The terms “above the fold” and “below the fold” is a reference to the middle of a newspaper page where the paper is “folded” for sale.

On Sunday, November 4, 2018 the Albuquerque Journal published a “guest editorial” submitted by Mayor Tim Keller on page A-17 and “below the fold.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1241663/the-tide-is-turning-against-crime-in-albuquerque.html

Given the serious content of the letter, it merits publishing on this political blog for further commentary and anlysis:

TITLE: The Tide Is Turning Against Crime In Albuquerque
By Tim Keller / Mayor of Albuquerque
Sunday, November 4th, 2018

“When I ran for mayor of Albuquerque, I knew crime was the biggest challenge facing our city. Nearly a decade of rising crime took a toll and left many feeling unsafe and resigned, like we had lost our city.

On Day One, we took a stand and said this is unacceptable. My administration’s top priority is tackling crime from all sides. While we have a long road ahead, I am grateful to report that we are beginning to see signs of progress.

First, we got our own house in order. We brought on leaders with the experience and integrity to change the culture at the Albuquerque Police Department. Our new Chief of Police Michael Geier and team are committed to a block-by-block approach to constitutional community policing.

With the right leadership in place, APD began strategically tackling crime, empowering its officers to get back to the heart of policing: proactive enforcement like traffic stops and auto theft stings that lead to catching perpetrators of more violent crimes. Officers are connecting with communities on foot, on bicycle and through re-opened substations. We worked with businesses and neighborhoods to create the first permanent Downtown Public Safety District.

Under our administration, we’re committed to keeping the public informed, so we began releasing quarterly crime statistics. Though crime is still unacceptably high, for the first time in years trends are heading in the right direction compared to this time last year:

• Auto theft down 28 percent
• Auto burglary down 35 percent
• Commercial burglary down 18 percent
• Residential burglary down 14 percent
• Robbery down 39 percent

Some violent crimes have gone down but rates are still too high. For example, homicides are down 6 percent from last year, but last year was a record high. Also, our city experiences too many violent crimes tied to firearms, including a 14 percent rise in non-fatal shootings. In response, we doubled the number of homicide detectives and took advantage of gun ballistics tracking. Our police department is committed to taking allegations of sexual assault seriously and clearing the backlog of untested rape kits.

Addressing the underlying causes of crime, including addiction, behavioral health and a lack of opportunity is key for the long term. We have a comprehensive plan to address homelessness that includes maximizing investments in treatment, housing and mental health. We’re keeping kids out of trouble with expanded youth programs, and making parks and playgrounds safer through our SHARP program which properly disposes of used needles discarded in public places. Albuquerque Fire Rescue is stepping up with innovative public health initiatives and proactive prevention efforts.

I personally promised we would own police reform, and we are making significant progress. The latest monitoring report acknowledges the breadth of changes and commitment to finishing the job of meeting DOJ requirements. Our strategies must also reflect the needs and concerns of women, people of color and the LGBTQ+ community, and we continue to improve our police policies to reflect these perspectives.

All of these steps are bringing quality officers to APD. We have 29 additional officers who came from other departments, with two lateral classes in the pipeline and 34 cadets on track to graduate in December. Reaching our goal of adding 400 officers over the next four years will take all-hands-on-deck recruitment, and finally help is on the way.

The tide is starting to turn, but there is a long journey ahead. To get there it’s going to take all of us working together as One Albuquerque. We need your help and have hundreds of ways you can work to help the city we love. Let’s finish the job together.”

“Get involved at https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/community-engagement.”

ALBUQUERQUE’S HIGH HOMICIDE RATE

Mayor Keller down played Albuquerque’s homicide rate in his letter when he said “homicides are down 6 percent from last year, but last year was a record high” and he went on to disclose APD has doubled the number of homicide detectives in response.

On the very day after Mayor Keller’s opinion column was published, the front page of the Albuquerque Journal reported that APD had the sixth officer-involved shooting this year and it was the fourth fatal officer-involved shooting.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1241839/apd-investigating-officer-involved-shooting.html

There were 6 more murders in the first quarter of 2018 compared with 2017 which was a 50% increase.

Homicides have now dropped the first half of 2018 by 18% compared to last year.

A detailed breakdown of Albuquerque’s crime rates for the years 2017 and 2018 can be viewed here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/10/10/violent-state-violent-city/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

To political observers, the placement of an article involving an elected official “above the fold” versus “below the fold”, either on the front page or in a section of the paper is an indication of a newspaper’s desire to call more attention to the conduct of the elected official.

Above the fold articles involving elected officials get more attention and read more than below the fold articles.

Three cases in point: former Mayor Richard Berry, Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez and Mayor Tim Keller.

Mayor Keller’s guest column was published with a 6 inch by 4-inch full color photo of the APD’s Horse Patrol Unit above and overshadowing his guest opinion column.

The placement of the photo resulted in the Mayor Keller’s column being published “below the fold”.

On the same page, above Keller’s letter, the Albuquerque Journal ran a guest editorial comment on “gardening” from George Ball, the past president of The American Horticultural Society in Washington, D.C., giving it a full “above the fold” banner headline that read “Red States and Blue States Are Both Green Inside.”

The last two sentences of Mr. Balls’ column read:

“The Republican is a brightly-colored, green-bean, elbows on the table, fence-building, vine-loving, sweet-hankering gardener, while the more passionate, basil-snipping Democrat picks and chooses from a wider range of cultivars of spicy and savory flavors, European imports, and pastel flowers that prefer afternoon shade cast by mature trees.”

“Let’s rejoice that there are 50 states where we make up a mosaic of myriad gardeners and gardens – daring and edgy blue or tried and true, traditional red. In the end, we are all still deep in the green.”

You can read the full guest column regarding the “fence building” Republican gardener versus the “European imports” Democrat gardener with the hope you can read it without laughing:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1241661/red-states-and-blue-states-are-both-green-inside.html

During the last two years while he has been in office, Democrat District Attorney Raul Torrez has ingratiated himself with the Albuquerque Journal.

Torrez has graced the front pages of the Albuquerque Journal repeatedly, especially when he sharply criticized District Judges for being soft on crime and releasing accused defendants instead of holding them in jail until trial.

Torrez went so far last year to accusing the judges as the main reason for Albuquerque increase in crime.

Criticizing judges has become a standard practice for the Albuquerque Journal on its editorial page and no doubt they see District Attorney Raul Torrez as an “up and comer” in politics, even if he is a Democrat.

When District Attorney Raul Torrez made a presentation before the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce on October 7, 2018, Torrez took all credit for the reduction in crime rates for the first time in eight years.

Torrez said the reduction in crime rates was a result of him focusing prosecutions on defendants with long criminal histories and implementing specific programs in his office.

The Albuquerque Journal gave Torrez above the fold coverage and included a nice color photo of Torrez in front of the State emblem.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1234903/da-details-albuquerque-recent-drop-in-crime.html

Torrez made no mention and gave absolutely no credit to the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department nor the New Mexico State Police for the reduction in crime and failed to mention it was these departments that made the arrests and put the cases together so his office could prosecute.

For the full 8 years Republican Mayor Berry was in office, the Journal did whatever it could to promote Berry and his policies, including the disastrous ART Bus project and giving steady front page coverage to Berry all the way up to the day he departed city hall.

On November 29, 2017, the very day before Berry left office, the Albuquerque Journal published a front page above the fold story with a full color photo of Berry entitled “It’s never a me thing” and an accompanying article boldly proclaiming “A hallmark of fiscal responsibility” with Berry saying the city was living within its means.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1099723/its-never-a-me-thing.html

After the Journal proclaimed the Berry Administration “a hallmark of fiscal responsibility”, Keller found himself within one month of Berry leaving office dealing with a $40 million dollar city deficit that was resolved by the Albuquerque City Council with a gross receipts tax increase.

