The Keller Administration is proposing to spend $88 million dollars, over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures, to hire 322 sworn officers and expand APD from 878 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers.

The plan is to implement a hiring and recruitment program to offer incentives, pay raises and bonuses to join or return to APD in order to return to community-based policing.

For the first fiscal year of the four-year plan, the 2018-2019 budget provides for increasing funding from 1,000 sworn police to 1,040, not much of an increase the first year.

Notwithstanding the existing funding for 1,000 sworn police, APD at the beginning of 2018 had 878 sworn police.

If the past 8-year history with the APD Academy is any reflection of what will happen, the APD Academy will be lucky to hire and train enough cadets just to keep up with retirements.

The number of sworn police officers has dropped dramatically from 1,100 full time sworn police in 2009 to 878 at the beginning of 2018.

In order to increase APD from the current 878 sworn police to 1,040 sworn by this time next year, the APD Police Academy will need to keep up with expected retirements and will have to hire at least 162 new officers either as new recruits or as lateral hires.

Based on APD Academy past performance over the last few years, the Police Academy will not be able to meet the goal.

1,000 to 1,200 applicants are needed to get a class of 40 cadets.

In 2016, the APD Academy graduated more than 90 cadets but because of retirements and other departures, the department had a net gain of six (6) officers.

According to the status quo budget projections, the Keller Administration claims there will be virtually no increase in growth without spending $88 million dollars to attempt expansion.

The 2018-2019 fiscal year budget reports the following number of cadet graduates over the last few years as follows:

Actual number of cadet graduates for fiscal year 2016-2017: 52
In 2016, APD had 90 retirements
Actual number of cadet graduates for fiscal year 2017-2018: 43
The net gain in 2017 was almost zero.
Approved number of cadet graduates for fiscal year 2018-2019: 80
Mid-Year number of cadet graduates for fiscal year 2018-2019: 24
Proposed number of approved cadet graduates for fiscal year 2019-2020: 100
At the beginning of 2018, APD had 878 sworn police officers.

A “Status Quo Projection” for Number of APD Officers was included in an APD expansion plan presented in a budget analysis as follows:

Starting Officer Count each year for the next four years:

2018: 880
2019: 872
2020: 864
2021: 857

Annual New Recruits each year for the next four years: 56 per year for a total of 224
Annual Lateral Recruits each year for the next four years: 2 per year for a total of 8
Total Annual Recruits each year for the next four years: 58 per year for a total of 232
Annual Retirements each year for the next four years: 41 per year for a total of 164
Annual Resignations each year for the next four years: 24 per year for a total of 96
Total Annual Attrition each year for the next four years: 65 per year for a total of 260
Net Loss each year for the next four years: 8 per year for a total of 32

Remaining Officers each year for the next 4 years:

2018: 872
2019: 864
2019: 857
2020: 849

The status quo projections suggest APD will virtually have no increase in growth without expending $88 million dollars in to attempt to expand the size of the department.

If APD has the same number of retirements and other departures that it had last year, the the numbers show the department’s sworn officer count will shrink.

APD insiders are saying moral within the Department has improved somewhat, but not enough to keep another large wave of retirements come July 1, 2018 when the new fiscal year begins.

Retirement paperwork for police retirements need to be submitted before July 1, 2018 to allow a retiree to be eligible for cost of living adjustments (COLA) within two years and to cash out or be paid unused accumulated annual and sick leave.

SHOWING AN INTEREST IS NOT AN APPLICATION

On February 6, 2018, it was reported that two thirds of Albuquerque Police Academy applicants do not show up for testing to get into the APD academy.

http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-police-apd-recruitment-testing/4774021/?cat=500

APD is having is significant problems filling unfilled positions and the difficulty in growing the department even with APD offering a $5,000 sign-on bonus for new hires.

According to an APD spokesperson 2,551 cadet “interest cards” were submitted by people online in 2017.

Of the 2,551 interest cards submitted, 1,479 were out-of-state applicants which reflects a healthy interest of people at least willing to consider coming to Albuquerque and beginning a law enforcement career.

Saying that there were 2,551 “interest cards” filled out is misleading and does not mean actual applicants.

Of the 2,551-people showing an interest in applying, 2,050 qualified to take the academy test but only 606 showed up for the testing.

It is a three-day testing process which explains why there are so many no shows.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS TO BE AN APD COP

All prospective Albuquerque Police Department officers must meet the following eligibility criteria:

1. Be a US citizen and at least 21 years old at the time of police academy graduation
2. Have a high school diploma or GED and possess a valid driver’s license.
3. Applicants must have completed a minimum of 32 college credits unless the applicant has at least of two years of experience with and received an honorable discharge from the United States military.
4. Two years of continuous service as an Albuquerque police service aid or prisoner transport officer or five years of continuous service in a government or private sector position may also qualify for a waiver of the college credit requirement.
5. Immediate disqualification occurs if an applicant has a felony conviction, has been convicted of domestic violence, or has been convicted of a misdemeanor within three years of the application date.

(NOTE: A misdemeanor charge or conviction for small amount of marijuana can disqualify an applicant.)

STEPS TO BECOME AND ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICER

Having the “minimum” qualifications to be an Albuquerque Police Officer only gives you an opportunity to test for the job.

The actual steps that must be taken to become an Albuquerque Police Officer are complicated and are as follows:

1. Meet the minimum qualifications for prospective officers and verify your eligibility by submitting an interest card to the Albuquerque Police Department.
2. Take the City Entrance Exam, which is similar to a civil service exam.
3. Submit a personal history statement.
4. Pass a physical abilities test.
5. Take the Nelson-Denny Reading Test (Note: this is a multiple-choice test measuring skill in vocabulary and reading.)
6. Submit the required personal documents, such as a credit report and photograph.
7. Complete a written psychological evaluation and background investigation.
8. Take a polygraph exam.
9. Complete a psychological interview.
10. Attend a panel interview with the Chief’s Selection Committee.
11. Complete a medical exam and drug screen.
12. Accept a conditional hire offer and attend the police academy.
13. Begin working as an Albuquerque patrol officer and [completing six months of patrol work with another sworn officer].

https://www.criminaljusticedegreeschools.com/criminal-justice-resources/police-departments-by-metro-area/albuquerque-officer-requirements/#requirements.

TWO REQUIREMENTS THAT SHOULD BE ELIMINATED

Approximately fifteen years ago, the minimum of 32 college credit requirement was added as a minimum entry requirement thereby excluding many individuals from being able to apply.

