm Public Sector Search & Consulting Inc., to assist in the search and  selection process for a new APD Chief. According to the city of Albuquerque’s public records website, the firm’s contract began January  2 and had a maximum limit of $100,000 but only $55,000 was spent on the search. The firm specializes in police executive searches and has aided dozens of large law enforcement agencies, including those in Chicago and Dallas. The city has used the firm in the past, including for the search and selection of a Deputy APD Chief.

KELLER APPOINTS PUBLIC SAFETY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR

In a surprise move, Mayor Tim Keller also announced the appointment former FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda to the role of the newly created position of “Public Safety Executive Director.” Mayor Keller  said he had been considering creating the position of “Public Safety Executive Director” since the beginning of his first term but was never able to find the right person for the role until now. He said he believed the role needed to be filled by someone who had law enforcement experience but was not from APD.

Bujanda was the Special Agent in Charge at the Albuquerque FBI Office. Bujanda’s position will oversee Albuquerque Police, Albuquerque Fire Rescue, and the Albuquerque Community Safety Department. The Division Director of each department, including Chief Barker, will report to Bujanda. According to APD spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos, the position  was created primarily to bridge the gap between the three departments. Bujanda will not begin as Public Safety Executive Director until April 4.  A news release states he will report to Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel.

As head of the FBI in New Mexico, Bujanda led the agency during federal investigations into the corruption scandal where two criminal  defense attorneys and officers with APD and other local law enforcement conspired to illegally dismiss DWI charges in exchange for bribes. The bribery scheme was reported to had gone on for 30 years and no one detected it. Bujanda said the DWI scandal allowed the department to remove the few officers causing “a negative” impact, adding that the vast majority of the force is “doing the right thing every single day.”

Bujanda said this of his appointment:

“I’m bringing energy, urgency and a collaborative mindset to this role because a single department can’t do this alone. My promise to you is simple: I will listen, I will be present and I will work every day to earn your trust.”

BIOGRAPHY OF RAUL BUJANDA

Public Safety Executive Director Raul Bujanda has more than 27 years of law enforcement experience. On April 8, 2021, then FBI Director Christopher Wray named Raul Bujanda as the Special Agent in Charge of the Albuquerque Field Office in New Mexico and he served in that position for 4 years and retired in May, 2025. Before that, Mr. Bujanda served as a section chief in the Criminal Investigative Division at FBI Headquarters in Washington, DC.

Mr. Bujanda joined the FBI as an FBI  special agent in 2002. He was first appointed to the Portland Field Office in Oregon, where he investigated violent crime, gang, and Mexican-based drug trafficking organizations. In 2008, he transferred to the El Paso Field Office in Texas to work on the Organized Crime Drug Enforcement Task Force strike force. In 2010, Mr. Bujanda was promoted to supervisory special agent of the El Paso strike force, which also included members from the Drug Enforcement Agency, Homeland Security Investigations, the U.S. Border Patrol, the El Paso Sheriff’s Office, and other agencies.

In 2015, Mr. Bujanda served as an assistant inspector and team leader in the Inspection Division at Headquarters. He was promoted in 2016 to Assistant Special Agent in Charge of the National Security Branch in the Oklahoma City Field Office. He later served as the assistant special agent in charge of Oklahoma City’s Criminal Branch, where he was responsible for criminal violations, administrative matters, and the FBI offices in the western region of the state. In 2019, Mr. Bujanda was named Section chief of the Criminal Investigative Division’s National Covert Operations Section managed and oversaw all criminal and national security undercover operations for the FBI.

https://www.fbi.gov/news/press-releases/raul-bujanda-named-special-agent-in-charge-of-the-albuquerque-field-office

One of the highest profile cases that the FBI Field Office in New Mexico handled while Raul Bujanda was the Special Agent In Charge is the DWI  bribery and dismissal  corruption scandal involving corruption within the APD, the New Mexico State Police and the Bernalillo County Sherriff officers. A total of nineteen (19) law enforcement officers have resigned, retired, been terminated or federally charged or indicted or plead guilty to charges. 16 APD officers have been  implicated, charged or plead guilty to federal charges. Nine APD officers, including a Lieutenant, and one Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office Deputy have plead guilty to federal charges of taking bribes. No one has been sentenced for the crimes they have plead guilty to, including two attorneys. It is understood the FBI investigation is continuing.

