“For over a thousand years Roman conquerors returning from the wars enjoyed the honor of triumph, a tumultuous parade. In the procession came trumpeters, musicians and strange animals from conquered territories, together with carts laden with treasure and captured armaments. The conquerors rode in a triumphal chariot, the dazed prisoners walking in chains before him. Sometimes his children robed in white stood with him in the chariot or rode the trace horses. A slave stood behind the conqueror holding a golden crown and whispering in his ear a warning: that all glory is fleeting.”

Four Stat Army General George S. Patton, Jr. World War II

MAYOR TIM KELLER’S WIN

Congratulations to Mayor Tim Keller on his decisive win over Sheriff Manny Gonzales and Radio Talk show host Eddy Aragon. On election night, Keller basked in the glory of a victory well-earned as he spoke to his supporters with his wife and young children standing by his side. Mayor Keller can take great comfort that voters had enough confidence in giving him another 4 years as mayor without a run off. Keller can be very thankful that he won with 56% of the final vote and that he had two very weak candidates this election cycle with conservative “Democrat in Name Only” Sheriff Manny Gonzales who secured 26% of the vote and Der Führer Trump Radio Shock Jock Eddy Aragon who secured 18% of the vote. Although the percentage victory was high, the voter turn out was still a low 119,745 votes cast in a city that has 383,000 voters.

What Mayor Keller cannot take great comfort in is that despite his decisive victory of 56%, his popularity has taken a major hit. Keller was first elected in 2017 by coming in first by beating all 7 of his opponents to get into a runoff. He went on to win in 2017 by a decisive landslide against Dan Lewis who secured 37.8% with Keller winning with 62.2% of the vote. In this year’s election year, Dan Lewis was again elected to city council garnering 52% of the vote and by beating incumbent City Councilor Cynthia Borrego’s 40% of the vote and who who replaced Lewis 4 years ago. One year ago, Keller had a 61% approval rating. Even with his constant, daily search for attention, press conferences, very recent polls show Keller’s job approval rating is at a disappointing 50% compared to his 56% victory, meaning that 50% of the voters may be disappointed in his job performance, but they decided to vote for him anyway and could not vote for his opposition. Keller’s low approval rating is likely because of the pandemic and his failure to keep his promise of reducing crime.

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/elections/tim-keller-wins-reelection-in-albuquerque-mayoral-election/

https://www.koat.com/article/election-results-new-mexico/38140204

Keller’s accomplishments over the last 4 years have been less than stellar. The city’s high murder rate is rising even further. Violent crime and murders are still increasing with the city breaking the all-time record 3 times during his term. Keller has not come close to the change he promised in 2017. Keller failed to make the sweeping changes to the Albuquerque Police Department, and his promised implementation of the DOJ reforms stalled so much that he fired his first chief. Keller has appointed Harold Medina – who has a nefarious past with the use of deadly force against two people suffering from psychotic episodes – permanent chief. Keller is not even close to reaching the 1,200 sworn police officers promised 4 years ago with APD down to about 900 sworn police officers. Community-based policing is still a thing of the past. Keller’s promise to bring down violent crime never materialized and his 4 programs to bring down violent crime have failed. During the four years of his first term, murders hit an all-time record and the overwhelming majority are still unsolved. Keller’s only major accomplishment of getting funding for the Gateway Center and acquiring the old Loveless hospital for the City’s homeless is still on the drawing board pending a conditional use approval with remodeling still in the distant future.

SECOND TERM CURSE

The downside to winning a second term for Mayor Tim Keller is that nothing is going to change much for him over the next 4 years. After 4 years in office, Mayor Tim Keller under his leadership still has a police department that is failing miserably to police itself and is in a catastrophic meltdown. The public is still waiting for results in reducing violent crime which has only gotten worse under his tenure. Keller has only himself to blame given the fact he promised to bring down crime, implement the police reforms and he personally selected those in charge of APD and he went back on his campaign promise not once but twice to hire a new Chief from outside the agency. Keller appointed as the new chief a man with a nefarious past having shot and killed a 14-year-old having a psychotic episode and gave the order authorizing the use of deadly force to take into custody a 26-year-old suffering from post-traumatic syndrome that resulted in the city paying out millions to settle the case.

Consecutive second terms are usually worse than first terms for mayor if they get one, just ask former Mayors Marty Chavez and Richard Berry who served consecutive terms. All the problems that existed for Keller the day before the election still exist the day after his election to a second term. Keller still has skyrocketing violent crime rates he promised to bring down, APD is still failing to come into compliance with the Department of Justice Consent decree reforms, APD continues to shrink in size with sworn police leaving in droves, the homeless crisis continues to get worse as homeless numbers spike, the city’s unemployment rate is above the national average as is the city’s poverty rates, Keller has no economic development he can really take credit for and we still have a downtown that remains a ghost town despite Keller’s pledge and efforts to revitalize it. Selling the historic Rosenwald building on central to his supporters the Garcia’s for a song is not downtown revitalization. Mayor Keller and his appointed Chief Medina are faced with a police union that has no respect for him nor his police chief. A recent union survey found that 98% of sworn police do not feel supported by Mayor Tim Keller and 94% sworn police do not approve of Police Chief Harold Medina. Complicating matters is that APD police are leaving the department in droves and now Keller is resorting to offering new APD recruits $10,000 sign on bonuses.

MAYOR TIM KELLER’S LOSSES ON CITY COUNCIL

Although Mayor Keller won a second term by a decisive margin in all 5 of the City Council Districts on the ballot this year, things will no doubt dramatically change for him on the Albuquerque City Council. His support of two Democrat incumbents did them no good, even though Keller himself won the two council districts.

District 3 Democrat City Councilor Klarissa Peña, 54, was unopposed this year. She had a business and community service background having worked with Youth Development, Inc (YDI) for a number of years. Peña was first elected to the post in December 2013 and cruised to a second-term victory over one challenger in 2017.

In City Council District 1, Albuquerque’s Central Westside, Democrat City Councilor Lan Sena, 31, lost to Democrat and former APD police officer Louie Sandchez,(56), who now operates 2 Allstate Insurance companies. Sanchez when with APD was also assigned to Mayor Chaves’ security detail. City Councilor Lan Sena is progressive democrat appointed by Mayor Keller to the City Council when long serving City Councilor Ken Sanchez passed away on January 1. Councilor Sena was a considered a reliable progressive vote for Keller’s initiatives and the Planned Parenthood measured finance committee sent out flyers jointly promoting Keller and Sena.

Incumbent Democrat City Councilor and President of the City Council Cynthia Borrego, 64, District 5, lost her bid for a second 4-year term to former Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis. Borrego was a reliable vote for Keller on the city council. Dan Lewis won his seat back with 52% of the vote to Borrego’s 40% of the vote with Phillip Ramirez, 43, securing 9% of the vote. Conservative Republican Dan Lewis will now have his old platform on city council and will no doubt take an adversarial approach dealing with Keller on the city council and perhaps run for Mayor again in 2025.

The mid-heights City Council District 7 race had 6 running to succeed Democrat Diane Gibson, who announced in April that she would not seek a third term. Diane Gibson was known to support Manny Gonzales over Tim Keller for re-election after Keller repeatedly ignored Gibson. A runoff will be between conservative Republican Lori Robertson, 48, a real estate agent and Progressive Democrat Tammy Fiebelkorn, 51, who City Councilor Diane Gibson endorsed as her successor. Should Republican Robertson win, Keller’s influence over the city council will be diminished with a significantly reduced Democrat majority.

In District 9, the East Central and 4 hills area, three candidates were trying to succeed long time serving, ineffective, uninspiring, unknown Don Harris, a Republican who decided not to seek a fifth term after serving since 2005. A runoff will between conservative Republican candidate, Renee Grout, 60, who received 42% of the vote, and Democratic candidates, Rob Grilley Jr., 37, earned 30%. Democrat Byron Powdrell, 54, earned 28% of the vote, had received the Journal endorsement and who is part of the famous Powdrell family known for their bar-b-que restaurants. Democrat Grilley could become the first Democrat to win in the district after many years of Republican control if he can get the support of Powdrell and his voters.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2442911/candidates-vie-for-four-competitive-city-council-races.html

KELLER’S SOCCER STADIUM BOND LOSS

The $50 million gross receipt tax bond had 35% who voted for it and had 65% who voted against it. Mayor Tim Keller from the very beginning was a major proponent of the $50 million bonds initiative to build a multiuse soccer stadium estimated to cost $65 million-$70 million. On July 24, Keller took part in pregame tailgate parties for a New Mexico United Soccer Team game and then took to the field of Isotopes Park during halftime. In a campaign style speech before a crowd of tailgate party goers, Keller announce to the crowd of 10,000 he was sending a resolution to City Council to place the proposal on the November 2 ballot . The City Council did just that, but the bond measure failed miserably on a two to one vote while virtually all of the other bond requests passed by healthy majorities. The stadium bonds failed, despite a $1 million dollar ad campaign finance by New Mexico United soccer team that was to be the primary tenant of the facility and that agreed to contributing $10 million for construction and leasing it from the city and paying $800,000 in rent a year to the city. Election night, Keller said his administration will respect the voters’ decision not to fund the stadium.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2442913/voters-to-decide-on-soccer-stadium.html

VOTER TURN OUT

The 2021 municipal election saw upwards of 22,000 more voters over the 2017 election. According to the Bernalillo County clerks office, 119,745 votes were cast out of the 383,000 registered voters. Keller won with 56% of the final vote (66,051) Sheriff Manny Gonzales secured 26% (30,139) of the final vote and Eddy Aragon secured 18% (21,654) of the vote and write in candidate Patrick B. Sais secured 294 votes, less than half of 1%. According to the Bernalillo County clerks office, turnout countywide turnout was 30.5% and city-wide turnout was just over 32%.

