A 20-acre complex on the far west side, way beyond city limits, to provide feeding, housing, health care, treatment for mental illnesses and drug and alcohol addictions, social services, medical care and job training, and job placement to Albuquerque’s homeless community is being proposed by a newly formed business coalition called the Greater Albuquerque Business Alliance (GABA).

Media coverage can be reviewed here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1200884/business-alliance-proposes-solution-to-citys-growing-homeless-problem.html

https://www.koat.com/article/downtown-abq-business-owners-propose-plan-to-address-homeless-population/22555568

The coalition so far consists of 30 Downtown business owners in areas where homeless service providers are located.

The ultimate goal is to create a single large “campus” or a complex for the homeless thereby eliminating the need for homeless providers concentrated in the downtown area or scattered throughout the city next to businesses or residential areas.

Sylvia Ortiz Spence, who operates Silverado Apparel and Home at 1318 Fourth NW, said businesses in the neighborhoods where the homeless service providers are located are negatively affected.

According to Spence: “What we want to create is one centralized facility in a safe place, somewhere that all the services can be located … so we can get these people introduced back into society.”

A suggested location for the campus is the far West Side near where the Metropolitan Detention Center is currently located.

The project is being called “Homeless Vision 2018”.

Connie Vigil, the President of GABA, is quoted as saying:

“The homeless [in Albuquerque] have not been seriously cared for the way they need to be. … There is homelessness and mental illness everywhere you look and crime is skyrocketing. The Downtown and surrounding areas are being seriously hurt. We need a real solution.”

Private attorney and member of the business coalition Gerald E. Bischoff said the current services provided to the homeless in the north Downtown area are inadequate.

According to Bischoff, a proposal by HopeWorks, formerly St. Martin’s, to build a 42-unit permanent housing site on its own campus as part of a multi-phase redesign project is a “band-aid” approach to solving Albuquerque’s homeless problem.

Bischoff gave the opinion that the 42-unit housing facility does not come close to addressing the housing needs for the estimated 1,400 to 2,000 homeless that can be found just in the Downtown neighborhoods alone.

The coalition is asking the city to slowdown the HopeWorks 42 unit project and analyze it along with the “Homeless Vision 2018” campus proposal.

The Greater Albuquerque Business Alliance (GABA) envisions that homeless service providers such as HopeWorks, Steelbridge, The Rock at Noon Day, Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless, as well as the City and County would become and be part of “Vision 2018” and all would be invited to enter into leases at the new campus facility.

GABA is asking the city to buy into the concept and assist with funding and identifying a location.

Ideally, the city or county would contribute land for the campus while the GABA business alliance would spearhead an initiative to find donors.

“Homeless Vision 2018” single-sight approach to provide services to the homeless is modeled after similar campuses in much larger cities such as San Antonio, Texas and as such are cost prohibitive for exclusive taxpayer city funding.

The GABA business coalition’s announced goal is to secure funding from large organizations such as Sandia National Laboratories, Intel and Kirtland Air Force Base, who might be inclined to provide funding, along with smaller businesses and individual donors.

ALBUQUERQUE HOMELESS COUNT

The City of Albuquerque ranks 32 in the country in population with a population of 545,852.

On January 23, 2017, the “Point in Time” (PIT) survey was conducted to determine how many people experience homelessness on a given night in Albuquerque, and to learn more about their specific needs.

The 2017 survey found that 1,318 people reported experiencing homelessness on the night of the count, which was an increase of 31 people over the 2015 PIT Count.

The 2015 survey count found 1, 287 people reported experiencing homelessness on the night of the count.

For 2017, 379 people self-reported as chronically homeless, which is an increase of 119 people over the 2015 PIT Count.

PIT counted 39 more people that self-reported as chronically homeless who were sheltered and 80 more people that self-report as chronically homeless who were unsheltered in 2017.

The full PIT report for Albuquerque can be read here:

http://www.nmceh.org/pages/reports/2017%20ABQ/2017%20PIT%20Count%20Report.pdf

“HAVEN FOR HOPE”

The City of San Antonio ranks 7th in the country in population with a population of 1,382,852 people.

On March 27, 2017, the South Alamo Regional Alliance for the Homeless conducted a yearly “Point In Time” survey to track San Antonio’s homeless population.

The San Antonio, Texas survey found that at least 2,700 displaced persons living in San Antonio, Bexar County, Texas.

The “Haven For Hope” located in San Antonio, Texas is a “one-stop shop” campus that’s dedicated to helping a county’s homeless population.

There are 30 agencies on the Haven For Hope 22-acre campus and it can house upwards of 4,000.

The services include housing, food, job training, child care and even kennels for pets, among other services.

Mental health and addiction treatment is done across the street from the campus.

It cost $101 million to build the campus complex and 60% of that came from private donations.

The campus has an operating budget of nearly $20 million a year.

According to annual statistics, the number of the unsheltered homeless population has decreased about 15% since Haven for Hope started in 2010.

Haven for Hope reports it has had about 2,700 graduates move to permanent housing.

About 4,600 others have moved into temporary housing such as in-housing treatment programs.

The campus has not solved San Antonio’s homeless issue.

The last homeless count showed about 2,800 people who are still unsheltered and considered homeless in the greater San Antonio area.

https://www.king5.com/article/news/local/homeless/san-antonios-homeless-solution-used-as-national-model/281-197477103

A PROJECT ALREADY IN THE WORKS

In 2014, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County voters overwhelmingly voted to approve and impose a one-eighth percent gross receipts tax to improve access to mental and behavioral health care services in the county and it was called the Mental Health Service Tax.

On May 24, 2018, it was announced that Albuquerque and Bernalillo County will be spending millions from the mental health service tax fund on a state-of-the-art project they hope will get the most chronically homeless people off the streets of Albuquerque for good.

The development is basically identical to GABA’s proposal, but obvioulsy on a smaller scale.

The idea is to build an all-in-one, 24-7 campus-like housing complex where people can live and get medical and social services on site.

A “request for proposal” (RFP) for the joint city and county homeless housing project was issued and if built, it would be a first of its kind in New Mexico.

According to the project RFP, the “priority population” will include individuals in four criteria including homelessness or severe housing instability, frequent admission to MDC’s psychiatric unit, frequent utilization of detox services, and frequent use of emergency medical service for behavioral health needs.

The project calls for developers to come up with a plan to build a 40-unit, apartment-style complex in Albuquerque that offers permanent housing alongside on-site professional medical and social help for its tenants.

According to one news report, the expectation is that the facility will be home for those who are chronically homeless and may deal with mental illness or substance abuse.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/city-county-partner-for-state-of-the-art-homeless-housing-treatment-complex/1197739863

Bernalillo County is also spending $1.3 million to develop and fully fund a Metropolitan Detention Center (MDC) Transition Planning and Re-entry Resource Center using funds from the Bernalillo County behavioral health tax fund.

The Re-entry Resource Center is designed to reach individuals who may have behavioral health challenges and a high need for resources, such as temporary shelter, food, and re-connecting with family members or community providers who can help former inmates gain footing after leaving jail.

CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE SERVICES TO THE HOMELESS

It is estimated that the City of Albuquerque has between 1,300 to 1,500 chronic homeless people.

The Family and Community Services Department is a key player in the City’s effort to end homelessness.

The Departments services include prevention, outreach, shelter and housing programs and supportive services.

The City of Albuquerque has at least 10 separate homeless service provider locations throughout the city.

The entire general fund budget for the Department of Family and Community Services is $39.9 million.

The $39.9 million is not just exclusive funding for services to the homeless.

The service offered by the Family and Community Services Department are directly provided by the city or by contract with nonprofit providers.

The services include social services, mental/behavioral health, homeless services, health care for the homeless, substance abuse treatment and prevention, multi-service centers, public housing, rent assistance, affordable housing development, and fair housing, just to mention a few.

The following homeless services are funded by the City of Albuquerque, HUD’s Continuum of Care grants, Emergency Shelter Grants, and other grants administered by the City of Albuquerque:

1. Emergency Shelters for short-term, immediate assistance for the homeless for men, women, families, emergency winter shelter and after hours shelter.

2. Transitional Housing assistance designed to transition from homelessness to permanent housing.

3. Permanent Supportive Housing for homeless individuals dealing with chronic mental illness or substance abuse issues

4. Childcare services for homeless families

5. Employment Services and job placement for homeless persons

6. Eviction Prevention or rental assistance and case management to prevent eviction and homelessness

7. Health Care services for homeless individuals and families

8. Meal program providing for homeless individuals and families in need

9. Motel Vouchers or temporary vouchers for homeless individuals with immediate medical issues and families with children, where emergency shelters cannot accommodate them.

10. The Albuquerque Heading Home program initiative which moves the most medically fragile and chronically homeless people off the streets and into permanent housing. Since its inception in 2011 to January, 2017, it has placed 650 people into housing that assists with housing and providing jobs.

COMMENTARY

As noble a goal as it is, the Greater Albuquerque Business Alliance (GABA) should not hold their breath that the city or county will endorse or fund a project that creates a 20-acre homeless “campus” in a remote and desolete section on the far west-side of the city to provide housing, drug treatment and social services to the city’s 1,500 plus homeless.

The immediate perception of the “Vision 2018” 20-acre complex on the far west side in the middle of nowhere is that it is an “out of sight, out of mind” approach to the homeless issue for removal of the homeless from downtown area.

Based on the Haven For Hope model of San Antonio, Texas, the Albuquerque’s homeless issue will not be completely solved even with such a campus.

All too often, we tend to forget our humanity and resent or even condemn the homeless for what we think they represent.

We fear and even condemn the homeless whenever they interfere with our lives at whatever level such as pandering for money on street medians, begging for food, acting erratic, acting emotionally unstable, and yes even when they are found sleeping in doorways and defecating in public.

We easily forget that the homeless are indeed human beings who may have lost all hope and all respect for themselves and are imprisoned for life in their own minds condemn to fight their demons until the very day they die.

One thing we should never forget is that the homeless do indeed have human rights to live as they choose, not as any one says, and they cannot just be arrested and housed like criminals or animals.

The homeless cannot be forced or ever required to do anything for their own benefit, or against their own free will or change their life unless they want to do it themselves.

Many homeless do not want to ever be reintroduced into society.

Many homeless have committed no crimes and all to often are the victims of crimes themselves, even being bludgeoned to death for fun and pleasure as Albuquerque has seen in the past few years when teenagers killed two Native Americans sleeping in a vacant lot .

Charitable organizations such as Joy Junction, HopeWorks, Steelbridge, The Rock at Noon Day, Albuquerque Healthcare for the Homeless, all provide services to the homeless and do so by being where the homeless can be found and where the homeless can reach and seek out and have easy access to their services.

One argument GABA will be confronted with is that the City, the County and charitable organizations are already doing all they can with the programs they have to assist the homeless.

Further, many of the existing charitable organizations such as Joy Junction will not want to enter into any kind of lease arrangement or relocate to remote areas when they already own city facilities out right in Albuquerque or Bernalillo County.

A problem that can easily be identified is that it will not be self-sustaining in the long run with private donations and that it will eventually have to be fully funded and operated by a government entity such as the city or county.

Albuquerque and New Mexico are a very poor city and state not known for huge corporate or private donations with few wealthy citizens.

Intel for example will in all probably be gone within a few years.

Our business community as represented by the Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) have never been known to be big time supporters to find solutions to the homelessness in Albuquerque and are far more interested in their organization membership profit margins.

A legitimate concern is that such a facility will run the risk of Albuquerque becoming a destination city for the homeless and increasing the city’s homeless population.

From a strictly cynical standpoint, such an ambitious project will require considerable courage and commitment seldom seen from elected officials to help those in serious need and in crisis who do not or will not ever vote.

In the long term, GABA fund raising efforts would probably be better served helping the various existing charitable organization that assist the homeless and work on projects with the city targeting and tackling the homeless in the downtown area.

********************************************************************

POST SCRIPT

JOY JUNCTION AND DR. JEREMY REYNOLDS REMEMBERED

On July 11th, 2018 Dr. Jeremy Reynolds, the founder of Joy Junction passed away passed away from cancer.

Dr. Reynolds was an exceptional individual who for 30 years went above and beyond the call of duty in helping Albuquerque’s homeless and relying on private fundraising.

On February 2, 1017, Dr. Reynolds wrote:

“The mindset of wanting to do something myself instead of waiting for someone else to do it, was in part, what moved me to create a different type of homeless shelter in our community – one for the entire family — where, notwithstanding space limitations, no one is turned away, no matter the time of day or situation.

This means that when a family of four comes through the door, we take them all in, regardless of gender, age, race, sexual orientation or religion.

Over the past 30-plus years, Joy Junction has grown to serve more than 10,000 meals each month, not including the more than 6,000 meals served by our mobile feeding unit called The Lifeline of Hope.

This service was started in 2009 to provide food, beverages and hygiene products to those who have shelter but very little else, and to individuals who for a variety of reasons live on the streets, where their “pillow” is often a concrete sidewalk.

In addition, recognizing that overnights are some of the most need-saturated times of the day, Joy Junction staff drive a van through the streets of Albuquerque between about 1 and 5 a.m. in search of anyone who might need assistance with food, water and when available, a blanket or sleeping bag.

Those small acts of kindness do make a difference, as some have showed.

At Joy Junction, we’ve made it our mission to not only provide basic needs like food and shelter, but also emotional and spiritual assistance so individuals can get back on their feet. In addition, guests at Joy Junction are welcome to stay as long as they need, so they can become “whole” again.”

Dr. Reynolds entire guest commentary on my blog entitled “It Takes A Village To Help The Homeless” can be read here:

It Takes A Village to Help the Homeless

On July 20, 2018, after a near full 8 months in office, Mayor Tim Keller finally unveiled his administration’s economic development strategy for the city.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1198935/mayor-unveils-economic-development-strategy-for-abq.html

Mayor Keller held a press conference at the Glorieta Station development downtown.