Raul Bujanda became very high profile while the DWI bribery and corruption scandal was being investigated. Ostensibly, Bujanda has a detailed understanding of the case and the APD Officers charged and who plead guilty.

On March 25, 2024, then FBI Special Agent In Charge Raul Bujanda went public and asked for the public’s help as the FBI continue to investigate the cases of public corruption and the DWI scandal. While Bujanda would not talk about the ongoing investigation into APD’s DWI Unit, he said any time the FBI investigates a case of corruption, they want to exhaust any and all leads. Bujanda asked the public to come forward with any information they may have when it comes to corruption.

Barunda said this:

“When it comes to public corruption, that is the top tier of criminal threats to the FBI. When we think public corruption, people tend to think of elected officials, which is part of it. But the other part is anyone that has a job working for the government, state, local, or federal. They could fall into that definition of what public corruption is, it’s a misuse of that position”

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/fbi-seeks-publics-help-in-cracking-down-on-public-corruption/

Links to other quoted or relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-police-announce-cecily-barker-as-the-next-police-chief/

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-public-safety-appointments/70837701

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/cecily-barker-announced-as-new-albuquerque-police-chief/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/cecily-barker-named-next-apd-chief/3008141

https://abqraw.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/03/Barker-Announcement.jpg

COMMENTARY AND ANALYISIS

Both APD Chief Cecily Barker and Public Safety Executive Director Raul Bujanda will have to go through an official confirmation process with the 9 member Albuquerque City Council. Their salaries have not been finalized and are still under negotiation.

APD CHIEF CECILY BARKER

As predicted, Mayor Tim Keller appointed  Interim Chief Cecily Barker as the new APD Chief replacing former APD Chief Harold Medina. Speculation was rampant amongst City Hall and APD observers that despite Mayor Keller’s public announcement that he would do a national search for a new Chief, he had already made up his mind and would appoint and make Interim Chief Barker permanent.

The major reason people felt Keller would make Barker permanent is that he followed the identical pattern he has followed with his appointments in the past: appoint an interim chief, announce a national search, spend $100,000 on a firm to gather resumes and then go through the motions of accepting applications, having extensive public input, and doing interviews only to appoint his interim permanent.

Although APD Chief Barker said that her management style is totally different than that of former Chief Harold Medina, her management team remains the same as former APD Chief Medina’s.  It is extremely disappointing that she reappointed virtually all of former APD Chief Harold Medina’s Deputy Chief’s and retained the same command staff with the reorganization having very little substance in scope over a department of 950 sworn police.  Simply put, APD is top heavy with mid management.

It was on January 9, 2026 that then Interim APD Chief Barker announced the following changes as part of her new executive team:

• Major Luke Languit was named Interim Deputy Chief of Field
• Medina’s former Chief of Staff Miker Hernandez was named  Interim Deputy Chief of Support Services.
• Commander Aaron Jones was named Interim Chief of Staff.
• Deputy  Chief George Vega continues as Deputy Chief of the Investigations Bureau.
• Deputy Chief Josh Brown continues as Deputy Chief of the Special Operations  Bureau.

Barker’s reorganization included the elimination of 12 command staff positions out of  a department that employs 1,880 full time employees which includes 913 sworn police officers  with many of those positions vacant. Examination and analysis of the APD Organization Chart and the Summary of APD’s personnel reflects a law enforcement agency that is clearly top heavy and bloated with management in need of a major reorganization, deletion of positions, reassignment of personnel and the recruitment of a new generation of police officers.