No doubt had former Mayor Richard Berry or District Raul Torrez submitted such an opinion piece as Mayor Keller did, it would have been published on the front page of the Albuquerque Journal with their picture or at least published it on the editorial page with a bold banner headline “HE DONE GOOD AGAIN AND DON’T YOU FORGET IT!”

The Albuquerque Journal has a strict policy that it enforces that it will not publish any individual’s guest column unless it is not more than 650 words.

Once a person’s column is published, that person must wait a full 90 days before the paper will consider publishing another column on a different topic and even then there is no guarantee it will be published, with the intent of the policy to prevent any one person from dominating the editorial page with comments.

Mayor Keller now has to wait 90 days before he can submit another column to be considered for publication

During that 90-day waiting period, Mayor Keller may want to consider stop swimming against the tide of the Albuquerque Journal’s “sea of black ink” and stop submitting guest columns that they will in all likely publish “below the fold”.

For a related blog article see:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/03/15/boxing-match-between-mayor-keller-and-albuquerque-journal/

On Friday, November 2, 2018 Federal Court Appointed Monitor Dr. James Ginger filed his 8th report on the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD) compliance levels with mandatory requirements of the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA).

You can read the entire 239-page monitor’s report here:

https://www.justice.gov/usao-nm/page/file/1107721/download

Federal monitor James Ginger gave the 11-month-old Keller administration and APD positive high marks in his report on the department’s compliance with U.S. Department of Justice mandated reforms.

The 8th report from the monitor is remarkable and impressive turn around given that it is a departure from virtually every other previous 7 reports filed by Federal Monitor James Ginger.

The PROSCRIPT below highlights language from previous monitor reports.

A FULLY COMMITTED APD EXECUTIVE STAFF

Ginger reported in no uncertain terms that the city is in a far different position in the reform efforts than it was a year ago under the previous Republican Mayor Berry Administration and former Republican operative APD Chief Gordon Eden.

In his Executive Summary, Dr. Ginger reported:

“The compliance efforts we have observed during this reporting period differ substantively from those we had observed earlier in the monitoring process. We have found the current APD executive staff to be fully committed to CASA compliance processes. Most of the new command and oversight cadres also appear to be fully committed to moving APD forward in its compliance efforts. We have found extremely attentive audiences for our compliance process advice, and in most cases, APD has moved forward adroitly as it implements responses to that advice.”
…
“The current leadership grasps key issues involved in the compliance process and they are quickly building effective problem-solving mechanisms. The monitoring team will continue to support those efforts through discussions, clarifications, and recommendations regarding effective processes observed in other agencies undertaking similar project.”
…
“Given the scope and nature of issues confronted by APD at this time last year, these results are exceptional. … APD has, over the past year, worked closely with the monitoring team to assess the team’s findings, carefully considered response modalities for the information contained in the team’s findings and discussions, thoughtfully considered implementation strategies to improve performance, and held managers and supervisors accountable for implementing change strategies to respond to the monitoring team’s intensive technical assistance regarding a ‘way forward’ toward compliance.”
…
“The result of the APD’s focus and commitment goes beyond the simple increase of “in-compliance” findings for this report. The results have been generated by a careful and thoughtful analysis of problem-solving methodologies designed to address carefully the findings conveyed to APD by the monitoring team. Instead of simply applying random strategies to identified problems, the APD has taken a holistic, thoughtful, and, in many cases, a data driven process, that carefully considers what’s been done elsewhere in American policing that has been successful in solving problems and issues similar to those confronting the APD.”

(See Page 4 of Report)

COMPLIANCE MEASURES

Ginger reported that the statistics he uses to audit, monitor and track progress show that APD has achieved 99.6% compliance with “primary tasks”, 75.4% secondary compliance and 59.5% operational compliance.

What the 59.9% operational compliance means is that sworn police officers have been trained on new policies approved by the monitor and police are being held accountable for violations of those policies.

The 59.9% operational compliance reported in the settlement agreement is a 12% increase from last year.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-credited-with-making-progress-in-police-reforms/5132382/?cat=500

Operational compliance under the CASA also means officers follow policies outlined in the settlement agreement and, when they don’t, supervisors identify and correct that behavior.

This is the first time APD has achieved above 50% operational compliance.

To complete the CASA and have the case dismissed, APD must reach and maintain 95% compliance in all three categories.

OTHER PROGRESS MADE

Dr. James Ginger noted that big accomplishments over the past year include:

1. Recruiting a new Academy Commander who possesses direct, successful experience in curriculum development, delivery, and assessment;
2. Implementing a well-structured and staffed unit designed to reduce the long-standing backlog of use of force incidents;
3. Researched and adapted implementation strategies informed by the experiences in other police agencies working through similar reform processes;
4. Enhancement of the Compliance Bureau staffing and organization in a manner that should drastically improve compliance-related performance;
5. Completion on initial work for restructuring the documentation of training processes, including improved training plans and revised internal responsibilities and processes;
6. Strong movement toward community-based problem-oriented policing practices designed to address community concerns and priorities;
7. Reorganization and staffing of the Internal Affairs processes designed to improve the quality of internal investigations.

(See page 6 of report.)

Ginger gives APD credit for a stronger push toward a community policing.

PERSISTENT PROBLEM AREAS IDENTIFIED

The Monitor’s Report noted 4 persistent problem areas, most carried over from the previous Republican Berry administration, but which present clear obstacles to effective compliance with the CASA:

1. Failure to develop a strong self-auditing function.
2. Issues relating to identification, assessment and action on events constituting alleged policy or rule violations by sworn personnel within the 90-day limit established by union contract.
3. The use of “Additional Concerns Memos” to dispose of policy violation issues, as opposed to actual findings and corrective action.
4. An apparent “uptick” in filed “prohibited practice” complaints by the police union with six new prohibited practice complaints pending resolution at the time of the publication of the report.

(See page 7 of report)

MAYOR KELLER REACTION TO NOVEMBER 2, 2018 MONITOR’S REPORT

In commenting about the positive aspect of Ginger’s report, Mayor Tim Keller had this to say:

“I think all parties have a different approach since we came into office. … We started really in a hole. We came from a place of mistrust and frustration among all parties. That’s not really measurable, but the fact that we’re not in that place now was one of the goals we wanted to accomplish. … One of the biggest issues and toughest nuts to crack in any compliance effort in any city … is always around use of force, … I think the biggest victory for Albuquerque has been that we’ve able to come together on a use-of-force policy.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1241224/latest-report-credits-police-for-progress-with-reforms.html

POLICE UNION RAINS ON FEDERAL MONITOR’S PARADE

During a September 10, 2018 status conference, Federal Monitor James Ginger reported there remained a problem with the “use of force policy” when he said:

“I hate to be the one to rain on the parade, but I just simply have to report the facts. I received the latest use-of-force document, 2-52, from the parties [including the police union] last week . I found it lacking in multiple key aspects. It was missing key components. Issues that needed to be dealt with in a Use-of-Force Policy were not dealt with. I had questions about enforceability. So I’m working on writing the resolution document … I found it necessary to basically rewrite the policy. … “.

In his November 2, 2018 report, Dr. Ginger acknowledged the city, APD and the Department of Justice, the police union and monitoring team finally agreed to a new use-of-force policy after well over a year of back and forth negotiations.

What Ginger did not highlight is that for the past 3 years, the Police Union has been at the negotiating table demanding changes to the “use of force” and “deadly force” policies claiming the policies were unworkable and interfered with rank and file police officers doing their jobs.