The Keller Economic Development plan has six areas it will focus on:

INCREMENT OF ONE: supporting homegrown entrepreneurship and “game-changer” business already in the community.

COMMENTARY: The operative word is “already” in the community but little mention of newly locally created startup businesses. The suggestion that new businesses to add one more employee (“an increment of one”) for the sake of economic development does not make much sense to a business owner who does not need the additional staff nor who cannot afford the additional overhead.

SMART RECRUITMENT: recruiting business in a strategic way. Recruitment outside of the state will focus on businesses that align with the city’s priorities.

COMMENTARY: The extent of financial incentives to be offered to businesses to be recruited will determine the extent of success and a businesses own priorities may not align with the city’s.

INTERNATIONAL BUSINESS: capitalizing on “unique placement” along two interstates with an international airport and foreign trade zone. Keller cited the Railyards as an example of the “Placemaking” initiative. In 2007, the city purchased the Railyards for $8.5 million and it is now being used for weekend markets and other events

COMMENTARY: This is identical to what I proposed 4 years ago when I ran for Mayor. Further, the north-south runway of the airport has now been taken out of all service and no longer exists having been graded away with an industrial park being developed on the city land.

CREATIVE ECONOMY & FILM: emphasizing culture, cuisine, art music and film industries as key to economic development. The Keller Administration wants to establish a code of conduct for film productions here.

COMMENTARY: For the past 16 years, the City’s Economic Development Department has had a “Film Industry Division” that has assisted the film industry with support services and it has been very successful.

INTERNATIONAL MARKETING: The city will continue to market itself to businesses internationally, targeting Israel, Singapore, Taiwan, Germany and Japan, and is exploring how to bring a direct flight to Guadalajara, Mexico, to the Albuquerque International Sunport.

COMMENTARY: Trying to market the city to the foreign countries listed may not make much sense in the age of Trump with the tariff wars and the Economic Development Department’s budget (see below: $199,000 for International Trade Program) is so meager as to be insignificant for international trade promotion. The word “international” referring to the Sunport is rather embarrassing seeing that in order to catch a plane for an international flight one must go to Chicago, Atlanta, New York or Washington, DC.

CITY BUYING LOCAL: Directing more government purchases to local businesses. City departments will be required to seek out local vendors with vendor registrations made available to all who want to register to do business with the city.

COMMENTARY: This is not new. City hall for at least the past 16 years has provided preferential treatment ratings or points to local venders wanting to bid on city business through the Request for Proposal (RFP) process.

KELLER’S ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT DEPARTMENT

The mission statement of the City of Albuquerque Economic Development Department states its purpose is to “develop a more diversified and vital economy through the expansion and retention of businesses; develop appropriate industry clusters and recruit target industries; and assist new business start-ups and promote the film and music industries.”

According to its mission statement, the department supports the tourism and hospitality industries through collaboration and oversight of the City’s contractors.

The department also fosters international trade efforts and increased international business opportunities for Albuquerque companies.

The Keller Economic Development Department employs 11 full time employees with an approved annual budget of $3.9 million.

The 2018-2019 city council approved budget for Keller’s Economic Development Department’s only includes funding for the department’s core programs.

Those programs include supporting local businesses, aligning expenditures to keep tax dollars in the local economy “instead of flowing out of state.”

The approved budget also contains funding for the recruiting new businesses.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1178797/mayor-signs-citys-1-billion-budget.html

The approved 2018-2019 budget for the Economic Development Department allocates $360,000 in funding for continued economic development investments and includes:

$125,000 for Transit Oriented Development (TOD) corridors investment. (TOD is a type of development that includes a mixture of housing, office, retail and/or other amenities within reach of public transportation.)

$55,000 thousand for small business development

$30,000 for Listen! ABQ. (Listen! Alb is a web site that promotes local music and music events which generate millions for the local economy.)

$150,000 for various local economic development investment projects.

The approved general fund budget for the Economic Development Department includes:

$1.6 million for “economic development” activities.

$199,000 for the International Trade Program.

$2.087 million for the convention center.

The Keller Administration approved budget of $3.9 million for the Economic Development is so a meager as to be an embarrassment given the fact that the city has a total operating revenue and approved budget of at almost a billion dollars at $955,300,000 for fiscal year 2018-2019.

AN EQUITY PROFILE OF ALBQUERQUE

On June 19, 2018, a report entitled “An Equity Profile of Albuquerque” was released by the Keller Administration.
You can read the entire report here:

http://nationalequityatlas.org/sites/default/files/ABQ_Profile_Final.pdf

The report is a racial profile of the city and the impact race has on the city economy.

The Equity Profile Report examined the indicators of economic and social inclusion and found that “equitable growth” leads to a stronger local economy.

In the report, and “equitable city” is defined as “when all residents – regardless of their race/ethnicity, nativity, gender, income, neighborhood of residence, or other characteristics – are fully able to participate in the city’s economic vitality, contribute to the region’s readiness for the future, and connect to the region’s assets and resources.”

(See “An Equity Profile of Albuquerque”, page 11).

Not surprising, the report found persistent inequities by race and gender are holding the city back from having a stronger local economy.

The report identifies 22 industries that are expected to grow over the 10-year period from 2014 to 2024.

The report also identified 22 specific occupations that are expected to grow over the 10-year period from 2014 to 2024.

When the report was release, Mayor Keller said the report would serve as a guide for the city’s newly reorganized Office of Equity and Inclusion.

Based on the economic development plan Keller announced, you can only wonder if the Equity Profile of Albuquerque was even read by Keller or Keller’s Economic Development Department given the fact there is no concentration on the cities job growth industries with no real investment by the city other than public encouragement.

COMMENTARY

Candidate for Mayor Tim Keller proposed as a “big idea” creating personal or individual Tax Increment Districts (TIDS), more use of industrial revenue bonds and tax incentives to attract new industry to Albuquerque and create jobs.

After 8 months in office, you would think the Keller Economic Development Department could do better than the “none existent” economic development plan announced by Mayor Tim Keller.

Albuquerque can and must expand and find better ways to use financial incentives for economic development such as tax increment districts (TIDS), industrial revenue bonds, and even fund economic development investment programs such as initial startup funding with claw back provisions.

A good start would be funding a $20 million initial startup fund for new local businesses with claw back provisions with the program administered by the Economic Development Department.

Albuquerque needs to pursue with a vengeance real growth industry like heath care, transportation and manufacturing, and especially the film industry to diversify our economy, and the recreational industry.

Public-private partnerships in the growth industries where ever possible should be encouraged and developed.

Albuquerque’s taxpayers must be convinced by Mayor Keller and the City Council of the importance of economic development in the growth industries and not the service industries.

Our elected officials and the business community, including the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, Albuquerque Economic Development (AED), the Economic Forum, NAIOP and the banking, finance and development industries, need to think long and hard about finally doing something to attract new industry instead of just being satisfied with protecting their own financial interests and bottom lines.

Mayor Keller in announcing his economic development said:

“This is not a silver bullet, not a single idea. … It’s sort of the opposite of that … It’s about creating an inclusive and safe city for all of us.”