An article on the reorganization can be found in the postscript below.

Congratulations Chief Barker and best wishes for her success.

PUBLIC SAFETY EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RAUL BUJANDA

One potential problem with the appointment of Raul Bujanda as Public Safety Executive Director is whether it presents ethical conflicts or the appearance of impropriety to appoint and individual who investigated APD for government corruption and bribery for dismissal of DWI cases to now be in charge of overseeing APD. With the APD corruption case still pending, it’s more likely than not Raul Bujanda has knowledge of other potential targets that may still be working for APD as sworn police. Bujanda could disgorge any and all information he may have to APD Chief Cecily Barker on other corrupt APD Officers, but that likely is prohibited. Another problematic area is if Bujanda will be asked to run interference for the city with the FBI on the APD corruption scandal or any other cases of government corruption. Its unknown if the United States Department of Justice, which the FBI is a part of, was conferred with by the city regarding the Bujunda appointment and if the appointment presents any conflicts or jeopardizes the continuing FBI investigations of other officers involved in the DWI scandal.

The blunt reality is that Raul Bujanda is just as qualified to be Chief as Cecily Barker, and some would say perhaps even more qualified. The question raised is did Mayor Keller recruit Raul Bujanda to be Public Safety Executive Director or did Raul Bujanda apply to be  APD Chief only to be offered the position of Public Safety Executive Director to enable Keller to appoint Barker Chief?  Another question that should be answered is why was the position of  Public Safety Executive Director not advertised and applications accepted and a national search done as was the case for APD Chief?  In the interest of transparency, Keller should make a disclosure how his appointment of Raul Bujanda came about.

There is absolutely no doubt that APD’s reputation has been trashed to a major extent because of this scandal. APD is viewed by many as again having just another bastion of “dirty and corrupt cops” who have brought dishonor to their department and their badge and to the department’s professed values of “Pride, Integrity, Fairness and Respect”. There is little doubt that this whole DWI dismissal bribery scandal has shaken the public’s faith in our criminal justice system and APD to its core especially with the involvement of the Bernalillo County Sheriffs Office BCSO and New Mexico State Police Officers.

The only way that any semblance of faith can be restored and for people to begin trusting APD and law enforcement in general again is if all the police officers involved in this scandal are held accountable and the lawyers involved are held accountable. That will only happen with aggressive prosecutions, convictions, and lengthy prison sentences for the law enforcement officers and attorneys involved in the “DWI Enterprise” scheme. Justice will not be served until all are charged and sentenced.

It’s likely Raul Bujanda, given his extensive FBI law enforcement career, is fully committed to the full prosecution of any and all APD Officers that were involved with the DWI bribery and conspiracy scandal. It is hoped that he still has the same disdain for  public corruption as he did when he was the FBI Special Agent in charge and that he will not tolerate corrupt APD cops and will not hesitate to root them out. Perhaps he is the right person to help restore APD reputation but the better part of discretion dictates that the appointment be explored further for any potential conflicts.

Congratulations to Public Safety Executive Director Chief and best wishes for success.

POSTSCRIPT

APD Interim Chief Barker Announces Appointment Of New Deputy Chiefs, Staffing Cuts And Re-Organization; Commentary and Analysis: Barker APD Re-Organization Pathetically Inadequate; APD Top Heavy With Management; Keller Needs To Replace Entire APD Upper Command, Recruit More Sworn Officers To Deal With City’s Crime

The Albuquerque Journal Editorial Opinion pages feature 5 types of opinion columns submitted for publication: those by the paper’s Editorial Board, those by the paper’s Community Council, those by Syndicated Columnists, those by Local Columnists and those by Local Voices.

“Local Columnists are tasked with carrying a heavy load of responsibility to help readers scrutinize issues impacting them, their community and their country. It is the Journal’s goal to publish columnists from all walks of life and varying political viewpoints to give readers exposure to all sides of local issues.”