In his November 2, 2018 report, Ginger expressed concerns that there are still issues with identifying, assessing and taking action on officers who violate policies within the 90-day time frame created in the union contract between the police union and the city, and there has been an “uptick” in “prohibited practice” complaints filed by the police union.

APD command staff still has issues with holding officers accountable when the violate policies, especially for use-of-force violations.

According to Ginger, APD is still issuing ‘Additional Concern Memos’ “to dispose of policy violation issues, as opposed to actual findings and corrective action.”

Ginger also said APD still needs to create a strong “self-auditing” system to resolve policy violation issues.

Police Union President Shaun Willoughby said he was “surprised” to find that Ginger was critical of the police officers’ union.

According to Willoughby, the complaints mentioned in Ginger’s November 2, 2018 report are standard when the union believes the police administration violated either the contract between the police union and the city or the city’s own labor rules.

According to Willoughby:

“There is no relevance in the [Court Approved Settlement Agreement] as it relates to our prohibited practice complaints. … It’s pretty shocking to us that … he has identified the union as a target to talk negatively about.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apd-credited-with-making-progress-in-police-reforms/5132382/?cat=500

SEPTEMBER 10, 2018 STATUS CONFERENCE

During a September 10, 2018 status conference with the federal judge overseeing the reform process, the federal monitor testified that a group of “high-ranking APD officers” within the department are trying to thwart reform efforts.

The entire 53-page transcript of the conference call can be read here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1GzUumHhiD3Mw2_dLg_czXml_T6-3QI2w/view

During the court hearing it was revealed that the group of “high-ranking APD officers” are APD sergeants and lieutenants and because they are part of the police union they remain in their positions and cannot be removed.

During the September 10, 2018 status conference, APD Chief Michael Geier also reported to Judge Brack that he has also noticed some “old-school resistance” to reforms mandated by the CASA.

During the last 11 months, Chief Geier has replaced a number of commanders with others who agree with police reforms, but not many sergeants nor lieutenants who may be resisting the reforms.

Geier has said changes to several commander positions will over time ensure that the entire chain of command is buying into the “new” APD.

Federal Monitor Ginger referred to the group of union members as the “counter-CASA effect.”

Ginger described the group’s attitude as “certainly ambivalent” to the reform effort and the CASA.

Geier has said changes to several commander positions will over time ensure that the entire chain of command is buying into the “new” APD.

Ginger described the group’s attitude as “certainly ambivalent” to the reform effort and the CASA.

The transcript of the September 10, 2018 proceeding reflect that Dr. Ginger told Judge Brack:

“The ones I’m speaking of are in critical areas and that ambivalence, alone, will give rise to exactly the sort of issues that we’ve seen in the past at the training academy. … So while it’s not overt, you know, there’s nobody sabotaging computer files or that sort of thing, it’s a sort of a low-level processing, but nonetheless, it has an effect. … It’s a small group, but it’s a widespread collection of sworn personnel at sergeant’s and lieutenant’s levels with civil service protection that appear to be, based on my knowledge and experience, not completely committed to this process … It is something that is deep-seated and it’s a little harder to find a quick fix or solution to it, but I think, in the long term, by having this foundation with new leadership and a new direction from the top down, we should be able to get through this and survive it.”

In response to Dr. Gingers accusation, Police Union President Shaun Willoughby proclaimed that all Albuquerque police officers throughout the ranks have bought into the reform effort and that it would be “ludicrous” to think some sergeants and lieutenants are trying to stop the process.

Willoughby went on to say:

“It gets to a point of being so frustrating that it’s almost comical. … It makes it sound like there’s an insurgency … Officers have done so much work [implementing the reforms]. They have done the heavy lifting.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1223520/apd-monitor-some-officers-are-not-on-board-with-reforms.html?fb_action_ids=1907995702668105&fb_action_types=og.likes

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Over 5 years ago, a Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found a “pattern and practice of excessive force” and a “culture of aggression” within the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

Albuquerque is one of 18 law enforcement agencies throughout the country operating under a consent decree brought on by a DOJ investigation that found systemic problems.

In APD’s case, the DOJ found a “culture of aggression” within APD after reviewing as many as 18 “deadly use of force cases” and other cases of “excessive use of force cases.

The City of Albuquerque has paid out $61 million in settlements over the last 9 years involving 41 police officer involved shootings.

The major goal of the Department of Justice consent decree is to correct a pattern of the use of “deadly force” and “excessive force” and a culture of aggression.

The use of deadly force and excessive use of force policies with training is the primary purpose of the CASA settlement and where “the rubber hits the road.”

KUDOS TO MAYOR TIM KELLER AND APD CHIEF MICHAEL GEIER

To quote Senator John Mc Cain, “elections have consequences.”

It was Republican Mayor Richard Berry Administration that negotiated and entered into the Court Appointed Settlement Agreement (CASA).

The Berry Administration paid over $1 million to two out state “experts” to negotiate the settlement for the city that could have been just as easily negotiated by the City Attorney or other recognized Civil Rights experts in New Mexico.

Mayor Berry appointed as APD Chief Republican operative Gordon Eden as Police Chief and as Assistant Chief Robert Huntsman, an Eden loyalist.

Eden had absolutely no prior experience running a municipal police department and he for 3 years was an absolute disaster.

Berry and Eden both kept command staff in place who created, assisted or who did not stop the culture of aggression.

Assistant Chief Huntsman was the commander in charge of the SWAT Unit that was involved with a number of the “deadly use of force” cases investigated by the DOJ.

Notwithstanding the Berry administration negotiating the CASA, they never were fully committed to the DOJ reforms.

For a full three years, the Berry Administration and APD under the leadership of Chief Eden and Assistant Chief Huntsman did whatever they could to “delay”, “deflect”, “subvert”, and use “covert orders”, all words used by the monitor, to undermine all the reforms under the consent decree.

Lest anyone forget, Assistant Chief Huntsman secretly recorded contentious meetings between police officials and Ginger and the City Attorney proceeded to file a Motion to have Dr. Ginger removed as the Federal Monitor alleging, he was biased.

Without question, public safety, APD and crime rates were the single biggest issues in the 2017 race for Mayor.

Democrat Candidate for Mayor Tim Keller campaigned on “police reform” and pledge to return to community-based policing, increase the number of sworn police and reduce crime rates.

Democrat Mayor Keller was elected with 62.2% mandate over Republican Dan Lewis.

Mayor Keller after 10 months in office has held on to his popularity and has a 62% approval rating according to an Albuquerque Journal poll.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1223012/likely-voters-give-mayors-job-performance-high-marks.html

Keller was sworn in on December 1, 2017 as the city’s 7th Mayor of Albuquerque.

Soon after assuming office, Mayor Keller proceeded to make major management changes in APD’s command staff.

On March 15, 2018, Mayor Tim Keller attended for the first time a Court Approved Settlement Agreement status conference hearing appearing along with Senior Public Safety Officer James B. Lewis, Chief Michael Geier and City Attorney Esteban Aguilar, Jr.

What was revealed for the first time at the March 15, 2018 hearing was that Mayor Tim Keller reached out back in December, 2017 after he was elected and had meetings with the parties and the federal judge overseeing the reform process.

During the March 15 federal court hearing, Mayor Keller affirmed his commitment to the DOJ reforms and went so far as to say that he took “ownership of the reform process” and acknowledged he will be judged by the progress APD makes or doesn’t make during his first term in office.

Federal Judge Robert Brack said he was so impressed with the new administration’s commitment to the reform process that he decided to keep the case after he goes on Senior Status in November and not give it to another federal judge.