Noble words about “creating an inclusive and safe city for all of us”, but words do not make you safe and do not put food on the table when you have no job and in debt.

On June 8, 2018, the Albuquerque Journal published my guest editorial commentary where I gave a “report card” regarding Mayor Tim Keller’s job performance for his first 6 months in office giving him a “C” average for all around job performance.

You can read the entire editorial comment here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1183092/keller-earns-a-c-in-his-1st-semester.html

The grades given were “A” for Public Relations, “B” for Political Appointments, “C” for Public Safety, “D” for DOJ Reforms and “F” for Economic Development.

A blog article listing grades, accomplishments and missteps of Keller’s first 6 months in office can also be read here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/08/mayor-tim-kellers-first-semester-report-card-and-low-test-scores/

Originally, Mayor Keller was given an “F” in Economic Development for his failure to outline or propose any economic development plan or strategy during his first 6 months in office to bring new industry and jobs to Albuquerque.

Mayor Keller now has gone from an “F” to a “D-”for Economic Development.

The City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) union are at odds over new rules for promoting police officers.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-and-union-at-odds-over-policy-for-promoting-employees/1318547719

Rules for promoting sworn officers were part of the Department of Justice federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and the mandated and agreed to reforms.

The police the union now sees the opportunity to change them to their liking.

The personnel rules keep some police officers with checkered pasts from promotions.

The City, APD and the police union in 2016 agreed to the promotional policy.

The parties are now in court over two points in the promotional policy.

In the policy, the City and APD want candidates for promotion to undergo testing every 2 years to continue the application process.

The police union wants a candidate’s test scores to stand beyond 2 years.

The promotion rules now provide that the City and APD can deny a promotion to any officer who’s been suspended more than a day.

The police union claims the rule gives the City and APD way too much discretion to deny promotions.

The union believes that the City’s and APD’s power to deny a promotion because of a suspension should only apply to police officers who’ve been suspended for at least 6 weeks.

Former APD Chief Gordon Eden staunchly supported the existing rule saying “It gives me the ability to remove them for cause and I think that’s what’s really important”.

Current APD Chief Michael Geier has not publicly given his position on the issue.

The City and the Police Union both agree that certain officers should be barred from promotions such as police officers involved in pending lawsuits.

The existing policy also provides that APD and the City can deny an officer a promotion under three specific circumstances:

1. If a court rules they violated constitutional rights of another person
2. If they’re under internal affairs investigation, or
3. If they are under felony indictment.

What is not clear in the existing policy is what happens to promotion applicants who were sued for use of force or deadly force where the city settles before a judge could rule if their actions were justified or not.

Two cases where the city settled for millions of dollars for deadly use of force before there was ever an adjudication that the actions the police officers were justified include:

1. The city paid $5 million dollars to settle with the family of 19-year-old Mary Hawkes who was killed by APD officer Jeremy Dear. Dear was fired and attempted to return to work for APD and was denied returning to work. Dear filed a libel and slander lawsuit against former Chief Gordon Eden with the case pending.

2. The city paid $5 million to settle with the family of homeless camper and mentally ill James Boyd who was shot and killed by APD SWAT Officers Keith Sandy and Dominique Perez, both who were charged and tried with murder and with the trial ending in a deadlocked jury and no conviction and no acquittal. Sandy has retired from APD and Perez has returned to work for APD.

BENEFITS OF A POLICE UNION ENDORSMENT

On September 28, 2017, it was widely reported that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association endorsed Tim Keller for Mayor.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1067209/albuquerque-police-union-endorses-keller.html

The rising crime rates, Albuquerque Police Department personnel levels as well as the Department of Justice mandated reforms were major issues in the Mayor’s race.

It was not at all surprising that the APOA endorsed a candidate for Mayor given that it was at repeated impasse with the previous administration during contract negotiations.

The previous administration unilaterally decided not to pay 5% pay raises negotiated in good faith by the police union and eliminated longevity pay for rank and file.

To be perfectly blunt, no political endorsement is ever given by an organization unless a candidate makes concessions or falls in line with an organization’s philosophy, wants, needs or even demands.

In making the endorsement of Keller, the police union no doubt wanted to have some influence over the next Mayor and Keller as a candidate wanted the votes of rank and file police officers.

The advantage of a police union endorsement to a candidate is to be able to say law enforcement has your back and you have theirs.

On December 7, 2017, union leadership, one week after being sworn in, accused Mayor Tim Keller of being “dishonorable for apologizing” to the people of Albuquerque for the past actions APD police officers who had used excessive force or deadly force and the “culture of excessive use of force” found by the Department of Justice, with the union falsely claiming it was a universal apology for all police actions.

www.abqjournal.com/1104351/keller-misstep-irks-apd-officers.html

The message to Keller was loud and clear: support the rank and file without question or the police union will oppose your efforts with the reform process.

On March 5, 2018 the Albuquerque City Council voted to raise the city’s gross receipts tax rate by three-eighths of a percent on an 8-1 vote without putting it to a public vote.

The tax increase went into effect July 1, 2018 and is expected to bring in a $55 million annually.

At the time the tax was enacted, APOA union president Shaun Willoughby demanded the city councilors to amend the legislation to “guarantee” that 60 percent of all the revenue generated from the new tax be dedicated to the police department to recruit more officers and increase pay, despite the fact the city was faced with a $40 million-dollar deficit requiring the tax.

On May 21, 2018 the Albuquerque City Council unanimously approved the 2018- 2019 Keller Administration operating budget of $577 million in general fund appropriations.

The approved budget included an APD expansion plan to spend $88 million dollars, over a four-year period, with 32 million dollars of recurring expenditures to hire 350 officers and expand APD from 878 sworn police officers to 1,200 officers by implementing 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.

The approved budget also included $2.3 million for compliance with the federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) reached between the city and the Department of Justice in November, 2014 regarding police use of excessive force and deadly use of force.

The biggest benefit of the Union endorsement of Tim Keller was when on May 21, 2018 rank-and-file Albuquerque police officers overwhelmingly approved by a 501 to 40 vote a new two-year contract negotiated by the Keller Administration that gave sworn police officers between $1.50 to $3.50 per hour pay raises, or $12.1 million more in annual pay, with longevity pay increases of between $2,600 to $15,000 a year.

After 8 years of no substantive raises to APD rank and file, the raises were justified.

The police union when announcing approval of the contract by rank and file took a back handed swipe at the Keller administration when it said the downside to the contract is that it is a two-year deal.

The police union claimed it wanted a one-year contract because many officers “don’t trust the city to keep its word on a multi-year deal.”

Make no mistake, the APOA Union leadership was within it rights and did its job in getting any and all concession it could from the city when it comes to raises, incentive pay and increasing personnel numbers and securing more resources.

COMMENTARY

Almost four (4) years ago, a Department of Justice investigation found a “pattern and practice of excessive force” and a “culture of aggression” within the Albuquerque Police Department (APD).

In the last eight (8) years, there has been 41 police officer involved shootings, and the city has paid out $61 million dollars in settlements for police misconduct cases.

