This blog article is a review of the involvement of McCleskey Media Strategies in the 2021 municipal election. Political Republican strategist and political operative Jay McCleskey is the primary principle or owner of “McCleskey Media Strategies.” This blog article reviews how Jay McClesky influences the candidates he elects long after he is paid to get them elected and the effect he has had on state and city government affairs.

LUCRATIVE LIVING IN 2021 CITY ELECTIONS

During the 2021 Municipal election, Mc Clesky Strategies managed the campaigns of Der Führer Trump Democrat conservative Sheriff Manny Gonzales and conservative Republican City Councilor candidates Dan Lewis and Renee Grout. From review of the campaign finance reports of all 3 candidates, McClesky Media Strategies had another lucrative election cycle and Mc Clesky was paid top dollar by the candidates his firm represented.

According to campaign finance reports file with city clerk in the 2021 municipal election, McClesky Media Strategies was paid $450,734 total to run 1 unsuccessful mayor’s race and 2 successful city council races to defeat democrats. Those candidates were Manny Gonzales for Mayor and City Council Republican candidates Dan Lewis and Renee Grout. You can review the Campaign Finance Disclosures Statement of all 3 candidates here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

SHERIFF MANNY GONZALEZ FOR MAYOR

More than a few political eyebrows, both Democrat and Republican, were raised when Democrat Sheriff Manny Gonzales announced he was running for Mayor against incumbent Mayor Tim Keller and that he had retained Political Republican Strategist Jay McCleskey and McCleskey Media Strategies to run his campaign. Gonzales at the time justified it saying as Sheriff he worked across party lines and he said the mayor’s race was nonpartisan. No Republican had announced at the time. It was common knowledge that Gonzales was attempting to build a coalition of conservative Democrats and Republicans and appeal to Der Führer Trump Republican voters.

Gonzales is a strong supporter of former Der Führer Republican Trump law enforcement policies. In the summer of 2020, Gonzales appeared at a press conference in Albuquerque with then Attorney General William Barr to announce federal funding for a Trump law enforcement initiative. Months later, Gonzales traveled to the White House for a press conference with Der Führer Trump.

DENIAL OF PUBLIC FINANCING

In a letter dated July 9, Albuquerque City Clerk Ethan Watson notified Bernalillo County Sheriff Manuel Gonzales’ that the city was denying his campaign $661,000 in public financing citing misconduct in the qualifying process and forgery of signatures on $5 qualifying donations. City Clerk Watson wrote Gonzales he could not confirm that Gonzales had complied with the city’s Open and Ethical Election Code and associated regulations.

What has never been disclosed is to what extent was McCleskey Media Strategies involved with the collection of forged signatures by the Gonzales campaign. Jay Mc Clesky managed the successful 2009 election of Mayor Richard Berry who ran against Democrat Incumbent Mayor Marty Chavez and former Progressive Demorate State Senator Richard Romero. In 2009, all 3 candidates for Mayor qualified for public financing. Ostensibly, McClesky has the know how on the collection of the $5 qualifying donations for public financing for candidates for Mayor because he ran Berry’s 2009 campaign for Mayor. He also knows the seriousness of collecting fraudulent signatures to qualify a candidate for public financing. The biggest question that remains unanswered is where was McClesky when the Gonzales campaign was collecting the $5 qualifying donations and when signatures were being forged? Did the same thing happen in the first Richard Berry campaign for Mayor?

On Tuesday, September 13, First Judicial District Court Judge Bryan Biedscheid upheld the Albuquerque City Clerk’s decision to deny $661,000 public financing to Sheriff Manny Gonzales. After Judge Biedscheid’s ruling to deny him public finance, Manny Gonzales held a news conference and announced his campaign’s plan to move forward with raising private financing.

Subsequent to declaring he would seek private financing, Manny Gonzalez undertook a very aggressive private campaign finance fundraising effort. The Gonzales campaign filed Financial Statements 6, 7, 8, 9 and 10, three Supplement Statements and a Final Finance Statement. The link to review all Gonzales Finance Statements is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

GONZALES RAISES OVER HALF MILLION DOLLARS WITHIN WEEKS

According to Manny Gonzales finance statements filed with the City Clerk, the following amounts in PRIVATE campaign contribution amounts were raised:

Finance Statement 6: $26,667 (Balance carried forward)
Period New Donations: $14,385
Finance Statement 7: $338,201
Finance Statement 8: $64,590
Finance Statement 9: $25,462
Finance Statement 10 : $33,690
FINAL STATEMENT: $1,075

TOTAL FUND RAISING: $504,070

PAYMENTS MADE TO MC CLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES

According to Manny Gonzales finance statements filed with the City Clerk, the following campaign expense amounts were paid to Mc Clesky Media Strategies:

$6,797 (Finance Statement 7 filed October 11)
$55,091 (Finance Statement 8 filed October 18)
$67,406
$8,598
$10,301
$7,353
$85,695 (Finance Statement 9 filed October 25)
$21,696 (Finance Statement 10 filed October)
$100,691
-$0- (Final Finance Statement Filed:

$363,628 TOTAL AMOUNTS PAID TO Mc Clesky Media Strategies by Manny Gonzales

Note that the total amount of private campaign contributions raised by Many Gonzales was $504,070. Mc Clesky Media Strategies was paid $363,628 of what was raised or over 72% of what was contributed to Gonzales for Mayor campaign.

DAN LEWIS CAMPAIGN FOR CITY COUNCIL, DISTRICT 5

For the December 7, 2021 municipal election, City Council District 5 candidate Dan Lewis qualified as a public finance candidate and was given $50,489.00. Lewis went on to be elected to the city council by defeating incumbent Democrat Cynthia Borrego who had replaced Lewis 4 years ago when Lewis ran unsuccessfully for Mayor against then State Auditor Tim Keller. Borrego also qualified for public financing of $50,489.00.

In addition to City Councilor elect Dan Lewis having been given $50,489.00 in public financing, Lewis also had the benefit of two separate Republican measured finance committees. The two measured finance committees that promoted Dan Lewis were Albuquerque Ahead that raised $34,900 and Healthy Economies Lead to Progress raised $196,532 for a total of $231,432. The cash contributions were spent to promote 3 conservative Republican candidates for city council Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Lori Lee Robertson. The 2 finance committees were successful in ousting Democrat City Councilors Cynthia Borrego and Lan Sena.

Review of financial statements filed by the Dan Lewis campaign reflects the following amounts paid to Mc Clesky Media Strategies:

$3,747 (Finance Statement 7 filed October 6)
$5,781 (Finance Statement 8 filed October 15)
$ 4,226
$ 5,574
$5, 756 (Finance Statement 9 filed October 18)
$4,192 (Finance Statement 10 filed October 29)
$3,702
$6,406
$4,103 (Final Financial statement)
$533

$29,720 TOTAL PAID BY DAN LEWIS TO MC CLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES

POLITCAL HIT PIECE

A “political hit piece” is the lowest form and most unethical form of negative campaigning used by bottom feeder political consultants to smear the reputation of an opponent with the use of lies. It is often condemned by the public, especially by those who are the target, but used because negative campaigning works and it’s difficult to respond to by a candidate, especially at the end of a contentious campaign.

A few days before the November 2 election day, Republican Dan Lewis authorized McClesky Media Strategies to send out a political hit piece mailer against Incumbent City Councilor Cynthia Borrego. The hit piece arrived on November 1, the day before election day. The hit piece is replete with lies and innuendo and Borrego did not have the time nor funding to respond.

On one side of the mailer is a very unflattering photo of Cynthia Borrego proclaiming “Politician Cynthia Borrego has the wrong priorities”. The truth is Borrego retired after 30 years of dedicated service to the City. Borrego has done more for the city with her 30 years of dedicated service to the community than Dan Lewis could ever dream of accomplishing for the city. Four years ago was the first time Borrego ever ran for public office and she replaced Dan Lewis

The flyer makes the inflammatory and false accusation “Cynthia Borrego wastes our money and makes westside problems worse” giving no specifics and falsely labeling as “junkets” trips to the National League of City Conventions which the city council has participated in for decades. Dan Lewis on the other hand is a seasoned right wing Republican politician having served 8 years on the council and ran for Mayor 4 years ago and lost to Tim Keller in a landslide. Lewis supported the disastrous ART Bus project costing $130 million dollars and voted for gross receipts tax bonds to fund the project. During the 8 years Dan Lewis was on the city council, APD went from employing 1,100 sworn police to 860 sworn police and Dan Lewis did absolutely nothing to hold APD accountable for excessive use of force and deadly force.

The mailer goes on to lie in bold black letters that Borrego “Supports Sanctuary City” and says “Borrego voted to pass Sanctuary City policy that protects illegal immigrants who commit crime even for rape and murder.” This statement is an absolute lie by Dan Lewis and this lie coming from some on who professes to be a Christian Pastor. Simply put, there is no such sanctuary city policy “that protects illegal immigrants who commit crime even for rape and murder.” Albuquerque has never been a “sanctuary city” and it’s not at all likely it is ever going to be one. The truth is that in 2001, a full 10 years years before Borrego became a city councilor, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a resolution that declared Albuquerque an “immigrant-friendly” city. The resolution is symbolic and was sponsored by then-Republican City Councilor Hess Yntema, whose wife is a naturalized United States citizen from Columbia.

On the other side of the flyer is a very flattering picture of Dan Lewis where he proclaims he will “Fight crime by ending “Catch and Release” of criminals from jail. This too is another Lewis lie in that the City Council has no control over the criminal justice system, let alone the jails and the courts. This is the very same promise Lewis made when he ran for Mayor 4 years ago and threatened to plaster judges faces on billboards to supposedly hold them accountable for failure to hold those charged until trial.

CITY COUNCIL DISTRICT 9

In the District 9 City Council runoff race, Republican Renee Grout secured 51.69% (4,027 votes) and Democrat Rob Grilley secured 48.31% (3,764 votes).

McCleskey Media Strategies managed Republican Renee Grout’s successful campaign. Review of Renee Grouts campaign finance reports reveals a staggering amount of money paid to McCleskey Media Strategies producing and printing campaign materials and mailers.

The amounts are staggering for the reason that Renee Grout was initially a public finance candidate and was given $41,791 to run her campaign. After the November 2 election when she made it into the runoff, she became a privately financed candidate and raised more.

The amounts paid to McCleskey Media Strategies for the November 2 election are as follows:

7th campaign finance report: $2,426.18
8th campaign finance report: $10,472.17
9th campaign finance report: $8,441.41.
10th campaign finance report: $10,035

Total Paid for November 2 election to McClesky Media stategies: $31,374

Renee Grouts 4th Runoff Statement Campaign finance report reveals $14,992.66 paid McCleskey Media Strategies.

Renee Grouts 5th Runoff Statement Campaign report reveals $11,019 paid McCleskey Media Strategies.

The grand total paid to McCleskey Media Strategies by Renee Grout for the November 2 and the December 7 runoff is $57,386.42

The link to the city clerk’s office where you can review all of the Renee Grout campaign finance reports is here:

https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/PublicSite/SearchPages/OrganizationDetail.aspx?OrganizationID=7115

ANOTHER POLITCAL HIT PIECE

On December 1, a mere 6 days before the December 7 runoff election, Republican Renee Grout mailed a false “hit piece” campaign mailer against Democrat Rob Grilley. When you view the fine print on the flyer, barely readable because it is so tiny, the reader finds that it was produced by “McClesky Media Strategies.”

THE LIES TOLD

The political hit piece had a color photo of Democrat Rob Grilley with his arms crossed, and smiling. The photo was obviously taken off of Grilley’s campaign web page. To the right of the Grilley picture is the proclamation “Grilley supports Sanctuary City that protects violent criminals .” The words “protect violent criminals” are in yellow with a black background and the word “protects” is underlined in red for emphasis.

The political hit piece went on to say:

“Rob Grilley supports Sanctuary City policy that forces police to hide illegal immigrants from federal authorities, even if they commit crimes like rape or murder!

In bold, bright red letters appear the words: “Protecting Violent Criminals.” Below these words appears the following text:

“Jaqueline Vigil, a mother of two New Mexico Police Officers, was murdered by Luis Talamantes-Romero, an illegal immigrant with a lengthy criminal history. Vigil’s killer should have been deported before, but the city’s sanctuary city policy forced police to hide him from immigration officials.”

THE LIAR WHO TELLS THEM

The flyer attacking Democrat Rob Grilley was simply a pack of lies. On many levels, the lies revealed a candidate grossly ignorant of the truth or could care less about the truth so long as she won an election. With the malicious flyer, Grout resorted to fear tactics and misinformation to distract voters and it worked.

ALBUQUERQUE HAS NEVER BEEN A “SANCTUARY CITY”

It’s a Grout lie likely spoon fed to her by McClesky when she says, “Rob Grilley supports Sanctuary City policy that forces police to hide illegal immigrants from federal authorities, even if they commit crimes like rape or murder!” Simply put, there is no such policy to hide illegal immigrants who commit crimes like rape and murder from federal authorities. As noted above, Albuquerque has never been a “sanctuary city” and it’s not likely it is eve going to be one. In 2001, the city became an “immigrant-friendly” city and implements “welcoming city” policies and does not provide for city enforcement of federal immigration laws, and addresses only city services, including licensing and housing. The focus is to create inclusive, immigrant-friendly, and welcoming policies. Albuquerque’s “immigrant-friendly” designation by city council resolution welcomes immigrants to the city and is mainly symbolic and in no way hides rapist and murders from law enforcement.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2435020/how-can-a-mayor-fight-crime.html

JAQUELIN VIGIL’S KILLER WAS UNKNOWN TO APD

It was another lie when the flyer says, “Vigil’s killer should have been deported before, but the city’s sanctuary city policy forced police to hide him from immigration officials. When the murder occurred, it was first believed to have been a retaliation killing against Vigils’ two state police officer sons. APD did not “hide her killer from immigration officials” because APD had no idea who her killer was, and a search had begun while APD was investigating the murder. What the investigation found is that the killer was “casing” homes at 5:30 am in the area, he came upon Jaqueline Vigil pulling out of her driveway to go to the gym and he shot her.