With 119,745 votes cast, representing 32%, the 2021 election goes down as having the highest voter turnout going back 20 years. In the 2017 mayor’s race and municipal election, 97,399 voted or 29%. I n the 2013 mayor’s race, only 70,473 voted, or a miserable 19%.

The likely explanation for the historical turnout is that New Mexico law was changed that consolidated local elections that that increased the voter turnout. This year’s municipal election was not conducted by the city clerk but conducted by the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office. The 2021 ballot featured the mayor’s race, 5 city council races and voter bond approval of multiple bonds, including one for a soccer stadium. The 2021 ballot also had the the Albuquerque Public Schools, Central New Mexico Community College, the Village of Tijeras, the Ciudad Soil and Water Conservation District on the ballot and more.

“ALL GLORY IS FLEETING” IN A “DEAD END JOB”

In politics, timing is everything and so is opposition. Tim Keller has had a very charmed political career as far as timing and opposition. He has shown political opportunism at its worst as he jumped from state senator after defeating another democrat to state auditor both times in midterm and then ran for Mayor in 2017. Keller rode a waive of popularity he created as State Auditor as a white night combating “waste, fraud and abuse” in state government to run for Mayor in 2017. That charm and opportunism will come to a screeching halt if Keller’s popularity continues on the downward spiral which is more likely than not to happen in a second term. That is just the nature of the office of mayor where it is impossible not to offend anyone.

The job of Mayor of Albuquerque is considered a “dead end job” by many political observers. To become mayor of Albuquerque is to become disliked. A mayor becoming disliked is caused by what is referred to as “voter political fatigue”. Just ask former Democratic Mayors Jim Baca, Ken Schultz, Marty Chavez and Republican Mayor Richard Berry, all who wanted to go on to higher office such as United State congress or Governor.

Two term Republican Mayor Harry Kinney, who has passed away, ran for Governor and could not secure the Republican nomination. Democrat Jim Baca wanted to run for United States Congress but lost his bid for a second term which ended his political career. Democrat Ken Schultz had every intention of running for Governor until Governor Bruce King announced he was running again and Schultz went on to lose his bid for a second term as Mayor. Schultz also went on to be indicted and plead guilty to the Metropolitan Court scandal for receiving kick back in involved with the multi million dollar state construction project.

Democrat Mayor Marty Chavez after his first term decided not to seek a second consecutive term and he left with a 71% approval rating to run for Governor only to lose to Republican Governor Gary Johnson who sought a second term. Thereafter Chavez successfully ran for two more terms as Mayor but lost his fourth bid to become mayor to Republican Mayor Richard Berry. Before that, Mayor Chavez ran for US Senate when Senator Pete Domenici retired, but Chavez was essentially force out of the race by US Senate Leadership who refused to support Chavez and supported congressman Tom Udall. After serving his 3rd term as Mayor and losing to Berry, Chavez ran for US congress and came in third when Democrat Mitchell Lujan Grisham became the congresswoman for the Albuquerque area district.

After being elected to his second term as mayor in a landslide victory, Richard Berry was making plans to run for Governor but as a legacy project he unilaterally decided upon constructing the ART Bus line down central. Berry left office on December 1 when Tim Keller was sworn into as Mayor. Berry had a 34% approval rating when he left office dashing any hopes he had on becoming governor.

Like most, if not all Mayors before him, Tim Keller has higher ambitions. He has said to many in private he wants to run for Governor or a federal office and go to Washington. Keller has said in the past his ultimate goal is to be Governor and run in 2026 after Governor Lujan Grisham serves a second term, if she is reelected. If Keller goes on to higher office, he will be the only Mayor since the creation of the modern-day Mayor and 9 member City Council form of government to go on to higher office. If Keller does in fact seek a third term as Mayor, or seeks to run for Governor, or even runs for federal office where he will have to run against an incumbent Democrat, Mayor Keller’s charmed political career of having very weak opposition will come to an end. Until then congratulations and good luck to Mayor Tim Keller on his decisive win and over the next 4 years.

Rumor has it Keller’s campaign manager Neri Olguin was last seen election night holding the city’s’ blue seal over Keller’s head while he was bent over to his side as Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair was whispering in Keller’s ear “all glory is fleeting.”

October 31, Halloween Night, Ghostbuster’s “Slimer Shaun” Willoughby took to the Channel 7 news cast airways to make a “special announcement” that the APD police union would not be making any endorsement of any one of the 3 candidates for Mayor. Willoughby proclaimed that the police union interviewed Mayor Tim Keller, Sheriff Manny Gonzales and radio talk show host Eddy Aragon and concluded that none of the 3 were worthy of the police union endorsement.

Shaun Willoughby had this to say on camera:

“There are candidates and either City Council races or the mayor’s race that are interested in APOA endorsement. We definitely put them through the process. We have a process for that, but we’re just not in a position right now to engage in this mayor’s race.

The reality is that we have significant problems in the city of Albuquerque that are not being addressed by the current mayor. They need to be addressed no matter who the mayor is, and the direction that Albuquerque is going right now is the wrong direction. So we’ve decided not to endorse. So what we need is the city of Albuquerque to join us to join your public safety personnel and demand better because you deserve better. We know you deserve better and we want to provide better.

The city of Albuquerque has an obligation to provide its employees policies that allow them to succeed and do the job. That’s not happening. Let’s think about the future and less about thinking about election cycles because it’s going to take more than a decade to replace the 137 people that just walked out the door”.

Channel 7 failed to reach out to any one of the 3 candidates running for Mayor to get a reaction to the Union’s actions.

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-police-union-backs-no-mayoral-candidate/38117603

POLICE UNION 2017 ENDORSEMENT OF KELLER RESULTED IN “QUID PRO QUO”

Four years ago, the police union endorsed then New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller for Mayor. During the entire 8 years of the previous Republican Mayor Berry Administration, the police union was at union contract impasse when Berry unilaterally suspended a pay raise negotiated by the Mayor Marty Chaves Administration because the city was face with a huge budget deficit and Berry preferred to make budget and salary cuts to avoid a tax increase. The police union got the “quid pro quo” it so desperately wanted with its endorsement of Keller. Within 5 months of taking office, the Keller Administration negotiated a new, two-year police union contract substantially raising police hourly pay.

Within 6 months of taking office, Mayor Tim Keller also went back on his pledge not to raise taxes, even for public safety, without a public vote. Mayor Keller signed a gross receipts tax increase with 70% of the $55 million generated from the new tax revenues dedicated to public safety. The police union and union President Shaun Willoughby heavily lobbied the Albuquerque City Council to dedicate 70% of the new tax revenues to public safety. The net result of passage of the tax increase was that the city council increased APD’s budget by 30% and further increased officers’ pay by more than 17%.

During the past 4 years, and after being given everything they have wanted, Willoughby and the union have consistently criticized the Keller Administration. The biggest source of the criticism is the Keller Administration support of the Department of Justice reforms and the accompanying discipline for violations of standard operating procedures required for “use of force” and “deadly force”.

POLICE UNION POLLS

On October 29, a mere 4 days before the municipal election for Mayor, the police union released its yearly survey of its membership. The survey was sent to 823 officers with a mere 421 officers responding to the survey. The management positions of APD sergeants and lieutenants are police union members and no doubt participated in the survey. According to an APD spokesperson, APD has 945 sworn officers as of October 27.

Each year, the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) releases its annual push poll of its membership. Last year the union released its poll in July. In years past, the union releases its poll as the police union contract negotiations are about to begin with the city or are already in the process of negotiations. For the past two years, police union negotiations have been suspended because of the pandemic.

Review and comparison of the police union’s 2020 and 2021 poll results are in order.

2020 POLICE UNION POLL

The highlights of last year’s survey released in July, 2020 are as follows:

80% of APD officers who responded have considered a new line of work in the past couple of months and of those 84% said it was due to the “current view on policing, the increased scrutiny on officers, new reform efforts and job insecurity.”
62% of sworn police officers do not feel they are being supported by Police Chief Michael Geier.
96% of sworn police do not feel supported by the City Council.
83% of sworn police do not feel supported by Mayor Tim Keller.
88% of sworn police are concerned about losing “qualified immunity”. “Qualified Immunity” is where sworn police officers are not personally held liable for anyone they injure or killed on the job. Under “qualified immunity” the city assumes full responsibility for any and all conduct, intentional or negligent, by sworn police.
68% of officers said it was “unlikely or very unlikely” that they would recommend police work as a career choice to others.