The single biggest crisis Mayor Tim Keller was confronted with on the day he was sworn into office was reforming the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and keeping his commitment to implement the mandated reforms for constitutional policing.

Mayor Keller appointed Chief Michael Geier and both have repeatedly committed in court and in public to the DOJ mandated reforms.

Under normal circumstances, union endorsements are common place in municipal elections.

However, when it comes to the Albuquerque Police Department, it is a department still in crisis and for the first time in its history is under a Department of Justice consent decree.

The union endorsement of Keller and the DOJ consent decree complicates things with the Keller Administration because the police union opposes many of the reforms and opposes any form of civilian oversight.

Based on the union’s actions over the last 8 months with the Keller Administration, it is clear the relationship the police union has with the city is very one sided and only benefits the union and its membership and not necessarily the citizens of Albuquerque.

The police union has never fully embraced the consent decree, the mandated reforms and it resists citizen oversight.

The police union is often at odds with the city’s Civilian Oversight Board.

The APOA Union understands full well the consent decree in that the police union made sure they intervened and became a party to the federal lawsuit filed by the Department of Justice against the city and APD.

Any Mayoral administration has the equal responsibility to do what is in the best interest of the general public and the responsible spending of taxpayer dollars for public safety.

The past administration and the present Keller administration both have made a major concession consenting to the APOA Union to be a party to the federal lawsuit and the Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

The union leadership was at the negotiating table for a full year involved in the drafting of the “use of force” and “deadly use of force” policy and contributed significantly to the one-year delay in writing the policy repeatedly objecting to language of the policy asserting the policy was unreasonable.

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

During all the Court proceeding where the federal monitor has made his presentation to the federal court, the APOA union has made its opposition and objections known to the federal court.

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

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

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

The changes the police union to the promotion rules and testing requirement amounts to nothing more than the union dictating to the City and APD command staff personnel policy as to who should be hired, fired, disciplined, suspended and promoted by management.

There is a definite chain of command and a clear line of authority that needs separate management from rank and file sworn police officers that must be preserved and honored.

Included in the union’s bargaining unit are all APD police Sergeants and Lieutenants who are clearly part of police management.

Lieutenants, Commanders, Deputy Chief and the Chief are at will positions that serve at the pleasure of the Administration, either the Chief or Mayor.

Including APD police Sergeants and Lieutenants who are part of management in the union bargaining unit creates a clear conflict of interest when they are the ones on the frontline to enforce personnel rules and regulations, standard operating procedures, approve and review work performed and assist in implementing DOJ consent decree mandates and standard operating procedures policies that the APOA Union opposes.

Law enforcement command staff and management must be able to make decisions to protect public safety and maintain credibility with the public and be able to immediately remove and even replace police officers who tarnish the badge with unethical, questionable, and at times illegal conduct in violation of standard operating procedures and the law.

The Keller Administration needs to decide between if it is more important to manage the police department and APD personnel free from union obstruction tactics and control over management decisions in order to implement the Department of Justice mandated reforms.

In the long run, what the police union now wants in court with respect to promotions will breed contempt by management and hamstring command staff abilities to make effective personnel decisions and hold employees accountable for misconduct.

The Keller Administration must decide if it was worth the expense of giving up management authority of the department to conform with police union demands and expectations.

The Keller Administration should consider seeking to having the APOA Union removed as a party to the federal lawsuit, consent decree and CASA negotiations.

The City should oppose the unions attempt to reduce managements authority over promotion practices by opposing the unions attempt change rules they agreed to two years ago.

During the next round of union contract negotiations, the city should demand that the management positions of APD Sergeants and Lieutenants be removed from the APOA Union bargaining unit.

The clear line of separation between command staff management and rank and file needs to be preserved in order to achieve effective implementation of the DOJ mandated reforms.

FOLLOWING ARE LINKS TO OTHER BLOG ARTICLES

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/05/31/police-union-president-pops-off-about-a-so-called-culture-of-aggression/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/05/24/police-union-back-handed-swipes-at-keller-wage-increase-will-not-to-solve-officer-shortage/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/04/13/the-annual-police-union-bitch-and-moan-survey/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/02/20/apd-police-union-needs-to-stop-thinking-only-of-themselves/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/12/09/apoa-union-president-is-the-one-acting-dishonorably/

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/09/24/police-union-endorsement-should-have-been-declined/

On July 19, 2018, the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (LFC), released a 117 page “Program Evaluation: Review of the Criminal Justice System in Bernalillo County.”

The LFC is chaired by NM State Senator John Author Smith the highly respected State Senator in all things involving legislative funding.

A three-hour presentation was made to the LFC in Santa Fe by the LFC’s Program Evaluation manager Jon Courtney where lawmakers asked questions about the 8-year spike in Albuquerque’s crime rates.

Nonpartisan legislative analyst’s examining Albuquerque’s crime rates came to the conclusion that there are “critical gaps” in the three pillars of the criminal justice system.

The three pillars of the criminal justice system were identified as law enforcement, the courts and the correctional or jail system.

Notwithstanding the “critical gaps” in the criminal justice system, the report gave reasons for optimism.

Reasons for optimism include increased cooperation among law enforcement public agencies, more traffic stops initiated by police and a new re-entry center to help inmates released back into society from jail.

Economic conditions are also improving and the State’s unemployment rate is declining.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/29/good-news-unemployment-down-bad-news-nm-last-in-child-well-being/

ALBUQUERQUE’S DECLINING CRIME RATES

Adding to the optimism is that 2018 is becoming the first time in 8 years that Albuquerque’s property crime rates are falling.

On the same day of the Legislative hearing releasing the Criminal Justice in Bernalillo County Review report, Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Michael Geier held a press conference to announce that auto theft and robberies for the first half of 2018 are down significantly from 2017 the same time last year.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/07/19/kudos-to-keller-apd-for-bringing-property-crime-down-but-still-carry-your-gun

Chief Geier credited APD officers for a 35 percent increase in traffic stops and progress in reducing auto burglary by 31 percent, auto theft by 16 percent, commercial burglary by 16 percent, residential burglary by 7 percent, robbery by 31 percent, rape by 4 percent and aggravated assault by 5 percent.

The bad news was that according to the FBI statistics released by Keller and Geier, nonfatal shootings increased by 5% and homicides increased by 18.2% the first 6 months of 2018 over 2017.

The city’s crime rate has been decreasing since November, 2017.

DISCREDITING DISTRICT ATTORNEY RAUL TORREZ

One thing that happened worth noting during the presentation to lawmaker’s is that the 2010-17 spike in crime was not caused by New Mexico’s new rules on bail, a Supreme Court order imposing deadline for handling criminal cases or the new “risk assessment tool” used by the courts to determine which defendants should be released while they await trial.

Least anyone forget, it was Bernalillo County District Attorney Raul Torrez who made front page headlines last year that it was the Courts that caused the spike in crime.

Torrez made false claims that because of lenient Judge’s sentencings, the crime rate increased and was caused by New Mexico’s new rules on bail and the Courts were demanding too much evidence to hold violent criminals.