The truth is Jaqueline Vigil’s killer had already been deported by the Immigration and Naturalization Services (INS) a few months before the killing. The first illegal entry was a misdemeanor. When he reentered the United States illegally for a second time, he committed a felony. Unbeknownst to APD, Talamantes- Romero was arrested by INS on an outstanding warrant on unrelated charges and was being held in an El Paso federal detention facility. On June 21, 2021, Talamantes- Romero was indicted by a state grand jury on murder, burglary and attempted armed robbery charges stemming from the Nov. 19, 2019. He is in custody and is awaiting trial.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2402278/alleged-shooter-in-womans-death-is-indicted-by-a-grand-jury-ex-luis-talamentesromero-is-accused-of-killing-jacqueline-vigil-in-her-west-side-driveway.html

“MC CLESKEY MEDIA STRATEGIES” IS JAY MC CLESKEY

According to the McCleskey Media Strategies internet web page, the company ostensibly provides “all inclusive” one stop services in political consulting and advertising services including television and radio production, direct mail, digital services, general consulting, public relations and strategy. When you examine the company’s “our team” link, the only biography provided is that of Jay Mc Clesky, leading one to believe he is a sole employee of the firm.

https://www.mccleskeymedia.com/

The biography of Jay Mc Clesky is very revealing to the extent of influence he exerts over candidates that he elects with an almost exclusive emphasis on Republican candidates. The Jay Mc Clesky biography states in pertinent part:

“Jay McCleskey is President of McCleskey Media Strategies and brings over 20 years of experience running campaigns. His clients have included candidates at all levels, as well as major national party organizations such as the Republican Governors Association and the National Republican Congressional Committee.
…
In 2004, McCleskey ran the RNC’s Victory operation for President Bush’s re-election campaign in New Mexico, which was one of only two states to change from blue to red.

Prior to that, McCleskey served as Executive Director of the Republican Party of New Mexico.
…
From 2005 to 2009, McCleskey served as the Regional Political Director (RPD) for the Republican National Committee and managed the RNC’s political operations in 10 states, while assisting dozens of the most competitive campaigns in the country.
…
In both 2009 and 2013, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Richard Berry. Mayor Berry was the first Republican mayor in Albuquerque in 25 years in an upset victory over incumbent Marty Chavez….

In 2013, McCleskey led Berry’s campaign to a 39-point victory.

In both 2010 and 2014, McCleskey served as the lead consultant for Susana Martinez for Governor and served as Governor Martinez’s chief political advisor during her 8 years in office. During the first campaign, McCleskey produced all of her paid media, direct mail, and was the chief campaign strategist for Martinez … In the 2014 re-election campaign, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Martinez. …
…
… [In] 2014, McCleskey served as the chief strategist for the independent expenditure campaign effort that led to Republicans winning control of the New Mexico House of Representatives for the first time since 1952. That same cycle, McCleskey also served as the media consultant for two major statewide GOP victories.
…
In 2016, McCleskey managed the independent expenditure effort that defeated State Senator Michael Sanchez, the majority leader who had served for over two decades.

… McCleskey also served as the media consultant for the successful statewide campaign of Supreme Court Justice Judy Nakamura, the first Republican elected to the court in 36 years.

In 2018, McCleskey served as the media consultant for the Republican Governors Association in multiple states, including producing television advertisements for the successful re-election effort on behalf of Governor John Sununu in New Hampshire.

https://www.mccleskeymedia.com/

In 2015, NMPolitics.net described Jay McClesky as “the most influential political operative in New Mexico”.

https://www.facebook.com/nmpolitics/posts/913176012051457?comment_id=913231065379285&offset=0&total_comments=10&comment_tracking=%7B%22tn%22%3A%22R%22%7D

McCLESKY TWICE ELECTING AND INFLUENCING A REPUBLICAN MAYOR

Jay McCleskey says in his biography:

“In both 2009 and 2013, McCleskey served as chief strategist for Richard Berry”. Mayor Berry was the first Republican mayor in Albuquerque in 25 years in an upset victory over incumbent Marty Chavez…. In 2013, McCleskey led Berry’s campaign to a 39-point victory” seriously down plays his role and intentionally ignores the smear tactics to win both races at any and all costs.

Because McClesky down plays the extent of his role in both the 2009 and 2013 Mayor’s race, a review of both those elections is in order.

2009 MAYOR’S RACE

In 2009, then Republican State Representative Richard Berry was essentially recruited by the Republican Party to run against incumbent Democrat Mayor Martin Chavez and progressive and former State Senator Richard Romero. All 3 of the candidates for Mayor qualified for public finance and each was given $330,000. No measured finance committees were established to help any one of the candidates. It was said that Berry did not believe he could win and ran only to increase his name identification to allow him to run for congress or Governor.

The 2009 Mayor’s race is believed to be the very first time Jay McClesky ran a Mayor’s race. The goal of the Republican Party in 2009 was to end the political career of Marty Chavez after his 3 terms as Mayor and return a Republican to city hall with all the patronage and jobs the office comes with. Berry was a very well liked Republican and in the construction industry who had much higher ambitions.

In 2009, Chavez was seeking a 4th term as Mayor and Progressive Democrat Richard Romero was said to have a grudge against Chavez. The Berry campaign, no doubt under the guidance of McClesky, produced campaign ads and materials that took direct aim at Marty Chavez and attacked the Chavez record on property crime rates. Jay McClesky produced TV commercials and flyers that pandered to the fears of voters when it came to property crime as a means to defeating Mayor Martin Chavez and it worked.

In 2009, Berry made auto thefts a corner stone issue in the Mayor’s race by doing a commercial standing next to his burned out stolen truck and vowing that he could do better as Mayor and make Albuquerque the “worse place to be a criminal”, a slogan ostensibly created by McClesky. The ad essentially blamed all of the city’s rising property crime on Chavez. The truth is that under Chavez, crime rates were down. None the less, the TV ad was so effective it won a national award. McClesky produced no ads attacking Richard Romero. Eight (8) years later, after Berry’s two terms as mayor, Albuquerque had become number one in the nation for auto thefts and crime rates across the city were dramatically spiking. APD also went from 1,100 full time sworn police to 860 sworn police during years Berry was in office. So much for making Albuquerque “the worse place to be a criminal.”

Another very nasty campaign tactic used by Berry supporters ostensibly approved by Jay McCleskey was when they circulated a billboard mounted on a truck that drove through city streets that proclaimed Chavez had made the city a “sanctuary city” for illegal immigrants, which was a total lie. The city has never been a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants, but the ploy worked to gin up conservative Republicans.

On October 6, 2009, Berry won the election outright with 36,466 votes (43.82%) to Chavez’s 29,140 votes (35.02%) and Romero’s 17,458 (20.98%). The 2009 election was at the time the lowest voter turn out election in the city’s history. The 2009 election ended the political careers of both Marty Chavez and Richard Romero.

TO THE VICTOR GOES THE SPOILS

As the saying goes, to the victor goes the spoils. Once elected, Richard Berry proceeded to quickly replace virtually all city department heads with inexperienced Republican political operatives seeking high paying jobs, including relatives of Republican legislators. Heading the Berry transition team was long time Republican Political operative Sherman Mc Corkle.

One particular political operative during the transition period was sent to the Mayor’s office where he proceeded to write down the names of employees on doors and desks in the Mayor’s office so that termination letters could be sent to them telling them their services were no longer needed. Letters of termination were signed by and sent by designated Chief Administrative Office David Campbell, who had yet to assume office and had no authority to terminate.

It is common knowledge amongst political observers that former Bernalillo County Sheriff and Republican political operative Darren White is a close personal friend of McClesky. Confidential sources confirmed in 2009 that Jay McClesky and Sherman McCorkle were successful in getting Mayor Richard Berry to appoint as Chief Public Safety Officer Darren White and appoint political operatives Rob Perry City Attorney and Gordon Eden APD Chief. Perry would later go on to be appointed the city’s Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) and paid $200,000 a year by Berry after Perry squeezed David Campbell out of the job.

2013 MAYOR’S

The 2013 Albuquerque Mayor’s race was the lowest voter turnout in the city’s history with only 70,473 voting, or a miserable 19%, out of a little more 300,000 registered voters. Two Republicans, incumbent Mayor Richard Berry and retired APD Sergeant Paul Heh and one Democrat, retired Chief Public Safety Officer, and former Chief Deputy District Attorney and City Councilor Pete Dinelli, qualified to be on the ballot. Democrat former Albuquerque first lady Margaret Aragon de Chavez withdrew from the race. Former Democrat Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico Diane Denish and Democrat City Councilor Ken Sanchez, declined to run for Mayor in 2013 as did then State Senator Tim Keller who decided to run for NM State Auditor.

In the 2013 Mayor’s race, Democrat candidate Pete Dinelli qualified for public finance and was given $340,00 for the campaign after securing 5,000 qualifying $5 donations. Duke City Rising, the measure finance committee formed to promote Democrats raised upwards of $60,000 but spent very little on the Mayor’s race. Instead it was used to help and promote almost exclusively Democrat City Council Candidates. Despite a commitment to raise funding of upwards of $150,000 by then Democratic Party Chairman Sam Bregman for Duke City Rising to help in the Mayor and City Council races, only office space was given by the State Democratic party for debate preparation.

Then Democrat Party Chairman Sam Bregman reneged on his promise to raise money and asked Democrat Dinelli to raise money for the Democratic party instead. Democrat United States Senators Jeff Bingaman and Tom Udall at the time declined to get involved with the Mayor’s race saying they did not endorse in municipal elections. Both US Senators later endorsed Democrats in city council run off elections and allowed their names to be placed on a flyer promoting Democrat City Councilor Diane Gibson saying she had “friends in high places”.

In the 2013 mayor’s race, Republican Richard Berry raised and spent $1.1 million in private financing. For a supposedly nonpartisan race, Mayor Berry’s 2013 private finance contributors list was very top heavy with prominent Republican donors and heavy hitters including the Republican National Committee ($10,000 donation), Brewer Oil Company ($5,000 donation), Western Refining Company ($5,000 donation).

In the 2013 Mayor’s race, Jay McClesky spent the full $1.1 million Berry had raised to produce TV and radio commercials and campaign mailers to disparage the 28 year public service career of Pete Dinelli. McClesky produced 3 TV ads disparaging the reputation of Dinelli and proclaiming it would be too dangerous to make him Mayor.

The first false ad claimed that Dinelli over 20 years before running for Mayor, went on a “boondoggle trip” to Calvary, Canada and stayed in a “castle” as Bernalillo Chief Deputy District Attorney. The trip was in fact a three day trip by a delegation of 12 who were part of the committee consisting of construction contractors, representatives from the county, courts and the DA’s office working on the new Metro Courthouse and DA Office construction projects. The trip was arranged by Bernalillo County. No one stayed in a “castle” but at a private corporation owned home that had guest house accommodations behind the home. The day after arriving, the delegation was taken to a manufacturing plant to review floor plans and modular office construction for competitive bids.

A second false ad produce by Jay McClesky accused Dinelli of signing a multi million dollar purchasing contract for furniture for the the new District Attorneys office. The ad was an outright lie in that no Chief Deputy District Attorney nor District Attorney has purchasing signature authority to sign such contract and only the county manager can sign such contracts.

A third false ad produced by Jay McClesky accused Dinelli of violating people’s civil rights in a civil code enforcement action by the APD code teams to enforce a drug contamination ordinance. Dinelli was not even present, was already retired in many cases and did not approve such actions. It was APD employees under the management of an APD Sergeant and Lieutenant that violated people’s civil rights. The Berry Administration agreed to a federal court “class action lawsuit”, agreed to add Dinelli as named party defendant without notifying him and after Dinelli had already retired. Under the orders of City Attorney Rob Perry, the Berry Administration refused to defend the class action lawsuit and instead settled the case taking no depositions, sending out no interrogatories nor making request for production of documents, and refuse to retain expert witnesses in the case.

In 2013, then Republican incumbent Mayor Richard Berry won the Mayor’s race garnering 48,008 votes or 68.12% votes with Democrat Pete Dinelli garnering 20,248 votes or 28.73% and Republican Paul Heh securing 2,217 votes or 3.15%. It was the lowest voter turn out in the city’s history.

MC CLESKY TWICE ELECTING AND INFLUENCING A REPUBLICAN GOVERNOR

It has been said by political insiders that in 2010 Jay McClesky went out of his way to recruite Susana Martinez to run for Governor and she herself has said she would not have been elected had it not been for Jay McClesky. Rooting out corruption was a major issue in 2010 Governors race. During the 2010 race for Governor between then 2 term Democrat Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish and then long time serving Republican Dona Ana District Attorney Susana Martinez, McClesky successfully managed to get Martinez elected on a “law and order” platform by tying Denish to then Governor Bill Richardson and “pay to play scandals” of the Richardson Administration. Denish had nothing to do with those scandals and it was common knowledge amongst politicos that Denish had a strained relationship with Richardson and she was never conferred with nor part of the Richardson “inner circle.”

https://www.politico.com/story/2010/08/corruption-at-issue-in-nm-gov-race-041237

In the 2010 race for Governor, Susana Martinez launched TV ads to link Denish to convicted or accused sex offenders. One of Martinez’s ad, ostensibly produced by Mc Clesky, claimed Denish was responsible for a policy of not reporting juvenile illegal immigrants to federal immigration authorities, a policy that the ad said allowed one man, who recently was arrested for sexual assault of a child, to stay in the U.S. The ad claimed Denish responsible for the policy which was a stretch if not an outright lie. You can review the ad and fact check analysis here.

https://www.factcheck.org/2010/06/mudslinging-in-new-mexico/

The Richardson Administration was investigated by United States Attorney for New Mexico Greg Forate for “pay to play” allegations that the Richardson Administration was awarding state contracts in exchange for campaign contributions. Forate was forced to abandon the criminal investigation when nothing was found, but that did not stop Forate from issuing a press release that Richardson had corrupted the state procurement process. The press release in and of itself was out of the ordinary with many accusing Greg Forate of violating Department of Justice (DOJ) protocol. McClesley took full advantage of the situation to taint Denish.

What is ironic is that later Jay McClesky himself would also be investigated by the Department of Justice (DOJ) relating to his involvement in the “Dirty Downs” deal which is described more fully below.