Loretta Naranjo Lopez is a life-long resident of Albuquerque and 6th generation Martinez from Martineztown in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She has a Master of Community and Regional Planning and a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of New Mexico. Ms. Naranjo Lopez was employed with the City of Albuquerque for 25 years of which 15 years was in the City Planning Department. She retired as a City Planner and worked as a staff planner. She serves as the President of the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association (SBMTNA).

On March 1, the  Albuquerque Journal published on its editorial opinion page C2  the below “Local Columnist” opinion column by Loretta Naranjo Lopez.

JOURNAL HEADLINE: “Zoned out: How decades of discriminatory planning still haunt Martineztown”

BY: Loretta Naranjo Lopez, Local Columnist

Martineztown is facing gentrification because for decades there has been no effort to preserve and protect the historic single-family residential neighborhood. The city of Albuquerque Housing Neighborhood Development and Economic Fund (HNDEF) 2022 Report states residents of Martineztown Santa Barbara Neighborhood are known to have higher unemployment rates, lower median household incomes and higher poverty rates than the regional average. The rents are increasing in the neighborhood, making it more difficult for residential owners to afford their homes.

Future planning and redevelopment efforts such the Rail Trail, Rail Yards redevelopment and other new amenities will increase rent pressures as property values are likely to increase. The city of Albuquerque so far is unconcerned that Martineztown will face inhospitable economic conditions that produce the displacement of residents and small business and overall gentrification.

The purpose of the Federal Zoning Enabling Act of 1922 was to keep incompatible uses separate from residential areas. In 1959, Albuquerque and all other cities, towns and communities were enabled to develop their local zoning regulations. At this time the city allowed incompatible uses next to residential single-family dwellings in Martineztown. The resident’s health, safety and welfare were ignored. Today a line of 5-ton toxic diesel trucks warm up in the morning right next to single-family dwellings.

In 2018, the city of Albuquerque enacted the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which allowed mixed-use zoning. The mixed zoning was already established in Martineztown. The city of Albuquerque allows a property owner to construct a multifamily building next to a single-family dwelling and the single-family property owner has no say. For this reason, the current mixed zoning in Martineztown has allowed developers to compete against the families for older homes, further gentrifying the neighborhood.

Since the 1970s, the residents have protested the city of Albuquerque from expanding Downtown into the Martineztown Santa Barbara neighborhood. These discriminatory and racist practices continue. To date, the city of Albuquerque arrogantly included a portion of Martineztown into the Downtown Metropolitan Redevelopment Area, taking away economic funding for the Martineztown Neighborhood. The city also recently moved two parcels of Martineztown into Downtown, again in spite of community opposition.

When Martineztown becomes so dense and the water and sewer lines have to service more people, the city will have to upgrade the entire water and sewer systems. As housing becomes more expensive, the current residents of Martineztown and the other historic neighborhoods will continue to be squeezed out.  According to the city’s 2022 HNDEF Report and community recommendations, the way to stop gentrification is to control rents not only to protect tenants but also to quell the appetite of investors for Albuquerque’s land.

Martineztown Santa Barbara Neighborhood needs the city of Albuquerque to start working with the neighborhood to stop the gentrification. We need to build and preserve affordable housing units for low-middle income residents. The community needs support and city funding to rehabilitate buildings and improve facades for housing. Existing small businesses need support. And, good quality jobs that pay a living wage with benefits are important for Martineztown and other old historical neighborhoods. This is how the city can maintain our traditional neighborhoods and protect them against gentrification.

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-zoned-out-how-decades-of-discriminatory-planning-still-haunt-martineztown/2987419

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) is essentially all of the city zoning laws on how properties are zoned for residential, commercial or industrial use. The Integrated Development Ordinance includes zoning and subdivision regulations to govern land use and all development within the City of Albuquerque. It establishes the City’s system of planning citywide. The IDO allows the Albuquerque City Council to amend it every two years. This amendment process has resulted in upwards of 140 amendments the last two years resulting in mass confusion to the public.