In a November 4, 2018 Guest Editorial Comment in the Albuquerque Journal, Mayor Tim Keller affirmed his commitment to the DOJ reforms by writing:

“… I personally promised we would own police reform, and we are making significant progress. The latest monitoring report acknowledges the breadth of changes and [my] commitment to finishing the job of meeting the DOJ requirements. …”

You can read Mayor Keller’s full guest column at the below link:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1241663/the-tide-is-turning-against-crime-in-albuquerque.html

Mayor Tim Keller and Chief Michael Geier can take major credit and great pride with the progress that has been made during their first 11 months in office.

In Keller’s own words, going from a “place of mistrust and frustration” to one of cooperation and accomplishment when it comes to APD is a major accomplishment for the Keller Administration.

No doubt Keller and Geier recognize there still is more that must be done with APD and there still a long way to go before they can say “Mission Accomplished” when it comes to APD and our high crime rates.

They both still have to rebuild practically from the ground up a new department with a new generation of police officers to return to community base policing,

Congratulations to Mayor Keller and Chief Geier in the progress they have made with the DOJ reforms.

POLICE UNION CONTINUES TO IMPEDE REFORM PROCESS

It is “ludicrous”, to quote Police Union President Shaun Willoughby, to believe that he and the police union are anywhere near being shocked about being a “target to talk negatively about” given what Dr. Ginger and Chief Geier testified to at the September 10, 2018 status conference with the Federal Judge overseeing the consent decree.

The APD Union was not a named party to the original civil rights complaint for excessive use of force and deadly force filed against the city by the Department of Justice.

Soon after the DOJ initiated the federal lawsuit against APD and the City, the police union intervened to become a party to the federal lawsuit in order to advocate for union interests in city policy and changes to the “use of force” and “deadly force policies.”

The Police Union, despite public comments of cooperation, has never fully supported the agreed to reforms.

If anything, the Union contributed significantly to the delay in writing the new use of force and deadly force policies.

The union leadership has always been at the negotiating table and for a full year were involved with the drafting of the “use of force” and “deadly use of force” policies.

More than any other party in the federal law suite, it has been the police union that has contributed to the one-year delay in writing the policies by objecting to many provisions of the policies.

The police union has repeatedly objected to the language of the use of force policies asserting the policies are unreasonable or did not conform to legal requirement and demanding changes.

Union obstruction and delay tactics regarding the “deadly use of force policy” became so bad that the federal monitor at the September 10, 2018 status conference stated the submitted use of force was missing key components to the point he had to re write the policy and said:

“There were, at last count, 50-plus changes that I saw as needing to be made. So, it’s been a fairly complex process. Those have been made. They’re in draft form. As soon as I finish proofing that draft, it will go out to the parties immediately.”

The union leadership has attended and has sat at counsel table during court hearings and Federal Monitor presentations on his reports.

During all the Court proceeding where the federal monitor has made his presentation to the federal court, the police union has made its opposition and objections known to the federal court regarding the use of force and deadly force policies as being too restrictive with rank and file claiming rank and file cannot do their jobs even with training on the policies.

All previous Federal Monitor’s status reports were scathing against the city accusing the APD chain of command of delaying and obstructing the DOJ reform process, yet the police union had no comment and took no position.

When the previous administration accused the federal monitor of biasness and attempted to have the monitor remove, the police union remained totally silent implying its support to have the federal monitor removed.

The police union and its leadership have said in open court that the mandated reforms under the consent decree are interfering with rank and file officer’s ability to perform their job duties.

During the next contract negotiations with the police union, the Keller Administration need to seek to have removed from the bargaining unit all Sergeants and Lieutenants in that they are part of management.

Now that the “use of force” and “deadly force policies” have been approved and are now a reality, the Keller Administration should consider seeking to having the Police Union removed as a party to the federal lawsuit, consent decree and CASA negotiations seeing that there is very little need for the delay and obstruction tactics the police union engages in to stop the reforms.

_______________________________________________________

POSTSCRIPT ON PREVIOUS FEDERAL MONITOR REPORTS

In his second report to the federal court, Federal Monitor James Ginger accused the City Attorney of what he called, “delay, do little and deflect” tactics saying his relationship with her was “a little rougher than most” compared with top attorneys in other cities and where he has overseen police reform.

The July 1, 2016 federal monitor’s third report states “Across the board … the components in APD’s system for overseeing and holding officers accountable for the use of force, for the most part, has failed … the serious deficiencies revealed point to a deeply-rooted systemic problem. … The deficiencies, in part, indicate a culture [of] low accountability is at work within APD, particularly in chain-of-command reviews. …”

The November 1, 2016 fourth federal monitor’s report states that when “excessive use of force” incidents are investigated by the APD Critical Incident Team, it “[deploys] carefully worded excuses, apparently designed not to find fault with officer actions” and “[uses] language and terminology apparently designed to absolve officers and supervisors of their responsibility to follow certain CASA (Court Approved Settlement Agreement) related provisions.

The May 1, 2017 fifth report was the most damning and critical report to date when the monitor found that APD “subverted” the reform process by issuing “covert special orders,” denying the existence of the orders, and APD exhibiting a “near total failure” to accept civilian oversight.

The Federal Monitor stated last year in his November, 2017 report:

“Eventually, the monitor will no longer be engaged to provide an oversight function for APD. … That role will need to be provided by supervisory, command and executive personnel. At the current time, such oversight is sorely absent” and “well below what is expected at this point” in the process. … In short we are not yet convinced that APD screens, evaluates and classifies use of force incidents in a manner consistent with the CASA (Court Approved Settlement Agreement).”

For a related blog article on Police Union see:

Remove APD Police Union From CASA And Remove Sergeants And Lieutenants From APD Union

In response to the caravan of about 7,000 refugees approaching the United States border by foot, Trump is ordering military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border that could reach 15,000, roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily.

The Pentagon says “more than 7,000” troops were being sent to the southwest border to support the Customs and Border Protection agents.

Officials said that number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 under present plans.

Trump when asked if any of the troops being sent to the border might open fire on asylum seekers, who are fleeing Central America, Trump said:

“I hope not. … It’s the military. I hope there won’t be that, but I will tell you this: Anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to Mexico – the Mexican military, Mexican police – where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico, we will consider that a firearm – because there’s not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock. … We will consider that the maximum that we can consider that, because they’re throwing rocks viciously and violently. … You saw that three days ago – really hurting the military. We’re not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. We’re going to consider it – I told them: Consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I said: Consider it a rifle.”

https://taskandpurpose.com/trump-troops-migrants-rocks-rifle/

The United States Military Joint Chief of Staff need to advise Commander In Chief Trump that the Pentagon military rules of engagement provide that “deadly force” is authorized in self-defense for those faced with an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.

Documents published by Newsweek from U.S. Army North show troops will be operating under the “Standing Rules For The Use Of Force” and allows for troops to respond in self-defense in a proportional manner.

Air Force Capt. Lauren Hill, a spokeswoman for NORTHCOM, stated that rules of engagement will apply and went on to say:

“Our standard rules of force apply here. … As with anything, deadly force is authorized in self-defense for those faced with an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.”

Scared, desperate, malnourished, dehydrated people, carrying children or pushing baby carriages, who have walked over 3,000 miles fleeing from their own countries probably will not be throwing many rocks at US Customs let alone the United States military fully armed and ready to engage “rock throwers” by shooting them.

Trump apparently has never heard of “riot gear” with face shields and body shields, and smoke bombs, commonly used by police to quell rock throwing mobs, but he prefers to have our military to open fire if rocks are thrown at them.

Trump needs to order the US military to stock pile rocks at the border so they can throw the rocks if they engage with “rock throwing” refugees and order our military not to throw rocks at the children on foot or in baby carriages.