MC CLESKY DOES THE GOVERNOR’S BIDDING AND AGREES TO PAY $375,000 FOR DEFAMATION

Former Republican Governor Susana Martinez was vicious in going after members of her own party who disagreed with her and she did that with Jay Mc Clesky carrying out her orders. Recently, it was reported that Southern New Mexico rancher Scott Chandler, a Republican, settled a defamation lawsuit he filed claiming political consultant Jay McCleskey and the former Republican Governor’s political action committee circulated untruthful mailers about him during the 2016 campaign. The settlement agreement was reached 3 days after Chandler filed a motion asking a judge to add former Governor Susana Martinez as a defendant in the case. The motion was based on Mc Cleskey’s statements in a recent deposition that Martinez was critical in setting up the Advance New Mexico Now PAC.

Chandler’s 2019 lawsuit alleged that McCleskey and Advance New Mexico Now PAC circulated two mailers about Chandler damaging his chances of winning a 2016 Republican primary election for House District 32. Republican Chandler lost the primary by 16 votes. The lawsuit alleged that McCleskey and the PAC mailed fliers during the 2016 primary that asked, “How did a business accused of child abuse and torture AVOID government oversight?”

The fliers referred to a 2013 New Mexico State Police investigation of Chandler’s Tierra Blanca High Country Youth Program in Hillsboro, north of Deming. No criminal charges were ever filed as a result of the investigation. Chandler received legal settlements approaching $1 million from the state related to the investigation. The defamation suit against Mc Cleskey also alleges that Mc Cleskey advised then-Governor Martinez to execute the State Police search of Chandler’s ranch in October 2013. Chandler asked a 6th Judicial District Court judge on November 1 to add Martinez to the suit, alleging McCleskey recently implicated the former governor as a key player in the PAC who “directly authorized the mailing of the fliers.” McCleskey made the comments during an August 10 deposition in a related lawsuit McCleskey filed against his insurance company. In that suit, Mc Cleskey alleged that the company refused to pay his legal costs in the Chandler lawsuit.

In his deposition, McCleskey said Martinez was involved in setting up and operating the PAC, which is no longer active, the motion states:

“Governor Martinez was involved in the running of the PAC, including decisions about proposed budgets, proposed targets, and proposed districts. … She was involved in polling meetings and was presented with polling information.”

On May 20, 2019, Scott Chandler sued Jay McCleskey and his political action committee in Luna County for defamation related to mailers that were sent out during the 2016 Republican primary for the New Mexico House of Representatives. In response to the Complaint, Mc Clesky filed a motion to dismiss the case based on new Mexico’s statute prohibiting strategic litigation against public participation (Anti-SLAPP statute). McClesky also argued that the statements at issue were not defamatory as a matter of law. The District Court denied the Motion to Dismiss and the Court of Appeals upheld the District Court’s decision. On April 7, 2020, the New Mexico Supreme declined to hear the case meaning that the agreed with the lower court ruling,

https://www.scribd.com/document/547367008/PRESS-RELEASE-Chandler-v-McCleskey

On Decmber 15, 2021, the case was settled with McClesky’s insurance company agreeing to pay $375,000 to settle the defamation claims against McClesky. The link to the settlement agreement is here.

https://www.scribd.com/document/547367326/Final-Signed-Release

On December 15, Scott Chandler issued the following statement on the $375,000 settlement:

In essence, law was made and precedent was set to provide a warning to those who chose to cross the line using “scorched earth” tactics to win. Our case will not only serve as a warning but, as a potential roadmap for others who find themselves, as we did in 2016, facing lies and unbelievable actions of unscrupulous individuals. Jay McCleskey, even in his own words, implicated a sitting Governor and their PAC acting as if they could operate above the law. In McCleskey’s deposition he was asked who authorized him to say “on behalf of Advance New Mexico that it didn’t consider Mr. Chandler to be a good candidate for the general election,” Mr. McCleskey answered “[t]he governor.”

The link to quoted source materials is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2448303/lawsuit-over-campaign-fliers-appears-settled.html

“THE DIRTY DOWNS DEAL” AND A FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

During her first year in office, Governor Susanna Martinez herself was alleged to have been involved with a “play to play” controversy involving the award of a $1 Billion-dollar, 25-year, Albuquerque Downs Racetrack contract, dubbed by politicos as “The Dirty Downs Deal”. At the very center of the “Dirty Downs Deal was Jay Mc Clesky who carried out the Governor’s orders.

https://www.abqjournal.com/335335/buster-screwed-us.html

The FBI investigated the contract, which was awarded to the Downs at Albuquerque in December 2011, with FBI agents interviewing people involved with the Martinez campaign and others about the lease and about campaign donations and inaugural donations. Martinez herself also answered FBI questions about the Downs lease deal. Allegations were made that the Downs at Albuquerque contract was a “pay-to-play deal”, reminiscent of those alleged during the administration of her predecessor Governor Bill Richardson.

Allegations of nefarious conduct around the Downs lease involved political insiders, significant campaign contributions to Martinez and attempts to hide political donations and contributions to Governor Martinez or her political action committee from donors connected to the Downs. Two of the Downs owners were Louisianans Bill Windham and John Turner both Republican boosters and were substantial contributors to Martinez’s campaign for Governor. Martinez received $70,000 in contributions during her campaign from Windham and Turner.

According to news reports, after her election, Windham asked for a meeting with Martinez’s transition team to discuss the future of the racino lease and offered to contribute $50,000 to the Martinez inaugural committee. According to news reports, Andrea Goff, who was executive director of the inaugural committee, was instructed to turn down Windham’s offer.

At the center of the “Dirty Downs Deal” was Governor Susana Martinez’s political adviser, Jay McCleskey, who was not a state employee, yet had an office on the 4th floor of the state capitol next to the Governor. McCleskey, who was living rent free in the Governor’s mind, thrust himself right in the middle of controversy.

According to news reports, McCleskey became upset over a two-week delay to award the contract by the State Fair Commission and was angry that the commission did not approve the 25-year racino lease with the Downs at Albuquerque. McCleskey, after the vote to delay the award of the lease, made repeated contact to complain to Andrea Goff Andrea.

Goff was a Hobbs-area fundraiser who at the time was working for Martinez and raising money for Susana Pac, the Governors political action committee. Andrea Goff is the daughter-in-law of then-State Fair Commissioner Buster Goff who had cast the deciding vote to delay the award of the contract for two weeks.

Buster Goff was a Martinez appointee to the State Fair Commission and his vote was considered a betrayal to the person who appointed him.

A text message from Jay McClesky to Andrea Goff includes the following:

“Buster screwed us!”
“He [Buster] has just really hurt the governor,”
“The gov is furious … It is VERY bad.”
“These 2 weeks will not be used to study the proposal … they will be used to kick the crap [out] of the gov … That’s what he [Buster] needs to understand.”
“Windham [one of the Downs’ owners] will be a piñata for 2 weeks. … He [Buster Goff] was supposed to pass it [the Downs contract].”

Andrea Goff said in media interviews that she felt she was being pressured by McCleskey to somehow get her father-in-law to change his vote. Andrea Goff said she did not try to change the mind of her father-in-law Goff but that she did try to find out from him what happened and what his reasoning was to vote for a two-week delay. According to Andrea Goff, her father-in-law and other commissioners were very concerned with performance clauses in the lease and said to McCleskey:

“They want to be good public servants for the gov and the state but did not know they were just supposed to be a rubber stamp [ and just vote to approve].”

In one text message, Andrea Goff said Buster Goff had offered to resign as State Fair Commissioner. According to news reports, McCleskey ignored the resignation offer and harped to Andrea Goff about how Democrats in the New Mexico State Senate wanted to embarrass Governor Martinez. McCleskey predicted dire financial consequences for the State Fair if the lease was not approved.

The State Fair Commission eventually voted to award the contract to the Downs of Albuquerque with Commissioner Buster Goff voting for approval.

Republican operatives former Bernalillo County Sherriff Darren White, who appeared in Martinez election commercials, and former Republican National Committeeman and private attorney Pat Rogers were hired by the successful Downs Race track applicant. Both White and Rogers are known to have close ties with McClesky and no doubt played a role in influencing the award of the contract by the Martinez Administration.

FEDERAL GRAND JURY INVESTIGATION

McCleskey denied trying to pressure Andrea Goff in any manner. For several months, a federal grand jury had investigated Jay McCleskey regarding expenditures from Republican Martinez’s campaign, as well as money from her 2011 inauguration committee that went to McCleskey.

On March 4, 2016, McClesky’s attorney and the Republican Governor’s attorney Republican Paul Kennedy, the former Supreme Court Justice appointed by Martinez and Republican operative, announced that the federal grand jury would not indict McCleskey by saying tersely “I’ve been informed the investigation has been terminated”. Kennedy declined to answer any questions. Paul Kennedy is a very prominent criminal defense attorney known to charge top dollar and it has never been disclosed if he was paid for his services by McClesky, the Governor’s PAC or by the Republican Party.

https://www.abqjournal.com/735011/mccleskey-lawyer-grand-jury-over-no-charges.html

What happened with the “Dirty Downs Deal” was a good example of McCleskey’s aggressive conduct to defend and protect Governor Martinez at all cost during her entire 8 years in office. It was also a good example of the vindictive way McCleskey goes after people he views as opponents who refused to tow the line.

MILLIONS PAID MCCLESKY MEDIA STRATEGIES BY RONCHETTI

OpenSecrets is the nation’s premier research and government transparency group tracking money in politics and its effect on elections and policy. OpenSecrets is a nonprofit organization based in Washington, D.C., that tracks data on campaign finance and lobbying. It was created from a merger of the Center for Responsive Politics (CRP) and the National Institute on Money in Politics.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/OpenSecrets

According to OpenSecrets, the Mark Ronchetti for New Mexico committee made 105 payments totaling $2,647,913 to Mc Clesky Media Strategies in Ronchetti’s race for United States Senate against Ben Ray Lujan. The amount is based on expenditures reported by candidates, parties, PACs and outside spending groups for the 2019-2020 election cycle and based on Federal Election Commission data available electronically on Monday, February 01, 2021.

https://www.opensecrets.org/campaign-expenditures/vendor?vendor=McCleskey+Media+Strategies&year=2020

COMMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Jay McCleskey is New Mexico’s version of Lee Atwater or Karl Rove, two of the most despicable right wing Republican bottom feeders and political consultants and strategists for the Republican Party. McClesky has even received praises for his work from Karl Rove. McClesky is known for his negative slash-and-burn tactics to disparage and viciously malign Democrats at all levels and he has been very successful at it in New Mexico for the last 20 years making a very lucrative living. It’s difficult to respond to a politcal hit piece, especially at the end of a contentious campaign or if an opponent does not have the financial resources to respond to the lies and the liars who tell them.

A “political hit piece” is the lowest form of negative campaigning used by all successful bottom feeder political consultants to smear the reputation of an opponent. In New Mexico, McCleskey has elevated the “political hit piece” to an art form. His tactics are often condemned by the public and those who are the target. The problem is that negative campaigning and smear tactics work and has worked for Jay McClesky over the years. McClesky has made a lucrative living at it and will likely continue to do so here and elsewhere in the country.

Sources have confirmed that McClesky is already lining up clientele for the 2022 midterms, including being hired by former Republican State Representative and retired APD police officer Paul Pacheco who is running for Bernalillo County Sheriff. Mark Ronchetti has now announced he is running for the Republican nomination for Governor in the 2022 election and it is more likely than not that McClesky Media Strategies will once again be advising Republican Mark Ronchetti to do whatever it can to make Governor Michell Lujan Grisham a one term Governor.

Simply put, Jay McClesky is the go-to guy for anyone who is Republican running for office willing to spend and do whatever it takes to win an election at any and all costs. One thing is for certain is that when you hire Jay Mc Clesky to manage your campaign, and if you do win, you can expect him to exert great influence over you until the day you leave office.

LET THE VOTING PUBLIC BEWARE!

Links to related blog articles with quoted news are here:

The Scandals and Failures of Governor Susana Martinez

The Rise And Fall Of Governor Susana Martinez And Her 8 Year Legacy Of Failure

A Berry Bad Legacy of Failure

Berry Offers Record of Failure For Governor

On Monday, December 6, the New Mexico legislature convened the special session for the purpose redrawing the states United States congressional Districts as well as all State House and Senate Districts. The 2021 special session is the first time in 30 years that Democrats have controlled both the New Mexico House and Senate chambers and the Governor’s Office during a redistricting year. The current congressional map was a result of litigations and was designed in court 10 years ago and keeps Albuquerque concentrated in one district rather than split between two districts. The 2021 enacted congressional redistricting plan changes that.

NEW CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

On December 11, the New Mexico House of Representatives voted 44 to 24 to pass Senate Bill 1, clearing the way for a new Congressional map in time for the 2022 election season. If Governor Lujan Grisham signs the redistricting, which is highly likely, Albuquerque will be split and be into two districts of CD 1 and CD 2. As adopted, all three Congressional Districts will have constituents in the SE quadrant of the state. The proposal passed along party lines in both chambers of the Legislature. Every Republican voted to opposed it. Only one Democrat, Representative Candie Sweetser of Deming, crossed party lines to vote no with Republicans.

For Albuquerque, much of the West Side, South Valley and parts of the Barelas neighborhood will be moved into the 2nd Congressional District, which is otherwise rooted in southern New Mexico. As the new districts are drawn, all 3 congressional districts will have constituents in the South East quadrant of the state.

Senator Joseph Cervantes (D-Las Cruces) says the new congressional District will give Hispanic and Tribal communities a stronger voice and had this to say:

“We’re re-imagining New Mexico, which is no longer Albuquerque as an island unto itself, but rather a map of Congressional representation that includes rural and urban together and really begins to make New Mexico feel a little more diverse and a little more unified. … I think that’s very exciting to realize it’s no longer a north-south state with a dividing line at I-40 and Albuquerque sitting as an island. We’re going to do better as a state, when we begin to unify our communities.”

Albuquerque Democrat State Representative Georgene Louis, a co-sponsor of the bill, said the proposed map ensures all of the state’s representatives in Congress have to answer to a diverse set of constituents. Louis is a member of Acoma Pueblo and said the plan adjusts some boundaries to reflect the wishes of Native American tribes. Louis put it this way:

“We’re making these districts really listen to the voices of both the urban and the rural.”