The rationale for the college credit requirement was that it would mean recruiting a higher quality of applicant and make better police officers.

A person’s education level does not always reflect intelligence nor how a person will react under pressure, especially when a life is in danger and you have to make life and death decisions.

The Albuquerque Police Academy is a six-month academy that requires the successful completion of physical and mental training and screening.

The academy has mandatory attendance of academic classes, in standard operating procedures, criminal procedure and the law with “constitutional policing” emphasized.

The college credit requirement needs to be revisited and determined if it is really necessary given the amount of training and education mandated by the academy.

Another requirement is passing a “polygraph” examine.

It is well settled law that the results “polygraph” examines are not admissible in court unless agreed to by the parties primarily because such examines are considered unreliable.

The rationale for the polygraph exam being evidence of a person’s propensity to lie is highly questionable and it is one requirement that should be revisited.

Eliminating the “college credit” requirement as well as the “polygraph test” would increase the final pool of applicants and not be a lowering of standards.

APD STAFFING LEVELS

In 2009, APD was fully staffed at 1,100 police officers.

In 2009, APD command staff determined and recommended to the Mayor Martin Chavez that a staffing level of 1,200 officers was needed for a population the size of Albuquerque in order fully implement community-based policing.

The December 11, 2015 Albuquerque Police Department Comprehensive Staffing Assessment and Resource Study prepared by Alexander Weiss for the Department of Justice concluded that APD needs at least 1,000 sworn officers.

The Weiss report concluded 1,000 sworn police officers were sufficient for Albuquerque provided that APD officers did not respond to certain low priority calls such as minor traffic accidents or false alarm calls.

APD cannot recruit and hire enough officers to keep the department at the current funded 1,000 level of sworn officers.

PRPOSED APD RECRUITMENT STRATEGY

The Keller Administration has developed a detailed recruitment strategy that has three specific components:

A. A program to attract new recruits.
B. A Program to attract lateral hires from other law enforcement agencies.
C. A Program to retain existing APD police by convincing them not to retire.

A. PROGRAM TO ATTRACT NEW RECRUITS
To attract new recruits, APD is proposing the following:

1. Institute and broaden hiring and referral bonuses. The total cost of adding new officers to the Police Department depends on the extent to which APD uses increased pay, longevity incentives, incentives for new recruits, and other incentive to increase sworn personnel numbers.
2. Create an APD Intern “PSA2 Plan” Program to keep a connection with applicants who were rejected for reasons that can be corrected over time such as credit scores, physical abilities, etc.
3. Increase recruiting and background check staff to expedite in order to clear more candidates for the police academy.
4. Produce recruitment videos and ads to be used during movie theatre showings or on local television stations during active recruitment cycle. Video could also be shared on social media.
5. Off-site testing for the Academy.
6. Host a Law Enforcement Explorer Program and other outreach programs for youth.
7. Reconsider educational requirements to allow recruitment of officers to temporarily defer the college credit requirements and meet the requirement within reasonable time frames following graduation from the police academy
8. Formalize a CNM Pipeline-apprentice program.
9. Morale building initiatives including parking, re-examining take home vehicle restrictions, reasonable tattoo standards and other issues important to frontline officers.

B. A PROGRAM TO ATTRACT MORE “LATERALS” FROM OTHER AGENCIES

To attract more “laterals”, the Keller Administration is proposing as follows:

1. Create lateral transfer program with career development program to allow certified law enforcement officers to be hired and placed at salary levels commensurate with their training and experience.
2. Use strategic and targeted longevity increases for recruitment of lateral officers in order to adequately compensate them for their law enforcement time and experience.
3. Reach out to recently retired APD or other New Mexico law enforcement officers with incentive plan to return to the department.

C. A PROGRAM TO RETAIN EXISTING PERSONNEL

To retain more existing officers from leaving for other police departments or retiring, the Keller Administration is proposing:

1. Increasing overall compensation to police officers.
All sworn police officers, including management, are paid on an hourly basis. What should
2. Adopt a flexible shift schedule for officers assigned to field services division.
3. Provide diversified training offerings.
4. Institute other non monetary measures designed to improve morale.

THE DEVIL IS IN THE DETAILS

In order for the Keller Administration expansion plan to be successful, the pool of applicants must be enlarged which has always proven to be very problematic for the APD Academy.

Recruiting a younger, new generation of sworn police officers and growing the size of the police department has become very difficult and unachievable for any number of reasons.

The number of APD sworn officers has fallen from 1,100 officers to 878 over the past eight years for any number of reasons including:

1. Extreme low morale resulting in experienced officers deciding to retire sooner than later or going to other law enforcement agencies.
2. Changes in the Public Employee Retirement Association benefits.
3. Failed APD management by the previous administration.
4. Poor Working conditions as a result of heavy workloads and caseloads.
5. Intense scrutiny by the Department of Justice resulting in the DOJ consent decree.
6. Terminations and disciplinary actions.
7. Inability to attract “lateral” transfers from other departments.

APD’s poor and negative national reputation and Albuquerque’s high violent crime rates are not conducive to attracting people who want to begin a long-term career in law enforcement in Albuquerque.

The DOJ oversight requirements and the increased dangers in being a police officer in a violent city such as Albuquerque has also had an impact on recruitment.

APD consistently has thousands of applicants that apply to the police academy every year as evidenced by the number of “interest cards” submitted which is the first step to applying with APD.

The overwhelming number of police academy applicants fail to get into the academy for any number of reasons.

Those reasons include:

1. Failing to meet minimum education and entry qualifications.
2. Unable to pass criminal background checks.
3. Unable to make it through psychological background analysis.
4. Failing the polygraph tests, lying on the on the applications or failing a credit check.

Once in the police academy, many cadets are unable to meet minimum physical requirements or unable to handle the training and academic requirements to graduate from the academy.
Graduating classes average 35 to 40 a class, well below the number to keep up with yearly retirements.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Keller promised to return to community-based policing with the hiring of 322 sworn police to reach a 1,200-staffing level within 4 years.

The Keller Administratio APD expansion plan looks good on paper, but based upon projected retirements, past performance of the APD Police Academy as well as the “pool of applicants” it remains to be seen if APD can even approach the the 1,040 figure planned for 2018-2019.

The proposed recruitment plan and strategy contains few programs that have not already been done in the past nor that are that much different from the past.

Applicants must have a strong desire to come to Albuquerque and begin a law enforcement career in what is considered on of the most violent cities in the country with soaring crime rates.