Torrez was highly critical of a Supreme Court order imposing deadline for handling criminal cases and the new “risk assessment tool” used by the courts.

DA Torrez went so far as to say that the criminal justice system was broken and that defense lawyers were “gaming the system” to get their client’s off on technicalities.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/02/11/senator-smith-tells-da-torrez-he-now-has-enough-rope-to-hang-himself/

The Review of the Criminal Justice System Report found that the increase in crime started years before many of the court rule changes were even implemented, thereby discrediting many if not all of DA Torrez’s arguments.

SOCIAL PROBLEMS INCREASING CRIME RATES

The study found that in 2010, Albuquerque had its lowest crime rates in modern history.

The report focused on the link between broader social problems and crime rates.

Albuquerque’s downtown area is the highest-crime area in the state.

The Downtown area of Albuquerque from Broadway Boulevard to 8th Street and Lomas Boulevard to Coal Avenue experienced a 46 percent increase in the number of families in poverty between 2010 and 2016.

Families living in poverty was cited as part of the reason why crime is five times the national average in that area.

According to the study, by 2016, more than 20 percent of people in Albuquerque lived in high-poverty neighborhoods.

That number was less than 3 percent in 2010.

Further, 21 percent of all felony arrests involve people who had been arrested five or more times before.

http://www.koat.com/article/new-report-details-how-crime-rates-skyrocketed-in-abq/22504676

DETERIORATING SOCIAL CONDITIONS

The LFC report notes that deteriorating social conditions and other flaws in the criminal justice system outlined coincided with the Bernalillo County’s crime wave.

The LFC study found that while crime increased, arrests and convictions were down.

It was in 2010 that the number of sworn APD police officers began to seriously decline.

At the beginning of 2010, APD had 1,100 sworn police officers and over the following 8 years, the department bottomed out to as few as 830 sworn officers at one time, with less than have in field services taking calls for service.

Based on data reviewed, at the beginning of the crime wave in 2011, Albuquerque endured worsening poverty, homelessness and drug use, and at the same time Albuquerque had fewer police patrolling the streets to make arrests.

According to the LFC report:

“As social conditions deteriorated, the criminal justice system held fewer and fewer people accountable while crimes continued to increase.”

THE DOJ CONSENT DECREE AND REFORMS

The Review of the Criminal Justice System Report makes a specific finding that from 2010 to 2017 “the Albuquerque Police Department, the judicial system, and the Metropolitan Detention Center all suffered from problematic – and in some cases unconstitutional – practices.”

The “unconstitutional practices” referred to no doubt is the “culture of aggression” found within APD by the US Department of Justice.

It was in early 2013 that the Department of Justice began its investigation of APD for excessive use of force and deadly force cases after 18 people were shot and killed by APD.

In April, 2014 the US Department of Justice issued its final report finding a “culture of aggression” within APD.

It was in November, 2014 that the City of Albuquerque entered into a Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and agreed to sweeping reforms of APD mandating constitutional policing practices and major changes in standard operating procedures dealing with the use of force and deadly force.

According to the Criminal Justice System Report, the U.S. Department of Justice settlement with the city requiring a series of reforms aimed at ending a pattern of violating people’s rights by APD may have contributed in part to increases in crime rates.

The Criminal Justice System Report did review other cities across the country that have entered into similar consent decrees and it was found that crime increased for a year or two before returning to typical levels.

The report found that Albuquerque is experiencing a similar pattern of crime rate deduction but it isn’t clear whether changes in police tactics, increased reporting of crime or other factors drive the change.

The federal consent decree was negotiated by the previous administration over 3 years ago.

It was found repeatedly by the federal court appointed monitor that the previous administration did everything it could to subvert, delay and deflect implementation of the mandatory reforms.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/08/22/fault-with-apd-command-staff-found-again/

Eight months after a new Mayor is elected and he appoints a Chief of Police and both who are committed to the DOJ reforms, property crime rates are indeed going down.

REPORT RECOMMENDATIONS

The Legislative Finance Report and review found “a system that suffers from critical gaps between reality and the best practices of law enforcement, jurisprudence, and incarceration.”

The Criminal Justice System Report makes a number of recommendations including:

1. Establishing statewide requirements for how defendants are handled before trial and removing legal barriers that prevent criminal justice agencies from sharing data with one another.

2. Bernalillo County should also continue efforts at connecting inmates leaving jail with services. Inmates were sometimes released late at night in the heart of Downtown.

3. Albuquerque police should make better use of their Real Time Crime Center to analyze trends and engage in proactive policing strategies.

4. The number of people graduating from specialty courts like the drug court and veterans court aimed at reducing recidivism among people struggling with addiction has fallen and the state should try to reverse the trend.

COMMENTARY

There are three main takeaways that appear very clear when you read the report:

FIRST: The City of Albuquerque and APD would be further down the road in decreasing crime rates had it not been for the tactics by the previous administration to subvert, delay and deflect implementation of the DOJ mandated reforms.

SECOND: District Attorney Raul Torrez was totally wrong when he blamed the Second Judicial District Court and the Supreme Courts Case Management Order (CMO) for the spike in crime in Albuquerque.

THREE: The “Program Evaluation: Review of the Criminal Justice System in Bernalillo County” needs to be read by New Mexico State Auditor Wayne Johnson so he can save face and abandon his efforts for a “Special Audit” of the Bernalillo County Criminal Justice system and before he is embarrassed by Attorney General Hector Balderas. Johnson’s special audit includes seven state agencies: the District Court, Metro Court, the Albuquerque Police Department, the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, the Metropolitan Detention Center, the Public Defender’s Office and the District Attorney’s Office. Balderas has been asked by the District Court to issue an opinion if Johnson has the legal authority to do his audit and the legislative report seems to render moot the need for the audit.

************************************************************************************************************************

POSTSCRIPT: EXECUTIVE SUMMARY KEY RECOMMENDATIONS

Following are the key recommendations contained in the executive summary of the Program Evaluation: Review of the Criminal Justice System in Bernalillo County report (pages 2 and 3):

“The Legislature should consider legislation:

To minimize financial burden for specialty court participants;
The Legislature should consider legislation establishing basic requirements around the use of pretrial services statewide including best practices recommended by agencies cited in this report;
The Legislature should consider legislation that encourages sharing and removes barriers around criminal justice data while still complying with data protections put in place by the Federal government.

APD and BCSO should:

Direct officers to spend uncommitted time using tactics from evidence-based policing strategies focusing on people, hot spots, and problems identified through use of analytical tools such as the Real Time Crime Center. Tool kits for selection of which practices and programs to use in certain tactical environments can be found at the Center for Evidence-Based Crime Policy

http://cebcp.org/evidence-based-policing/.

APD and BCSO should implement up to date police staffing studies and APD should put tracking systems to monitor progress to meeting staffing goals.
Priority should be given to staffing field services and specific specialized units of detectives to work towards improving clearance rates of key crimes and decrease drug trafficking. Bernalillo County, 2nd Judicial District Court, and Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court should implement pretrial services universal screening, performance management system, and quarterly reporting to BCCJCC to guide policy and management decisions.