UNM Political Science Professor Dr. Lonna Atkeson said that this could lead to Democrats winning all three districts and put it this way:

“Are we going to keep the same boundaries, which have led to, for example in our federal elections, a common two Democratic and one Republican house member split or are we going to change that map so that it really probably picks up three blue districts? That’s really what the fight is over.”

STRONG OPPOSTION VOICED

Strong opposition emerged immediately. Albuquerque South Valley Democrat Senator Jacob Candelaria condemned the District 1 map claiming it will dilute the influence of Latino voters in Albuquerque’s working class West Side. Candelaria has announced he will not run for reelection in 2024. At the beginning of the special session, Candelaria announced a change in his party affiliation from Democratic to “unaffiliated” denouncing the corrosive effects of extreme partisanship. His departure from the Democratic Party results in a 26-seat Democratic majority with 15 Republicans in the 42 member Senate. Candelaria had this to say about the passed congressional district plan:

“You would strip representation from people that I represent, many of whom are Hispanic, simply because it benefits you at the ballot box. ”

New Mexico House and Senate Republicans blasted the re districting legislation charging it as a blatant attempt to dilute the voting strength of rural communities. The main criticism is that the conservative stronghold of southeastern New Mexico will be broken into all 3 congressional districts, rather than unified and represented by one member of congress as it has been for decades.

Republican state Representative Greg Nibert of Roswell put it this way:

“I see this map as an assault on rural New Mexico, particularly agricultural areas. It looks to me like the Senate plan purposefully makes the current competitive districts uncompetitive … That is not by happenstance; that is by design, and it is politically motivated.”

Republican Senator Cliff Pirtle, Roswell, said he thinks the congressional map could diminish the power of the Democrat held 3rd Congressional District represented by Teresa Leger Fernandez and he had this to say:

“It’s a risk that is being taken [by Democrats thinking they can make inroads in the traditionally Republican part of the state] … with the right candidate who really speaks to the independents and people frustrated with the Democratic Party, we could pull off a win even in the next election.”

The New Mexico Acequia Association and the Pueblos of Laguna and Acoma also opposed the new districts because of how the changes would affect the 3rd District in the northeast. Conroy Chino, a lobbyist for the two pueblos, said they’re against the plan because of their close relationship with U.S. Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez and because the map would reduce the Native American population that’s old enough to vote in CD 3 from 20% to 16%.

Representative Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, said concerns about congressional leaders ignoring rural communities are likely unfounded and said any congressional leader who does that and said

“will not be in office very long. I think it is a huge advantage to have three districts where there are both urban and rural issues [represented] and Because those congresspersons who are elected will have a much broader understanding of what is facing both rural New Mexico and urban New Mexico.”

FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The First Congressional District is represented by freshman Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury who was just elected in a special election with 60% plus landslide in June to replace Debra Halaand who resigned when she was appointed Secretary of the Interior by President Joe Biden. Stansbury is decisively a progressive Democrat. Most of the city of Rio Rancho is now in District 1 which could be problematic for Standsbury. Rio Rancho is the 3rd largest city in the state and has a healthy number of conservative Republican registered voters. The Democratic leaning Albuquerque Westside, South Valley and the Barelas have been removed from the District and now in the Second Southern Congressional District represented by Republican Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo. District 1 now includes the conservative rural counties of DeBaca and Lincoln.

Before the new redistricting, District 1 included Bernalillo, Sandoval, Santa Fe, Torrance, and Valencia counties. Under the new redistricting, the 1st Congressional District would continue to cover most of Albuquerque and the East Mountains and now it will also include most of Rio Rancho and include Ruidoso and cover a number of rural counties, stretching southeast with part of Roswell included. The counties in the District 1 include parts of Beranlillo County, Valncia, Torrance, Guadalupe, Lincoln and De Baca. Towns and cities included in District 1 CD are Albuquerque, Rio Rancho, Moriarty, Roswell, Estancia, Stanly, Santa Rosa, Fort Sumner, and Ruidoso.

An analyst of the district conducted by the legislatures contracted polling company Research and Polling reveals the new Congressional District 1 covers precincts that lean 7% points toward Democrats in elections over the past 10 years. The political performance sampling estimated the district will lean 53.5% Democratic and 46.5% Republican.

PAST FIRST CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION

The 1st Congressional District now held by Democrat Melanie Stansbury of Albuquerque. Her predecessors have included Democrats US Interior Secretary Debra Haaland (elected 2 terms, January 3, 2019 – March 16, 2021), Governor Mitchell Lujan Grisham (elected 3 terms, January 3, 2013 – January 1, 2019), Senator Martin Heinrich (elected 2 terms, January 3, 2009 –January 3, 2013 ) and Republicans Heather Wilson (elected 6 terms, June 25, 1998 – January 3, 2009), Congressman Steve Schiff (elected 5 terms, January 3, 1989 – March 25, 1998) and Manuel Lujan, Jr. (elected 10 terms, January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1989.)
.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico%27s_1st_congressional_district

SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISITRICT

Before redistricting, the 2nd congressional district included southern part of Bernalillo, Catron, Chaves, Cibola, DeBaca, Doña Ana, Eddy, Grant, Guadalupe, Hidalgo, Lea, Lincoln, Luna, McKinley, Otero, Roosevelt, Sierra, Socorro, and Valencia counties. The 2nd Congressional District now has the counties of Cibola, Catron, Socorro, Hidalgo, Grant, Luna, Sierra, Doña Ana, Otero, Eddy. The towns and cities on District 2 include Lordsburg, Deming, Silver City, Reserve, Soccoro, Los Lunas, Grants, Truth or Consequences, Las Cruces, Alamogordo and Carlsbad. The 2nd Congressional District includes the southern part of Hobbs, the southern half of Zuni Pueblo, the southern half of the Mescalero Apache tribal lands, and the Albuquerque South Valley just outside the city limits of Albuquerque. Hobbs is being split in half between Districts 2 and 3. According to the Research & Polling analysis of past elections, Democrats would have a 6% point Democratic lean.

One of the biggest changes for the Second Congressional District is that it now includes a large portion of Albuquerque’s s Westside, the South Valley and the Barelas neighborhood, areas of the city that will no doubt feel out of place philosophically with the far more conservative southern part of the state except perhaps for Dona Ana County with Las Cruces. According to the latest census numbers Doña Ana County’s population is nearly 70% Hispanic. The new district map brings the adult Hispanic population in CD 2 to a little more than 56% which is an increase of 5%.The progressive Center for Civic Policy stated in submitted comments:

“This map attempts to address these nagging racial equity concerns. … [Hispanic] voices largely go unheard and under-represented [in the current District]. ”

PAST SECOND CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION

The 2nd Congressional District is now held by Republican Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo. Her predecessors are Democrat Xochitl Torrez Small (elected 1 term, January 3, 2019 – January 3, 202), Republican Steve Pierce (elected 4 terms January 3, 2011 – January 3, 2019), Democrat Harry Teageu (elected 1 term, January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2011, Republicans Steve Pearce, (elected 3 terms, January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2009) Joe Skeen (elected 11 terms, January 3, 1981 – January 3, 2003), Democrat Harold Runnels, (elected 5 terms, January 3, 1971 – August 5, 1980), and Republican Ed Foreman (elected 1 term, January 3, 1969 – January 3, 1971.) .

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico%27s_2nd_congressional_district

THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

The 3rd Congressional District is now held by Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez of Santa Fe. Before redistricting, the 3rd congressional district included a northern part of Bernalillo County and included Colfax, Curry, Harding, Los Alamos, McKinley, Mora, Quay, Rio Arriba, Roosevelt, Sandoval, San Juan, San Miguel, Santa Fe, Taos, and Union. The new district includes the counties of San Juan, Rio Arriba, Taos, Colfax, Union, most of Mc Kinely and Sandoval counties, San Miguel, Quay, Guadalupe, De Baca, Chavez and most of Roosevelt County. The 3rd Congressional District will continue to include Farmington, Santa Fe and Los Alamos. Other towns and cities included in District 3 are Gallup, Aztec, Tierra Amarilla, Taos, Raton, Mora, Raton, Las Vegas, Clayton, Tucumcari, Portales, Clovis and Tucumcari. District 3 reaches South into the oil patch and covers part of the city of Hobbs. Hobbs is being split in half between Districts 2 and 3. According to according to the Research & Polling analysis, the District will have a 12 point Democratic lean.

Informed sources are reporting that Democrat Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez is not at all pleased with the final shape of the district. In particular, she is concerned that her new district extends south into the very conservatives oil patch territory, including half of the Anglo dominated city of Hobbs. The problem for Fernandez is 80% of the oil and gas industry in the SE is now in the 3rd Congressional District. Leger Fernandez is at serious odds with the oil and gas industry over climate change. New Mexico is now the second highest producer of oil and gas in the country and the industry will no doubt throw big bucks at the race to get rid of her in congress. In close, competitive races, enormous amounts of money too often make the difference suppressing the vote and allowing Republicans to win.

PAST THIRD CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT REPRESENTATION

The 3rd Congressional District is now represented by Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez who was elected to her first term in 2020. Her predecessors are Democrats Senator Ben Ray Lujan, (elected 6 terms, January 3, 2009 – January 3, 2021), Former Senator Tom Udall, (elected 5 terms, January 3, 1999 – January 3, 2009), Republican Bill Redman, (elected 1 term, May 13, 1997 – January 3, 1999), former Governor Bill Richardson (elected 8 terms January 3, 1983 – February 13, 1997).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico%27s_3rd_congressional_district

“FiveThirtyEight” REPORT

FiveThirtyEight, sometimes rendered as 538, is an American website that focuses on opinion poll analysis, politics, economics, and sports blogging. 538 is owned by ABC News. The website, which takes its name from the number of electors in the United States electoral college, was founded on March 7, 2008, as a polling aggregation website. It reviews hundreds of polls and compiles a listing of results of those polls. The link to 538 is here:

https://fivethirtyeight.com/

On December 10, “FiveThirtyEight” reported as follows:

“On Dec. 10, the New Mexico Senate Judiciary Committee advanced an alternative congressional map that would give Democrats an edge in all three of New Mexico’s districts. Like an earlier version of the map, the map would make it easier for Democrats to capture the 2nd District, which is currently held by Republican Rep. Yvette Herrell. If the map is adopted, her district would go from a partisan lean of R+14 to D+4. The tradeoff, however, is that the 3rd District would become more competitive, endangering the reelection prospects of Democratic Rep. Teresa Leger Fernandez. Her district would go from a partisan lean of D+14 to D+5. This latest map, however, leaves her seat a tad safer than in the earlier version.”

“FiveThirtyEight” ANALYSIS VERSUS “RESEARCH AND POLLING” ANALYSIS

FiveThirtyEight rates the new District 1 now held by Democrat Melanie Stansbury of Albuquerque as a Democratic-leaning congressional district. Research & Polling Inc. analysis found that the new district will lean about 7% points toward Democrats. The political performance measures for the last 10 years by Research and Polling estimated at 53.5% Democratic and 46.5% Republican.

FiveThirtyEight rates District 2 now held by Republican Yvette Herrell of Alamogordo as “highly competitive”. According to Research & Polling analysis of past elections, Democrats will have a 6%-point Democratic lean.

FiveThirtyEight rates District 3 now held by Democrat Teresa Leger Fernandez of Santa Fe as “highly competitive”. However, Research & Polling analysis finds a 12% Democratic lean.

Links to quoted news source material are here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/proposed-redistricting-map-heads-to-governors-desk/6328934/?cat=500

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/legislature/new-mexico-legislature-sends-redistricting-plan-to-governor/

https://www.koat.com/article/congressional-redistricting-map-goes-to-the-governors-desk/38493261

https://www.santafenewmexican.com/news/legislature/new-mexico-house-oks-congressional-map-with-advantage-for-democrats/article_15b49c86-5a98-11ec-a366-abf1de1f3db5.html

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2021/12/10/senate-map-would-reshape-southern-new-mexicos-congressional-district/6462149001/

https://projects.fivethirtyeight.com/redistricting-2022-maps/new-mexico/

https://www.lcsun-news.com/story/news/local/new-mexico/2021/12/10/senate-map-would-reshape-southern-new-mexicos-congressional-district/6462149001/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2453514/nm-lawmakers-approve-new-congressional-map.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Aside from the expected initial dustup after passage of the new Congressional Districts plans, what happened this year was very tame to what happened 10 years ago and the extensive amount of litigation. With the 2022 midterms for United States Congress looming large, initial national polling is reflecting that the Democrat majorities in both the House and in the United States Senate are in danger. Complicating matters is that President Joe Biden’s approval ratings are hitting a low of around 36%.

In the United State House of Representatives, Democrats have a very slim majority of 5. The defeat of Republican Trump supporter Representative Yvette Herrell is being predicted by many but her defeat will not be enough to keep the United States House of Representatives in Democrat control. In the United State Senate, the chamber is split 50-50 with Democrats in control only because of Vice President Kamal Harris being the tie breaker.

New Mexico Senator Martin Heinrich is not up for election until 2024 and Senator Ben Ray Lujan is not up for election until 2026. No doubt Senator Martin Heinrich realizes that if the Senate Majority is returned to Republican control in the 2022 midterms, he will be faced with a very difficult reelection in 2024, especially if Der Führer Trump is again running for President.

New Mexico Democrats may have shot themselves in the foot with redistricting. The New Mexico legislature has now made 2 out of the 3 congressional districts competitive, when 2 out of 3 were solid Democrat before redistricting. This was all done in order to get rid of Der Führer Trump Southern Congresswoman Yvette Herrell and only time will tell if it was really worth it.

Let the 2022 midterms begin!

On November 14, 2014, the City of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a Court Approve Settlement (CASA) mandating 271 reforms of the Albuquerque Police Department APD. The settlement was a result of a year’s long investigation of the APD and findings of “excessive use of force” and deadly for and a “culture of aggression.” A major reform measures was mandating the creation of a full time, professional Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) with a full time Director and investigators and with a 9-member, all-volunteer Civilian Police Oversight Board appointed by the city council. The CPOA board is ultimately responsible for investigations of police misconduct and making recommendations to the Chief of Police for disciplinary actions. The postscript to this blog article gives detailed description of the duties and responsibilities of the CPOA with a link to the ordinance that creates it.

