“You never let a serious crisis go to waste. And what I mean by that it’s an opportunity to do things you think you could not do before.” – Chicago Mayor Rahm Emanuel

On June 2, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page story on Mayor Tim Keller’s interview entitled “Keller walks back defense of APD in child abuse case; Mayor: ‘Bunker mentality’ stalls reform in department”

Mayor Keller is quoted in the article as saying:

“It was premature to go out with those kinds of statements [that no one with APD violated any policies or procedures and that officers and detectives did everything they could with the information they had at the time] … We should have waited. … What we learned is that you can’t make a few phone calls and say you have the entire picture, and we’re not going to do it again. I think we learned a lot through this. … There are still lots and lots of issues at APD. The deep-seated bunker mentality culture goes right down to every unit and shows up in a different way. It’s just a realization that reforming APD in reality is going to be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years.”
https://www.abqjournal.com/1179756/keller-walks-back-defense-of-apd-in-abuse-case.html

Mayor Keller’s admissions were stunning both in scope and substance.

Keller’s mistakes made in his dealing with APD and its “deep-seated bunker mentality” can be explained by his short time in office, lack of experience with police management and no understanding of law enforcement procedures and police culture.

Keller needs to buckle down and act on his words when he said the APD “culture goes right down to every unit and shows up in a different way … It’s just a realization that reforming APD in reality is going to be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years”.

KELLER HAS LAID A FOUNDATION TO REBUILD APD

Because of developing events, Mayor Keller has already laid a new foundation to rebuild APD with a renewed justification for it provided that he has the political backbone to do it.

Mayor Keller has appointed an Interim APD Police Chief and Interim Deputy Chiefs who are either retired or from within APD and shuffled and reorganized the APD command staff and personnel staff

The interim appointments are a reliance on the past management of APD and that alone should disqualify them from being retained permanently in the positions of Chief and Deputy Chiefs.

Keller has appointed a five-member Chief Selection Committee who are collecting resumes and doing interviews and whose duties can be expanded to include Deputy Chiefs.

Mayor Keller needs to recruit and appoint a new permanent APD Chief and Deputy Chiefs with no prior service with APD who will bring real reform to the department “down to every unit” and who are fully committed to and trained in constitutional policing practices.

The Keller Administration has proposed an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program over 4 years increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 positions filled to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period.

The 2018-2019 approved budget calls for APD to increase its ranks to 1,040 officers in the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1, 2018.

The Keller Administration APD expansion will be over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures, to hire 322 officers and expand APD from the current 878 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers.

The Keller Administration will be implementing a hiring and recruitment program to offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD.

At a minimum, the APD expansion plan calls for $32 million dollars in recurring costs.

The $88 million dollars for expanding APD will include expanded academy training and the vehicles and other equipment that additional officers will require.

Keller has vowed to return to community-based policing.

The Keller Administration successfully negotiated a two-year contract with the police union providing for $12.2 million dollars in hourly wage increases and longevity pay increases to experienced police officers.

The new contract should assist APD in becoming more competitive to attract and retain a new generation of sworn police.

Keller now has a major opportunity to build on the new foundation that has been laid to rebuild and reform APD “unit by unit”.

CREATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Mayor Tim Keller should create a Department of Public Safety by executive order and appoint a civilian Police Commissioner who would eventually become the Public Safety Commissioner.

The national search for a permanent APD Chief should be expanded to include a search for a civilian Police Commissioner and Deputy Chiefs.

A Police Commissioner and a new APD Chief with extensive and proven leadership in managing a municipal police department must be hired, not political operatives.

Overtime, the Department of Public Safety would include both the Police and Fire Departments, both Police and Fire Academies, and 911 emergency dispatch center, the emergency operations center with the appointment of a Public Safety Commissioner.

A national search should be conducted to identify qualified candidates to serve as Public Safety Commissioner who have a firm understanding on constitutional policing practices.

Implementation of the DOJ consent decree reforms would be the top priority of the Public Safety Commissioner.

The duties of the Public Safety Commissioner would include continued formulation, writing and implementation of standard operating procedure and changes agreed to under the consent decree, expansion of crisis intervention mandates and certified training of APD department personnel in constitutional policing practices.

There is a need for a complete overhaul and restructuring of APD with the appointment of a new chief, new commanders, lieutenants, academy director and a 911 manager beyond what has already occurred.

Every single APD felony unit needs to be increased in personnel by anywhere between 40% and 60%, including the following APD units: Armed Robbery, Auto Theft, Burglary, Homicide, Gang Unit, Narcotics, Property Crimes and Sex Crimes Units and the Criminal Nuisance Abatement Unit.