The main challenge is to expand the pool of recruits without compromising or reducing minimum qualifications and standards.

It will take years to grow the department to the 1,200-level desired to return to community-based policing.

Growing the department will take time, perhaps as much as 10 years.

Major changes in management and a major financial investment for recruitment are within the 2018-2019 budget submitted by the Keller Administration.

The downside is that it is going to be very difficult to expand the pool of qualified recruits and for APD to compete with other law enforcement agencies in the country.

The problem is that we have very little time left as a community to get a handle on our rising violent crime.

On April 1, 2018 Mayor Tim Keller submitted his first budget to the Albuquerque City Council.

For the next 2 months, public hearings will be held by the City Council with the final budget to be voted upon for approval.

The approved budget will to take effect July 1, 2018.

USE BUDGET PROCESS TO ESTABLISH PUBLIC SAFETY DEPARTMENT

It is during the budget approval hearing process that the Keller Administration has the best opportunity to propose sweeping and dramatic changes to improve public safety and the Albuquerque Police Department.

Mayor Tim Keller should propose the creation of a Department of Public Safety by executive order or executive communication to the Albuquerque City Council for their approval and funding during the budget process.

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 and would to 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.

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 number of sworn police officers patrolling the streets is currently 436 and it should be increased to at least 650 out of a fully staff department of 1,200.

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.

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 should 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.

IMPLEMENT NEW PAY SCALE STRUCTURE FOR THE RANK AND FILE POLICE

Albuquerque Police Officers are some of the best paid law enforcement in the country when you take into account their pay, longevity pay incentives, benefits and retirement pay.

Based on a recent police union annual survey, many APD police officers strongly dispute they are well paid, but in comparison to other city employees, they clearly are.

There are approximately 4,200 “classified” employees who work for the City of Albuquerque.

The average salary for classified city employees is $30,000 to $35,000 a year.

The average entry level Albuquerque patrolman first class makes $56,000 to $58,000 a year, depending on actual hours worked in a year.

Sworn police are paid an additional 15% for benefits, such as insurance, paid sick leave and annual leave and the positions are classified and a police officer cannot be terminated without cause.

A review of the city’s 250 top earners in 2017 reveals that 66 patrol officers first class were among the highest paid city employees earning a total of around $7.1 million in salary and overtime.

A total of 124 of the 250 top wage earners at city hall are employed by the Albuquerque Police Department.

The 124 include patrol officers, sergeants, lieutenants, commanders and deputy chiefs, assistant chief and the chief with annual pay ranging from $95,000 a year up to $166,699 a year.

(See City of Albuquerque web site for full list of 250 top city wage earners).

Five (5) APD Patrol Officers First Class are listed in the top 250 city wage workers as being paid $146,971, $145,180, $140,243, $137,817 and $125,061 respectfully making them the 6th, the 7th, the 10th, the 12th and the 20th highest paid employees at city hall.

There are listed 66 Patrol Officers First Class in the list of the top 250 wage earners at city hall earning in excess of $95,000 a year and as much as $146,000 a year.

The high pay paid to the Patrol Officers First Class can is attributed to excessive overtime paid.

Combined, there are a total of 91 APD sworn police officers and sergeants who are named in the top 250 wage earners and city hall.

All patrol officers first class are paid the exact same hourly rate of $27.50, no matter the number of years on the police force, therefore a four (4) year veteran of the force makes the same hourly wage as a ten (10) year veteran.

Every year, the police union makes the same old tired demand of increasing hourly wages to Patrol Officers First Class as a solution to improving morale and retention numbers.

Under the union contract, sworn police officers are paid a mandatory two hours of overtime and paid “time and a half” for court appearances such as arraignments of DWI offenders and police prosecution of misdemeanor cases.

A complete restructuring of APD hourly wages to base salaries should be implemented.

APD has an extensive history of exceeding its overtime budget by millions each year.

In 2017, APD exceeded its overtime budget by $4 million going from $9 million budgeted to $13 million spent.

APD should do away with hourly wage and time and a half for overtime for sworn police and implement a salary structure based on steps and years of service.

A mandatory “cap” on the amount overtime a sworn police officer can be paid needs to be established that is fair and equitable for all sworn personnel to make available overtime to more sworn police officers in the department.

A system of overtime bonuses to be paid at the end of the year for accumulated increments of overtime could be implement.

Shift time to work would remain the same, but if more time is needed to complete work load, the employee works it for the same salary with no overtime and a modification of shift times for court appearances.

Salaries and step increase take away inflating overtime and motivates employees to get more done within the allotted shift or modification of shift times.

Yearly experienced officer retention bonuses should be increase and made permanent.

CONCLUSION

High crime rates, public safety, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Department of Justice reforms, were the biggest issues debated in the 2017 Mayor’s race.

Mayor Tim Keller was swept into office with a 62% vote landslide giving him a mandate for change.

The Keller Administration is still in its infancy, and many voters are loyal with high hopes.

However, the tone and direction the Keller Administration is taking does not represent visionary change and frankly not much of change at all when it comes to APD management.

Mayor Keller has yet to take any substantive advantage of his election mandate win.

Voters are not seeing the sweeping, visionary change he promised with APD.

Notwithstanding, voters are expecting results and they are impatient after 8 years of failed APD leadership and high crime rates.

Mayor Keller should use some the considerable political capital given to him with his landslide win and seize the opportunity to make real change with the creation of a Department of Public Safety before the opportunity completely vanishes.

High crime rates, public safety, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Department of Justice reforms and civilian oversight were the biggest issues debated in the 2017 Mayor’s race.

Mayor Tim Keller has made personnel changes to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) in effort to turn the department around and reform it and implement the Department of Justice reforms.

If the Keller Administration continues on the same path with APD, what we are really dealing with are no major changes in management style.

THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE REFORMS

Mayor Keller made a very public and strong commitment to implementing the Department of Justice reforms mandated by the consent decree.

The effort has been concentrating on trying to satisfy the federal court appointed monitor which is nothing more than trying to reverse the course set by the Berry Administration.

During the last three years, the Berry administration and APD command staff resisted the consent decree reforms, even though they were the ones that took a full year to negotiate the consent decree at a cost of at least $1 million.

Since taking office, Keller has met with the Federal Monitor and appeared before the Federal Court assuring them both that APD will implement the mandated reforms.

Truth is, the Keller Administration and APD have absolutely no choice but to implement the reforms and comply with the stipulated agreement in order to get out from under the consent decree.