2021 POLICE UNION POLL

The 2021 poll released on October 29 reflects that not much has changed. The highlights of this year’s survey are as follows:

85% of those surveyed have considered leaving the force, up 5% from last year.
89% do not feel supported by command staff.
94% do not approve of Police Chief Harold Medina.
98% do not feel supported by Mayor Tim Keller’s administration.
42% said Department of Justice reform constraints are the biggest contributor to the crime problem in the city.
24% said it was “justice system problems”, ostensibly meaning the revolving door criminal justice system.
Only 5% said lack of officers is contributing to high crime rates.

Not at all surprising APOA President Shaun Willoughby said stagnant recruiting, DOJ reform efforts and the Keller administration have brought morale to its lowest levels yet.

Willoughby had this to say:

“These are actual police officers, the men and women that are keeping this community safe at night, and this is how they feel. Let’s take it seriously, for the first time ever, and let’s try to fix it. … This departments not worried about crime. … This department’s worried about compliance and DOJ reforms and it’s really hard. … [Sworn police] feel handcuffed, they’re frustrated that the citizens are frustrated, and nobody is allowed to do police work.”

“All these politicians will tell you we’ve got to do both simultaneously. Not a realistic expectation. … [APD sworn police] do not feel like they have a recipe for success. … 85% of them are looking for other jobs in a year where 137 police officers have already left followed by a year where 81 police officers left last year. I mean we have a natural attrition rate in this police department dating back 20 years of 60. So they’ve got a serious problem on their hands and I think it starts with treating your employees with a little more respect. … I don’t know a single police officer who would recommend the Albuquerque Police Department as a place of employment.”

Willoughby in one interview said it’s time for APD to start dictating policy for the department saying they have a right to identify things that are not working and fix them. Willoughby went on to say one of those things is the “use of force policy”. He says officers are spending hours of their day being investigated by Internal Affairs for use of force when they could be out on the streets fighting crime.

Willoughby said there was no political motivation behind releasing the survey results four days before the mayoral election.

On Friday, October 29, APD issued the following statement in response to the police union poll:

“We have acknowledged and been up front about the fact that officers are not happy with the DOJ settlement agreement and the focus on discipline. At the same time, the Court-appointed monitors are coming out with a new report that once again criticizes the department for not doing enough to discipline officers. The fact is we are working with the DOJ and the Congressional delegation to push back against unreasonable demands from the monitoring team, while working toward compliance and lasting reform. I would also point out that 61% of voters in a recent survey support the job our police officers are doing. Public support is essential for our department to be effective.”

Links to quoted source material are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2441753/survey-apd-officers-unhappy-with-local-leaders.html

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/apoa-survey-officers-do-not-feel-supported-by-city-leaders/6285010/?cat=500

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/survey-reveals-what-apd-officers-believe-to-be-biggest-factor-in-crime-problem/

SEVEN YEARS OF POLICE UNION OBSTRUCTION TACTICS

During the past 7 years Shaun Willoughby and the police union members he represents have done everything they could to undercut the police reforms brought on by the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation that found a “culture of aggression” and repeated use of deadly force and excessive use of force. The Federal Court Appointed Monitor has labeled the union interference with the reforms as the “County Casa Effect”. The Federal monitor has defined the Counter Casa Effect as a group of “high-ranking “ police officers.

In his 10th report, the Federal Monitor defined the “Counter-CASA effect” and the group of high ranking sworn police as follows:

“Sergeants and lieutenants, at times, go to extreme lengths to excuse officer behaviors that clearly violate established and trained APD policy, using excuses, deflective verbiage, de minimis comments and unsupported assertions to avoid calling out subordinates’ failures to adhere to established policies and expected practice. Supervisors (sergeants) and mid-level managers (lieutenants) routinely ignore serious violations, fail to note minor infractions, and instead, consider a given case “complete”.

“Some members of APD … resist actively APD’s reform efforts, including using deliberate counter-CASA processes. For example, … Collective Bargaining Agreement (CBA) disciplinary timelines, appear at times to be manipulated by supervisory, management and command levels at the area commands, letting known violations lie dormant until timelines [mandated by the union contract] for discipline cannot be met.”

In his 12th Monitor’s Report, Dr. Ginger states:

… Many of the instances of non-compliance seen in the field are a matter of “will not,” instead of “cannot”! The Monitor … report[s] … he sees actions that transcend innocent errors and instead speak to issues of cultural norms yet to be addressed and changed by APD leadership.”

… Supervision, which includes Lieutenants and Sergeants in the union, need to leave behind its dark traits of myopia, passive resistance, and outright support for, and implementation of, counter-CASA processes.”

POLICE UNION PUBLIC RELATONS CAMPAIGN TO DISCREDIT REFORMS

On April 27, 2021, it was widely reported that the Albuquerque Police Officers Association (APOA) launched a $70,000 political ad campaign to discredit the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated reforms saying the police reforms are preventing police officers from doing their jobs and combating crime.

The Police Union political ad campaign consisted of billboards around the city and testimonials on TV, radio and social media from former Albuquerque Police Department officers. The public relations campaign is urging the public to tell city leaders that crime matters more than the Police reforms mandated by the settlement.

APOA Police Union President Shaun Willoughby described the need for the public relations campaign this way:

“You can either have compliance with DOJ reforms or you can have lower crime. You can’t have both. We think it’s time that our city leaders hear from the public that crime matters more because it does. … They want to focus on the growing crime problem, instead of wasting millions of dollars on endless Department of Justice oversight. … This conversation of reform needs to come back to common sense.” …

A POLICE UNION CANARD

During the June 9, 2021 status conference hearing, presiding Federal Judge James Browning asked the Federal Monitor what he thought about the police union accusations that the settlement is the cause of higher crime. The federal monitor’s response was swift and he told the court:

“[The accusation is] a union canard. We’ve talked about the counter-CASA effect in Albuquerque for years and years, and it is still alive and well. This latest process from the union is just another piece of counter-CASA. The union would like us out of town, I’m sure, and remember this monitoring team – as much as we love Albuquerque – would be glad to be done with the job. But we’re not going to give passing scores unless passing scores are earned. … [if the city] will actually focus on compliance” [it could be done with the CASA in 2 to 3 years]. … We’re constantly making the same recommendations over and over and over again. Just like this time – 190-plus recommendations. It’s a get-out-of-the-CASA-free card, those 190 recommendations. What’s dragging this out, quite frankly, your honor, is a police department not focusing its resources on complying with the CASA.”

APD’S FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT MANDATED REFORMS

On May 3, 2021 the Federal Court Appointed Monitor filed with the Federal Court the 13th compliance report of APD. The report covers the time frame of August 2020 through January 2021. The report finds that APD is deteriorating further in not achieving the mandatory compliance levels.

The link to the 350 page 13th Federal Monitor’s report is here:

https://documents.cabq.gov/police/reports/department-of-justice/independent-monitors-thirteenth-report-may-2021.pdf

APD FAILS TO CONTROL “USE OF FORCE”

Quoting the 13th federal monitor’s (IMR-13) report:

… it continues to be apparent that APD has not had and currently does not have an appetite for taking serious approaches to control excessive or unwarranted uses of force during its police operations in the field. Command and control practices regarding the use of force continue to be weak. APD continues to lack the ability to consistently “call the ball” on questionable uses of force, and at times is unable to “see” obvious violations of policy or procedure related to its officers’ use of force.”

“At this point, the disciplinary system at APD routinely fails to follow its own written policy, guiding disciplinary matrices, and virtually decimates its disciplinary requirements in favor of refusals to recognize substantial policy violations, and instead, often sustaining minor related violations and ignoring more serious violations. In other cases, APD simply defies its own written guidance.

“… APD is willing to go through almost any machination to avoid disciplining officers who violate policy or supervisors who fail to note policy violations or fail to act on them in a timely manner.” …

Again, during this reporting period, we provided APD with highly detailed step-by-step recommendations regarding the use of force investigations and supervision at all levels of the department, among other critical issues. Despite this advice, APD has actually lost ground in its compliance efforts as it relates to training related to and operational implementation of the requirements of the CASA.”

This monitor’s report can be synopsized in a single sentence. Due to a catastrophic failure in training oversight this reporting period and similar failures at the supervisory and command levels of APD, the agency suffered a 9.9%-point loss in compliance elements related to the training and supervisory functions at APD and a 7.8% loss in overall compliance ….

(IMR-13, pages 2 and 3)

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/05/11/federal-monitors-12th-and-13th-reports-highlight-mayor-tim-kellers-catastrophic-failure-to-implement-the-doj-mandated-reforms/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Police union surveys in years past have been taken and released by the union as the police union contract negotiations are about to begin with the city. The surveys are used to gain leverage in union contract negotiations to give it the upper hand. Lest anyone forget, it was in May that the police union began a $70,000 public relations campaign to disparage the Department of Justice Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) making the bogus argument that the CASA was the cause of the City’s high crime rate.