The Public Safety Department would consist of four civilian staffed divisions and managed by the Public Safety Commissioner:

1. Personnel and training, for recruiting, hiring, internal affairs investigations and police academy;
2. Budget and finance;
3. Information technology support and crime lab; and
4. 911 emergency operations center with a civilian manager.

“Deadly use of force” cases need to continue to be investigated by the Critical Incident Review Team and the final reports with finding and recommendations.

APD needs to “triple down” on recruitment and dramatically increase the size and number of police academy classes per year.

ABOLISH APD INTERNAL AFFAIRS

APD has consistently shown over many years it cannot police itself which contributed to the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice.

The APD Internal Affairs Unit needs to be abolished and its functions absorbed by the Office Independent Council.

The investigation of police misconduct cases including excessive use of force cases not resulting in death or nor serious bodily harm would be done by “civilian” personnel investigators.

The function and responsibility for investigating police misconduct cases and violations of personnel policy and procedures by police should be assumed by the Office of Independent Council in conjunction with the City Human Resources Department and the Office of Internal Audit where necessary.

The Office of Independent Council would make findings and recommendations to the Public Safety Commissioner for implementation and imposition of disciplinary action.

“Deadly use of force” cases would continue to be investigated by the Critical Incident Review Team and the final reports with finding and recommendations submitted to the Police Commissioner for implementation and imposition of disciplinary action.

CONCLUSION

Hopefully, Keller has learned from his mistakes in handling a public relations nightmare of his own creation with the help of his appointed interim Chief.

One way Mayor Keller can show he has learned from his mistake is by creating of a Department of Public Safety to rebuild APD.

Rebuilding APD will take the kind of leadership Keller exhibited by admitting to his mistakes when he talked to the Journal.

A Public Safety Commissioner and a new APD Chief would ensure that APD is reformed and “be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years.”

Since taking office on December 1, 2018, Mayor Tim Keller has been trying to clean up the $135 million-dollar disaster known as the ART Bus Project.

Keller even journeyed to Washington back in January, hat in hand, to lobby the Federal Transpiration Administration for the $75 million dollar grant and he came back empty handed.

After a full 6 months in office, Keller continues to be made miserable with the project and still clings to the hope the $75 million federal grant will be forthcoming.

During a press conference, Mayor Tim Keller explained the city designed the ART bus routes and charging stations based on the fully-electric buses being able to run 275 miles without recharging.

News story can be seen here:

http://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-leaders-considered-dropping-art-bus-manufacturer/21064582

After a full 7 months since the previous Mayor dedicated the project as “up and running” Keller reported the electric busses still do not hold a charge and the city is in contract negotiations with the manufacturer.

The electric buses delivered are supposed to operate for 275 miles but they cannot go more than 180 miles before they need charging, which means more buses or more bus stations are needed.

In the press conference update of the ART project, Keller said the city is looking to “divorce” itself from the manufacturer and in the process of renegotiating its contract with the firm.

Renegotiating the contract would mean in part that the city keeps only some of the 15 buses delivered to the city.

The Keller Administration itself created a problem with the ART buses when it took delivery of at least 10 of the buses in California where the buses were assembled.

Instead of being shipped by rail, the buses were driven across country and sustained damages which may not be covered by the warranty or have voided the warranty.

A bus manufacturer spokesman stated the busses were not designed for cross country driving and damages caused by the delivery may not be covered by the warranty.

Keller went on to say the buses were like kids in a divorce where parents are fighting for who gets custody.

Never heard before new vehicles subject to manufacture warranties being compared to children in a custody case.

If a “divorce” is what Keller really wants, he needs to hire a good lawyer, file suit and seek damages for breach of contract for all the delays and breach of warranties relating to the buses.

Litigation is why we have a city attorney’s office as well a risk management department.

Both the City Attorney’s Office and Risk Managment have had no problem settling cases and dishing out $62 million dollars in police misconduct and deadly use of force cases.

Instead of being miserable for another year in a marriage trying to correct all the mistakes with ART, Keller needs to cut our losses and move on with termination of the marriage and give up custody of the kids.

There are 5 Democrats running for congress in the First Congressional District to replace Michelle Lujan Grisham who is running for Governor:

Former Democratic Party Chair Debra Haaland
Former UNM Law School Associate Dean Antoinette Sedillo Lopez
Immigration and tax attorney Damian Lara
Former United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico Damon Martinez
Albuquerque businessman Paul Moya

Last week Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis dropped out of the race but his name will still appear on the ballot.