The Administrative Office of the Courts should increase current oversight efforts to include adopting and reporting on evaluation requirements for all specialty courts.
The Administrative Office of the Courts, the Law Office of the Public Defender, the SJDA’s Office, the 2nd Judicial District Court, and Bernalillo County Metropolitan Court should explore specialty court options that could increase utilization of these courts. Bernalillo County should work to implement procedures that facilitate successful release of inmates into the community including the following components:

• Amend their contract with their behavioral health service provider to include requirements to implement a valid and reliable risk needs assessment and screening to be universally administered to inmates at intake. The requirement should also include transmission of this information to staff at the resource reentry center for use upon release;
• Work to increase the number of inmates released during business hours;
• Making key staff at the resource reentry center and MDC available on a 24 hour basis to facilitate connection of former inmates to resources including prescription medication and transportation;
• Defining, measuring and promoting use of evidence-based (and promising) programming in jails, prisons, and the community while still allowing room for home grown innovative and effective programs.
• Develop improved performance measures for the Metropolitan Detention Center including recidivism, percent of inmates signed up for Medicaid, and percent of inmates connected to services upon reentry.

The Bernalillo Health Science Department (BHSD) should continually work with stakeholders to identify and address Medicaid reimbursement needs for evidence-based behavioral health treatment programs. Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque should consider permanently staffing the BCCJCC, including data analysts, in order to provide additional support to criminal justice partners. The BCCJCC should

• Develop a set of performance metrics to better track the Bernalillo County criminal justice system performance;
• Foster the use of evidence-based practices throughout the Bernalillo County criminal justice system;
• Coordinate unified use of resources including the real time crime center at APD to work toward common goals of focusing on people and places through evidence-based practices

A favorite photo opportunity of Governor Susana Martinez over the last 8 years has been reading children’s books to kids ages 6 to 10 in public schools.

We all now know the real reason why: the kids were not proficient enough to read the children’s books out loud to the Republican Governor.

On Friday, July 20, 2018, Santa Fe District Court Judge Sarah Singleton ruled that the state of New Mexico is violating the constitutional rights of at-risk students by failing to provide them with a sufficient education.

The Court ruling was filed in the case of Yazzie v. state of New Mexico and Martinez v. state of New Mexico.

The District Court ruling came after a two-month trial that concluded in August, 2017.

Nearly 80 witnesses testified during the bench trial.

The consolidated lawsuit was filed by the New Mexico Center on Law and Poverty and the Mexican American Legal Defense and Education Fund.

The Plaintiffs argued that the New Mexico public schools are inadequately funded.

In a 75-page decision, the court rejected arguments by Governor Susana Martinez’s administration that the education system is improving and for that reason it does not need more funding.

The Court found that the New Mexico Public Education Department (PED) did not do the best it could with the funding it has given by the legislature to the education system.

The Court ruling centers on the guaranteed right under the New Mexico Constitution to a sufficient education for all children.

The lawsuit alleged a severe lack of state funding, resources and services to help students, particularly children from low-income families, students of color, including Native Americans, English-language learners and students with disabilities.

BLISTERING COURT RULING

State District Judge Sarah Singleton pulled no punches with her decision.

The Judge found that it was clear that many New Mexico students are not receiving the basic education in reading, writing and math they should be receiving in our public-school system.

As a matter of law, Judge Singleton wrote the “lack of funds is not a defense to providing constitutional rights.”

In her blistering written opinion, Judge Singleton wrote:

“[The evidence presented at trial] proves that the vast majority of New Mexico’s at-risk children finish each school year without the basic literacy and math skills needed to pursue post-secondary education or a career. … Indeed, overall New Mexico children rank at the very bottom in the country for educational achievement. … The at-risk students are still not attaining proficiency at the rate of non-at-risk students … and the programs being lauded by [the Public Education Department] are not changing this picture.”

According to the judge’s ruling, in New Mexico, 71.6% of the state’s public school students come from low-income families, and 14.4% are English-language learners.

Further, 14.8 percent of students have disabilities, and 10.6 percent are Native American.

Judge Singleton addressing proficiency rates for Native American students said that in the past 3 years, those students’ reading proficiency was at 17.6% and their math proficiency was at 10.4%.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1200069/questions-surround-ruling-on-nm-education-funding.html

The Court found that New Mexico does not have enough teachers and that New Mexico teachers are among the lowest paid in the country and stated:

“The evidence shows that school districts do not have the funds to pay for all the teachers they need. … [An example is] Gadsden, one of the better performing school districts in the state, has had to eliminate over 53 classroom positions and 15 essential teachers since 2008.”

The Court also faulted the lack of access to technology in rural districts.

Judge Singleton ruling addressed the state teacher evaluation system implemented by the Martinez Administration by saying:

“[The teacher evaluation system] may be contributing to the lower quality of teachers in high-need schools. … In general, punitive teacher evaluation systems that penalize teachers for working in high-need schools contribute to problems in this category of schools.”

The Court wrote that she was not persuaded by the Martinez Administration’s arguments that no new funding is needed because at-risk student performances are improving.

A spokeswoman for the state Public Education Department has decided to appeal the ruling.

Randi Weingarten, president of the American Federation of Teachers, provided the following statement after the court ruling:

“For too long, New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez and her administration have abandoned their responsibility to kids and public schools. This ruling confirms what parents and educators know—that New Mexico children are deprived of the essential resources, including qualified teachers and support staff, they need. This deprivation is especially severe for those at risk and in need of additional supports—English language learners, Native American students and those in poverty. The ruling also calls out the governor’s obsession with testing over teaching.”

“In New Mexico, it would take $228 million to get public school funding to what it was before the Great Recession, and average teacher pay in the state is nearly 10 percent lower than what it was in 2009. We call on the state to use this ruling as a long-overdue opportunity to overhaul its broken school funding system to ensure all New Mexico children are afforded the public education they deserve and are entitled to. Voters will be going to the polls in November to elect leaders committed to investing in public education.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/judge-rules-lack-of-sufficient-education-for-all-nm-students-violates-constitutional-rights/4997869/?cat=500

NEW MEXICO LAST IN CHILD WELL BEING

The Courts ruling should not come as any surprise to anyone in the education profession and people raising young children.

The court ruling is a confirmation of what has been going on for the last 8 years with the state’s at-risk children under the Republican Martinez Administration.

For the first time in five years, New Mexico has fallen to last among states when it comes to the economic, educational and medical well-being of its children, according to a nonprofit that tracks the status of U.S. kids.

The most troubling in the 2018 Kids Count Data Book is New Mexico’s steep drop in ranking for health care measures which previously a bright spot for the state.

http://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/education/report-new-mexico-ranks-last-in-child-well-being/article_0f6865fc-d34a-5050-9f74-21680e98a2a5.html

According to the 2018 Kids Count Data Book, 30% of New Mexico’s children were living in poverty in 2016, compared to 19% nationwide that year, the earliest figures available.

In educational measures, the report says 75% of the state’s fourth-graders were not proficient in reading in 2017, compared to 65% nationally, and 80% of eighth-graders were not performing up to par in math in 2017, compared to 67% across the U.S.