It’s so damn laughable that Union President Shaun Willoughby would say there was no political motivation behind releasing the union survey results 4 days before the mayoral election to the point that there is a need to just say he is lying. There was absolutely no urgency nor need to release the poll other than the November 2 election. The survey could just have been easily released after the election, but the union just had to take one more cheap shot at Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Harold Medina.

Union President Shaun Willoughby takes another cheap shot literally 2 days before the November 2 election by announcing the union would not be making an endorsement and “slims” by making inflammatory and false accusations that APD is not being supported by City Hall and saying that is the reason for not making an endorsement.

PROMOTING THE BIG LIE

Police Union President Shaun Willoughby has been on a public relations “slim” campaign promoting the “big lie” that the DOJ consent decree reforms are the cause of officer shortages, low morale and high crime. He and the union perpetually complain after the City Council gives APD a $227 million dollar budget. Millions go to pay APD sworn police, including salaries, overtime pay, retirement contributions, insurance benefits and providing equipment needs such as police cars, lapel cameras and training. Simply put APD personnel are the best paid at city hall with one of the most lucrative retirements.

The police union complaints about the reforms have been going on 7 years, before the pandemic and long before the national movement of police scrutiny and accountability. The Federal Monitor has documented the reform resistance and the negligent personnel management causing the problems.

The Federal Court and the Monitor have no management authority over APD. The department’s problems are not caused by the reforms but caused by the way Keller, Medina and his 3 Deputies have implemented the reforms and union sergeant and lieutenant membership obstructing the mandated reforms.

REAL REASONS BEHIND FALSE CLAIMS

According to police officers, they are afraid to do their jobs for fear of being investigated, fired or disciplined. They claim their hands are tied. The police union for 7 years has obstructed the reforms. The police union went so far as to initiate a $70,000 political ad campaign and using Willoughby’s own words saying “You can either have compliance with DOJ reforms or you can have lower crime. You can’t have both”, discrediting the need for reforms.

When “Slimer Shaun” Willoughby says it’s time for APD to start dictating policy for the department saying they have a right to identify things that are not working with the DOJ reforms and fix them, what he really means is that it’s time for the union to start dictating policy.

What the police union feels is interfering with APD sworn from doing their jobs are the following mandated reforms:

The mandatory use of lapel cameras by APD.
APD police can no longer shoot at fleeing cars.
APD police can no longer use “choke holds” to subdue suspects.
APD police need to use less lethal force and not rely on the SWAT unit.
APD police must use de-escalating tactics.
All APD officers must be trained in crisis intervention.
APD management must now hold all subordinate police officers accountable for all levels of violations of standard operating procedures.
APD Police officers are required to intervene when they witness and are concerned about other officers use of force. “Old guard” police officers view it as a “snitch” program where officers turn on fellow officers.
Sworn police officers believing that many standard operating procedures should not be enforced as being too petty or serving no useful function.
The mandatory “paper work” associated with any degree of use of force is too cumbersome.
Mandatory notification to superiors for investigation by police officers who witness another officer’s “excessive use of force” or violations of CASA reforms.

APD Chief Medina has said “The pendulum has swung too far in the wrong direction where officers do not feel supported, or that they can do their jobs effectively and safely in all situations. … We can’t simply move every officer to patrol the streets. … I don’t have the authority to defy a court order.”

No one is asking anyone to defy any court order but asking them to simply do their jobs. It’s Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Medina not supporting sworn police. They have control over APD, all personnel, discipline and how the reforms are implemented. The police union also has considerable influence and thus control over its membership, especially sergeants and lieutenants, who are management, and yet allowed to join the union, as they undercut or interfere with implementation of the reforms and discourage people from going to work for APD.

CONCLUSION

When Willoughby proclaims “I don’t know a single police officer who would recommend the Albuquerque Police Department as a place of employment” he is saying that he and the union only think about themselves and are part of the problem. Simply put, Keller and Medina have failed to manage and hire officers as the APD police union obstructs implementation of the DOJ reforms.

The Department of Justice will never leave the city and the case dismissed until APD management and the Police Union get behind the reforms to bring the department into full compliance with the consent decree.

The links related blog articles are here:

Headline Reality Versus Public Opinion; 61% Feel Safe In A City With Violent Crime Index of 346% National Average; 61% Approve Way APD Police Doing Job Despite Department’s Poor Performance Measures

NY Times: “How Police Unions Became Such Powerful Opponents to Reform Efforts”; This Sounds WAAAY Too Familiar! Dismiss Police Union As Party To Federal Lawsuit

Following are the headlines with report summaries and links to the full news stories for Halloween weekend:

November 1 ABQ Journal Headline: VIOLENCE OVER WEEKEND LEAVES 5 FATALLY SHOT, OTHERS INJURED

“Violence erupted marring the Halloween weekend around the metro area with five people fatally shot and multiple persons wounded in separate incidents which spanned from Downtown to Southeast Albuquerque, the South Valley, Corrales and the West Side. … The weekend started off with gunfire at a large house party on the West Side, a homicide in Downtown Albuquerque and a killing in Corrales.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2442212/bcso-investigating-double-homicide-in-county.html

HEADLINE: “Albuquerque police: Party gunfire wounds multiple people”

“Albuquerque police say at least several people were shot and wounded by gunfire during what was described as a large house party early Saturday morning.”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/albuquerque-police-party-gunfire-wounds-multiplequot-people/6285750/?utm_medium=onsite&utm_campaign=thumbnails&utm_source=zetaglobal

HEADLINE: “House party shooting in northwest Albuquerque”

“A house party turned into a chaotic scene Saturday morning in northwest Albuquerque. Several people were injured after shots were fired at the party. None of the injuries are considered life-threatening. An APD spokesman says officers responded to a 911 call near McMahon Boulevard NW and Fineland Drive NW. … Stray bullets hit several houses. … APD says multiple people were shot and taken to the hospital.”

https://www.koat.com/article/several-people-injured-in-house-party-shooting/38113864

HEADLINE: “Son of former State Senator killed in first murder in Corrales, since December, 2002”

“The son of former State Senator Steve Komadina was killed Saturday in Corrales – the first murder in Corrales, since December, 2002. … Corrales Police Chief Victor Mangiacapra confirmed to Action 7 News that 46 year old Spencer Komadina was shot and killed, after an altercation with his roommate at their home, located on the 300 block of Camino De Corrales Del Norte. …”

https://www.koat.com/article/son-of-former-state-senator-killed-in-first-murder-in-corrales-since-december-2002/38117160

HEADLINE: BCSO: Shooting leaves 2 dead, 4 injured at South Valley party.

“Two people are dead and four people, including a juvenile, were injured after a shooting in the South Valley at a Halloween party. … BCSO states that the victims were transported to UNMH and were last reported to be in stable condition. Investigators later learned that there was another gunshot victim, a juvenile, that was also in stable condition at the hospital.”

https://www.krqe.com/news/crime/bcso-two-confirmed-dead-multiple-injured-in-south-valley-shooting/

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL POLL

The Halloween weekend headlines are Albuquerque’s reality verses public opinion.

The Albuquerque Journal commissioned a poll by its long-time pollster Research and Polling for the November 2 municipal election. The poll was conducted from October 15 through October 21. Included in the poll was a question if voters “felt safe” and their feelings if they felt Albuquerque Police Department (APD) is doing its job.

The Journal Poll is based on a scientific, citywide sample of 536 likely regular local election voters, including those who voted in the 2017 and/or 2019 local elections and a small sample of newly registered voters likely to vote in 2021. The voter sample has a margin of error of plus or minus 4.3 percentage points.

On October 27, the Journal published a front page an article entitled “Despite crime issue, most ABQ voters feel safe” written by Journal Staff writer Matthew Reisen. The link to the full Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2441280/despite-crime-issue-most-abq-voters-feel-safe-ex-the-majority-of-those-polled-believe-apd-officers-doing-a-good-job.html

HIGHLIGHTS OF THE POLL

Following are the major highlights of the poll:

87% are “concerned” about crime.

61% say they feel either very safe or somewhat safe in Albuquerque.
15% of women said they feel very safe.
22% of men said they feel very safe.

DISPARITY IN FEELINGS OF SAFETY WIDENED WITH POLITICAL PARTY AND MAYORAL SUPPORT

76% of Democrats said they felt safe in Albuquerque.
38% of Republicans said they felt safe in Albuquerque.

75% of Mayor Tim Keller’s supporters reported feeling safe.
36% of Sheriff Gonzales’ supporters reported feeling safe.
38% of Eddy Aragon’s supporters reported feeling safe.

APD APPROVAL RATINGS

61% approve of the job Albuquerque police officers are doing.
44% of voters ages 18 to 34 said they approve of the job officers are doing.
69% of those 65 and older approve the way APD is doing its job.

70% of conservatives say they approve the way APD does its job.
47% of liberals say they approve the way APD does its job.
65% of moderates say they approve the way APD does its job.

Approval for officers dipped most among Keller supporters at 56%.
Aragon supporters showed the highest support for officers at 73%.

Regarding the disparity in feelings of safety widening with political party, Brian Sanderoff, the President of research and Polling told the Journal:

“I’ve noticed over the years that, when you ask a person, ‘how safe are you?’ – if the chief executive, whether it be a mayor, or a governor, is a Democrat, the Democrats were like – ‘Oh, I’m safe.’ There’s something about people relating it to how they feel about the chief executive. And I see that trend here to an extent. … , [the same holds true for Republicans.]