Two days before Tuesday’s June 5 primary, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page article that outside political action committees and organizations are spending “big” in the Democratic Primary for the New Mexico first Congressional District Race to help three of the six candidates running.

You can read the entire article here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1180047/outside-groups-spend-big-in-nm-congressional-race.html

This is not news but has been going on for years, ever since the United Supreme Court decision of Citizens United.

According to the article, out of state political action committees representing women, veterans, Native Americans and others have spent more than $2 million on television advertisements, direct mail, text message appeals and other media both for and against three of the congressional candidates.

Frankly, people should be surprised that not more has been spent on the Democratic primary in that the seat is considered a safe seat for the Democrat to win in November.

The 3 candidates that have benefited from the out of state contributions are former U.S. Attorney Damon Martinez, former Democratic Party State Chair Debra Haaland, and former UNM law professor Antoinette Sedillo Lopez.

According to the Washington-based Center for Responsive Politics, out of state political action committees have spent $1.1 million to promote Damon Martinez, $534,000 has been spent to promote Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, and $230,000 has been spent to promote Debra Haaland .

Ever since the Supreme Court ruling of Citizens United, out of state organization and political action committees can spend as much as they want, where they want and wherever they want to affect elections, with money donations equated with “free speech” and corporations defined as “persons” under the Supreme Court ruling.

Damon Martinez is the biggest beneficiary of out of state money compared to Haaland and Sedillo Lopez.

The numbers are far different when looking at the candidates’ own campaign finance reports and donations and comparing them to in-state versus out of state donations made to their campaigns.

Federal Election Commission reporting forms reflect that at the end of March, each candidate has raised and had on hand the following:

1. Former State Democratic Candidate Debra Haaland’s reported raising over $684,030 and had $347,394 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00639054/1222358/

2. Former UNM Law School Associate Dean Antonette Sedillo Lopez reported raising $706,954 and had $456,799 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00637272/1223836/

3. Former United State Attorney for the District of New Mexico Damon Martinez raised $541,503 and had $276,532 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00649756/1223314/

4. Immigration and tax attorney Damian Lara reported raising $324,068 and had $139,285 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00646612/1222300/

6. Albuquerque Businessman Paul Moya reported raising $191,539 and had $161,721 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00660449/1222863/

More than half of both Antonette Sedillo Lopez’s and Debara Haaland’s direct campaign contribution came from donors outside of New Mexico

Over 80% of Damon Martinez’s direct campaign donations came from New Mexico donors.

Debra Haaland has received $299,100 from out of state donors and $254,300 from New Mexico donors.

Antonette Sedillo Lopez has received $292,500 from out of state donors and $153,200 from New Mexico donors.

Damon Martinez has received $80,000 from out of state donors and $323,600 from New Mexico donors.

Since the March campaign finance reports, no doubt more has been raised and spent.

COMMENTARY

A few of the congressional campaigns are being severely criticized by opponents or their supporters for not objecting to PAC money being spent to promote their candidacies.

In politics, when it comes to campaign donations and the source, when it’s your campaign cash cow being feed and helped, you remain silent but you strenuously object when your opponent’s campaign cash cow is being feed, especially when your behind in the polls.

Under federal election laws, it is a serious felony for the political action committee to coordinate with any particular campaign or individual candidate.

As result, all that Martinez, Haaland and Sedillo Lopez could do, if they really wanted to do it, is to object to the out of state PACs spending money on their behalf.

It would be ridiculous for any candidate to object to efforts made by others to promote them while the other candidates will not do the same when it came to their own candidacies.

The influence of big money in elections allowed by the US Supreme Court decision in Citizens United is destroying our democracy.

Political campaign fundraising and big money influence are warping our election process.

Money spent becomes equated with the final vote.

Money drives the message, affects voter turnout and ultimately the outcome of an election.

Until there is campaign finance reform, we can continue to expect million-dollar US congressional and senatorial races and billion-dollar presidential races.

You always know when a Mayor has taken a very serious public relations hit whenever they make a special trip to the Albuquerque Journal Center and subject themselves to a wide-ranging interview with the Journal Editors and its reporters on a single topic.

It is called “political damage control” usually taken in the wake of a self-inflicted controversy to make things right with the public and to salvage what is left of your image or repair a reputation.

This past week, Mayor Tim Keller did just that when he felt compelled to go and talk to the Journal editors and reporters about his backtracking from defending APD in the evidence gathering of a child abuse case where the blood-stained underwear of a seven-year-old child was collected by the child’s teacher.