CPOA CHAIRMAN RESIGNS

On December 9, Eric Olivias, the Chairman Of Civilian Police Oversight Agency (CPOA) Board submitted his letter of resignation. In addition to Olivias resigning, two others CPOA Board member resigned within a 48 hour period and they are Tara Jaramillo-Prewitt and Geonie Ralph. A 3rd newly appointed CPOA Board member Richard Johnson who was appointed to the Board at the same time as Gionnne Ralph is reported have to have silently walked away from the CPOA Board on or about November 1, 2021. The Olivia’s letter is a scathing indictment of the CPOA. The resignation comes less than 2 months after CPOA Executive Director Ed Harness resigned and less than one month after Superintendent Of Police Reform Sylvester Stanley announced his retirement at the end of December.

Below is the Olivias letter of resignation:

EDITOR’S NOTE: Because of the length of the resignation letter, capitalized and bold headlines were added for clarity to assist the reader.

“I wish to inform you of my intent to resign my position on the Civilian Police Oversight Agency Board effective at 4:59 PM on December 9, 2021. It has been a great privilege to serve this community through this Board. It has been a humbling experience to see and understand the issues the men and women of APD deal with each and every day. I am resigning my seat for the reasons listed below.”

BADLY BROKEN PROCESS

“First and foremost, let me state that I am not resigning for personal reasons, but rather because I believe this process is badly broken and many persons, policies, and politics have led to that breakdown. This is not a Civilian Police Oversight Board as it is titled, rather this Board is a Civilian Police Advisory Board. The Board has no oversight authority over APD, it can issue recommendations for discipline and policy, but all recommendations are non-binding and can be dismissed, as they often are, by the Chief of Police. No matter the evidence presented, the Board is able to have little effect on the actual operations of APD.”

BOARD HAS TOO MANY RESPONSIBILITIES TO FUNCTION

“The Board itself is tasked with far too many responsibilities. The City Council erred in assigning so many tasks and responsibilities to the Board and its members and then restricted its ability to function by limiting the number of committees that Board members may serve on. Further, the list of training required for Board members is far too ambitious for unpaid volunteers. This requirement skews the membership of the Board towards retirees and those who are independently wealthy, hardly a subset reflective of our diverse community. For example, the required Civilian Police Academy course occurs two times per week over the course of 3 months adding up to nearly 60 hours of training including topics such as the Horse Mounted Unit and Impact Investigations. These are important units of APD, no doubt, but is knowledge of them required for Board service? Hardly. To be a fully functional and well-informed member of this Board an individual needs approximately 20 hours a week minimum to devote to Board service.”

CITIZENS VOLUNTEER BOARD LEADS TO FAILURE

“The Board has members who cannot and do not devote the time required to serve, and it clearly shows. Some members come to meetings completely unprepared and have not reviewed materials or have only done a surface review. Recently I learned that one member who had been voting on cases for 6 months, only recently learned how to access case materials and findings letters after contacting agency staff. After spending months correcting faulty training records and regaining compliance on training requirements, just one member can set back the efforts of the Board immensely. Despite the obvious deliberate non-compliance of some members, many Board members refuse to hold those members responsible accountable. One member went so far as to say that CPOA staff should be checking in with new members on a weekly basis and another wondered whether access to a computer was a reason for non-compliance with training requirements. To be a member of this Board, some basic skills, self-accountability, and self-reliance must be had. If the Board can’t hold itself accountable, why would anyone entrust the Board with real power to hold APD accountable?”

DEBATING THE MINUTIAE

“The Board is charged to review allegations of officer misconduct impartially and fairly based on policy, not based on feelings or a particular ideology. Because of the emphasis of certain Board Members on how a particular case “feels”, the Board is constantly bogged down debating the minutiae of minor complaints where, even if the allegations or “bad feelings” were true, little to no discipline would result. Yet, when serious policy matters come before the Board, such as when the suite of Use of Force Policies was recently reviewed, many of these same Members that drill into the details of each minor complaint had nothing to say or didn’t even bother to show-up.”

POORLY DESIGNED CITY COUNCIL PROCESSS

“The City Council has designed a bad process. From the appointment process, to training, and of course the long list of responsibilities delegated to the Board, the Civilian Police Oversight Ordinance in Albuquerque is broken. Efforts are underway to nibble at the edges of the problem, but frankly the proposed amendments to the ordinance hit at the low hanging fruit and do nothing to give a meaningful role to Civilian Oversight of Police in Albuquerque. On numerous and repeated attempts to arrange meetings with City Councilors to discuss issues with the CPOAB several never even responded, of those that did respond and meet, 3 will no longer be on the Council at the end of this month. It is clear from meetings with councilors and even more clear from public statements, that many councilors do not understand the ordinance they wrote. In one recent meeting a Councilor went so far as to state that the members of the CPOAB, “hold the lives and livelihoods of officers in their hands.” This statement would be funny if it wasn’t so ignorant of how the process really works. Other Councilors have made similar statements indicating that they do not have a good understanding of how the CPOA Ordinance is written and how it works in practice. If City Councilors want a strong and effective Civilian Oversight process in Albuquerque, I would urge them to listen to those that know best including, but not limited to Board Members.”

FEDERAL MONITOR, DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE, POLICE UNION PART OF PROBLEM

“Despite serious issues within the Board, the greatest problems in this process lie within the parties of the CASA including the Monitor, the USDOJ, the APOA, and the City. While training records for the Board have been incomplete for nearly 2 years, only in [Independent Monitor’s Report 14 or] IMR-14 is the issue formally raised. In IMR-13 the issue was raised during informal meetings. Has the monitor really been doing its job if it took two years to note that training records were out of date? Moreover, the monitor has provided conflicting guidance. Criticizing the Board for spending too much time reviewing cases while in the next paragraph applauding the Board for catching serious deficiencies in an Agency investigation during its case review process. When pressed for clarity, only more ambiguity was provided. What else in this process is the monitor missing or giving conflicting guidance on? Might there be some financial incentive for the out-of-state monitor to drag this process on and give conflicting advice? Why has the monitor not held the City out of compliance for not filling Board positions and not publishing a clear and transparent process for how applicants will be screened and vetted? The City has promised action on this for years, none has been taken, yet the monitor is silent.”

DOJ AND CITY ATTORNEY MEDDLING

“The USDOJ meddles in Board business as it sees fit. When the Assistant US Attorney didn’t like an ill-informed statement that a new member made in a committee meeting, USDOJ rallied the City Attorney and others to its cause insisting that this was a sign of the Board being complacent, rather than looking to City Council as to how such a poorly informed and biased member was appointed to this Board in the first place. The assistant US Attorney has also made statements in support of the now departed Executive Director, while failing to recognize that the Board cannot comment on such matters given Personnel protections.”

“The City Attorney has also meddled in Board business despite the professed need for independence of the Board. The City Attorney has all but declared that the current training provided to the Board is inadequate. Without stating what about the training was/is inadequate, the City Attorney has convinced all the parties that the City Attorney is better suited to provide training to the Board, despite obvious issues with the independence of the Board. However, when the assistance of the City Attorney was requested to address APD not providing required CPA training to the Board by a more accessible virtual means during the pandemic, the response indicated that it would be inappropriate for the City Attorney to intervene on the Board’s behalf given its independent status. The City Attorney has provided inaccurate information to City Council on Board training compliance, despite being provided evidence to the contrary. On numerous occasions the City Attorney has lectured and belittled the Board and myself about its shortcomings and lack of priorities. This criticism came from one of the primary parties responsible for the compliance of the City of Albuquerque with the CASA, despite improvements in CASA compliance being stalled for the last 1.5 years.”

GREATEST FAULT LIES WITH APD

“Despite the many parties failing in their obligations in this process the greatest fault lies with the Albuquerque Police Department, mainly its Executive Leadership. Rather than appoint leaders with real experience in reforming a large police department the current mayoral administration chose a union endorsed insider. More concerning is the bloat and constant turnover in APD command staff. When the current mayoral administration began their tenure they proclaimed that they were reforming the APD organizational chart. They accused the prior administration of having a bloated and top-heavy command that left the field short-handed. Now we have 2 Chief’s (the Chief and Superintendent). There are more deputy chiefs and chiefs of staff and deputy chiefs of staff than I care to mention. Then there are public safety advisors, public safety liaisons, public information officers, and the list goes on and on. The current organizational structure makes the past administration look efficient by comparison. The solution to every problem has been to create and staff a new high-level, at-will position.”

“As if the top-heavy structure wasn’t enough, the churn through these cushy positions makes an Amazon warehouse look calm and tranquil. Nearly every week we learn that some high-level commander has been reassigned, retired, or resigned. The training academy, a perennial issue of concern in the monitor’s reports, has had 4 commanders in 4 years. Some commanders last a matter of months, others even less than that. How can an organization project stability and good function when nothing about it is stable or consistent? How can we hold field officers accountable when command staff changes on a whim and guidance from said command staff can change on a dime depending on who is in charge and what stimuli they are responding to.”

STONEWALLING IS ENGRAINED IN APD

“While the Board is charged with evaluating and making recommendations on APD Policy, APD has consistently stonewalled the Board on basic data requests. The Board has requested data on the expensive and untested Shotspotter program only to be given a letter assuring the Board that all procurement processes were followed (with no evidence) and a short briefing emphasizing that the program was too new to offer full statistics and analysis. Many other cities use Shotspotter, why didn’t APD look at those programs before committing to its own version of this program? When you don’t have enough officers to respond to the actual calls in the system, why purchase a complicated and expensive system to generate even more (lower priority) calls? The Board has, on numerous occasions, requested data on the K9 unit. Given the high rate of injuries (to civilians and APD personnel) and frequent settlements, having the Board look at this unit and its policy would seem to be a no-brainer, yet APD has stonewalled for nearly a year. What is APD hiding, or are they just that bad at keeping records? The Board has also requested records on traffic stops including data on fines collected, injuries, shootings, etc. Once again, APD has stonewalled this request and avoided accountability. Lastly, despite years of reporting on overtime abuse at APD, spearheaded by a CPOA Investigation, little action has been taken to implement meaningful reforms to the APD Overtime process.”

APD IS BROKEN

“APD is broken. Not because of the brave and hardworking men and women who serve the community as field officers, detectives, and front-line supervisors, but because of a command staff focused on politics and micromanagement. There is no accountability for the organization as a whole. The City Council seems convinced that throwing money at APD will solve all the problems. Despite the City Council budgeting the department for hundreds more officers each year, that goal has never been met. APD blames the national recruiting environment and no-one asks questions. How is it that BCSO maintains a nearly full staff while APD is struggling to tread water? City Council buys APD a new helicopter, a new communication system, gadgets like ShotSpotter, and more, yet City Council never asks hard questions as to how violent crime rates continue to rise, recruitment struggles, and progress towards meeting the requirements of the CASA are non-existent. I believe the answer to these good questions City Council refuses to ask is relatively simple: bad leadership. When officers don’t feel supported and valued and they see the churn and burn at the top, why would they not assume that they are expendable to the organization at the first sign of trouble? Yes the organization must discipline and remove bad officers, but it must also show that it is stable and supportive of those doing their jobs correctly and to the best of their ability. “

NEED COMPETANT COMMANDERS

“APD must install commanders that are competent and assure them some stability to implement and oversee changes. The APD Chief should be appointed to 6, 8, or even a 10 year term to give the department the stability it needs and to attract top-tier candidates interested in leading the department for the long-run, not just padding their PERA with a few high paying years. Lower level commanders should also be afforded more job stability so that they can actually see-through reforms they implement. The APD budget must be scrutinized and funding for fancy gadgets and at-will positions must be trimmed back while emphasizing recruitment and retention of field officers and investigators.”

REFORM ORDINANCE

““The [Civilian Police Oversight Agency Board and Civilian Police Oversight Agency] CPOAB/CPOA Ordinance must be reformed to narrow the focus of the Board. The training requirements of the Board should be pared back, but front loaded. Before someone is allowed to vote on cases, they should be trained on the policies and processes that govern that review. The current training requirement of 6 months after appointment is akin to allowing an officer to join the force and begin patrolling the streets with a badge and a gun before being trained, we all think that would be crazy, but for CPOA Board Members that is exactly what we allow, if Board members ever complete their training in the first place. Board members should be compensated for their time with generous stipends tied to completing training and attending meetings. If this city wants a professional CPOAB, it should pay for it. Paying Board Members also helps to break down barriers to entry allowing a more diverse slate of membership. Board Members should be required to sponsor and attend community outreach events. Most importantly, the Board must be empowered to make binding decisions on policy and discipline. What is the point of Civilian Oversight if it is purely non-binding and advisory?”

TONE DOWN THE RHETORIC

“The last point I wish to make is that parties in this process need to step back and tone down the rhetoric. The process is so rife with finger pointing and backstabbing that I’m not sure any of the primary parties involved is actually interested in the stated goal of ensuring that Albuquerque has constitutional community policing. If the parties actually listened and tried to understand one-another it might become apparent that most of those involved want the same thing. It is possible that many individuals involved in the process have made mistakes and many parts of this process are flawed. No one group is solely responsible for failures, yet each group takes great pride in blaming others. If the real goal is to achieve constitutional community policing for Albuquerque, shouldn’t the process involve adopting the best ideas and practices regardless of who came up with them? The parties need to move on from failures with constructive solutions instead of getting bogged down in assigning blame and scapegoating. I hope this reform process is successful, it needs to be, for the sake of our officers and our community.”

“Thank you for taking the time to read this and I look forward to finding other ways to serve this city I love.”

Eric Oliva

CPOA EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR RESIGNS

It was on October 15 that CPOA Executive Director Ed Harness announced his resignation and left his job on November 15. In his resignation announcement, Harness gave a blistering condemnation of the board. Harness resigned because he had requested to be reappointed as executive director but instead the board opened the position to other applicants, a move he said was done without consulting stakeholders, the City Council, or the Department of Justice. In his resignation announcement to the board, Harness said:

“[What is] most shameful is the fact that you didn’t even have enough respect to speak with any member of the CPOA staff – the people that do all the work to support your efforts. … This decision has permanently damaged the relationship between the agency and the board. … [Under my leadership the CPOA] has been restored to its rightful place as a meaningful oversight body … and has been applauded by the Department of Justice and the independent monitor] … You will set back the organization and its ability to maintain compliance with the [court approved settlement agreement] … because being executive director of the CPOA is not a plug-and-play position.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2438118/executive-director-of-police-oversight-agency-resigns.html

SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE REFORM SYLVESTER STANLEY “RETIRES” AFTER 8 MONTHS

On December 1, a mere 8 months on the job, Superintendent of Police Reform Sylvester Stanley announced he was retiring effective December 31. Stanley was appointed to the two positions of Superintendent of Police Reform and Deputy Chief Administrative Officer in early March. He was tasked with handling discipline of APD sworn police officers, overseeing the APD academy and the Internal Affairs division and working with the Department of Justice on the reform effort.