The link to the full report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2441280/despite-crime-issue-most-abq-voters-feel-safe-ex-the-majority-of-those-polled-believe-apd-officers-doing-a-good-job.html

CITY CRIME RATES, APD’s PERFORMANCE MEASURES AND DOJ POLICE REFORMS

Given the overall poll results that 61% feel safe and somewhat safe and that 61% approve the way APD is doing its job, a review of the city’s crime rates, APD’s performance measure statistics and APD’s compliance with implementing the department of justice mandated police reforms are in order.

ALBUQUERQUE CRIME RATES IN A NUTSHELL

According to the 2020 FBI Unified Crime Reports:

Albuquerque has a crime rate of 194% higher than the national average.
Albuquerque’s Violent Crime Index for 2020 is 346% of the national average.
Albuquerque Property Crime Index for 2020 is 256% of the national average.

SOURCE:

https://crime-data-explorer.app.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend

HOMICIDES

In 2018 there were 69 homicides.
In 2019 there were 82 homicides.
In 2020, there were 76 homicides.
As of November 3, 2021 there have been 96 homicides within the city limits a new all-time record high.

https://www.koat.com/article/barelas-homicide-abq-homicides/38147165

https://www.abqjournal.com/1199913

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-homicide-list-for-web-site-as-of-20sep2021.pdf

VIOLENT CRIMES

In 2018 there were 6,789 violent crimes. There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

In 2019 the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault.

In 2019 Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase.

The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

In 2020 Crimes Against Persons went from 14,971 in 2019 to 15,262 in 2020.

APD PERFORMANCE MEASURE STATISICS

APD arrests have plummeted. APD statistics for the budget years of 2019 and 2020 reflect the department is not doing its job of investigating and arresting people. APD felony arrests went down from 2019 to 2020 by 39.51% going down from 10,945 to 6,621. Misdemeanor arrests went down by 15% going down from 19,440 to 16,520. DWI arrests went down from 1,788 in 2019 to 1,230 in 2020, down 26%. The total number of all arrests went down from 32,173 in 2019 to 24,371 in 2020 or by 25%.

In 2019 APD had 924 full time police. In 2020, APD had 1,004 sworn police or 80 more sworn police in 2020 than in 2019, yet arrests went down during the first year of the pandemic.

APD’s homicide unit has an anemic clearance rate of 36%. The police union falsely proclaims officer’s hands are tied by the DOJ reforms and are afraid of doing their jobs for fear of being disciplined.

HISTORICAL LOW HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES

For the past three years, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range.

According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%.

In 2017, the homicide clearance rate was 70%.
In 2018, the homicide clearance rate was 56%.
In 2019, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade. In 2020 the clearance rate has dropped to 50%. Of the 75 homicides thus far in 2020, half remain unsolved. There are only a dozen homicide detectives each with caseloads high above the national average.

AUTO THEFTS STILL HIGH

On June 26, 2019 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the most stolen vehicles reported. Despite a 28% reduction in auto thefts over a two-year period, Albuquerque ranked No. 1 in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita for the third year in a row. On July 30, 2020, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reported that Albuquerque is now ranked #2 in the nation for auto theft.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2019/06/27/these-are-the-cities-with-the-highest-car-theft-rates/#7c42e7d35146

RESPONSE TIMES

A February 20th KOAT TV Target 7 investigation into the Albuquerque Police Department’s (APD’s) response times revealed an alarming level of time it takes APD to respond to 911 emergency calls. The time it takes for APD to respond to priority 1 calls in all likely has a major impact on increasing physical injury. It was reported that it takes APD 23 minutes longer to get to an emergency call than it did 8 years ago. There has been an astonishing 93% increase since 2011 with response times getting worse every year since.

In 2011, the average response time to all calls, whether it was a life-or-death emergency or a minor traffic crash was 25 minutes. In 2019, that time period spiked to 48 minutes in the average response time.

https://www.koat.com/article/apd-response-times-continue-to-climb/31028667

The main reason for the dramatic increase in response times is a reduction in the number of sworn police with a corresponding increase in calls for service and 911 emergency calls. Not at all surprising is that when you examine APD’s manpower levels over the past nine years, response times were quicker when there were more sworn police assigned to the field services.

On December 1, 2009, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) was staffed at 1,100 police officers. At the time, APD was the best trained, best funded, best equipped and best staffed in the history of the police department. The city’s overall crime rates were significantly lower than they are today.

For the full 8 years from December 1, 2009 to December 1, 2017, APD spiraled down wards as a result of poor management, budget cuts, police salary cuts and an investigation by the Department of Justice (DOJ) resulting in a finding of a “culture of aggression” within the department. The DOJ investigation resulted in a federal lawsuit and a consent decree mandating major reforms to APD and included the appointment of a federal monitor. When Mayor Keller took office on December 1, 2017, APD had plunged to approximately 870 full time police officers and the numbers went down even further to 830 at one time.

Today, APD staffing has not gotten much better. According to recent reports, APD is down to 940 sworn police.

APD’S FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT MANDATED REFORMS

The Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) mandates 271 police reforms that APD is still struggling to implement after 6 years and millions spent. The most recent 13th Federal Monitors report released finds that APD is deteriorating further in not achieving the mandatory compliance levels.

On May 3, 2021 the Federal Court Appointed Monitor filed with the Federal Court the 13th compliance report of APD. The report covers the time frame of August 2020 through January 2021. It appears that things have only gotten worse for APD.

Under the terms and conditions of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA), once APD achieves a 95% compliance rate in the 3 identified compliance levels and maintains it for 2 consecutive years, the case can be dismissed.

In the IMR-13 report, the Federal Monitor made the following findings on the 3 compliance levels:

Primary Compliance: 100%;
Secondary Compliance: 82%;
Operational Compliance: 59%.

Since the last report, IMR-12, the following changes in compliance levels are noted:

Primary Compliance: No change at 100%
Secondary Compliance: A loss of 9.9%
Operational Compliance: A loss of 7.8%

All documents related to APD’s settlement agreement can be downloaded and reviewed at this city web site link:

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents-related-to-apds-settlement-agreement

The 13th Federal Monitor’s report contains a number of very disturbing findings given that over 6 years has elapsed and millions spent on the reforms.

The link to review the 13th Federal Monitor’s report:

https://documents.cabq.gov/police/reports/department-of-justice/independent-monitors-thirteenth-report-may-2021.pdf

To quote the 13th federal monitor’s report:

“At the present time, APD’s most critical tasks are two-fold. …

First, it needs to control the uses of force effectuated by its personnel, ensuring that each use of force is carefully assessed for compliance to approved policy and that each use of force was the minimum necessary to accomplish a legitimate policing objective.

Secondly, APD needs to actually enforce the mandates of its established disciplinary system and ensure that improper uses of force in the field are addressed through fairly applied remedial measures, e.g., counseling, retraining, enhanced supervision, and discipline.”

(IMR 13, page 1)

APD FAILS TO CONTROL “USE OF FORCE”

“… it continues to be apparent that APD has not had and currently does not have an appetite for taking serious approaches to control excessive or unwarranted uses of force during its police operations in the field. Command and control practices regarding the use of force continue to be weak. APD continues to lack the ability to consistently “call the ball” on questionable uses of force, and at times is unable to “see” obvious violations of policy or procedure related to its officers’ use of force.”

APD’S FAILING DICIPLINARY PROCESS

“At this point, the disciplinary system at APD routinely fails to follow its own written policy, guiding disciplinary matrices, and virtually decimates its disciplinary requirements in favor of refusals to recognize substantial policy violations, and instead, often sustaining minor related violations and ignoring more serious violations. In other cases, APD simply defies its own written guidance.”

(IMR-13, page 2)

MACHINATIONS TO AVOID DISCIPLINING OFFICERS

“… APD is willing to go through almost any machination to avoid disciplining officers who violate policy or supervisors who fail to note policy violations or fail to act on them in a timely manner.”

CLEAR AND DELIBERATE INDIFFERENCE AND IGNORING MONITOR’S RECOMMENDATIONS

“Interestingly, we note this aversion to discipline does not seem to apply to civilian personnel, who are often subjected to maximum penalties for relatively minor violations. To the monitor, this constitutes clear evidence of deliberate indifference to the requirements of the CASA [as applied to APD sworn police personnel]. Again, during this reporting period, we provided APD with highly detailed step-by-step recommendations regarding the use of force investigations and supervision at all levels of the department, among other critical issues. Despite this advice, APD has actually lost ground in its compliance efforts as it relates to training related to and operational implementation of the requirements of the CASA.”