Thus far, implementing the consent decree has cost taxpayers at least $4 million.

You can anticipate the reform process will take at least another three years to implement and probably another $4 million.

Under the Keller Administration, the Federal Monitor is now providing “technical assistance” to APD.

Under the Keller Administration, APD has also created a compliance bureau.

Both the monitors technical assistance and the compliance bureau should have been done three years ago from the get go when the Federal monitor first came to Albuquerque.

NEW FACES ARE OLD FACES OF MANAGEMENT

Appointing a new interim police chief who is a retired APD commander and former Rio Rancho Police Chief really is not changing the traditional way of managing APD.

Chief Michael Geier’s appointment is a throwback to former APD Chief Ray Schulz and Gordon Eden management styles.

The obvious big difference is Chief Geier has stronger management skills that he performs with honesty and integrity free from personal vendetta or political agendas totally unlike his two predecessors.

Notwithstanding the work Chief Geier is performing, Candidate Keller said if elected, he would do a national search for a new APD Police Chief and make sweeping changes to the department.

However, after 5 months in office, there has been no announcement of a national search committee nor of the process that will be used to hire a permanent chief.

APD insiders and city hall observers are suggesting that Mayor Keller has already decided to keep Interim Chief Geier and make him permanent but Keller wants to hold off announcing that fact until both have been on the job a full year.

A few have said that it was during the election Keller made the commitment to Chief Geier to keep him a full year when he asked him to become interim Chief.

Replacing the APD command staff was a good start, but still there is nothing new about it.

Chief Geier and his Deputy Chiefs represent the “old guard” of APD style of management.

The “new” command staff is more of a reflection of APD’s past.

The “new” command staff, especially all the Deputy Chiefs, are not outsiders at all but have been with APD for some time.

The Deputy Chiefs of Police appointed by Mayor Keller include Harold Medina who retired from APD as commander after serving 20 years, Rogelio Banez who was the area commander in southwest Albuquerque, and Eric Garcia who was a Deputy Chief under APD Chief Gordon Eden.

Deputy Chief Eric Garcia has received high marks for his work on the DOJ reforms, but once again he was part of the previous administration’s management team and eligible to retire.

The new command staff do not reflect a new generation of police officer fully committed and trained in constitutional policing.

All the previous commanders under the Berry Administration have been shuffled around with a few retiring, with no firm commitment, at least not yet announced, that they will be kept as commanders.

There has been an elimination of the positions of Major which was created a mere 3 years ago by the previous administration.

The new reorganization of APD under Mayor Keller is a remarkable look alike consisting of even older faces replacing the old faces under former Chiefs Ray Schultz and Chief Gordon Eden and people brought up through the ranks of APD over the last 20 years.

WASTING MANGEMENT SKILLS

On February 25, 2018, the one thing Mayor Keller did different or new with the Department of Justice reforms was the appointment of former New Mexico State Treasurer, former Governor Bruce King’s Chief of Staff and former Mayor Chavez CAO James Lewis as “Senior Advisor for Public Safety.”

The appointment of Lewis was well received by the general public because James Lewis has an earned and proven track record of honesty and integrity.

James Lewis brings to the table institutional knowledge on how to clean up a trouble department as he did with the New Mexico State Treasurer’s Office, skills that are definitely needed with APD.

James Lewis was appointed to oversee police reform and help implement community policing but has been given little civilian authority over APD.

According to Mayor Keller in a news release at the time the appointment was made, James Lewis was appointed to “bring civilian perspectives to the table as our police department works to implement the Department of Justice reforms” thus reflecting merely an advisory role.

A civilian perspective is not what is needed and what is needed is genuine civilian oversight of APD.

James Lewis must work with APD as it formulates a community policing plan by making sure that affected communities are involved, especially minority communities, and he is also tasked with working with the Community Policing Councils.

James Lewis has been compelled to learn about the consent decree, the DOJ reforms as well as the community Policing Counsels seeing as none existed 10 years ago when he left city hall to work for President Barack Obama in his Administration.

APD is a far different department than it was 10 years ago when James Lewis was Chief Administrative Officer under Mayor Martin Chaves with a significant turnover in personnel due to retirements.

As a Public Employee Retirement Association (PERA) retiree, James Lewis was given a $75,000 contract that had to be approved by PERA.

Under PERA retirement laws and regulations in order to avoid having his retirement suspended, Mr. Lewis is prohibited from being a full-time city hall employee and prohibited from having any direct management duties and responsibilities over city personnel.

Mr. Lewis does not report directly to Mayor Tim Keller, but to the Chief Administrative Officer and he is assigned to the APD Compliance Bureau.

What is disappointing is that James Lewis has been given absolutely no authority nor control over APD policy and procedures.

James Lewis cannot make any meaningful policy decisions or give orders to the command staff relating to implementation of the DOJ reforms.

The limited or lack of authority given to James Lewis undercuts his ability and scope of what he can do to implement the DOJ reforms.

James Lewis has been relegated to a public relations position to represent the Administration at meetings and court proceedings.

Mayor Keller hopefully will recognize that there is a waste of management skills Mr. Lewis possesses that could be better used to rebuild APD.

UNION RESISTANCE TO USE OF FORCE POLICY CHANGES AND REFORMS

On Wednesday, December 6, 2017, Mayor Tim Keller did a press conference along with his newly appointed Interim Police Chief and command staff.

Before the Mayor Keller discussed his plans for APD, the mayor announced he had a few apologies to make.

What Mayor Keller said in part was:

“I also want to tell the victims of families who have been hurt by unnecessary use of force that I am sorry, and that we are sorry as your city government. We will work every day to restore trust in our community.”

“Secondly, we also need to apologize for our skyrocketing crime rates. I have heard from hundreds of folks who don’t feel safe and who worry about their families every day. And I want to acknowledge to all the victims of crime in this city and to all the families who have fallen victim to crime that we have let you down in many ways. Public safety is a critical function of government, and we must do better and it starts with owning up to that today.”

A few days after the Mayor’s press conference, Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) President and APD Police Officer Shaun Willoughby claimed his membership were upset that Mayor Keller apologized to the citizens of Albuquerque for APD’s “culture of excessive use of force” over the years.

What was particularly egregious and offensive was when Willouby declared Mayor Keller “dishonorable” and said on camera:

“It’s important to understand that the APOA is not a political organization. I’m actually employed by the cops that we serve. … I don’t think that the APOA having discontent is wrong or reminding anybody that we felt that, that was dishonorable to apologize for a group of police officers.”