When Stanley was appointed by Mayor Tim Keller he said they expected him to fill the position in an “interim basis” for 6 months or until the end of the year. The city has launched a national search for his replacement, saying it’s looking for “an experienced professional to lead this cutting edge position” and someone “who is dedicated to police reform.”

When Keller made the appoint in March, he had this to say:

“We developed this innovative position to bring about a new era for our police department. … Our Superintendent of Police Reform works hand and hand with our Chief so that each leader can focus on their core duties while supporting one another for the most benefit for the department and the community.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2450956/interim-superintendent-of-police-reform-to-retire.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

With the resignations of CPOA Board Chairman Eric Olivias, the resignations of CPOA board members Tara Jaramillo-Prewitt and Geonie Ralph, the resignation of CPOA Executive Director Ed Harness and the “retirement” of Superannuant of Police Reform Sylvester Stanly, it is painfully obvious that the CPOA has become as useless as tits on a boar hog.

FATE OF CIVILIAN POLICE OVERSIGHT AGENCY NEEDS TO BE DECIDED

Ever since its creation in 2014, the CPOA has struggled to exist and has been plagued with infighting and controversy within itself with many board members having their own personal agendas that conflict between civilians wanting true civilian oversight versus those who take the side of law enforcement.

The CPOA has also been resisted by both Mayor Berry and Keller in their own ways and the Albuquerque Police Department command staff and vilified by the police union. Simply put, the CPOA represents what all sworn police at all levels do not want or ever want which is civilian police oversight of police officers.

Given the serous allegations made in the resignation letter, it should be placed on the agenda for discussion at the December 16 hearing on the Federal Monitor’s 14th Report on APD’s Compliance Levels. What the Federal Court should consider is abolishing the agency or at least the board of all volunteer civilians as unworkable, too cumbersome and way too difficult work for an all volunteer civilian board.

SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE REFORM

The appointment of a Superintendent of Police Reform when made by Keller in March was met with extreme skepticism by stakeholders involved with the DOJ reform process, especially when Keller labeled it an “innovative position.” There was absolutely nothing innovative about it. Many stakeholders involved with the DOJ reform process believed that the position was created to help Keller with his re election efforts and that it was created to deflect the incompetence of Mayor Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina by relieving Medina of duties he was responsible for when it comes Internal Affairs, police discipline and the DOJ police reforms.

The position was and still is a “scape goat” position created 9 months before the Mayor’s race and viewed as a political appointment to give Keller and Medina the ability to deflect their miserable failures implementing the DOJ reforms. It is a scapegoat position to allow Keller and Medina to have someone to blame and fire as APD upper command fail to implement the DOJ reforms. Ostensibly, Sylvester Stanley was smart enough to know what was going on and that is why he took the position on an “interim basis” and “retired” as soon as he could before he got fired by Mayor Keller. Confidential sources within APD command have said the only thing Sylvester Stanley accomplished in the 8 months he has been with the city is to draw a $150,000 salary with the intent to build his resume in order to run for Bernalillo County Sheriff once again next year. Confidential sources are saying Stanley is planning on announcing for Bernalillo County Sheriff around the second week of January.

_________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

On November 14, 2014, the City of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice entered into a Court Approve Settlement (CASA) mandating 271 reforms of APD. The link to the CASA is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/justice-department/settlement-agreement.pdf

The CASA mandates community engagement and oversight and mandates the creation of a Civilian Police Oversight Agency along with the creation and appointment of a 9 member, all volunteer, civilian oversight board. The major duties and responsibilities of the Civilian Police Oversight Agency in a nutshell are as follows:

(1) Community Outreach by employing or designating a full-time staff member within the Administrative Office dedicated to community outreach efforts.

(2) Promotion of Accountability and Impartiality. The CPOA shall promote a spirit of accountability and communication between the civilians and the Albuquerque Police Department while improving community relations and enhancing public confidence. The CPOA shall also promote a spirit of impartiality in its review of police conduct, and shall ensure that officer conduct is judged fairly and objectively.

(3) Investigations. The Administrative Office shall independently investigate all civilian complaints; shall audit and monitor all incidences of use of force by police and all matters under investigation by APD’s Internal Affairs (IA) or other APD personnel tasked with conducting administrative investigations related to a use of force incident; and shall prepare proposed findings and recommendations on all officer involved shootings and serious uses of force.

(4) Disciplinary Recommendations. The Board may recommend officer discipline based on any findings that result from review of internal affairs investigations of officer involved shootings and serious uses of force. The imposition of the recommended discipline is at the discretion of the Chief of Police. However, if the Chief of Police does not follow the disciplinary recommendation of the Board, the Chief of Police must give a detailed explanation of the reason as to why the recommended discipline was not imposed.

(5) CPOA Policy Recommendations. The CPOA shall engage in a long-term planning process through which it identifies major problems or trends, evaluates the efficacy of existing law enforcement practices in dealing with the same, analyzes and evaluates data (including APD raw data), innovative practices, national trends, and police best practices, and establishes a program of resulting policy suggestions, recommendations, and studies each year.

(6) Policy Recommendations Originating from the CPOA. The Board shall review and analyze policy suggestions, analysis, studies, and trend data collected or developed by the Administrative Office, and shall by majority vote recommend policies relating to training, programs and procedures or other matters relating to APD. Any such policy recommendations shall be supported by specific, written findings of the Board in support of the proposed policies. The Board’s policy recommendations shall be submitted to APD and to the City Council. The Board shall dedicate a majority (more than 50%) of its time to the functions described in this subsection.

(7) Reports to Mayor and Council. The CPOA shall submit a semi-annual written report to the Mayor and City Council.

The link to the ordinance creating the Police Oversight Agency, Sections 9-4-1-1 through 9-4-1-14 is here:

https://codelibrary.amlegal.com/codes/albuquerque/latest/albuquerque_nm/0-0-0-10504

On December 3, the City’s Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MFA) issued a report that major progress is being made with residential housing in the Downtown area. According to the report, affordable townhomes are already being constructed in one development project and another complex of 150 units is planned and will be constructed near the Silver Street Market which is a mere few blocks south of Central in the heart of downtown Albuquerque.

On Silver Street and south of the Silver Street market, more than a dozen affordable townhomes are being constructed in the Palladium Project. Across 2nd Street, a complex of more than 150 micro housing units are part of another project. The MFA report also identified 178 housing projects like Nuevo Atrisco and Broadstone Highlands, 218 hotel units with the Springhill Suites by Presbyterian.

The MFA is hoping the boost in homes and jobs will be a welcomed addition to the neighborhood. Karen Iverson, manager of the Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency, had this to say:
“Coming out of the pandemic, we’re seeing a really strong market for housing. … We see that all across the city that rent, the vacancy rate is really high. … It’s amazing what a project like that can do to really change the atmosphere of the surrounding neighborhood. … Seeing new businesses opening up and new residents coming into these blighted areas.”

Iverson says despite the pandemic, many of the projects are proceeding ahead on schedule. They include more residential and shopping options at the Highlands, along with the Rail Trails project along the Railyards.

“How do we bring businesses back to reduce the vacancy. … What kind of infrastructure projects do we need to help people move and walk around the area.”

Albert Chavez, a store manager for the Silver Street Market had this to say:

“We have several apartment complexes nearby. … Various levels of income and so we see a pretty good variety of customers. … Looking forward in particular after the last couple years. … It’s always good to see new doors and new people. It would really help us out here.”

The MFA is preparing studies to report on redevelopment along Central between University and Nob Hill. They hope to complete those findings by early next year.

With the 14 current redevelopment projects, the city is investing more than $160 million. The MFA is also hoping to entice businesses to the downtown area with all the development projects started and being planned. MFA storefront grants will give up to $30,000 to businesses that open in the area.

The link to quoted source material is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-redevelopment-projects-to-bring-housing-options-to-central-corridor/

METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AGENCY

The Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency (MFA) is a City of Albuquerque government agency. The mission of the MFA is straight forward as it gets and states:
“To make Albuquerque competitive in the global market by revitalizing downtown and the Central Avenue corridor, leading collaborative public-private partnerships that result in catalytic change, investing in sustainable infrastructure, and providing opportunities for local residents and businesses to thrive.”

The MFA also has a mission statement that is ambitious and clear:

“To make Albuquerque the Southwest’s premier mid-size city attracting economic investment and building a healthy and vibrant community that reflects diversity, innovation, rich culture, and unique history. Its mission also includes ensuring economic prosperity for all residents and where visitors dream to return.”

METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT BONDS

To achieve its mission, the MFA has a number of financing mechanisms in place. The biggest financing mechanism are Metropolitan Redevelopment Bonds (MR Bonds) used to support projects within Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas. Projects must meet the goals of the adopted Metropolitan Redevelopment Plan and result in the elimination or prevention of “slum and blight” as defined by New Mexico Statutory law. The City does not provide financing or credit enhancement for the bonds. An MFA applicant is responsible for identifying the bond purchaser and negotiating the rates and terms. Metropolitan Redevelopment Bonds are taxable.

Metropolitan Redevelopment Bonds also provide a seven-year property tax abatement on the incremental property taxes. Property owners continue to pay the pre-development tax amount to the County Assessor. All land uses are eligible for a Metropolitan Redevelopment Bond, as long as the project is found by the City Council to meet the criteria described in applications.

IMPACT FEE WAIVERS

Impact fee waivers are another financing mechanism made available to developers . Impact fees are a charge of assessment imposed by the City on new development in order to generate revenue for funding or recouping the costs of capital improvements rationally related to new development in accordance with applicable law. Capital improvements include: roads, drainage facilities, fire stations, police stations, parks, open space and trails. Impact fees are assessed and collected during the building permit process.

All projects located within a Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Are eligible for a waiver of City of Albuquerque impact fees. This does not apply to Water or Sewer Impact Fee’s assessed by the Albuquerque Bernalillo County Water Utility Authority.

REVOLVING LOAN FUND (RLF)

The City of Albuquerque has an EPA Brownfields Revolving Loan Fund to issue low-interest loans to qualified developers. The program goal is to encourage the redevelopment of contaminated properties in our community. As repayments are made, the funds are revolved, enabling the Brownfield Program to provide additional loans to borrowers. Applications are accepted on an ongoing basis and loans are made based on the availability of funding. For more information view the documents below:

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/about

20 METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AREAS IDENTIFIED

There are 20 Metropolitan Redevelopment Areas in the City of Albuquerque. Each area has an adopted redevelopment plan that guides the City’s redevelopment strategies.

The 20 MFAs are:

1. Barelas Neighborhood Commercial Area Revitalization and Metropolitan Area Plan (1993)
2. Central/Highland/Upper Nob Hill Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2003, 2005)
3. Clayton Heights/Lomas Del Cielo Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2010).
4. Coronado Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2016).
5. Downtown 2025 Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2000, last amended 2014).
6. East Downtown/Huning Highland/South Martineztown Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2019).
7. East Gateway Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2016).
8. Historic Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2012).
9. Los Candelarias Village Center Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2006, 2010).
10. McClellan Park Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1984, 2002).
11. Near Heights Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Expansion Plan (2000, amended 2010).
12. Railroad Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1998).
13. North Corridor Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2020).
14. Sawmill/Wells Park Community Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2005).
15. Soldiers and Sailors Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1985).
16. South Barelas Industrial Park Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1992).
17. South Broadway Neighborhoods Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Area Plan (1986, 2002).
18. St. Joseph Hospital Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1985).
19. Sycamore Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (1982).
20. West Central Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan (2004).

The link to review each of the 20 MRA’s, with maps and goals is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/redevelopment-areas/west-central

DOWNTOWN 2025 METROPOLITAN REDEVELOPMENT AREA PLAN

One of the most closely watched MFA’s is the “Downtown 2025 Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan” because of the decades of Mayor’s and City Hall being enamored with trying to revitalized the downtown area to its glory days of the 1950’s and 1960”s where it was the center of retail commerce and government.

The goal of the Downtown 2025 Metropolitan Redevelopment Area Plan is to make Downtown Albuquerque the best mid-sized downtown in the USA. The strategies in the Plan are:

• Make Downtown a “pedestrian-first,” “park-once” place with excellent pedestrian, transit and bicycle facilities;
• Make Downtown New Mexico’s premier pedestrian-oriented “urban place”;
• Preserve and enhance the character of the neighborhoods which surround Downtown.
• Have at least 20,000 people living within one mile of the Downtown Core, and 5,000 living within the Downtown Core by 2010;
• Create Downtown as an exciting “urban retail destination”;
• Maintain Downtown as New Mexico’s largest employment center and the Region’s Center of Economic Activity;
• Make Downtown Albuquerque a vibrant, urban 24 hour destination for arts, culture and entertainment;
• Make Downtown and the Historic District a “Tourist Destination”;
• Create new parks, open space and plazas that are easily accessible to downtown residents, workers, students and visitors; and
• Develop, maintain, and market Downtown as if it were a single mixed-use project.

https://www.cabq.gov/mra/redevelopment-areas/downtown-2025

ABBREVIATED HISTORY OF DOWNTOWN REVITALIZATION AND CITY GROWTH

A very abbreviated history of “downtown revitalization” efforts is in order to fully understand the significance of what is happening with the Downtown 2025 metropolitan redevelopment area plan.

Central Avenue going West from Broadway Ave to the Rio Grande River is traditionally thought of as “Downtown” by many born and raised in Albuquerque or long-term residents. Downtown Albuquerque should probably also be considered to include a mile north and a mile south of Central between Broadway and the Rio Grande River so as to include Old Town, the Albuquerque Museum, the Children’s Science Museum, the New Mexico History Museum, the Zoo, the BioPak, which includes the botanical gardens and aquarium, and various government buildings including courthouses and commercial office buildings.