The Loretta Naranjo Lopez guest column captures the real danger gentrification poses to the city’s historical neighborhoods when developers are given unfettered development in all areas of the city. Gentrification is the process where a neighborhood experiences an influx of wealthier residents and businesses that drives rising property values, increases in rent, and changes the area’s demographic and cultural character.

With the re-election of Mayor Tim Keller and a new Albuquerque City Council, a major controversy emerged within the city and on the Albuquerque City Council involving Mayor Tim Keller, his Planning Department and a few members of the Albuquerque City Council who wanted  to enact a  wave of blanket amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance that will essentially make gentrification a matter of city policy. Mayor Tim Keller and the City Planning Department wanted  to double or triple housing density in established neighborhoods as a way to address what they claim is the City’s affordable housing shortage.

 Mayor Tim Keller, the  City Planning  and City Councilors who want to allow apartment development or retail business development (i.e small convenience stores or “bodegas”) on all corner residential lots in all established neighborhoods to benefit developers and to deprive adjacent property owners the right to object and appeal. Such development would have no doubt resulted in magnets for crime and heavy traffic patterns destroying the tranquility, livability and character of established neighborhoods.

On Feb. 18, the Albuquerque City Council voted 5 to 4 to reject a series of amendments Mayor Tim Keller sought to the city’s zoning laws, mandating upzoning in all established residential areas of the city. The debate highlighted and exposed the public’s tensions between those wanting to increase density to boost housing supply and those concerned about preserving neighborhood character.

Voting to reject were counselors Klarissa Peña, Dan Lewis, Renée Grout, Dan Champine and Brook Bassan. Voting in favor were councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquín Baca and Stephanie Telles. Activists continue with aggressive efforts demanding citywide upzoning by disparaging city councilors who voted to reject upzoning and actively opposing their reelection.

Loretta Naranjo Lopez was a major opponent of all the amendments and aggressively spoke out against the changes. The proposed changes would have allowed townhomes and duplexes to be built in single-family neighborhoods, as well as small retailers and grocery stores. Also among the failed proposals was a push to loosen regulations for Safe Outdoor Spaces, which are sanctioned homeless encampments on private property owned by churches, businesses or residents.

Construction costs are consistent when it comes to building a new house or adding a free-standing casita or converting a residence to a duplex or town home. There is no differentiation between the basic construction costs to construct “affordable housing” and other types of housing. According to the Homebuilders Digest, construction costs covering everything from materials to the actual construction average between $175 to $225 per square foot. To remodel or add 750 square feet would therefore carry a cost of $131,000 to $168,750, amounts only developers and investors can afford.

Under the property tax code, taxable value of a property is 33.3% of the assessed value and may not rise more than 3% per year unless the property changes ownership, is improved or is rezoned. Upzoning would result in the Bernalillo County assessor increasing property values and increasing property taxes.

Keller,  the Planning Department and a minority of 4 Democrat Progressive City Councils of Tammy Feibelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquin Baca and Stephanie Telles erroneously believe that increased density will increase affordable housing as they simply ignore the market forces and the profit motive. They argue in essence that “flooding the market” with more housing than what is needed will result in lower cost of housing and make available more housing for sale and rent. It’s a false and very misleading narrative.  Only developers have the financial ability to make major investments in historical neighborhoods.

Upzoning efforts are nothing more than giving investment speculators and developers carte blanche to buy up residential properties to destroy existing neighborhoods by increasing density leading to gentrification. Keller and the City Council need to keep their hands off neighborhoods. They need to seek better and more informed ways to create affordable housing.

The Albuquerque Journal Editorial Opinion pages feature 5 types of opinion columns submitted for publication: those by the paper’s Editorial Board, those by the paper’s Community Council, those by Syndicated Columnists, those by Local Columnists and those by Local Voices.