(IMR-13, page 3)

CATASTROPHIC FAILURE IN TRAINING OVERSIGHT

“This monitor’s report can be synopsized in a single sentence. Due to a catastrophic failure in training oversight this reporting period and similar failures at the supervisory and command levels of APD, the agency suffered a 9.9%-point loss in compliance elements related to the training and supervisory functions at APD and a 7.8% loss in overall compliance …. Overall, there is an argument to be made that operational compliance rates have held relatively steady, at slightly less than 60 percent, since IMR-8, two and one-half years ago.”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/05/11/federal-monitors-12th-and-13th-reports-highlight-mayor-tim-kellers-catastrophic-failure-to-implement-the-doj-mandated-reforms/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

In general, public opinion polls are conducted to gage the degrees of positive or negative reactions to a given issue. For that reason, it is difficult to reconcile the results of the Journal poll showing 87% are “concerned” about crime, yet 61% “feel safe and somewhat safe” in a city with such high crime rates.

Had those polled been told that Albuquerque has a crime rate of 194% higher than the national average and that the city’s violent crime index for 2020 is 346% of the national average, it is highly unlikely 61% would say they “feel safe” or “somewhat safe” if they were told. Pollsters call such polls containing such information “push polls” to get a desired response. Instead of being “concerned” about crime, more than a few would likely say they felt “upset”, “angry” or even “afraid” if they were given the information on the city’s crime rates. One feasible response from those polled is that city residence have become “numb” to the reality of violent crime so long as they are not the victim.

It is equally difficult to reconcile that 61% approve the way APD police are doing their jobs. The reality is APD has a very low arrest rates and homicides clearance rates. Response times to 911 calls have spiked by 93% since 2011. Further, APD is still a law enforcement department under a court approved settlement agreement failing to implement the mandated police reforms after a full 7 years and millions spent.

Too many times public opinion polls do not reflect reality. They are a “snapshot in time” of public sentiment. The blunt truth is that public opinion polls are nothing more than an expression of people’s perception on how they feel at one given time and attitudes can change overnight. In Albuquerque, it’s a stretch to say that people are actually safe given our high violent crime rates. It is also a stretch of the imagination to say that APD is doing its job given the decline in arrests and low clearance rates.

Voters may say the feel safe in an opinion poll, but that does not make it so.

______________________

POSTSCRIPT

Below are the two major questions asked in the poll with the results reported:

1. OVERALL, HOW SAFE DO YOU FEEL IN ALBUQUERQUE?

Very Safe: 18%
Somewhat Safe: 43%
Somewhat Unsafe: 23%
Very Unsafe: 12%
Depends: 4%

2. DO YOU APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE OF THE WAY ALBUQUERQUE POLICE OFFICERS ARE DOING THEIR JOB?

Approve: 61%
Disapprove: 20%
Mix feeling: 17%

BREAKDOWN BY IDEOLOGY OF APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE WAY APD OFFICERS DOING JOB

CONSERVATIVE

Approve: 70%
Disapprove: 13%
Mixed Feelings: 15%

MODERATE

Approve: 65%
Disapprove: 17%
Mixed Feelings: 16%

LIBERAL

Approve: 47%
Disapprove: 31%
Mixed Feelings: 18%

BREAKDOWN BY AGE GROUP OF APPROVE OR DISAPPROVE WAY APD OFFICERS DOING JOB

18 TO 34 AGE GROUP

Approve: 44%
Disapprove: 36%
Mixed Feelings: 17%

35 TO 49 AGE GROUP

Approve: 58%
Disapprove: 24%
Mixed Feelings: 17%

50 TO 64 AGE GROUP

Approve: 63%
Disapprove: 21%
Mixed Feelings: 15%

65+ AGE GROUP

Approve: 69%
Disapprove: 9%
Mixed Feelings: 18%

The full Journal article can be read here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2441280/despite-crime-issue-most-abq-voters-feel-safe-ex-the-majority-of-those-polled-believe-apd-officers-doing-a-good-job.html

The November 2 municipal election for Mayor is fast approaching. For that reason, below is a listing of Albuquerque Journal profile articles and Question and Answer articles on the candidates with links to the articles. The Journal articles are being provided in the hope they will provide useful information to make an informed decision.

After the Journal profile articles, a listing of www.PETEDINELLI.com blog articles with links are provided. One caveat to keep in mind: The blog is political and the articles are replete with political opinions with Analysis and Commentary. None the less the blog articles provide documented information on the records of the candidates reported on by local news media and contained in public records along with the Analysis and Commentary.

PLEASE VOTE NOVEMEBER 2! If you do not vote, do not complain.

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL PROFILE ARTICLES AND QUESTION AND ANSWER ARTICLES

MAYOR TIM KELLER

HEADLINE: ‘I’ve learned’: Keller touts real-world experience”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433925/keller-highlighting-experience-as-he-seeks-second-term.html

Q&A MAYORAL CANDIDATE TIME KELLER by the candidate

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433190/qa-mayoral-candidate-tim-keller-2.html

SHERIFF MANNY GONZALES

HEADLINE: “People centric Gonzales Touts Personal Relationships.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2435589/people-centric-gonzales-touts-personal-relationships.html

Q&A mayoral candidate Manuel Gonzales III, by the candidate

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433186/qa-mayoral-candidate-manuel-gonzales-iii.html

RADIO TALK SHOE HOST EDDY ARAGON

HEADLINE: “Conservative radio show host takes on Dems”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433188/radio-show-host-wants-to-be-city-manager.html

“Q&A mayoral candidate Edward Joseph Aragon Jr.” by the candidate

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433178/qa-mayoral-candidate-edward-joseph-aragon-jr.html

DINELLI BLOG ARTICLES WITH LINKS

OCTOBER 19

HEADLINE: “ABQ Journal Endorses Mayor Keller Not Because He Has Done Great Job, But Because Opponents Not Qualified; Fact Checking The Endorsement”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/19/abq-journal-endorses-mayor-keller-not-because-he-has-done-great-job-but-because-opponents-not-qualified-fact-checking-the-endorsement/

Tuesday, October 26:

HEADLINE: ABQ Mayor Candidates Outline Positions On Homeless; “Crisis” Not An “Epidemic”; Arresting And Jailing No Solution; The Law And The Homeless

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/26/abq-mayor-candidates-outline-positions-on-homeless-crisis-not-an-epidemic-arresting-and-jailing-no-solution-the-law-and-the-homeless/

MONDAY, OCTOBER 11:

HEADLINE: “Mayor Candidate Eddy Aragon Reveals He Is “QAnon” Conspiracy Candidate; Aragon In His Own Words; Does Aragon Think 2020 Election Stolen From Trump? Analysis And Commentary”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/11/mayor-candidate-eddy-aragon-reveals-he-is-qanon-conspiracy-candidate-aragon-in-his-own-words-does-aragon-think-2020-election-stolen-from-trump-analysis-and-commentary/

TUESDAY, OCTOBER 12

HEADLINE: “Law Enforcement Relic Manny Gonzalez Talks Crime; An Analysis Of The Gonzales Record As Sheriff; He Will Do For The City What He Has Done For The County: Not Much”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/12/law-enforcement-relic-manny-gonzalez-talks-crime-an-analysis-of-the-gonzales-record-as-sheriff-he-will-do-for-the-city-what-he-has-done-for-the-county-not-much/

Wednesday, October 13:

HEADLINE: “Keller Lives In “Fantasyland” Looking For “Unicorns” To Combat Violent Crime; Keller In His Own Words; Examination Of Keller’s Record On Crime”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/13/keller-lives-in-fantasyland-looking-for-unicorns-to-combat-violent-crime-keller-in-his-own-words-examination-of-kellers-record-on-crime/
Thursday October 14:

HEADLINE: “MFC’s And Mayor Candidates File 7th Campaign Finance Reports; Sheriff Manny Gonzales Raises Over $330,000 In 3 Weeks; ACLU Raises $100,000 To Oppose Gonzales And Aragon”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/10/14/mfcs-and-mayor-candidates-file-7th-campaign-finance-reports-sheriff-manny-gonzales-raises-over-330000-in-3-weeks-aclu-raises-100000-to-oppose-gonzales-and-aragon/

August 26, 2021

HEADLINE: “Der Führer Trump Radio Shock Jock Eddy Aragon Formally Declares Running For Mayor; Let’s jail grandma to reduce the homeless! And Other Crazy; A Choice Between The Lesser Of 2 Evils And 1 Crazy Trumpster Is No Choice At All”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/08/26/der-fuhrer-trump-radio-shock-jock-eddy-aragon-formally-declares-running-for-mayor-lets-jail-grandma-to-reduce-the-homeless-and-other-crazy-a-choice-between-the-lesser-of-2-evils-and-1-c/

August 20, 2021

HEADLINE: Der Führer Trump’s Favorite Democrat Sherriff Manny Gonzales Runs For Mayor; A DINO And Law Enforcement Dinosaur

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/04/20/fuhrer-trumps-favorite-democratic-sherriff-manny-gonzales-runs-for-mayor-a-dino-and-law-enforcement-dinosaur/

January 11, 2021

HEADLINE: “Mayor Tim Keller’s Record Of Broken Promises, Failures And High Murder Rates As He Seeks A Second Term”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/01/11/mayor-tim-kellers-record-of-broken-promises-failures-and-high-murder-rates-as-he-seeks-a-second-term/

The November 2 election for Mayor is fast approaching. The result is a daily barrage of television commercials from both incumbent Mayor Tim Keller and his Chief rival Sheriff Manny Gonzales.