For further analysis and commentary see:

“Then Trump Came For My Constitutional Rights, And There Was No One Left To Speak Out For Me.”

On November 1, 2018, Mayor Tim Keller provided an update on the status of the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) project.

During the update, Keller pronounced the new ART Buses as “unsafe at any speed”.

Keller further announced that he was grounding the entire bus fleet until a complete inspection is completed of all the buses delivered.

Mayor Keller gave the briefing and answered questions along with Transit Director Bernie Toon and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael.

Keller reported that the buses must be fixed before the ART Bus line can be fully operational along the Central corridor, despite the fact that all construction on Central and the bus stop platforms have been completed.

It was previously reported by the Keller Administration that all construction on central and the bus stop platforms have been completed.

PROBLEMS IDENTIFIED MAKING ART BUSES UNSAFE

Problems were discovered with the buses when the City began driver training for the new busses and then followed up with additional inspections.

Many of the problems with the buses risk the safety of the public who will use the buses which justified grounding the entire fleet.

The problems reported with the buses during the press conference include:

1. The center and rear brakes had zero air pressure, yet the 60-foot-long articulated buses were able to move, meaning that the center and rear axle brakes were not working and the buses were relying on their front brakes alone.

2. Rear doors would open during bus operation without any action by the driver.

3. The buses have air conditioning outages.

4. Bolts flying off doors were reported

5. The electric buses do not have the required range on a full battery charge and the bus manufacturer still has not provided the extra charging stations.

The electric buses delivered are suppose to operate for 275 miles, but city officials found the buses can not go more than 177 miles before they need recharging.

Deputy Chief Administrative Officer Lawrence Rael reported that there have been two car accidents the buses were involved with, one cause by a driver turning into the bus, with the cause of the second accident still to be determined.

All the deficiencies issues were reported as “fleet-wide issues” that pose significant safety concerns that must be resolved by the bus manufacture before the city allows any member of the public to ride on the buses.

The Chinese bus manufacture Build Your Dreams (BYD) still has not delivered all of the 22 buses that were due to the city last year, with 15 buses delivered.

The city has received the $75 million in federal grant money.

The city has not paid for any of the buses delivered.

Mayor Keller and Director Toon reported that BYD has failed to perform as promised on the construction of supplementary charging stations as they agreed with the City six months ago.

BYD is a year behind on its commitment to deliver all of buses.

BACKUP ALTERNATIVES

Mayor Keller also said that the city is actively looking at three potential alternatives for the ART fleet should it become necessary.

The 3 potential alternative plans include:

1. Purchasing and entirely different fleet, presumably from a different manufacture.

Note: It will take upwards of 3 years ro place a new bus order and have the buses manufactured and delivered.

2. Establishing a “mixed fleet” combining the use of “electric buses” and gas or diesel-powered buses.

3. Pushing forward with more charging stations.

INSPECTOR GENERAL REPORT

On June 6, 2018 an Inspector General (IG) report on the ART Bus project was released.

The entire Inspector General report can be read here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fA-D6dk6lp3DZgQzQCWVEVbziQ2vXov/view

According to the Inspector General report, then Chief Operations Officer Michael Riordan “was adamant about having a bus transported to the City before the end of the Mayor Berry administration.”

An Albuquerque transit employee told the Inspector General that “core processes on manufacturing buses was altered to ensure delivery of the first bus by the deadline.”

The IG report described two city employees interviewed who recounted a “tense” and “unusual” phone call between then-city Chief Operating Officer Michael Riordan and top executives from the manufacturer.

According to the Inspector General’s report the first bus delivered in August 2017, was assembled by the manufacturer using a “frame intended for buses being built for [another city’s transit authority].”

Frames intended for the Albuquerque’s buses had not yet been shipped nor received by the manufacturer.

The Inspector General found that the bus manufacturer used “parts and pieces” intended for another city’s buses for the first ART bus delivered.

The city employee further reported that the first bus was moved to whatever assembly station was available to ensure it was assembled in time in order to get it shipped to Albuquerque before Mayor Berry left office.

The last 4 sentences of the 72-page Inspector General’s findings and report is worth quoting relating fraudulent activity:

“The inspection was proactive in nature and not due to any allegations that were made. While this inspection didn’t identify instances of fraud, it is important to note that it doesn’t mean fraud did not occur. The inspection did identify several problems that offer opportunities to improve and could be vulnerabilities for fraudulent behavior. City leaders should consider the problems identified and recommendations made to develop a more efficient and stronger procurement process that will help prevent and deter fraud, while also ensuring more quality and confidence in the products and services that the taxpayer funds. This is essential to protecting the public’s trust.”

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

During the status report on the ART Bus project, Mayor Keller proclaimed “I am running out of patience.”

Mayor Keller, it’s about time you lost all patience and probably way too late not to be held 100% responsible for this boondoggle that has destroyed Route 66 and been a major drag on your first year in office.

Mayor Tim Keller I suspect feels that the ART bus manufacture Build Your Dreams (BYD) should change its name to “Build Your Nightmares.”

For almost a full year, Mayor Keller and the Keller Administration have been working on resolving major issues with bus performance.

Within 6 weeks after taking office, Keller proclaimed the project “as bit of lemon” but pushed forward to try and salvage the project anyway.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/01/10/this-project-is-a-bit-of-a-lemon/

Two months after taking office, Mayor Keller was urged by many within the community to scrap the project and find alternatives, but he refused saying it would be too costly.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/01/22/mayor-keller-should-scrap-art-bus-project-and-find-alternatives/

In June of this year, Mayor Keller said the buses were like kids in a divorce where parents are fighting for who gets custody.

If a “divorce” is what Keller really wanted, he should have hired a good lawyer, filed suit and seek damages for breach of contract for all the delays and breach of warranties relating to the buses.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/04/want-a-divorce-hire-a-lawyer/

One question Mayor Keller was asked during the status conference is if any attempt will be made to hold former Mayor Richard Berry accountable for the ART Bus Project given that he rushed to have buses delivered to dedicate the project before he left office, a question Keller declined to answer.

In June of this year, after the Inspector General Report on the ART Project was released, Mayor Keller was urged turn the ART Bus project over to the City Attorney, the New Mexico Attorney General and the District Attorney, to investigate for criminal activity but Mayor Keller declined.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/11/give-art-work-to-city-attorney-nm-attorney-general-and-district-attorney/

What is genuinely pathetic is that the Albuquerque City Council went along with this boondoggle and refused to put it on the ballot for a vote.

No matter what Mayor Keller says or does now, no matter what eventually happens with the ART Bus Project, it is now Mayor Keller’s lemon to own and be held responsible and accountable for given his reluctance to scrap the project and helping save face for his predecessor.

FOR MORE BLOG ARTICLES ON ART SEE:

Dinelli Blog Articles On ART Bus Project Listed

After seeing all the news reports of the murder of the 11 people were shot dead and six injured in a synagogue and then hearing Trump’s announcement that he can end “birthright citizenship” guaranteed under the United States Constitution by Presidential Executive order, I could not help recalling the most famous Holocaust poem of all time.

“First They Came for the Jews” was written by Martin Niemöller.

Martin Niemöller was a Lutheran pastor and theologian who was born in Germany in 1892.

At one time, Martin Niemöller was a supporter of Hitler’s policies but eventually recanted them.

Niemöller was arrested and confined to the Sachsenhausen and Dachau concentration camps from 1938 to 1945 and avoided execution at the hands of the Nazis when he was liberated by the Allies in 1945.