“Local Columnists are tasked with carrying a heavy load of responsibility to help readers scrutinize issues impacting them, their community and their country. It is the Journal’s goal to publish columnists from all walks of life and varying political viewpoints to give readers exposure to all sides of local issues.”

On March 22, the Albuquerque Journal published on its Sunday editorial opinion page C3 the below “Local Columnist” opinion column by Pete Dinelli:

JOURNAL HEADLINE:  Council Was Correct To Reject Forced Upzoning Council Was Correct To Reject Forced Upzoning

BY PETE DINELLI, LOCAL COLUMNIST

On Feb. 18, the Albuquerque City Council voted 5 to 4 to reject a series of amendments Mayor Tim Keller sought to the city’s zoning laws, mandating upzoning in all established residential areas of the city. The debate highlighted and exposed the public’s tensions between those wanting to increase density to boost housing supply and those concerned about preserving neighborhood character.

Voting to reject were counselors Klarissa Peña, Dan Lewis, Renée Grout, Dan Champine and Brook Bassan. Voting in favor were councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquín Baca and Stephanie Telles. Activists continue with aggressive efforts demanding citywide upzoning by disparaging city councilors who voted to reject upzoning and actively opposing their reelection.

A study by Root Policy Research found that Albuquerque is 13,000 to 28,000 housing units short of meeting the existing housing demand for low-income residents. City Planning claims existing zoning restrictions contribute to exclusionary patterns limiting housing options for lower-income households. The goal is to double or triple the city’s housing inventory of 120,000 homes to increase affordable housing.

The proposed amendments mandated upzoning of all existing residential properties to increase density to allow casita, duplex development, townhouse and apartment development in established neighborhoods. The upzoning would allow existing homes to be converted into retail establishments known as “bodegas,” ignoring the risk that they  would be magnets for crime. Parking requirements would be reduced to enable denser occupancy. All existing rights of adjoining property owners or neighborhood associations to prevent upzoning would have been abolished.

The term affordable housing is a false narrative. When the term “affordable housing” is used by elected officials, investors and developers, what they mean is “subsidized government housing.” It is a term often used by politicians, elected officials and developers to promote their own political agendas to secure government funding and support for their development projects.

The proposed amendments by Keller and the four city councilors mandating upzoning were a pathetic attempt to address the city’s “housing crisis.” They argue that “flooding the market” with more housing will result in making more affordable housing available for sale or rent. They argue existing property owners want and can afford to build on their own properties whether they own their home outright or if there is a mortgage. Their arguments are false and misleading. They simply ignore market forces motivated by profits that will only benefit investment developers and that will lead to neighborhood gentrification.

Construction costs are consistent when it comes to building a new house or adding a free-standing casita or converting a residence to a duplex or town home. There is no differentiation between the basic construction costs to construct “affordable housing” and other types of housing. According to the Homebuilders Digest, construction costs covering everything from materials to the actual construction average between $175 to $225 per square foot. To remodel or add 750 square feet would therefore carry a cost of $131,000 to $168,750, amounts only developers and investors can afford.

Under the property tax code, taxable value of a property is 33.3% of the assessed value and may not rise more than 3% per year unless the property changes ownership, is improved or is rezoned. Upzoning would result in the Bernalillo County assessor increasing property values and increasing property taxes.

Upzoning efforts are nothing more than giving investment speculators and developers carte blanche to buy up residential properties to destroy existing neighborhoods by increasing density leading to gentrification. Keller and the City Council need to keep their hands off neighborhoods. They need to seek better and more informed ways to create affordable housing.

Pete Dinelli is a former Albuquerque city councilor, former chief public safety officer and former chief deputy district attorney. You can read his daily news and commentary blog at www.PeteDinelli.com.