What truly is dishonorable is the unions political motivations, especially when it comes to the DOJ reforms.

If APOA is not a political organization as Officer Willoughby claims, it had absolutely no business endorsing anyone for Mayor.

The police union endorsement in many respects politicized APD even further.

The police union is not a named party to the original civil lawsuit filed against the city and APD by the Department of Justice (DOJ) but the union is an intervenor in the lawsuit.

In general, intervention in a court procedure allows a nonparty, called intervenor to join ongoing litigation, either as a matter of right or at the discretion of the court, without the permission of the original litigants.

The police union was given a place at the negotiating table for the consent decree implementation and the drafting of new policies.

It took almost a full year to negotiate “use of force” and “use of deadly” force policies.

The police union demanded to be at the negotiating table for “use of force” and “use of deadly” force policies as an intervenor to give input and the union contributed to the delay.

The police union along with their attorney have appeared at virtually all the Federal Court monitor status conference hearings.

The police union president has never missed an opportunity to complain to the federal court during the Federal Monitor James Ginger status reports about how the DOJ consent decree and the use of force policies impedes and interferes with police officer’s ability to do their jobs.

When the previous Berry Administration attempted to have the Federal Monitor removed making false allegations he was biased, the police union remained silent and took no position on his removal.

When the federal judge publicly admonished the former city attorney and the former command staff for the secret recording of the federal monitor’s confidential conversations in order to allege he was biased, the union once again stood silent.

Recently, the police union released a poll of its membership and asked virtually no questions about the DOJ consent decree and the implementation of the reforms.

No questions were asked in the union poll if the use of force policies were working or interfering with job duties.

The result is that the union resistance to the change under the DOJ consent decree and in use of force policies undermines the implementation process of effective constitutional policing practices.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Tim Keller was swept into office with a 62% vote landslide giving him a mandate for change.

Keller promised to make sweeping, visionary change to APD and its management.

Mayor Keller needs to keep his promise made during the election and commence a Chief selection process and conduct a national search for a new Chief of Police and Deputy Chiefs to take over within in 8 months, or sooner.

Senior Advisor for Public Safety James Lewis is more than capable of leading the Chief selection process, deal with recruitment issues and expand and improve civilian oversight of APD.

The Keller Administration needs to consider and revisit what role the police union should actually play and be involved with in negotiating with the Department of Justice and implementation of the DOJ reforms.

Until a far more aggressive approach is taken, APD will be no better off a year from now than it is now, which will be a damn shame given that voters are expecting so much more.

“Isn’t it rich?
Are [Montano and Campbell] a pair?
[Campbell returning] here at last on the ground,
[Montano] in mid-air,
Where are the clowns?

Isn’t it bliss?
Don’t you approve?
One who keeps tearing around,
One who [must] move,
Where are the clowns?

Just when I’d stopped opening doors,
Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours
Making my entrance again with my usual flair
Sure of my lines
No one is there
There ought to be clowns?

Well maybe … there here.”

Hit song Lyrics by Judy Collins, 1975

I took a little liberty with the Judy Collins 1975 hit song “Send In The Clowns” after reading that newly appointed Albuquerque Planning Director David Campbell, and former and former Berry Chief of Staff Gilbert Montano as well former Mayor Richard Berry are back in the news with their usual flair and lines as the song says.

DIRECTOR OF PLANNING DAVID CAMBELL

David Campbell made his entrance again into the news with his “usual flair” by speaking to the Albuquerque Economic Forum and delivered his speech using a scene setter dubbing the city “Embassy Albuquerque”.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1163286/planning-director-delivers-scene-setter-for-abq-at-economic-forum.html

The Albuquerque Economic Forum has been around for at least 40 some years and has many members who consider themselves the “great movers and shakers” in the Albuquerque business community and its members are big promoters of all things Republican and the Republican Agenda and Republican candidates for office.

Least anyone forgets, attorney David Campbell was a land use attorney dealing with city zone changes and developments before he became City Attorney under Mayor Louis Saavedra.

Campbell worked and was schooled in how city government works by Saavedra’s Chief Administrative Officer Art Blummenthal, a long time City Hall insider.

In 2009, Campbell was appointed as the first Chief Administrative Officer under Mayor Richard Berry who was in office for the past 8 years.

After leaving the Berry Administration and Albuquerque to work for the foreign services as a diplomate to Mauritius and Ecuador, David Cambell has now again returned and is “so sure of his lines”.

What is so rich about David Campbell is the way he talked and channeled former Mayor Berry in his presentation and virtually all of the projects that Berry supported and promoted since 2011.

Campbell talked about all the new community assets built or established since 2011 such as the Lobo Rainforest Innovation Center, new Uptown retail, indoor entertainment venues, Hotel Chaco, Downtown Anasazi, One Central Downtown, Imperial Building and grocery Downtown and the Railyards Market, all projects I am sure the Economic Forum wanted to hear about.

The only thing Campbell did not talk about was the Berry legacy ART Bus project, and I am sure it is because it’s such a disaster.

Campbell cited crime as the single worst problem in the city affecting safety and economic development and said it is part of the civic narrative and the community’s self-image.

David Campbell made no mention of our high poverty rates, no mention of our troubled education system, no mention of our high jobless rates, and no mention of any viable economic development practices.

Campbell did go on to say the coverage of crime by local media contributes to the city’s negative self-talk and image when he said:

“This negatively impacts everyone’s feeling of individual safety and the city’s ability to attract employers. … Our self-talk about security is very devastating … Not that it doesn’t exist. Not that you don’t report on it, but it sure seems to me that we emphasize it in great measure perhaps more than what is good for us.”

What Campbell wants to ignore is that he and his former boss Mayor Richard Berry were clearly part of the problem of where we are today but prefers to blame the media instead of addressing the problems and how to solve the problems.

The City’s severe crime spike and wave began during the time David Campbell was Chief Administrative Officer under Berry when in 2010 there were 42 homicides and virtually all property crime statistics started to climb and climb fast.

It was Mr. Campbell who decided to leave Albuquerque to become a diplomate leaving APD in the hands of the likes of Darren White as Chief Public Safety Officer.

Since 2012, when Campbell was off being a diplomat, violent crime has dramatically increased in Albuquerque by 77%.

The increase in violent crime in 2017 was still significantly less than “nonfatal shootings” which increased by a whopping 148%.