Keller has the distinct upper hand in the amount of money his campaign can spend to produce commercials that are slick and impressive. One ad claim in particular is also very misleading. The Keller claim in particular that is misleading is where the ad boldly proclaims that Keller has hired 400 sworn police over the last 4 years. The claim of hiring 400 may be true, but it is also extremely misleading bordering on making the ad simply being false.

A FAILURE TO DISCLOSE

What Mayor Keller does not disclose is that 80% of the 400 hires have been offset by resignations, retirements and terminations. If the Keller Administration in fact has hired 100 new officers a year over 4 years as claimed, you add the new 400 sworn police to the 861 sworn when Keller became Mayor to arrive at a 1,261 total number. You then subtract the most current identified number of 940 sworn police from the 1,261 total which means APD has lost 321 sworn police officers over 4 years. In other words, 80% of the 400 hires over the last 4 years have been offset by loses due to retirements, transfers or terminations and now need to be replaced.

APD STAFFING THEN AND NOW

When then New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller ran for Mayor, he ran in part on the platform of increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) to 1,200 police and returning to “community-based policing” by the end of his first term. When Mayor Tim Keller assumed office on December 1, 2017, there were 861 full time sworn police according to the 2017-2018 city budget figures and payroll records at the time.

During the 2017 campaign, Keller promised to increase the number of sworn police in the department to 1,200 by the end of his first term, pledging to hire 100 new police officers a year. To keep his campaign promises on APD, Mayor Keller order his Administration to begin implementing an $88 million-dollar police expansion program. The announced goal was to increase the number of sworn police officers from 861 positions filled to 1,200, or by 339 sworn police officers, over a 4-year period.

Fast forward to August, 2021 and after the 2021-2022 APD budget was approved. APD is the largest budget department in the city. APD’s approved general fund operating 2022 budget is upwards of $222 million. The 2022 approved APD operating budget has funding for 1,100 sworn positions and 592 civilian support positions for a total of 1,692 full-time positions. It also includes funding for new positions, including 11 investigators to support internal affairs and the department’s reform obligations under the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement, and two communications staffers.

Notwithstanding the approved funding for 1,100 sworn police the number of police officers patrolling the street of Albuquerque is dangerously low. However, according to an August 2 KOAT news report only 369 are actually patrolling the streets of the city. The 369 filed service officers are divided into 6 area commands and 3 separate shifts. According to the August 2 KOAT TV news report, APD patrol staffing is as follows:

369 patrol officers, for six area commands and 3 shifts
59 patrol sergeants
18 lieutenants
18 – 22 bike officers

https://www.koat.com/article/400-apd-patrol-cops-albuquerque-police-department/37203121

The shortage of sworn police and new recruits has resulted in APD announcing on October 27 it is doubling the sign on bonuses for new police cadets from $5,000 to $10,000. It was in August, APD announced lateral officers who transfer to APD from other departments will be paid $15,000 in total bonuses. New lateral hired officers receive $5,000 when they’re hired, $5,000 when they complete their fourth week in the academy, and the rest after a one-year probationary period.

The link to quoted source material is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2441302/city-sets-10k-signing-bonus-for-police-cadets.html

LEAVING IN DROVES

APD continues to lose officers at an alarming rate. According to a recent published report, APD sworn police are leaving APD in droves and either moving on to other departments or just simply retiring. The total number of APD full time sworn police officers dwindled from 998 at the end of March of 2021 to 940 as of July 24, 2021 with the department losing 58 officers in a 4-month span. As of October 27, 2021, APD has 945 sworn police according to APD spokesperson Rebecca Atkins.

In June, APD announced the list for police uniform officer’s bids for shifts. These are the field officers who are dispatched by 911 and who respond to calls for service and who also patrol the streets of Albuquerque. It is field officers that are the backbone of APD and who patrol the city streets, 7 days a week and assigned to the 6 area commands in 3 shifts. On the date the first bid list was produced, APD had a disappointing 376 officers who made bids. Since June the number reduced to 363 officers, a reduction of 13 officers in just a month.

The link to the report is here:

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/apd-officer-shortage-worsens

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Under the law, a failure to disclose is considered a lie or fraud. Throughout his entire 4 years as Mayor, Tim Keller has proclaimed his administration is fully committed to transparency and accountability. Ostensibly, Mayor Keller does not believe that transparency must include facts that discredits your claims. Mayor Keller is nowhere near the 1,200 sworn police he promised and his commercial proclaiming he has hired 400 sworn police is misleading to make people believe he is doing a good job in keeping his promise of increasing the size of APD to the point of making it false.

The Albuquerque Journal commissioned a poll by its long time pollster Research and Polling. The poll was conducted from October 15 through October 21. The Albuquerque Journal has used Research and Polling for decades as its exclusive pollster. Research and Polling has the reputation as the most respected, most accurate and most reliable polling company in the state with Brian Sanderoff as the chief principal.

The Albuquerque Journal published two separate articles, one on the stadium and one on the voter’s views on the economy. The headlines and links to the articles are here:

“City voters take dim view on economy” by Jessica Dyer / Journal staff writer

https://www.abqjournal.com/2440711/city-voters-take-dim-view-on-economy.html

“Journal Poll: Most city voters oppose stadium bond measure” by Jessica Dyer / Journal staff writer

https://www.abqjournal.com/2440372/most-city-voters-oppose-stadium-bond-measure.html

This blog article highlights the poll results on the two issues quoting the most relevant portion of the articles followed by blog article Commentary and Analysis.

“CITY VOTERS TAKE DIM VIEW ON ECONOMY”

The poll asked the following 2 questions on the economy:

1. Would you say you are financially better off, worse off, or about the same before the start of the COVID-19 pandemic?

The responses to this question were:

16% responded BETTER OFF
18% responded WORSE OFF
66% responded ABOUT THE SAME
1% responded DON’T KNOW

2. How would you rate the strength of Albuquerque’s economy [excellent, good, fair, poor, don’t know]?

2% responded EXCELLENT
25% responded GOOD
50% responded FAIR
21% responded POOR
2% responded DON’T KNOW

Quoting portions of the Journal article highlighting the poll results:

“… 25% of respondents rated the strength of Albuquerque’s economy as “good,” while just 2% rated it as “excellent.”

“… 71% of respondents rated the economy as either “fair” or “poor.”

“… Most … respondents [50% overall] rate the economy as fair rather than the lowest option. A similar poll from 2017 found that 35% of respondents rated the economy as “poor” with another 47% rating it “fair.”

…

“Just 27% of likely Albuquerque voters take a positive view of the city’s economy, even though many say their personal finances haven’t changed much since the COVID-19 pandemic reached New Mexico … . more than a year and a half ago.”

“Asked if they were financially better off, worse off or about the same as before the pandemic, 66% of respondents said their financial situation is about the same.”

“16% of respondents said they were better off financially than before the pandemic [and] 18% said they were worse off.”

“Among respondents without a high school diploma, nearly twice as many said they were worse off (27%) as said they were better off (14%).”

“The view of the city’s economy showed a strong partisan divide, with 34% of Republicans rating the economy as poor, compared to 12% of Democrats… “

Accord to Research and Polling executive Brian Sanderoff the economic progress of the city often correlates with which party occupies the highest office and he had this to say:

“If we had a Republican mayor, I think we’d see more Republicans being complimentary of the overall direction of the economy. ”

“Asked what they believe is the biggest issue facing residents in the Albuquerque Metro area today, just 3% of respondents cited the weak economy putting it behind crime, homelessness, poor education, COVID-19 and the proposed soccer stadium on the list of responses.”

The link to the quoted source material is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2440711/city-voters-take-dim-view-on-economy.html

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

A combined 71% of respondents rating the economy as either “fair” or “poor” should come as absolutely no surprise to anyone given the city’s high unemployment rate and a lack of any real economic development. The city for decades has faced significant challenges due to a lack of economic diversification and the COVID-19 pandemic made things even worse with its impact on the city’s tourism and service industries.

According to the United States Bureau of Labor statistics, Albuquerque’s unemployment rate was 7.2% in April, 2021 and increased to 7.4% in July, 2021.

https://www.bls.gov/eag/eag.nm_albuquerque_msa.htm

The city’s unemployment rate is worse than the state’s and far worse than the country’s. On October 22, 2021, the New Mexico Department of workforce Solutions reported:

“New Mexico’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate was 6.9 percent in September, down from 7.2 percent in August and down from 8.6 percent in the previous year. The national unemployment rate in September was 4.8 percent, down from 5.2 percent in August and down from 7.8 percent in September 2020.”

https://www.jobs.state.nm.us/vosnet/gsipub/documentView.aspx?enc=JdKtFhuODzQ+aO5C6MuCGQ==

ALBUQUERQUE’S PATH FORWARD

The major obstacles to economic development in Albquerquerqu are well known to anyone who has lived, worked and done business for any length of time in the city. Those obstacles are high crime rates, poverty, ever increasing homelessness, ineffective or substandard education system and workforce preparation, and a lack of national and major publicly traded companies all make the list.