From approximately 1952 to about 1965, Downtown Albuquerque on Central from Broadway to 1st street was considered the “hub of activity” for retail and business where you would shop, bank and go for entertainment. In the 1960s and the mid-1970s, “urban renewal” was the big “buzzwords” at City Hall and the then existing City Commission. Urban Renewal was federal funding ..given to cities for the large-scale improvement of urban areas riddled with “blight,” a catchall term used to describe almost anything city planners may have found problematic or offensive with the city structure.

Blight was used to describe otherwise healthy urban neighborhoods inhabited by a single ethnic group; historic and dilapidated buildings whose owners were either uninterested in renovation or unable to secure funding to do so; heavy, poor, or inefficient traffic flow through central business districts; and nearly any other sociological or psychological issue that was affecting the urban area.”

http://albuquerquemodernism.unm.edu/wp/downtown-urban-redevelopment/

The term “blight” provided ready justification for city planners and developer aspirations. Today, “blight” translates into “gentrification”.

The 1960’s-1970’s urban renewal in Albuquerque resulted in city government use of “eminent domain” condemnations and the leveling of entire neighborhood blocks and areas of downtown, including old government buildings. The many retail stores on Central Street downtown or the Central Street area before urban renewal including Sears, JC Penny, Montgomery Ward’s, Fedway Department Store, Paris Shoe Store, Stromberg’s clothing, American Furniture, People’s Flowers, Russell Stover’s candies, Mc Clullens, Kurt’s Camera Coral, Krees’s , Levines, Woolworth’s, Payless Drugs, Zales Jewelry, Skaggs, Fogg’s Fine Jewelry, PNM (across from the KIMO) the Sunshine, KIMO, State and the El Ray movie theaters, just to mention a few.

The original Albuquerque Convention Center was built in the late 1960’s as was the old 5 story Frank Horan City Hall building and the 4 story downtown main police station were built and still stand on property that was condemned in the name of “urban renewal”. To the north of the original convention center was built the “Hilton Double Tree” hotel, 201 Marquette, NW, built in 1975, to serve the convention center and the “semi-circular” architecture portion of the hotel was supposedly inspired by “hot air” balloons and originally painted in various colors.

During urban renewal, many residential areas downtown were demolished and replaced by office buildings and it had an impact on retail businesses along Central Downtown. It was not until the early 1980’s that the City-County Government Center, 11 story building located at 1 Civic Plaza west of the plaza and located between the Frank Horan City Hall building and the old District Courthouse was erected.

Urban renewal in the 1960s and 1970’s gutted or demolished many historic and government buildings in downtown Albuquerque and included:

The Alvarado hotel at 1st and Central was demolished in 1970.
The Franciscan Hotel at 5th and Central was demolished in 1972.

A Parking lot replaced the Franciscan Hotel and the city’s Alvarado Transportation Center was built where the Alvarado Hotel one stood.

The demolition of the Franciscan Hotel and the Alvarado Hotel and restaurant contributed significantly to the demise of the downtown area.

In the early to mid-1980’s, the City Council attempted to revitalize Downtown as a place to go with the multimillion dollar “Festival Market Place”. The Festival Market place was intended to be a large entertainment venue where civic plaza now sits and nearby areas.

“Concerned Citizens” of Albuquerque mounted a voter initiative to put it on the ballot that killed the festival market place. After the demise of the Festival Market Place at the polls, the City Council exerted itself even further with Downtown revitalization by pushing the expansion of the Albuquerque Convention Center with the major addition of an east wing and a parking structure. The 21 story Hyatte Regency and 22 story Albuquerque Plaza complex, which opened in 1990, were built in part with city bonding to coincide with the convention center expansion.

From 1985 to 1989, the Albuquerque City Council continued with efforts to try to revitalize in part Downtown Albuquerque. In 1987, the City Council enacted the 10-year quarter cent “Quality of Life” tax which included funding for a Performing Arts Center, the Children’s Science Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Balloon Museum and the acquisition of critical open space in the Sandia foothills.

The Children’s Science Museum, the Botanical Gardens, the Albuquerque Aquarium and the Balloon Museum were all constructed. The performing arts center was originally proposed to be built at a cost of $60 million and was to be built on the city vacant land located directly north of Civic Plaza in an effort to revitalize downtown.

From 1990 to 1994, downtown revitalization took the form of trying to build a new baseball stadium in the area of Broadway and Lomas to again revitalize the area and bring people to downtown. Relocating the baseball stadium failed and the old baseball park for the “Dukes” baseball team was leveled and rebuilt calling it a “remodeling” and the stadium was renamed “Isotopes Park” after the city was able to lure another professional baseball team.

The BioPark, with the Rio Grande Zoo, aquarium and botanical gardens, is the number one tourist attraction in the State of New Mexico. During the 2015 municipal election, Albuquerque voters approved with an overwhelming majority the voter petition drive initiative to increase the gross receipts tax for the BioPark. The tax will raise $255 million dollars over 15 years for the BioPark.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Make no mistake, the “Downtown Central” area must and can be revitalized because of its historical significance and being a part of historic Route 66. Downtown Albuquerque is the sole of the city because of the history it represents and it must be respected and preserved.

There has been a very large number of multi-story apartments and condos developed directly south of Central between 1st Street and 6th Street within the past 10 years along with the Silver Street “grocery store” in one of the developments.

The residential developments are Downtown’s biggest hope yet for Downtown revitalization because it will sustain vibrant downtown activity, where people can live, raise a family and work and play which is the “walkable city” concept. The Albuquerque High School condos and the Lobo Rainforest Building and Innovate Albuquerque development across the street at Broadway and Central will no doubt help with Downtown revitalization.

The “One Central” development located at 1st Street and Central, which is now opened, is a public-private mixed-use development, including at least 39,000 square feet of commercial space with an entertainment tenant initially described as an upscale bowling alley with at least two other retail or restaurant tenants, 60 residential units and a 429-space parking garage.

https://www.pressreader.com/usa/albuquerque-journal/20180830/281513637023190

Downtown Central dodged a fatal bullet when the decision was made not to run the ART Bus project and by pass the area entirely.

BRANDING AN “OLD DOWNTOWN” TO “DOWNTOWN ROUTE 66”

The City should explore reinventing and changing the branding of the Downtown Albuquerque Central with an emphasis on historical Route 66. Storefronts on Central between 10th Street on the West and the railroad tracks on the East could be easily transformed with facades reflecting the Downtown of its Route 66 heyday.

An arts or entertainment district development that will expand further the new entertainment complex on 1st and Central should be explored. The efforts to revitalize the Rail Yards need to continue, but at a quicker pace and be tied into downtown redevelopment efforts with a transportation component, perhaps a very small trolley system reminiscent of what existed at one time downtown in the middle of central.

The building of an entertainment venue for 10,000 to 15,000 people such as the civic auditorium with another dome type facility needs to be explored and placed West of the convention center.
The number one tourist attraction in the State of New Mexico is the Bio-Park. The City needs to expedite expansion and repairs to the of the Bio-Park wherever it can with the upgrades and repairs to the facilities.

Old Town will always be a critical component of Downtown Revitalization and projects to enhance Old Town, including expansion of the Albuquerque Museum and Children’s museums should be developed. One project for the City to consider is acquire the “Romero Residence” on Old Town Plaza, convert it to a “Mayor’s Residence” to be used not for living but for City and ceremonial events.

Now that significant progress is being made with residential development in downtown, there is much optimism of what can be done business wise.

Links to related blog articles are here:

A Brief History of Downtown Albuquerque: 1952 to 2019

A Brief History of Downtown Albuquerque: 1952 to 2019

“Downtown Revitalization”: Deja Vu All Over Again!

On December 7, two Albuquerque city council runoff elections were held for the Albuquerque City Council. In District 7 Democrat Tammy Fiebelkorn and Republican Lori Robertson made it into the runoff. In District 9, Democrat Rob Griley and Republican Renee Grout made it into the runoff.

District 7 is the Mid-heights city council district including Coronado Shopping Center and Uptown surrounding areas and parts of the near northeast heights. District 9 is east Albuquerque from Menaul and Eubank, south to Kirtland Air Force base, and east of Tramway.

ELECTION RESULTS

According to unofficial results of the December 7 runoff elections, Democrats will maintain their majority on the Albuquerque City Council with a 5-4 majority down from a 6-3 majority, but their influence edge will be diminished because come 2022 no party will have a 6 vote majority to override a Mayor’s veto.

According to unofficial results, in District 7, Democrat Tammy Fiebelkorn secured 61.75% (5,106 votes) with Republican Lori Robertson’s securing 38.22% (3,159 votes). In District 9, Republican Renee Grout secured 51.69% (4,027 votes) and Democrat Rob Grilley secured 48.31% (3,764).

Fiebelkorn defeated Lori Robertson with a 23% wide margin to represent District 7, after Robertson came in first in the November 2 election defeating 4 Democrats. Republican Robinson raised $72,687 in private financing to Fiebelkorn’s public finance of $44,194 for the November 7 election. Robertson’s campaign contributions came mostly from the real estate and development communities and she received support from 2 measured finance committees promoting Republicans to oust Democrat incumbent Cynthia Borrego and Lan Sena.

Initially, Republican Robinson was considered to have the edge in support and money over Fiebelkorn but what changed the race’s momentum was when controversial Legacy Church Pastor Steve Smothermon endorsed Lori Robertson from his pulpit that stoked fears amongst the districts democrats that Robertson would do his bidding and that she was in fact a right wing extremist on hot button issues such as abortion, gay marriage, transgender issues, the city’s progressive agenda under Keller, all issues that Smothermon has been vocal about and that he has condemned.

The two measured finance committees that promoted Robinson were Albuquerque Ahead that raised $34,900 and Healthy Economies Lead to Progress raised $196,532 for a total of $231,432. The cash contributions were spent to promote 3 conservative Republican candidates, Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Lori Lee Robertson. The 2 finance committees were successful in ousting Democrat City Councilors Lan Sena and Cynthia Borrego.

Fiebelkorn for her part was initially a public finance candidate having been given $42,000 in public fiancé after collecting the $5 qualifying donations for the November 2 elections. She changed to private financing for the runoff. Fiebelkorn succeeds Democrat Diane Gibson who endorsed her. Gibson decided not to seek reelection this year after serving two terms representing the city’s mid-Heights and she was known to have supported Sheriff Manny Gonzales over Tim Keller for Mayor.

Republican Renee Grout narrowly defeated Democrat Rob Grilley to ensure District 9 stayed in Republican control. Uninspiring, unknown and unaccomplished Republican Don Harris who served 16 years on the city council ands who has nothing to show for it decided not to run for a 5th term.

The final unofficial votes counted by the Bernalillo County Clerk can be found here:

https://results.bernco.gov/

DEMOCRAT MAJORITY CUT TO 5

The Democrat majority of 6-3 has now gone to a 5-4 majority because Republican Dan Lewis defeated Democratic incumbent Cynthia Borrego to flip the West Side District 5 seat. 4 years ago Borrego was elected to the District 5 seat when then City Councilor Dan Lewis ran for Mayor.

After the December 7 City Council runoff election, the 5 Democrats on the new city council as of January 1, 2022 are:

District 1 Louis Sanchez (Elected on November 2 defeating Lan Sena.)
District 2 Isaac Benton
District 3 Klarissa Peña (Ran unopposed on November 2 .)
District 6 Pat Davis
District 7 Tammy Fiebelkorn

After the November 7 runoff election, the 4 Republicans on the new city council are:

District 5 Dan Lewis (Newly elected)
District 4 Brook Bassan
District 8 Trudy Jones
District 9 Renee Grout

Links to quoted source material are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/democrats-maintain-city-council-majority/38456773

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-city-council-runoff-election-results/6324980/?cat=500

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/elections/albuquerque-city-council-runoff-election-results/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2452378/fiebelkorn-leading-big-in-city-council-runoff-grilley-grout-contest-close.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALSYSIS

After the November 2 city council elections that saw the defeat of incumbent Democrats City Councilors Cynthia Borrego to Republican Dan Lewis and the defeat of incumbent Lan Sena to conservative Decorate Louis Sanchez, the Republican Party announced an aggressive effort to take over the City Council and secure a Republican majority to oppose Mayor Tim Keller’s progressive agenda. On November 10, the Republican Party of New Mexico and the Republican Party of Bernalillo County issued a joint press release announcing they were joining forces and sharing resources to win the two key runoff elections on December 7 that would decide who would control the city council. Republicans aggressively canvassed both City Council Districts 7 and 9 in a get out the vote effort. Republicans donors continued to fund Albuquerque Ahead and Healthy Economies Lead to Progress the two measured finance committees that raised even more money to promote the Republican candidates Lori Robertson, District 7 and Rene Grout, District 9 for city council.

After defeating incumbent Democrat Cynthia Borrego, Republican Dan Lewis made it know that he believed both City Council Districts 7 and 9 would elect Republicans. Lewis made it know he intended to be the next City Council President and that he intended to aggressively question Democrat Tim Keller’s department directors, including APD management and Mayor Keller’s representatives in person to hold them “accountable”. Lewis has already made it known to his supporters he intends to run for Mayor again in 2025 and use his city council seat as a springboard to the Mayor’s Office like he tried to do 4 years ago. The reality is that many sitting city councilors have attempted to run for Mayor ever since the creation of the existing Mayor- City Council form of Government. Only one city councilor has gone on to become Mayor and that was Mayor Ken Schultz who later was indicted and plead guilty to federal charges stemming from the Metropolitan Court house scandal and kickbacks where he worked with then Senator Manny Aragon to steal millions.

A DEMOCRAT CITY COUNCIL IN NAME ONLY

After the November 2 election when conservative Democrat Louis Sanchez defeated progressive Democrat Lan Sena, who was appointed by Mayor Tim Keller, Republican operatives soon began to rationalized that conservative Democrat City Councilor Elect Louis Sanchez will identify more with conservative Republicans. Republican operatives rationalize that he has very little in common with progressive democrats who did not support him, that he owes Mayor Tim Keller absolutely nothing and owes the Democratic Party nothing with Sanchez believing he was elected on his own.

WAS IT WORTH IT?