According to APD statistics released for 2017, homicides increased by 23%, robberies increase by 43%, rapes increased by 21% and aggravated assaults increased 4.2%.

On December 28, 2017 Albuquerque reached a record high of 75 murders in one year.

When Campbell started to talk about crime, he once again channeled Mayor Richard Berry without mentioning whatsoever what has happened to the Albuquerque Police Department while he was away being a diplomate and the destruction of one of the finest police departments in the country.

In 2014, APD was found to have a “culture of aggression” by the Department of Justice resulting in consent decree mandated reforms.

Since the year Campbell left in City Hall in 2011 and returned in 2018 APD has gone from 1,100 sworn police to 878.

What is glaring and which is very suspect is that new Planning Director David Campbell failed to talk to the Economic Forum about the ABC-Z comprehensive plan which will have long term impact on our neighborhoods and favors developers.

The enactment of the comprehensive plan was a major priority of Republican Mayor Berry and the development community pushed hard for its enactment before Berry left office and no doubt the Economic Forum rejoiced in the enactment the ABC-Z comprehensive plan.

The ABC-Z project rewrite was nothing more than making “gentrification” an official city policy and the “gutting” of long standing sector development plans by the development community to repeal those sector development plans designed to protect neighborhoods and their character.

Campbell clearly failed to talk about any of the goals, priorities or proposed policy changes of the new Keller Administration.

One must wonder why David Campbell even bothered to talked to the Economic Forum, other than make sure he curried their favor and to reconnect with old buddies who no doubt want to talk to him about Albuquerque’s new ABC-Z comprehensive plan in private and answer their questions.

FORMER CHIEF OF STAFF GILBERT MONTANO

It has been reported that former Mayor Richard Berry’s chief of staff Gilbert Montaño has been hired as Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the city of New Orleans.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1163366/former-city-of-abq-administrator-named-cao-for-new-orleans.html

Montano was appointed CAO by the city’s first female mayor, LaToya Cantrell, a Democrat.

Montano said of his appointment:

“I felt that the opportunity was so great. … I’m humbled by the challenge.”

New Orleans is smaller than Albuquerque, with about 400,000 people, but along with its surrounding metropolitan area is about 1.3 million people.

Former Mayor Richard Berry commented about Montano’s new job appointment by saying in his usual positive flair:

“I’m excited for Gilbert and Mayor-elect Cantrell. … He proved himself here. … Albuquerque was one of the best-run cities in America for several years in a row, and he was really integral to our administration. Now New Orleans is going to have the benefit of his experience.”

Let us hope that New Orleans does NOT have the benefit of Gilbert Montano’s experience and being an intricate part of the Berry Administration and causing Albuquerque to be one of the worst run cities in the country.

City Hall’s finances went to hell in a handbasket under the leadership of Mayor Richard Berry and his Chief of Staff Gilbert Montano.

A December 2017 financial forecast for the City was released within days after Berry left office and reported that the City was facing a budget shortfall of nearly $40,000,000 next fiscal year.

(See December 17, 2017 Albuquerque Journal, page A-1, $40M budget deficit possible for ABQ; City Council to hear next fiscal year financial forecast Monday.)

www.abqjournal.com/1107793/40m-budget-deficit-possible-for-abq.html

The deficit was attributed to reduced gross receipts tax revenues going to the city, state cuts in appropriations to the city, additional operating costs for new capital projects built by the Berry administration, including the Berry’s disastrous legacy ART Bus project, and the need for increase funding for public safety and police just to mention a few.

On September 25, 2017, in his final Mayor State of the City speech, Mayor RJ Berry proclaimed “the state of our city is strong,” and said Albuquerque’s next mayor will “inherit an efficient city government that is living within its means, a growing economy and close to $1.2 billion in infrastructure projects that have been built or are in the pipeline”.

The September 25, 2017 headline proclaimed “A hallmark of physical responsibility”.

(See September 26, 2017 Albuquerque Journal, page A-1, “A hallmark of fiscal responsibility.”)

Berry left the City’s finances and condition so bad and with the $40 million-dollar deficit to the point that the City Council was forced to increase gross receipts tax to generate $55 million a year to deal with the deficits and expansion of public safety.

Contributing factors to the $40 million projected deficit include the following Berry piles to clean up by Keller:

$2.3 million in lost funding due to the phaseout of “hold harmless” payments from the State. “Hold harmless” payments were being made to cities and counties to compensate them for revenue funding they lost when the state eliminated the gross receipts tax on food and medicine. Mayor Richard Berry supported the elimination of the “hold harmless” payments made to the city to the detriment of his own city.

$7.2 million in operating costs for new capital projects that will be coming online, including the Albuquerque Rapid Transit project. This does not take into account the $75 million in federal funding that has yet to materialize for the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) project now costing $134 million instead of $129 million. Keller went to Washington in January and see if he could get the money promised and there is still no guarantee of getting anything from Congress.

So much for Berry’s “a hallmark of fiscal responsibility” and Albuquerque being one of the best run cities in the country during his time in office.

CONCLUSION

Congratulations are in order for David Campbell for returning to city hall, but I suggest he find out what Mayor Keller’s priorities are all about and especially verse himself in the content of the ABC-Z comprehensive plan seeing as he will be the one most responsible for enforcing it.

Congratulations are also in order to Gilbert Montano for being able to come down from “mid air” and land on his feet after five months of looking for a job.

Congratulations to former Mayor Richard Berry for keeping his rose-colored glasses clean and opening doors for his former employees who continue to have his back.

My apologies also go to Judy Collins.

Who knows, if things do not work out for David Campbell or Richard Berry in Albuquerque, they can go work for Gilbert Montano in New Orleans.

You can send in the clowns now, but maybe there still here.

Last year, a federal lawsuit was brought by a woman whose car was seized by the city after her son was arrested for driving it while intoxicated.

On March 31, 2018, the federal judge in the case found that the city’s 25-year-old civil vehicle forfeiture ordinance violated the woman’s right to due process of law and the state’s property forfeiture law requiring a criminal conviction before government seizure.

The federal court found the state’s 2015 forfeiture law “was strong evidence of the New Mexico Legislature’s intent to preclude municipalities from creating a civil forfeiture scheme.”

The City Attorney’s Office needs to ask the court to reconsider the ruling or appeal it.

Forfeiture of a vehicle is a legitimate and effective penalty for DWI that the New Mexico legislature has not precluded but actaully allows cities to impose penalties.