COMMENTARY

Republican Governor Susana Martinez, with her policies and her Secretary of Public Education appointments, especially the appointment of Secretary Hanna Skandera, contributed more than anyone else and she ultimately responsible for our failing education system.

The Judge ordered Governor Susana Martinez, her administration and the New Mexico Legislature to establish a funding system that meets constitutional requirements by April 15, 2019.

The New Mexico legislature is now tasked with putting together a plan to comply with the court’s ruling to be approved in the upcoming 2019 legislative session when we will have a new Governor.

There is no doubt that teacher salaries and resources for Native American youth will need to be addressed by the legislature.

Because of the spike in oil production and revenues, the state is in a much better financial position now to earmark more money for public education, but for how long is the problem.

Oil and gas production booms do not last forever and a permanent funding source is what is needed to sustain reoccurring revenues and expenses in a public education system such as ours.

For the full 8 years of her administration, Governor Martinez has had a less than a stellar working relationship with the New Mexico Legislature.

The relationship Governor Martinez has with the New Mexico Legislature can be characterized as contemptuous and vindictive on her part and it is not at all likely the relationship will improve any over the next 5 months.

Further, Martinez’s Public Education Secretary Hanna Skandera as well as Cabinet Secretary Designate Christopher Roszkowski have both been an absolute disaster especially when it comes to the “school grading” system advocated and implemented by the Republican Martinez Administration.

New Mexico voters are electing a new Governor in November who will be sworn in on January 1, 2019.

It is doubtful Governor Susana Martinez will want or is even willing to make anything easy for her successor, especially if a Democrat is elected.

January 1, 2019 cannot come soon enough for Governor Martinez and her Education Secretary to be gone.

With this court ruling, maybe now the New Mexico Legislature will finally see the need to dip into the State’s permanent fund, one of the largest in the country in the billions of dollars, for the sake of our kids’ education and early childhood care and intervention programs.

State Senator John Arthur Smith, the powerful Chair of the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) known as Dr. NO on State Finances and Taxation, needs to get the hell out of the way and allow the New Mexico Legislature to do its job and address the education crisis with use of the permanent fund instead of being the number one obstacle in using the permanent fund.

New Mexico Governor candidates Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham and Republican Steve Pearce need to articulate in no uncertain terms their plans to deal with funding the State’s education system to guarantee that at-risk students are provided with an education where they can read and write.

Further, our candidates for Governor should reveal their position on the use of the States Permanent fund for education, early child care intervention and counseling for preschool and who, or what they are looking at, to be appointed Cabinet Secretary for the Public Education Department.

The Legislative Finance Committee needs to convene special hearings over the next five months on public education reforms, funding and increasing teacher pay, early childhood education and care programs and intervention programs and resources with a permanent funding source.

The comprehensive education reform legislation can be introduced for passage in the upcoming 2019 legislative session when Governor Martinez will be long gone, but not the education crisis of her making.

It is long overdue for our legislature to take care of our children’s education needs.

As for Governor Susanna Martinez, her legacy will be that of illiterate New Mexico children she liked to read to and a “punitive teacher evaluation system that penalized teachers for working in high-need schools”.

Governor Martinez will also be remembered for a pizza and beer holiday party at a Santa Fe, Hotel at taxpayer expense.

On July 16, 2018, I posted on my FACEBOOK page a photo of President Trump hugging the American flag with another photo of Trump standing next to Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The FACEBOOK post that accompanied the photos was short and said:

“After watching Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin’s joint press conference that followed a two-hour private meeting between the two, I could not help but feel that I was witness to the first President of the United States committing treason against his own country’s best interests. When I went back and looked at the photo where Trump was hugging the United States flag, I realized Trump was actually dry humping the American Flag for his own sexual gratification.”

The FACEBOOK post was crude but made the point and to me it was legitimate political commentary.

The FACEBOOK post had 156 likes, 225 comments and 32 shares.

The comments were overwhelmingly supportive and agreed with the commentary.

TREASON DEFINED

One FACEBOOK friend strongly disagreed with the post and said he did not feel Trump’s actions in Helsinki were treason and demanded that I give my definition of treason.

Section 4 of Article Two of the United States Constitution provides:

“The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and conviction of treason, bribery, or other high crimes and misdemeanors.”

The definition of treason is simple: the crime of betraying one’s country usually for your own self-interest or personal financial gain.

When it comes to any US President, treason is whatever the US House of Representative says it is in Articles of Impeachment followed by a trial and a conviction in the United States Senate.

The recent indictments that came out make it clear that Trump in a very public manner solicited Russia’s help on the Clinton emails in order to get elected.

Read full blog article “Putin and Russia Were Listening When Trump Asked For Help” here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/07/14/putin-and-russia-were-listening-when-trump-ask-for-their-help/

Trump originally said for two years that there was no Russian interference with our election, yet all 16 of our national security agencies said there was interference.

Trump and his campaign solicited Russia to commit a crime to interfere with our elections to get himself elected and it was treason to do so.

TREASON IS ALRIGHT WITH TRUMP SUPPORTERS

A Reuters/Ipsos poll was conducted after Trump’s summit at the Helsinki and joint news conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin, where Trump refused to blame the Russian leader for meddling in the 2016 U.S. election and cast doubt on the findings of U.S. intelligence agencies.

The poll found that Trump’s actions did not have any impact on his overall approval rating.

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-russia-voters/majority-of-americans-think-trump-mishandling-russia-reuters-ipsos-poll-idUSKBN1K72T1

Forty-two percent of registered voters said they approved of Trump’s performance compared with a daily average of between 40% and 44% so far in July, 2018.
The poll found that 55% of registered voters disapproved while 37% approved of his handling of relations with Russia.

Among Republicans, a stunning 71% approved of Trump’s handling of Russia compared to 14% of Democrats.

According to the Reuters/Ipsos poll, 59% of registered voters agree with the conclusions of U.S. intelligence agencies that Russia attempted to influence the 2016 U.S. election.

Only 32% of Republicans think there was Russian interference compared to 84% of Democrats who think there was.

According to the poll, President Trump still enjoys broad support among Republican voters despite criticism from party leaders about his words and actions while standing alongside Russian President Vladimir Putin answering questions from reporters.

COMMENTARY

It has now been announced that Trump has invited Putin to the White House in the fall for second “summit” and negotiations are underway (no joke).

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2018/07/19/president-trump-asked-amb-bolton-to-invite-putin-to-washington-sanders-says.html

Trump being in the commercial real estate and development business will no doubt give Putin a tour of the White House and try to sell or rent it to Putin.

Then again, Trump is so indebted to this Vladimir Putin he just may deed it to him and Russia outright and saying “Mi Casa Es Su Casa” and quoting Governor Susana Martinez.

One thing that is very clear is that Trump was absolutely correct when he said:

“I could stand in the middle of 5th Avenue and shoot somebody and I wouldn’t lose voters.”

Committing treason is another crime Donald Trump can apparently commit without losing votes among Republicans and his hard-core base of 42%.