The link to read the Albuquerque Journal Dinelli column with photo is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/opinion-council-was-correct-to-reject-forced-upzoning/3003029

POSTSCRIPT 

All submissions to the Albuquerque Journal by Local Columnist have a word limit submission of 600 words and no more and the rule is strictly enforced. For that reason below is further commentary on City  Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn, Nichole Rogers, Joaquín Baca voting in favor of the forced upzoning amendments as well as the conduct of affordable housing advocates.

CITY COUNCILOR TAMMY FIEBELKORN PLAYS RACE CARD; LOBBIES TO STRIP CITY OF ZONING AUTHORITY

Progressive Democrat Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn was the sponsor of the up zoning amendments at the request of Mayor Tim Keller. During the February 18 council debate, Fiebelkorn played the “race card” when she said that the existing zoning codes, when applied incorrectly, segregated people of color and the poor from more affluent residents. Fiebelkorn said this:

“One commenter earlier today made the statement that [single-family residential zoning] was created for a purpose. … And I want to say, ‘Yeah, it really was.’ It was created for the purpose of keeping ‘those people’ out of your neighborhood. There is no other reason to think that you would not want a duplex next door to you.”

It is downright reprehensible that Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn played the race card in her effort to get the city council to enact her amendments. She did so during the Land Use Planning and Zoning Committee which she was chaired at one time but was removed by the new City Council President Klariss Pena.

Feibelkorn has insulted multi-generational Hispanic New Mexicans implying that they are racist for wanting to protect their homes and their communities by opposing up zoning that would destroy the historical nature of their neighborhoods by developers. Vocal opponents of up zoning include Bianca Encinias, a neighborhood activist with the Historic Neighborhood Alliance and Loretta Naranjo Lopez, who is a representative from Envision Albuquerque and who is also a multi-generational resident from Martineztown. Ms. Loretta Naranjo Lopez is the longtime President of the Martineztown-Santa Barbara  Neighborhood Association. She is also a retired from the City of Albuquerque having worked in the Planning Department dealing with city zoning laws and code enforcement.

During the 2026 New Mexico legislature, and attempt was made to eliminate the possibility to reassess property values for tax increases  when a property is rezoned. The legislation failed in committee. The 2026 legislature also considered legislation sponsored by Albuquerque area State Senators  Moe Maestas and Heather Berghmans that would have removed all zoning authority from city and county governments. That legislation also died in committee. City Councilor Tammy Feiblkkorn actively lobbied for the legislation that would have stripped the city of Albuquerque of all its zoning authority in the interest of creating more “affordable housing”.

COUNCIORS BACA AND ROGERS VOTE YES TO DETRIMENT OF CONSTITUENCY

The two City Council Districts that would have been the most affected by the mandatory up zoning changes would have been District 2 and District 6. District 2 is the city-center district encompassing downtown, old town, and includes the most historical areas of the city, part of the west mesa, and the entire valley east of the river and is represented by City Councilor Joaquin Baca.  District  6 includes Albuquerque’s Southeast Heights encompassing the University of New Mexico, and the International District and is represented by City Councilor Nichole Rogers.

Both Districts 2 and 6 have the highest concentration of minorities and lower income residents. It is these two districts that would have been  the likely biggest targets by investors, speculators and developers to buy up properties from generational family’s for redevelop leading to gentrification. Both City Councilors voted for the up zoning changes believing the change in law would lead to “affordable housing” when in fact it would have resulted in the displacement of many of their constituents as investors sought to buy up residential properties for high end developments and not affordable or low income housing.

AFFORDABLE HOUSING ADVOATES

Affordable housing activists are continuing with their aggressive efforts demanding city wide up zoning by disparaging on social media the city councilors who voted to reject the up zoing amendments and now targeting those city councilors up for re election in 2027. Affordable housing activists have gone so far as to target City Council President Klarissa Pena  on social media with unfounded and vicious attacks on her vote, her integrity and reputation and her 12 years of service as a city councilor. They simply do not like the fact she is a voice or reason as she seeks a viable and reasonable compromise. The affordable housing activists attitude is that it is their way or suffer the risk of being voted out of office.