The New Mexico Legislature has empowered municipalities to enact ordinances to “define a nuisance, abate a nuisance and impose penalties upon a person who creates or allows a nuisance to exist”. (3-18-17 NMSA 1978)

The city vehicle forfeiture ordinance relies upon the city’s authority under state law to declare as a nuisance vehicles used by individuals arrested for a second DWI.

The city initiates civil administrative and civil court actions to secure legal title to the vehicles and then sells the vehicles at auction.

The civil vehicle forfeiture ordinance does have an “innocent owners” defense provision which allows the owner to show they were not driving the vehicle at the time of the DWI arrest in order have the vehicle released back to them.

A car owner can request a hearing before an administrative law judge for return of their vehicle and enter into civil settlement agreements for “booting” the vehicle for a period of time and pay costs of seizure and impoundment.

The Keller Administration had a knee jerk reaction to the court ruling in the pending federal case and announced within a week after the order was filed it will no longer seize cars from suspected drunk drivers who have not been convicted of a pending DWI charge.

The Keller Administration initial reaction to the forfeiture program was ill advised given the city’s high DWI rates and the failure of our criminal justice system to deal with the city’s out of control DWI rates.

The statistics from the Bernalillo County Metro Court on DWI arrests and convictions are alarming and reveal just how bad things are with APD being unable to patrol our streets, get drunks off the road, make DWI arrests, prosecute DWI cases and impound and seize vehicles.

Albuquerque and New Mexico have some of the highest DWI rates in the country.

According to a January 29, 2018 report published by the Albuquerque Journal, the odds of beating criminal DWI charges in Bernalillo County are about 50-50.

According to the report, 42 percent of all DWI cases resolved in Metropolitan Court last year were dismissed either by judges or prosecutors while 58 percent ended with a guilty verdict or plea.

In 2016, the percentages favored defendants with 55 percent of drunken driving cases being dismissed compared to 45 percent ending in pleas or convictions.

At one time the DWI conviction rate were in the 85% to 90% range by the Bernalillo County District Attorney Office.

The Keller Administration claims it will submit to the city council proposed changes to the vehicle forfeiture ordinance.

APD will continue seize and impound vehicles at the time of arrest as they do now with repeat drunk drivers arrested in their own cars.

Proposed changes to the policy were announced that will provide more protections to those who were not driving when their vehicle was seized.

A major change in policy is that the city will not seek to take ownership of the vehicle and sell it at auction unless the suspect is convicted.

What the changes in the new policy means is that unless the actual owner is sitting in the front seat of their car drunk, the city will probably not be initiating vehicle forfeiture proceeding nor seeking boot agreements from the car owner.

The current nuisance abatement ordinance allows civil actions to be filed against real property to secure injunctive relief.

A viable option would be to amend the city’s existing nuisance abatement ordinance to allow civil nuisance abatement actions against vehicles whose owners have a history of prior DWI convictions without relying on the conviction of pending DWI charges.

Another option is to seek a change in State DWI penalty laws and allow judges to order a convicted DWI offenders car be forfeited.

Too many drunk drivers are not being held criminally accountable for their actions.

The city needs to be allowed to take civil actions to take away the very object they have used to violate the law and perhaps injure or kill someone.

There are 6 Democrats running for the First Congressional District being vacated by Mitchelle Lujan Grisham and they are:

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

New Mexico’s largest LGBT advocacy group Equality New Mexico has endorsed Debra Haaland for the Democratic nomination in the First Congressional District over openly gay Albuquerque City Councilor Pat Davis.

A few within the Albuquerque’s Gay Community are downright angry that Equality New Mexico did not endorse Pat Davis in the congressional race.

Davis supporters within the gay community have expressed the opinion that his long record of advocating for LGBT rights makes him more deserving of the endorsement.

One Davis supporter even went as far as to say “If our state’s largest LGBT organization can’t even stand with prominent and highly qualified gay elected officials, they shouldn’t expect other elected officials or LGBT citizens in the community to trust or support them.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/1161670/lgbt-group-endorses-haaland-for-congress.html

Adrian N. Carver, the executive director of Equality New Mexico, in defending the Haaland endorsement, said:

“[It was] a hard call [for Equality New Mexico’s Board] … We endorsed Deb because she has been a long and passionate advocate not only for Equality New Mexico for years, but she has demonstrated she can win the campaign and that her campaign is viable. … The importance of the First Congressional District is huge and we’re not in the business of electing somebody just because they are gay … We’re in the business of getting the best person who is best situated for our… issues.”

DIALING FOR DOLLARS

It is typical for “non-incumbent” congressional candidates, like all those running to replace Michelle Lujan Grisham, to allocate 4 to 6 hours a day making phone calls to raise as much money as they can.

They call donors off of lists curried from other successful campaigns, lists of reliable contributors, lists of party activists, lists of national associations and corporations that may have the same philosophy, and lists of friends and associates, and any lists they can get their hands on.

It’s called “dialing for dollars”.

Frankly, raising money to have enough money to run an effective campaign sucks, especially when you have to turn the donations over to professional campaign consultants who then bleed you dry.

Candidate’s remaining time after “dialing for dollars” is allocated to attend public and social functions, fundraisers, house parties and work with political campaign advisors.

What a candidate for congress can raise is a true indicator if they are viable candidates, especially when it comes to federal races like US Senate and US House of Representatives.

From review of Federal Election campaign finance forms, Pat Davis ranks #5 out of six candidates running for congress.

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

1. Former State Democratic Candidate Debra Haaland’s reported raising over $684,030 and has $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 has $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 has $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 has $139,285 on hand.

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

5. Pat Davis reported raising $293,970 and has $61,113 on hand.

http://docquery.fec.gov/cgi-bin/forms/C00636761/1223993/

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

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

HIGH NAME ID MINUS HIGH NEGATIVES EQUALS NO DONATIONS

According to campaign polling, Pat Davis has the highest name identification (ID) than all the other candidates.

His high name ID is likely attributable to the media coverage he gets as an Albuquerque City Councilor and for that reason he should be doing better, but he is not.

The problem is that Pat Davis has high negatives according to a few polls.

Pat Davis commissioned an “auto-phone” opinion poll with Public Policy Poll (PPP) with the link to the full poll here:

https://www.scribd.com/document/377327356/New-Mexico-1-Results

The poll was conducted the weekend of Friday, April 13, 2018 to Sunday, April 15, 2018 and consisted of contacting 508 registered democrats with the poll having a margin of error of 4.4%.

According to the poll, Debra Haaland and Antoinette Sedillo Lopez are tied with 15%.