The poem is short but very powerful:

“FIRST THEY CAME FOR THE JEWS”

“First they came for the Jews and I did not speak out because I was not a Jew.
Then they came for the Communists and I did not speak out because I was not a Communist.
Then they came for the trade unionists and I did not speak out because I was not a trade unionist.
Then they came for me and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

TRUMP GOING AFTER UNITED STATES CITIZENS BORN OF IMMIGRANTS

President Donald Trump is proclaiming he can end “birthright citizenship” guaranteed under the United States Constitution with the stroke of a pen with a Presidential Executive order.

https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/30/politics/donald-trump-ending-birthright-citizenship/index.html

In an interview with AXIOUS, Trump had this to say about his proposal to end “birthright” citizenship:

“We’re the only country in the world where a person comes in and has a baby, and the baby is essentially a citizen of the United States for 85 years, with all of those benefits. … It’s ridiculous. It’s ridiculous. And it has to end.”

https://www.axios.com/trump-birthright-citizenship-executive-order-0cf4285a-16c6-48f2-a933-bd71fd72ea82.html

Trump’s assertion is another one of his many blatant lies.

According to a study by the Center for Immigration Studies, at least 30 other countries, including Canada, Mexico and many others in the Western Hemisphere, grant automatic birthright citizenship.

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/10/30/us/politics/trump-birthright-citizenship.html

No doubt all Trump supporters agree with him and that “birthright citizenship” should end.

In all likely, Trump supporters do not recognize if he gets away with it, any President will be given the power to nullify other constitutional rights people hold dear to them or take for granted like the Second Amendment “right to bear arms”, or “due process of law” or the “presumption of innocence.”

BIRTHRIGHT CITIZENSHIP CLAUSE OF THE UNITED STATES CONSTITUTION

The sweeping language of the 14th and the 15th Amendments to the U.S. Constitution are so clear and unambiguous enough for even an imbecile to understand.

The 14th Amendment, Section 1, to the US Constitution, referred to as the “citizenship clause” by legal scholars, is very specific and provides:

“All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States and of the state wherein they reside. No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.”

The Fifteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which gives the right to vote to freed slaves, is often included in legal argument of the 14th Amendment.

The Fifteenth Amendment prohibits the federal and state governments from denying any citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”.

It is well settled law in United States Supreme Court rulings that make it clear that if you are born in the United States or United States territories, you are an American Citizens even if your parents were not.

If you’re born in America under the American flag, you’re an American citizen, period, no if ands or buts.

Time Magazine put it this way:

“It doesn’t matter if you’re male or female, rich or poor, black or white, gay or straight, the daughter of a president or the son of an undocumented immigrant, you’re a free and equal citizen. … This principle of equal citizenship formed the core of the constitutional vision of President Abraham Lincoln and his allies, who laid the foundations of both the Republican Party and our Constitution’s most transformative amendment—the 14th.”

http://time.com/5440454/constitution-birthright-citizenship/

PRESIDENTIAL EXECUTIVE ORDERS

Article II, Section 1, of the United StateS constitution provides:

“The executive Power shall be vested in a President of the United States of America.”

Other than this one sentence, the United States Constitution has absolutely no provision under the Executive Powers provision of the United States Constitution that would allow Trump to change, amend, revoke or nullify language in the United States Constitution.

There is no Constitutional Amendment that gives a United States President the power the use Presidential Executive Orders to change, amend, revoke or nullify language in the constitution nor any constitutional amendment such as Amendment 15 guaranteeing “birthright citizenship.

Article II, Section 3 of the United states Constitution does provide that the President must “take care that the laws be faithfully executed” and the consequence and penalty for failing to comply could be removal from office.

The U.S. Supreme Court has also held that all executive orders from the President of the United States must be supported by the Constitution, either from a clause granting specific power or by Congress delegating such power to the President.

Federal court actions to block Trump’s Presidential Executive Orders have been successful in the past when his orders exceeded his authority such as Trump’s initial Executive Order barring the entry into the United States by people from targeted Muslim countries.

TRUMPS OTHER ATTACKS ON CONSTITUTIONAL RIGHTS

Trump has a real sinister side of trying to usurp many constitutional rights and he does it tinged with racism.

When Trump announced for the Presidency he said:

“When Mexico sends its people, they’re not sending the best. They’re not sending you, they’re sending people that have lots of problems and they’re bringing those problems with us. They’re bringing drugs. They’re bring crime. They’re rapists… And some, I assume, are good people.”

On January 27, 2017, just seven days after being sworn in as President, Donald Trump signed an Executive Order halting all refugee admissions and temporarily barring people from seven Muslim-majority countries arguing it was needed to combat terrorism.

The move sparked numerous protests and legal challenges.

TRUMP’S NO TOLERANCE POLICY

Trump waited a year after becoming President to announce his “no tolerance policy” of undocumented immigrants fleeing their home countries to enter the United States relying on fear mongering about gang violence from groups like MS-13 when he said:.

“These are sick evil people. … I called them animals and people said ‘that’s a terrible thing to say.’ Nancy Pelosi said that’s a terrible thing to say. She was defending MS-13.”

Apparently in Trump’s sick and warped mind, over 2,500 children separated from their parents are sick and evil people who are all MS-13 gang members and had them placed in cage like facilities.

Speaking at the White House Trump said:

“The United States will not be a migrant camp, and it will not be a refugee holding facility. You look at what’s happening in Europe, and in other places, we cannot allow that to happen. Not on my watch.”

At the Nevada GOP state party convention, Trump reiterated some of his most vile rhetoric about immigrants from Central and South America when he said:

“The word is ‘overrun.’ We will have millions and millions of people pouring through our country and all the problems that would cause with crime and schools. … If they see any weakness, they will come by the millions.”

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/23/in-rambling-speech-trump-renews-attacks-on-immigrants-they-will-come-by-the-millions/23466476/

After public outcry, Trump reversed his no tolerance policy and a few days later had this to say:

“We cannot allow all of these people to invade our Country. When somebody comes in, we must immediately, with no Judges or Court Cases, bring them back from where they came. Our system is a mockery to good immigration policy and Law and Order. Most children come without parents. Cannot accept all of the people trying to break into our Country. Strong Borders, No Crime!”

https://www.aol.com/article/news/2018/06/24/trump-calls-for-deporting-illegal-immigrants-with-no-judges-or-court-cases/23466729/

REFUGEE CARAVAN RESPONSE

In response to the caravan of about 7,000 refugees approaching the United States border by foot, Trump is ordering military troops deployed to the U.S.-Mexican border that could reach 15,000 roughly double the number the Pentagon said it currently plans for a mission whose dimensions are shifting daily.

The Pentagon says “more than 7,000” troops were being sent to the southwest border to support the Customs and Border Protection agents.

Officials said that number could reach a maximum of about 8,000 under present plans.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1240253/trump-says-border-troops-could-hit-15k-surprising-pentagon.html

Trump when asked if any of the troops being sent to the border might open fire on asylum seekers, who are fleeing Central America, Trump said:

“I hope not. … It’s the military. I hope there won’t be that, but I will tell you this: Anybody throwing stones, rocks, like they did to Mexico – the Mexican military, Mexican police – where they badly hurt police and soldiers of Mexico, we will consider that a firearm – because there’s not much difference when you get hit in the face with a rock. … We will consider that the maximum that we can consider that, because they’re throwing rocks viciously and violently . … You saw that three days ago – really hurting the military. We’re not going to put up with that. They want to throw rocks at our military, our military fights back. We’re going to consider it – I told them: Consider it a rifle. When they throw rocks like they did at the Mexico military and police, I said: Consider it a rifle.”

https://taskandpurpose.com/trump-troops-migrants-rocks-rifle/

As Commander In Chief of the Military, someone needs to educate President Trump that the Pentagon military rules of engagement provide that deadly force is authorized in self-defense for those faced with an imminent threat of death or serious bodily harm.