The APD officer refused to take the child’s blood-stained garment and tag it into evidence.

Initially, both Mayor Keller and Interim Chief Geier insisted that no one with APD violated any policies or procedures, including when an APD officer tossed out the evidence.

Keller and Geier then doubled down when they said that officers and detectives did everything they could with the information they had at the time.

Only after a week of intense media coverage did Keller order APD to launched an Internal Affairs investigation to provide a more complete accounting of the department’s interactions related to the incident involving the parents and the child.

The events occurred last year, before they took office, was something they could not do anything about other than get to the truth about what actually happened to a 7-year-old child.

WHAT KELLER TOLD THE JOURNAL EDITORS

On June 2, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published its front-page story on Keller’s interview entitled “Keller walks back defense of APD in child abuse case; Mayor: ‘Bunker mentality’ stalls reform in department”

The full story can be read here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1179756/keller-walks-back-defense-of-apd-in-abuse-case.html

Mayor Keller is quoted in the article as saying:

“It was premature to go out with those kinds of statements [that no one with APD violated any policies or procedures and that officers and detectives did everything they could with the information they had at the time] … We should have waited. … What we learned is that you can’t make a few phone calls and say you have the entire picture, and we’re not going to do it again. I think we learned a lot through this. … There are still lots and lots of issues at APD. The deep-seated bunker mentality culture goes right down to every unit and shows up in a different way. It’s just a realization that reforming APD in reality is going to be a unit-by-unit exercise and that is going to take years.”

COMMENTARY

Mayor Keller’s admissions are stunning both in scope and substance.

The admissions are a reflection of the true character of an elected official.

What is important is that it shows clearly the willingness of an elected official to admit they are wrong and not engage in denial spin tactics in an attempt to change the subject and avoid accountability.

This is what is called leadership.

Mayor Keller is commended for his leadership actions for finally doing the right thing to correct a broken system.

Maybe, just maybe Mayor Keller has learned not to presume and believe everything to be true he is told by law enforcement and the APD command staff.

This is a lesson many prosecutors and juries learn quickly only after all the evidence is gathered and presented to them in a trial and court of law.

Keller’s mistakes in this case can be understood given his “greeness to the job”, lack of understanding of law enforcement procedures and the fact he is not an attorney and is ignorant of the law of evidence.

However, Interim Chief Michael Geier should have known better given his 40+ years as a cop and his knowledge of the law.

Further, based on this experience, Mayor Keller should realize he needs to recruit and appoint a new permanent APD Chief and Deputy Chiefs with no prior servie with APD who will bring real reform to the department and who are fully committed to and trained in constitutional policing practices.

Only time will tell how much was actually learned from a public relations nightmare of Keller’s and his Interim Chief’s own creation.

With just four days left until New Mexico’s Democratic primary election, Michelle Lujan Grisham’s rivals for the nomination intensified their criticism of her accusing her of profiting from ties to a company that has a state contract to help run New Mexico’s high-risk insurance pool and exerting her political influence to keep the pool in operation.

They are going so far as to demand that she drop out of the race.

What is laughable about the criticism is that Lujan Grisham is no longer financially involved in the company that is the subject of the criticism.

You can read the entire article here.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1179188/rivals-pressure-lujan-grisham.html?fb_action_ids=1796587083808968&fb_action_types=og.likes

The Congresswoman defended her work with the company as a critical way to help New Mexicans who have been denied health care coverage.

Further, when she was first elected to congress, and before she divested her interest in the company, the U.S. House Ethics Committee reviewed her ownership interest and the panel found her to be in compliance with House ethics rules.

For many years and long before she ever went to congress, Congresswoman Lujan Grisham Lujan has been a strong advocate of health care coverage for the poor and repeatedly supported Obama Care.

HAIL MARY PASS

This is what you call a political Hail Mary pass made 30 seconds left in the game.

The problem is that the score is not even going to be close and it is more for show when a “blowout” is inevitable.

Just a few days ago the Albuquerque Journal released its one and only poll in the Democratic party primary race.

You can read the full Albuquerque Journal article on the poll here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1177219/journal-poll-big-lead-for-lujan-grisham-us-representative-has-almost-4to1-margin-over-closest-challenger.html

The results of the poll are as follows

Congresswoman Michelle Lujan Gisham: 57%
Las Cruces State Senator Joe Cervantes: 9%
Albuquerque Businessman Jeff Apodaca: 15%

UNDECIDED: 19%

COMMENTARY

Michelle Lujan Grisham Lujan began her quest very early, has done her homework and clearly the most qualified candidate for Governor.