Pat Davis polled at 11% and Damon Martinez polled at 7%.

Paul Moya and Damian Lara polled in single digits at 4% each.

A whopping 43% of those polled were undecided.

With a field of 6 candidates, 43% of undecided taken approximately six weeks before the primary is very high.

With so many undecided, campaign funding for a media over the next few weeks before the June 5 primary will be critical and likely be the determining factor in winning the primary.

Pat Davis has not been able to raise the kind of money needed to run for congress because he is not as well liked within the gay community nor among progressive Democrats as he and his supporters think he is, something he has now found out from his fund raising, his poll numbers and now his failure to get the Equality New Mexico endorsement.

Davis is viewed by many as more of an opportunist that has used the organization he helped create, Progress Now, to curry favor and further his own personal ambitions from the start, first by running for Bernalillo County Sherriff, then to get elected to City Council just 2 years ago and now to run for US Congress.

DAVIS CAN RUN FOR CONGRESS BUT CAN NOT HIDE FROM HIS RECORD

One of the biggest reasons why Pat Davis is not being supported by many progressives is his actions and voting record on the Albuquerque City Council.

Pat Davis agreed with the former Republican Berry Administration and voted with the Republican City Councilors on so many resolutions and ordinances you would think Pat Davis was in fact a Republican.

Just 7 of the many egregious specifics regarding Pat Davis’s action and voting record on the Albuquerque City Council that go against the core of Democratic principles include:

1. Davis has voted repeatedly for and supported Republican Mayor Berry’s ART Bus project and funding. Davis refused to advocate to put ART on the ballot for public approval, telling his constituents at a forum that there was nothing he could do and it was the Mayor’s project. Davis voted to spend federal grant money that had yet to be appropriated by congress. The ART Bus project has been a total disaster resulting the destruction of the character of Route 66 and having a negative impact and resulting in several businesses going out of business. A few Nob Hill businesses, including many progressives, at one time advocated a recall of his election because of his support for ART.

2. The Albuquerque City Council plays a crucial oversight role of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) including controlling its budget. Davis has done nothing when it comes to Albuquerque Police Department (APD) reforms and has never challenged the APD command staff in any meaningful way demanding compliance with the Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree reforms. Each time the Federal Monitor has presented his critical reports of APD to the City Council, Davis has been silent and has declined to demand accountability from the Mayor and hold the APD command staff responsible for dragging their feet on the reforms. Davis has failed to attend any of the federal court hearings on the consent decree.

3. Davis voted for the city ordinance amendments requiring equal pay for woman but failed to demand more. The amendments to the equal pay for woman ordinance sounded good and look good on paper but accomplished very little. The truth is that the equal pay for woman ordinance only applies to city contracts and those who do business with the city. The ordinance is voluntary and gives preferential treatment on city contracts to those who voluntarily comply. The equal pay for woman ordinance should apply to all businesses licensed to do business in Albuquerque, it should be mandatory for all businesses and enforced by city planning that issues business licenses and could be made so by the city council.

4. Davis voted for the final adoption of the ABC-Z comprehensive plan which will have long term impact on our neighborhoods and favors developers. The enactment of the comprehensive plan was a major priority of Republican Mayor Berry and the development community pushed hard for its enactment before Berry left office. The ABC-Z project rewrite was nothing more than making “gentrification” an official city policy and the “gutting” of long standing sector development plans by the development community to repeal those sector development plans designed to protect neighborhoods and their character.

5. When he served on a task force to overhaul Albuquerque’s public fiancé law, Pat Davis declined to advocate meaningful changes to our public finance laws making it easier for candidates to qualify for public finance. The only change he agreed to was increasing the amount of money candidates get and not the process of collecting the donations to qualify and not expanding the time to collect qualifying donations. The lack of changes to the public finance laws favors incumbents like Pat Davis.

6. Davis advocated for enactment of the Healthy Workforce ordinance by voters which would have mandate the pay of sick leave by employers and was always there for a photo op with those organizations who pushed to get it on the ballot. However, Davis has never demanded the City Attorney’s office enforce the existing Albuquerque minimum wage ordinance, even when workers were forced to sue their employers. Davis claims to be in favor of increasing the minimum wage, but he has never demanded the Mayor nor the City Attorney to enforce the current city ordinance enacted by voters with a 2 to 1 margin.

7. Davis attempted to privatize certain APD law enforcement functions with the hiring of a private security company that would employ 25 retired law enforcement personnel who would do field service work and reports for APD. Davis withdrew the bill after it was reported that the no bid contract for $1 million dollars would go to co-sponsor Republican City Councilor Brad Winter’s former campaign manager.

ACTING NON-PARTISAN

What I am sick of are Democrats acting and talking like Republicans especially after they get elected to positions like Mayor and City Council and arguing that they are being “nonpartisan”.

No doubt City Councilor Pat Davis will say that the City Council is “non-partisan” and he needed to cooperate with the Republican Mayor and Republican City Councilors.

However, there is a significant difference between cooperating and working with other elected officials from the opposite party and then being hypocritical and going against your own basic political philosophy of what you believe to be true and then turning around and acting and voting against that what you claim to believe in.

During his tenure on the City Council, Pat Davis has talked like a Democrat but voted like a Republican.

CONCLUSION

As it stood at the end of March, Pat Davis has a little over $61, 000 for the last few weeks of the primary campaign compared to Antoinette Sedillo-Lopez, $456,799, Debra Haaland, $347,394, Damon Martinez, $276,532, Paul Moya, $161,721 and Damian Lara, $139,285.

Whatever city wide “door to door” campaign Davis can salvage from his Progress Now contacts, it is not likely to be successful enough to overcome his negatives and pull off an upset against all the other better financed candidates.

As City Councilor Pat Davis campaigns for the US Congress as a progressive Democrat and talks like a progressive Democrat, he needs to be asked by Democratic Party voters if once elected to the US Congress will he vote and act like a Republican as he has done so many times during his very short tenure on the Albuquerque City Council.

Until the June 5 primary, all Democrats may want to avoid answering their phones until the primary is over unless you want to be solicited for campaign donations from Pat Davis or for that matter from any one of the other 5 candidates running for congress.

FOR MORE ON PAT DAVIS SEE:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/02/27/pat-davis-i-want-the-credit-because-i-am-running-for-congress/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/06/06/dino-davis-has-republican-conscious/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/06/07/pat-davis-can-run-for-congress-but-cant-hide-from-his-record/