Complicating matters for City Council Democrats is Councilor elect Louis Sanchez made a big stink that he should not have to wait until January 1, 2021 to join the city council. He went so far as to threaten to file a civil lawsuit, did news interviews and was interviewed on the Bob Clark morning radio program. Clark is decisively right wing Republican. Sanchez was no doubt emboldened when the Albuquerque Journal editorialized that he should file a lawsuit and get a definitive court ruling on the issue. The link to the editorial is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2452128/take-council-seat-to-court.html

Sanchez argues that he should be sworn immediately replacing City Councilor Lan Sena and that he is the district’s rightful representative because Lan Sena was appointed by Mayor Keller to fill a vacancy. Sanchez is correct only to the extent that he was elected to the term that begins on January 1, 2022 and nothing more than that. He was not elected to fill the last two months of former City Councilor Ken Sanchez term, yet he wants Sena to be removed. City Counselor elect Louis Sanchez is not satisfied with winning the election by defeating Lan Sena. What he wants to do is humiliate her and force her off the council over his imaginary right of entitlement that he should be sworn into office before his term begins.

City Hall confidential sources have confirmed that city hall security were advised to remove City Councilor elect Louis Sanchez if he appeared at city council offices or city council and made a scene demanding he be sworn in and disrupting the regular course of business at city hall. Sanchez does not realize that his antics and publicity seeking ways to be sworn in before his term begins resulted in the loss of credibility that will be difficult to recover. Councilor Elect Sanchez needs ask himself was the press he garnered worth it, especially given the fact his vote was not needed on the city council to kill the $140 million bond package he was objecting to and which failed.

FIRST TEST OF PARTISANSHIP

Now the City Council remains a 5-4 Democratic Majority, the biggest test for the Democrat City Council and for Democrat City Councilor Louis Sanchez will be if he votes for Republican Dan Lewis, or any other Republican, to become the new Council President when the council convenes for the first time in January, 2022. Progressive Democratic City Councilor’s Isaac Benton, Pat Davis and moderate Democrat Klarisa Pena have all expressed an interest in becoming City Council President. Republicans Dan Lewis, Trudy Jones and Brook Bassan are also said to want the job.

DECEMBER 9 NEWSUPDATE: Confidential sources are saying the Councilor elect Sanchez has already met with City Counselor Isaac Benton to discuss the vote for city council President. What is emerging is that Sanchez wants to be President of the Council and if the other 4 Democrats do not get behind him, he will seek support from the 4 Republican’s to be elected President with one of the Republicans elected as Vice President. Committee chair appointments would be divided between Democrats and Republicans.

Councilor Elect Sanchez no doubt thinks is he is now the swing vote that can make or break Mayor Tim Keller’s progressive agenda. Should Sanchez side with Republicans more often than not than with Democrats, look for him to be labeled a “Democrat In Name Only”, DINO, which many people think right now. Any argument he makes that the City Council is non partisan is simply not going to cut it in today’s climate of sharp partisanship and with the likes of Dan Lewis and the Republican Party pushing to take over the City Council.

The election for a new City Council President and Vice President will be held at the very first meeting of the City Council in January, 2022. The council president appoints all committee chairs. When the votes are taken on City Council President and Vice President, it will be revealed if City Councilor Louis Sanchez is a Democrat or a “Democrat In Name Only” when he casts his vote. The one vote for city council president will reveal exactly what kind of a Democrat Louis Sanchez really is. His vote will likely set the entire tone for his 4 years on the city council. Should Sanchez decide to throw his support to Republican causes, and should he have higher ambitions, including running for Mayor or County Commission, he might as well change his party affiliation to Republican now and not pretend he is a Democrat. Sheriff Manny Gonzales landslide loss to Mayor Tim Keller is proof that pretending to be a Democrat in a Democrat City gets you no where fast.

On December 6, the Albuquerque City Council voted 6-3 to amend the city’s “Public Purchases Ordinance” to require Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) on all future city construction projects that cost at least $10 million and that employ workers from at least three crafts according to the ordinance. According to the enacted ordinance, a PLA is defined as “pre-hire collective bargaining agreement with one or more labor organizations or with their representatives that establishes the terms and conditions of employment” on a specific city construction project. General contractors who successfully win applicable city projects will now have to execute a PLA that governs all construction work.

Not at all surprising, the ordinance is being blasted as “pro union”. It was strenuously opposed by the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the real estate and development community including the National Association of Commerce and Industry (NAIOP) and other business organizations and conservative Republican “right to work” proponents. Voting YES for the measure were all Democrat City Councilors Cynthia Borrego, Pat Davis, Lan Sena, Isaac Benton, Diane Gibson and Klarisa Peña. Voting NO were Republicans Trudy Jones, Don Harris and Brook Bassan.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2452234/city-council-denies-100-million-facilities-plan-ex-bond-proposal-would-have-used-all-of-the-citys-recent-savings.html

PROJECT LABOR AGREEMENTS EXPLAINED

Project Labor Agreements also known as PLAs have been around for decades and are collective bargaining agreements between building trade unions and contractors. Federal legislation allows the use of project labor agreement, which are essentially a pre-hire collective bargaining agreement to establish employment terms, including wages and working conditions on construction projects. They govern terms and conditions of employment for all craft workers, union and nonunion, on a government construction project. PLA’s mandate the use of a skilled labor force and licensed workers such as plumbers, electricians and carpenters in construction contracts and mandate the payment of prevailing union wage to both union and nonunion workers.

https://smallbusiness.chron.com/benefits-project-labor-agreement-39456.html

https://aflcio.org/what-unions-do/empower-workers/project-labor-agreements

PSA’s are controversial on a number of levels and are highly vilified by anti union and “right to work” advocates. Under the National Labor Relations Act, construction contractors and employees have the right to choose to unionize or not to unionize. The vast majority of contractors and their employees voluntarily opt against unionization. A project labor agreement requires all contractors, whether they are unionized or not, to pay the going rates or hourly wages paid to skilled and licensed labor. The most common objection voiced against PSA’s is that qualified non-union contractors who wish to make lower-cost bids, and employees who wish to work non-union, are locked out of government construction projects. Another opposition argument is that use of PSA’s usually results in cost overruns and higher construction costs for taxpayers.

https://www.nrtw.org/what-is-a-project-labor-agreement-and-how-does-it-affect-workers/

REACTION TO ORDIANCE

The bill was formally introduced without discussion at the November 15 City Council meeting and was not heard by a City Council committee ahead of December 6 city council vote.

It was outgoing Democrats City Councilors Cynthia Borrego and Lan Sena who sponsored the legislation and they will be leaving office come January 1, 2022. Democrat Borrego lost her bid for another term to conservative former City Councilor Republican Dan Lewis. Progressive Democrat Lan Sena, who was appointed by Mayor Tim Keller to fill the vacancy on the counsel the result of the death of Ken Sanchez, lost her bid for a full term to conservative Democrat Louis Sanchez.

The councilors and supporters of the PSA ordinance argued that it will enhance transparency and ensure that a properly trained and compensated workforce builds city facilities. Not at all surprising local construction industry representatives called the ordinance “unfair and anti-competitive” and questioning why there has not more public discussion.

Outgoing Democrat City Councilor Cynthia Borrego had this to say in a written statement:

“[The ordinance commits the city] … to project labor from NM Building and Construction Trades Council — New Mexico labor. It will ensure experienced and professional labor-qualified and certified workers build City projects and that the City constructs the highest quality infrastructure and projects.”

Carla Kugler, president and CEO of Associated Builders and Contractors’ New Mexico chapter, complained she only learned of the proposal a few weeks ago and had this to say:

“Something so controversial and something that has this much impact on the construction community should be worth investing a little time and thought in it. … [This ordinance is] a handout for organized labor forced upon our construction community and workforce. … [There is no need for PSA’s to ensure contractors pay workers properly] . … There is oversight [already on city projects] … The Department of Workforce Solutions oversees everybody’s pay — union and non-union.”

Kuger noted that more than 90% of the local industry’s worker pool is not currently part of a union.

Republican City Councilor Trudy Jones called the proposal “short-sighted” and said she felt it is unnecessarily pit unions against none union businesses and put it this way:

“I’m not opposed to unions. … I just believe that we shouldn’t interfere this way.”

EDITOR’S COMMENTARY: Yeah, right Councilor Trudy Jones, you are the only right wing Republican in the United States not opposed to unions.

Democtat Lan Sena took strong issue with the accusation that the ordinance was rushed saying similar legislation had been debated locally before and she stated:

“This isn’t anything new, especially since the county has participated in this as well. ”

Sena said she supports PLAs because they clearly outline the terms of each project, including worker pay and benefits and management rights, but also because the city would require each agreement to include an apprenticeship component, which she said will help boost the local workforce. Sena put it this way:

“PLAs provide stability, predictability and diversification of our local jobs and training a labor force. ”

Sena added the ordinance will not prevent non-union firms from winning jobs as long as they enter into the requisite PLA.

The Bernalillo County Commission passed a similar ordinance in 2020, though it has not yet applied the new requirement to any projects.

SUPPORT EXPRESSED IN CONTRUCTION INDUSTRY

Over the past 3 years fiscal years, the city had 6 major projects that would have met the requirements for a PLA now required by the new ordinance.

Troy Beall, CEO of B&D Industries, a local electrical/mechanical contractor said he supports PLAs. According to Beall, his firm currently employs upwards of about 700 union members. Beall believes a union workforce is better trained. Beall reported that his firm was called in as a subcontractor to help finish an over-budget and delayed Albuquerque International Sunport renovation a few years ago after the first electrical subcontractor walked off the job.

“I have a 40-year history in this community, and I don’t know of a job that’s ever failed [under a collective bargaining agreement]. It’s because we agree to a contract with individuals for our employees. … The union has been very good for our corporation.”

A link to quoted source material is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2451444/councilors-want-labor-agreements-on-large-city-projects.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Mandating Project Labor Agreements (PLA’s) on city construction projects has always been controversial in Albuquerque. History and experience show it is a mandate that is long overdue and that has been prevented primarily because of Republican Mayor and Republican City Council opposition stoked by the Republican right wing leaning business community.

Former conservative and Republican Mayor Richard Berry was elected to serve two terms from 2009 until 2013. Berry was a construction contractor and developer in Albuquerque and was known to oppose anything and everything associated with unions and he actively supported for and lobbied for right to work legislation. During his entire 8 years as Mayor, Berry was at impasse with virtually all 7 of the city hall unions and their collective bargaining contract, especially the police union. During his first term in office (2009 to 2013) Berry unilaterally ordered the suspension of negotiated union contracts and refused to pay negotiated pay increases agreed to by his predecessor Mayor Martin Chavez. Berry even ordered pay cuts to forestall increasing taxes to deal with a deficit.

It was no secret that Mayor Richard Berry was the darling of the real estate development community and “right to work proponents” with Berry even lobbying for right to work laws in Santa Fe. Berry was also known to object to PSA’s. The National Association Of Industrial Office Parks (NAIOP) and Republican leaning organizations such of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and the New Mexico Business Coalition were big time supporters of Berry contributing thousands to his successful privately finance campaign for a second term in 2013 where he spent well over $1 Million to get elected to a second term in the lowest voter turnout in the city’s history. Berry won in a landslide with a 19% voter turnout.

In the 2013 Mayor’s race, PSA’s were made an issue, especially by NAIOP. During the NAIOP luncheon debate moderated by Albuquerque Journal Senior Editor Kent Waltz and attended by well over 300 people, Republicans Richard Berry and Paul Heh and Democrat Pete Dinelli were all asked their positions on PSA’s. Berry and Heh both said they were opposed, while Pete Dinelli said he agreed they were necessary. Dinelli pointed out that for any Mayor to be successful they must work with the city unions. Dinelli was literally booed by half of the audience watching, including Berry’s Chief Administrative Officer Rob Perry. Dinelli came very close to telling NAIOP to go screw themselves and walking out of the debate but he showed great restraint and stayed anyway to make a point. Restraint is not required of a person who is fully retired, free to think, say and do what they want, so to NAIOP, it’s a delight and a real treat to watch NAIOP membership to deal with project labor agreements before they can suck on the government tit and be paid with taxpayer money for government construction contract work.

VILIFYING GOVERNMENT WITH YOUR HAND OUT

It is always amazing how real estate developers and construction firms and organizations such as NAIOP and Republicans are so resistant to any and all government rules, and regulations such as building codes, electrical codes, plumbing codes and minimum construction standards proclaiming government overreach. To them, its irrelevant that building electrical, plumbing and safety codes protect the public health, safety, and welfare and taxpayer dollars. Organizations such of the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, the Economic Forum and the New Mexico Business Coalition and NAIOP never cease with their vilification of unions and government regulations proclaiming it interferes with their ability to compete and make a living and drives up their costs to do business and lowers profits. What is also interesting is that NAIOP membership are always first in line with their hands out to bid on city government contracts wanting multimillion dollar construction contracts, such as the $120 million ART Bus project, yet they vilify government.

LEGITIMATE REASONS FOR CITY PSA’S

Simply put, PSA’s are necessary in City government construction contracts for any number of legitimate reasons. Those reasons include:

1. The PSA’s mandate uniform wages, benefits, overtime pay, hours, working conditions, and work rules for work on major city construction projects
2. The PSA’s mandate that contractors on city construction projects have reliable and uninterrupted supply of qualified workers at predictable costs;
3. The PSA’s ensure that a government construction project will be completed on time and on budget
4. The PSA’s will ensure no labor strife by prohibiting strikes and lockouts and including binding procedures to resolve labor disputes;
5. PSA’s in projects over $10 million as mandated by the ordinance will make it easier to manage by placing unions under one contract, the PLA, rather than dealing with several unions that may have different wage and benefit structures;
6. The PSA ordinance includes provisions to recruit and train workers by requiring contactors to participate in recruitment, apprenticeship, and training programs for women, minorities, veterans, and other under-represented groups
7. The PSA reduces misclassification of workers and the related underpayment of payroll taxes and workers compensation.
8. The PSA ordinance will translate into a larger percentage of construction wages staying in the city and state.
9. The PSA will improve worker safety by requiring contractors and workers to comply with project safety rules.
10. The PSA requirement for city government construction projects will have a positive long-term economic benefit for the local and construction industry as a whole.

Mayor Tim Keller is strongly urged to sign the resolution as soon as possible.