Sacred, desperate, malnourished, dehydrated people, carrying children or pushing baby carriages and who have walked over 3,000 miles probably will not be throwing many rocks at US Customs let alone the United States military fully armed and ready to engage “rock throwers” by shooting them.

Trump apparently has never heard of “riot gear” with face shields and body shields, and smoke bombs, commonly used by police to quell rock throwing mobs, but he prefers to order the military to open fire if rocks are thrown at them.

DESIRE TO CHANGE LIBEL AND SLANDER LAWS

Trump has advocated changing the laws of libel and slander couching defamation laws in his rhetoric of nationalism and populist political movement.

According to Trump, the current libel laws “do not represent American values or American fairness” when he said:

“Our current libel laws are a sham and a disgrace, and do not represent American values or American fairness. … So we’re going to take a strong look at that. We want fairness. You can’t say things that are false, knowingly false, and be able to smile as money pours into your bank account … I think what the American people want to see is fairness.”

https://www.cnbc.com/2018/01/10/trump-wants-to-change-libel-law-experts-say-theres-nothing-he-can-do.html

TRUMP’S CONTEMPT FOR THE PRESS

Trump’s contempt and condemnation of “freedom of the press” is legendary and part of his midterm campaign stump speeches at all of his mid term rallies.

Trump has called the press “enemies of the people” by saying:

“I just cannot state strongly enough how totally dishonest much of the Media is. Truth doesn’t matter to them, they only have their hatred & agenda. This includes fake books, which come out about me all the time, always anonymous sources, and are pure fiction. Enemy of the People!”

On November 27, 2017, Trump TWEETED:

“We should have a contest as to which of the Networks, plus CNN and not including Fox, is the most dishonest, corrupt and/or distorted in its political coverage of your favorite President (me). They are all bad. Winner to receive the FAKE NEWS TROPHY!”

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

Trump’s effort to end “birthright citizenship” by Presidential Executive Order is blatantly unconstitutional and downright dangerous on many levels.

Trump’s assertion that he has the authority to issue a “Presidential Executive Order” to end “birthright citizenship” shows how ignorant he is and how dangerous he is to all of our freedoms, including the freedoms of his supporters, guaranteed under the United States Constitution.

Less than one week before the midterms, Trump stokes paranoia and fear to gin up his conservative base by attacking our most vulnerable citizens who cannot defend themselves: United States Citizens born in the United States of immigrants.

Trump is appealing to this country’s darkest side and to blatant racism.

Trumps wants to start with “birthright” citizenship, and after that he will want to go after other rights that may interfere with his priorities to “Make America Great Again” and his appeal to nationalism.

Trump supporters no doubt applaud his actions to end birthright citizenship.

Trump supporters probably will not applaud him when he decides to go after a few of their own constitutional rights like “freedom of speech”, “freedom of assembly”, “freedom of association”, “due process of law”, the presumption that your “innocent until proven guilty”, and the right to be secure in your home from “unreasonable search and seizure” just to mention a few, in the interest of promoting his agenda of nationalism and “Make America Great Again”.

With Trump’s hatred, contempt and condemnation for the media, Trump just may decide that that there is a need for a “US Department of Communications” and issue an executive order that all media outlets be consolidated under a state media run outlet similar to Putin’s Russia and content be reviewed and approve before telecasted.

The Second Amendment to the United States Constitution is short and states:

“A well-regulated Militia, being necessary to the security of a free State, the right of the people to keep and bear Arms, shall not be infringed.”

As what happened in Nazi Germany, Trump could easily decide that certain minorities in our country, such as Muslims, or any anyone who disagree with him, should not have the right to bear arms and issue an Executive Order to seize guns.

Trump could issue an Executive Order nullifying the Second Amendment saying it only applies to “a well-regulated militia”.

No doubt the Trump supporters as well as the NRA would go ballistic, but yet they remain totally silent on his proposal to end “birthright citizenship”.

As what happened in Nazi Germany, Trump could decide that our “freedom of speech”, “freedom of the press’, “freedom of assembly”, “freedom of association”, “the right of due process of law”, the presumption that your “innocent until proven guilty”, and the right to be secure in your home from “unreasonable search and seizure” or other rights guaranteed under our US Constitution and its amendments are rights he can alter or void by a Presidential Executive Order in the interest of “Making America Great Again” and the type of nationalism he is promoting that occurred in Nazi Germany.

CONCLUSION

“Then he came for children born in the United States of undocumented immigrants, and I did not speak out because I was not an immigrant with a child born in the United States”.

“Then he came for my constitutional rights, and there was no one left to speak out for me.”

On October 29, 2018, one week before the November 6, 2018 general election, Joe Monahan on his political blog New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan, posted an excellent update giving the status on New Mexico’s general election.

Following is Mr. Monahan’s October 29, 2018 blog article:

“NM GOP Has Major Cracks; Who Will Pick Up The Pieces? Plus: Fresh Polling Has MLG Leading; Is There A Path For Pearce? And: Yvette And Xochitl Tied, State Of The Governor’s Race; It’s Not As Bad As The TV Ads Say

This one flew under the radar but is of note.

Gov. Martinez made a quiet appearance last Friday in Roswell and greeted Vice President Mike Pence there as he prepared to rally the GOP troops for Republican Guv hopeful Steve Pearce and southern congressional candidate Yvette Herrell. But she did not attend the rally that Pence conducted at the Roswell Airport and she has not publicly endorsed either Pearce or Herrell. This trio of top R’s are actually bitter foes. Martinez also refused to embrace the Trump candidacy in ’16.

Martinez’s popularity has plummeted to the low to mid 30’s. Her appearance at the rally would probably not have been welcome. But her solo sidebar with Pence speaks to the more important question of the state of the NM GOP. And it’s not good.

Martinez took the party to new heights, scoring re-election for herself and helping her brethren gain control of the state House for two years. But her popularity crashed along with the economy and her constant fighting with the legislature. Combined with the failed tenure of ABQ Republican Mayor RJ Berry, the GOP has been left in tatters.

If Pearce and Herrell were to both lose next week who would rebuild? There is no apparent answer. Lt. Gov. John Sanchez is spent and also out with Martinez at year’s end.

The stakes for the state’s minority party couldn’t get much higher. They need at least one major winner next Tuesday.

FRESH POLLING

Just as we said the public polling had stalled out, here comes one. And the numbers look familiar. In the Governor’s race the Emerson College poll conducted Oct 24-26 of 936 likely voters has it Michelle Lujan Grisham 53 to 44 over Republican Steve Pearce. That’s exactly where an internal poll for MLG’s campaign had it that was conducted Oct. 22-26 and that was released over the weekend.

Pollster Brian Sanderoff is in the field this week for the ABQ Journal and will report his final results Saturday and Sunday. But right now it looks as though MLG is closing in on the prize. Pearce spokesman Kevin Sheridan begs to differ:

Anyone telling themselves this is a 9-point race is going to be in for a shock on election night.

The margin of error in the Emerson Guv poll is 3.4 percent.

As we’ve blogged, Big BernCo is Pearce’s problem child. He is underperforming here and must move some numbers. But he doesn’t seem overly interested. Monday he was campaigning in Farmington and today he is headed south to Tatum, Lovington and Hobbs. The strategy is to hype the southern numbers and others outside the Metro in hopes of overcoming MLG’s ABQ advantage.

President Bush did something similar in October 2004 when he scheduled stops in Farmington, Hobbs and Alamogordo. Hobbs had never had a presidential visit. Bush defeated Dem John Kerry here in a squeaker, 49.84% to 49.05%.