Both Cervantes and Apodaca are basically attacking Lujan Grisham hoping to try get the lion’s share of the 19% undecided, but to win the nomination they need to cut into her commanding lead, which is not at all likely and not with these type of tactics which are so easily refuted.

Michelle Grisham Lujan is extremely well like not only in Bernalillo County but throughout the state.

The attacks come four days before the election where 25% of the vote has already been cast because of early voting.

Another problem is the hail mary pass is being made to the next team up for the championship.

Steave Pearce no doubt is enjoying every minute and taking notes.

Democrats are our own worst enemy when we spend money infighting such as this and can wind up benefiting the opposition in November.

I do not think the New Mexico Democratic Party is ever going to realize it could win every election if it would only start putting the greater need above personal agendas.

As the saying goes, Democrats elect Republicans when they do not vote.

I am beginning to hear that the Pearce strategy, in characteristic style, will now be to go “Trump” ala “Crooked Hillary” on the Congresswoman because Pearce cannot even come close to her credentials, talents and abilities.

What is very troubling is that Republican nominee Steve Pearce has a huge cash advantage that will be used to smear Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Pearce as lone GOP candidate running for governor has spent little for the primary as a result.

Pearce has more than $1.9 million in his campaign war chest and has received huge donations from oil industry executives, and you can expect that there will be more.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1179187/sole-gop-candidate-for-governor-has-big-cash-advantage-ex-rep-steve-pearce-who-has-received-large-donations-from-the-oil-industry-has-19m-in-account.html

Lujan Grisham has spent more than $3.2 million since entering the governor’s race in December 2016.

It is now being reported she has nearly $1.1 million in her campaign account, which is $800,000 short of what Steve Pearce has for the general election.

New Mexico voters will make another big mistake against their own best interests making Steve Pearce Governor and he will be even worse that Governor Susana Martinez.

Pearce will have his own problems with his defense and blind loyalty of President Donald Trump as I have outline in this blog article from earlier this year.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/01/13/congressman-steve-pearce-breaks-back-bending-over-to-defend-racist-trump/

No surprise at all that the police union and its president are standing by how officers handled a welfare check for a 7-year-old child allegedly abused by her parents.

Mayor Keller announced that an Internal Affairs investigation into how up to six APD police officers responded to a teacher’s concerned and call about the child’s blood stained underwear.

In a television interview, Albuquerque Police Officers’ Association president Shaun Willoughby said:

“We stand by due process. We stand by the process to investigate these, and that these officers have rights too and that those rights are honored.”

The entire interview can be seen here:

http://www.koat.com/article/apd-union-president-stands-by-officers-who-responded-to-7-year-old-s-welfare-check/20969459

What is pathetic is that Willouby stands by the actions of the investigating officers, when on the lapel camera video released it showed the officer talking to the child’s teacher and the police officer did not show the slightest sign of curiosity, concern nor desire to take the child’s underwear and go back and talk to the child to find out if something was wrong like he had done just hours earlier.

The fact that the child was reported by the teacher to have been unkept, dirty and smelling of urine time and again and had blood stained underwear was sure the hell not “speculation” of child neglect and screamed out something was happening to the child, yet the officers did nothing.

The teacher testified in court that the APD officer told her that the child’s underwear was not kept in a secured place, that the court would have a field day with that, and that he could not tag it into evidence and for those reasons the officer trashed the blood stained underwear of the child.

Keller and APD interim Chief Mike Geier announce the department will begin implementing policy changes to improve the way things are done to avoid missteps on how child welfare calls are handled by APD.

The policy changes will include how evidence is handled, how body camera footage is retained and how officers are trained to conduct trauma-informed interviews.

Keller said during the press conference the policies aim to reform what he called an “old culture” within APD.

In response to the Mayor, Willoughby proceeds to “pop off” and says the “so-called old culture” has already been tackled since the U.S. Department of Justice began investigating APD’s practices.

That “so-called culture” Willoughby was referring to was the “culture of aggression” found within APD that has resulted in 32 police officer involved shootings and $62 million paid in settlements for civil rights violations.

The police union and its president have been part of the problem when it comes to the DOJ consent decree and implementation of the reforms and they have resisted change.

The police union has attended the court hearing and has participated in the rewrite of the use of force policies and deadly force policies and contributed to the delay in negotiations and implementation of city policies mandated by the consent decree.

Every time the union president speaks before the federal court, he complains and objects to the reforms.

The police union and its president also need to standby the department motto of “to serve and protect”, especially when it comes to the children of our community.