Bush lost BernCo that year by only 51.5% to 47.3. The losing margin was only12,000 votes. (He appeared in ABQ on Election Eve) But Bush carried Lea County where he had visited by a stunning 80% to 20% margin or nearly 11,000 votes, nearly the same margin he lost BernCo,

Bush’s statewide popular vote win over Kerry was only 5,988. But he won. That appears to be the needle that Steve Pearce is trying to thread as the campaign comes down to its final intense hours. The issue is whether it is too late to get BernCo closer so the south can rise again.

Emerson also did a Guv poll in August. That survey had Pearce at 42 and MLG at 40, but that one is looking more like an outlier. No other public poll has had the race that close. The Journal had it 50-43 in it’s early September survey.

NIP AND TUCK

The survey showed a nip and tuck race for the southern congressional seat, with Republican Yvette Herrell and Dem Xochtil Torres Small tied at 47 percent among 238 voters polled.

However, the margin of error was a quite high 6 percent. Also, most of the survey was conducted before the VP Pence rally in Roswell for Pearce and Herrell which drew widespread coverage.

This one has been tough for either candidate to put away, with over-the-top spending from the national partisans. Historically it breaks toward the R’s. We’ll see where it lands Election Night when we call the action on KANW 89.1 FM in ABQ and on kanw.com.

FIZZLING SENATE

The US Senate race fizzled long ago. Emerson has it for Senator Heinrich with 48 percent. R Mick Rich garners 32 percent and Libertarian Gary Johnson comes in third with 16% and 6% is undecided.

What this tells us is that Rich has consolidated some of the GOP vote and likely will take second place. Johnson is fading, as third party candidates are prone to do during the final days.

The undecided may be more likely to go with Rich or Johnson since they already know incumbent Heinrich. The question is can Heinrich reach 50 percent in this three way race?

CONGRESS OR BUST

In the ABQ congressional race Dem Deb Haaland garners 51 percent to 41 percent for Republican Janice Arnold-Jones. Libertarian Lloyd Princeton gets 1 percent. This seat has been a safe Dem hold for a while and this poll confirms that. The margin of error is 5.7%.

In the heavy Dem northern congressional seat Rep. Ben Ray Lujan is set to win in a walk. He leads R Gerald McFall 54% to 37 percent. Undecided is 5 percent. Lujan is headed to his sixth, two year term in the US House.

Emerson also asked about favorable ratings. They have Trump at 40% favorable, 55% unfavorable; Lujan Grisham 43% favorable, 39% unfavorable and Pearce 43% favorable, 43% unfavorable. Obviously, the negative campaigning in the Guv’s race has put a lid on the candidates favorable ratings. But winning has a way of putting a halo on a hopeful and the ratings of the Governor-elect should go up after the election.

The Emerson college poll was conducted using automatic robo calls and on line surveys.

STATE OF THE GUV RACE

Given the onslaught of campaign ads accusing Pearce and Lujan Grisham of being little better than corrupt mob bosses, the hands of Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico might be trembling as they approach their ballot to make their choice. What to do?

Well, rest assured the two contenders are not in line to be honored by the Mother Teresa society but the charges against the pair are actually garden variety. They hit them for fudging and misleading statements–not an exchange of cash for services which would take them from the garden to the jailhouse.

The awarding of state contracts is inherently a political process. The contractors are always looking for an edge and the politicians are looking to keep their friends happy. Sometimes the line gets crossed and you have pay to play and perp walks. Remember the metro courthouse scandal or those involving two state treasurers?

In the case of MLG and Delta Consulting there is a case to be made that the contract was politically tinged. There’s that report that Delta was the only one submitting a bid to run the high risk insurance pool and continuing questions about how much the contract was advertised. Also, the fact that the congresswoman was indeed politically connected to Governor Richardson. But the more important questions are: Was Delta qualified? Did Delta deliver the services promised? Did Delta or MLG embezzle funds? The answers so far are that the company was qualified and there was no illegal activity.

As for Pearce, it’s true he prevaricated (to use a fancy word for not telling the truth) when he listed a company on his disclosure form as engaging in party rentals when it was actually an oil and gas company. Why he felt the need to cover that activity is perplexing given that Pearce is well known to have gotten rich from the SE oilfields. It’s not behavior that engenders confidence but is it evidence of a quid pro quo in which Pearce received direct payments from the oil and gas industry (not only campaign contributions) to influence his congressional votes? In other words was he on the take? So far, the answer to that question is no.

The aforementioned Mr. and Mrs. New Mexico don’t have to worry that they are putting in office a modern version of Al Capone as the TV ads infer. What they do have to worry about is how the power will shape whoever eventually wins. On that score. . .

The past two gubernatorial administrations ended in a sea of corruption charges. Gov. Richardson was nearly indicted. Governor Martinez’s chief political adviser Jay McCleskey narrowly escaped a federal indictment. Both Governors came under scrutiny for awarding contracts to political allies. After Big Bill state investment procedures had to undergo a radical overhaul because of pay to play scandals over the state’s billions in savings. Under Martinez the behavioral health system was destroyed and has to be rebuilt because she brought in out of state contractors to run the system.

The corruption charges in the incendiary TV spots against Pearce and MLG are far from disqualifiers but they are markers for the government watchdogs. If Pearce is elected they will follow the oil and gas money and look for signs of any outsized influence in the administration. If MLG wins, all eyes will be on her relationship with Gov. Richardson and his allies and for any movidas to secure state contracts under her.

IN OUR TIME

To keep corruption at a minimum you need accountability. But the past two Governors have seen little of it. Both won re-election in historic landslides and went on to crash and burn, ending with dismal approval ratings.

Bruce Donisthorpe, the late pollster, consultant. congressional staffer and decades-long veteran of La Politica had a favored solution: “Elect them. But never re-elect them,” he would often declare.

He had a point. If Richardson, Martinez and Johnson left office at the end of their first terms they would have left as heroes.

I’m often reminded of our old friend Bruce, especially in the final stretch when we would call on him and others with exceptional political acumen like consultant Harry Pavlides and Andrew Leo Lopez, the original Senior Alligator of the ABQ South Valley. All were brilliant and all of them made me shine. Thanks, fellas. We’ll carry on. . .

THE BOTTOM LINES

State Republicans may or may not have something to party about Election Night. Whatever the case, they will gather at the ABQ Crowne Plaza as the returns roll in. The State Dems will gather at the Hotel ABQ. . .

Southern GOP congressional candidate Yvette Herrell has raised a total of $1.2 million for her campaign, not the $1.6 million we had in a first blog draft.”

DINELLI POSTSCRIPT ON EARLY VOTING

Early voting numbers show a major surge with thousands flocking to voting booths ahead of Election Day.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, Democrats are dominating early voting across New Mexico.

Two very recent KRQE new reports revealed that the latest numbers showed Democrats accounted for 56 percent of early ballots, despite the fact they make up 46 percent of registered voters.

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-governement/elections/new-numbers-show-democrats-dominating-early-voting-in-new-mexico/1525476542

In Bernalillo County, Democrats came up with 71 percent of the early vote and Republicans with 16 percent.

As of last Thursday, statewide, there were more than 162,000 ballots cast.

That includes more than 29,000 absentee ballots.

In Bernalillo County alone, nearly 60,000 ballots have also been cast.

Early voting ends November 3, 2018.

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-governement/elections/early-voting-numbers-show-thousands-have-already-cast-votes/1551835389

Joe Monahan publishes reports on his blog 4 days a week, Monday through Thursday.

The link to New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan is

http://joemonahansnewmexico.blogspot.com/

You can also email Joe Monahan directly at his email address jmonahan@ix.netcom.com