Albuquerque Economic Development (AED) is a private, nonprofit organization whose mission is to recruit new employers and industry and help local companies grow to generate quality job opportunities for the Albuquerque metro area. On Tuesday, June 29, AED announced what it touted as its “first-of-its-kind five-year strategic plan” to stimulate job creation, to work to overcome some of the city’s most chronic problems and to boost the city’s brand nationally. The AED’s vision under the strategic is idealistic as idealistic as it gets and yet straight forward.

AED’s specific five-year goal is for Albuquerque to rank in the top 25% of midsized markets in the U.S. for job growth. That in and of itself will be a steep climb for the city which saw a pathetic 0.7% job growth in the past five years which placed the city in the bottom 25% for cities with a population of between 500,000 and 1 million people.
AED’s plan identifies six major industries that have momentum now that will help with economic development:

Aerospace
Biosciences
Renewable energy
Digital media and film
Corporate and professional services
Manufacturing

FILM & TELEVISION

AED’s plan identifying “digital media and film” as an industry having momentum cannot be overemphasized. Over the last 20 years, the film and television industry has steadily grown and been one of the few bright spots for the city, especially during the great recession, when it comes to economic development and diversifying the city’s economy which is too dependent on government spending and job creation.

It was in 2019 that the film industry began to seriously emerge to be one of the biggest hopes for Albuquerque to diversify the city and states economies. The unmistakable evidence was the immense investment in the city by NBC Universal and the Netflix purchase of Albuquerque studios as the site of a new production hub. Both NBC and Netflix announced opening film production facilities in Albuquerque.

On October 8, 2018, it was announced that Netflix was buying Albuquerque Studios. The State contributed $10 million of Local Economic Development Act funds. The City of Albuquerque contributed another $4.5 million of Local Economic Development Funds. Albuquerque beat out other places such as Denver, Salt Lake City, Austin, New York, Georgia and Los Angeles. The Albuquerque site will be Netflix’s first hub purchased in the United States. Albuquerque Studios is an enormous complex that includes 9 sound stages, a backlot and management offices. New Mexico’s other 4 production studios are I-25 Studios, Garson Studios, Santa Fe Studios and Las Cruces Studios as other productions seek studio space for their projects.

On July 22, 2019, NBC Universal announce it would open a studio in Albuquerque as part of a 10-year venture. The media giant took over and renovated and created sound stages at a vacant industrial building south of I-40 on Commercial Street, north of downtown in the vicinity of historic Martinez town. The media giant is expected to provide more than 330 full-time jobs year-round at the film studio.

NBC Universal employees earn about $58,000 a year which is a far cry from the minimum wage jobs the city is use to announcing with the arrival of new businesses. The studio operation is projected to generate an economic impact of $1.1 billion over a 10-year period.

AEROSPACE

AED’s plan identifying “aerospace” as an industry having momentum also cannot be overemphasized.

On Thursday, November 12, 2020, the City of Albuquerque Environmental Planning Commission approved the new site plan for the “Orion Center.” It is an aerospace and technology facility that will be built on the 122-acre plot of land located between Kirtland Air Force Base and Albuquerque International Sunport. “Group Orion”, the developer, is a subsidiary of Theia Group Inc., a Washington D.C. based, privately held aerospace company. The Theia Group is attempting to develop a network of satellites to digitally image and collect data on the physical world, providing solutions in areas from logistics to biology.

The mass area acreage was originally where the North-South airport runway was located. The land has now been designated for industrial development by the city. In 2017 after the runway was removed, the City named the acreage as the “Aviation Center for Excellence”. The city began to offer the vacant land area for commercial and office developers . According to Nyika Allen, Albuquerque’s Director of Aviation, the city began working with “Group Orion” in late 2018.

During the November 12th press conference announcing the development, Albuquerque Economic Development Director Synthia Jaramillo said the Orion Project represents a real opportunity to attract development from the commercial space industry. According to Jaramillo:

“The global space economy is projected to be worth $3 trillion by 2045.”

Jaramillo cited Albuquerque’s “engineering-savvy” workforce, low property tax rates, which are some of the lowest in the country, and tax deductions that target the aviation and aerospace industries. In addition, the city boasts “large swaths of vacant land, unrestricted air space and low population density.”

James Reid Gorman, Vice President of Administration for Theia, said Albuquerque was appealing to the company because of its “pipeline of engineering talent” from the University of New Mexico Engineering College. One goal is for the company to partner with all New Mexico universities to attract graduates and he said “It’s going to be a big part of our strategy in recruiting.”
Links to news coverage sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/aerospace-center-one-step-closer-to-being-built-in-albuquerque/34662638

https://www.abqjournal.com/1517515/aerospace-firm-targets-abq-for-new-campus.html

A link to a related blog article is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/09/01/industries-that-can-diversify-new-mexicos-economy-aed-announces-five-year-strategic-plan-state-and-city-economic-development-identify-industries-to-diversify-economy-now-need-to-get-job/

“MOST CITY VOTERS OPPOSE STADIUM BOND MEASURE”

On the Nov. 2 ballot is a bond proposal that asks city voters if they support or oppose using $50 million in bonds to buy property and build a new multipurpose stadium. The ballot question itself contains defective language about the nature of the city’s $50 million stadium bond proposal.

DEFECTIVE BALLOT QUESTION

General Obligation Bonds (GO bonds) require voter approval. GO bond debt is paid off with property taxes. The November 2 ballot features 11 city GO bond questions totaling $140 million and voters have an extensive history of passing GO Bonds.

Gross Receipts Tax (GRT bonds) is where the debt incurred to finance construction is paid for by use of the city’s tax revenues to pay the debt. GRT bonds do not require voter approval and can be passed by the city council with a super majority of 7 out of 9 votes.

The ballot question on the stadium describes the project financing as “gross receipts tax revenue bonds” (GRT Bonds) which is accurate. If the measure passes the city will use a portion of its gross receipts tax on the sale of goods and services to make annual payments of $3 million to pay off the $50 million debt barrowed to build the stadium.

The ballot wording changes where voters actually mark their ballots. Voters have the choice between filling in an oval that says they are “for general obligation bonds” or an oval indicating they are “against general obligation bonds.”

The City Attorney has taken the position that the ballot question is “advisory only” and the wording conflict will not render passage, if it happens, void. Mayor Keller has said if the vote fails, he will abandon the project and not build the stadium.

City Attorney Esteban Aguilar Jr. explained it this way:

“The question on the ballot as written does not pose a legal issue because it will advise the City regarding the voter’s perspective on whether the City should issue bonds to build a multi-use stadium.”

The link to quoted source material is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2439116/abq-stadium-bond-question-is-botched.html

If passed, the city will use gross receipts tax revenues to pay off the debt, estimated at $3 million annually for 25 years. In and agreement with the city, New Mexico United professional soccer team will lease the stadium from the city and be its primary tenant. The Soccer team has pledged to pay $10 million upfront to help build the stadium and $900,000 annually to use it.

ABQ JOURNAL POLL HIGHLIGHTS

The highlights of the Journal poll article are as follows:

“Only 37% of Albuquerque voters say they support the city’s proposed $50 million bond to help build a multiuse soccer stadium, according to a new Journal Poll. That compares with 55% who oppose the plan – most of whom describe their disapproval as strong.

Only a fraction (3%) say that it depends or that they are undecided (4%).

… Voters say the city should look somewhere other than Downtown if it goes through with the project.

The poll of likely city voters found little variation in stadium bond support based on gender and only some distinctions based on age and ethnicity.

… Ages 35-49 expressed more support than those both younger and older, but even among that age group, fewer than half (48%) favor the bond. More Hispanic voters (42%) than Anglo voters (35%) like the stadium bond.

“The clearest distinctions are tied to political affiliation. … ”

“Democrats are fairly evenly split on the bond measure, with 46% in support and 45% opposed.”

“… Among Republicans, … only 22% support it, compared with 71% who oppose it.”

“36% of independents voiced support … compared with 55% who are against the bond.”

“Even voters who say they are casting ballots to reelect Mayor Tim Keller – who first announced the bond proposal during a pep rally-style speech at a New Mexico United soccer tailgate – do not show strong support for the bond. Only 49% of Keller’s voters say they support it, compared with 42% who say they are against it.”

“Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc., said conservative opposition to the bond is expected. But the proposal’s lukewarm reception among people on the left is more unusual in what he called a “blue-leaning city” where such issues normally pass.”

“Journal Poll: Most city voters oppose stadium bond measure” by Jessica Dyer / Journal staff writer

https://www.abqjournal.com/2440372/most-city-voters-oppose-stadium-bond-measure.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

During the 2020 and 2021 legislative sessions, the New Mexico legislature earmarked $9 million for the project including $4 million from Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham during the 2021 legislative session. The cost of the $400,000 analysis was paid for by state money allocated in the 2020 session. Technically, such bonds do not require voter approval but Mayor Tim Keller has said he would not pursue the stadium if the bond fails. Between the bond issue, if approved, the state funding already committed, there should be enough to construct the stadium.

It’s very disappointing that opposition emerged to the stadium with people arguing that the millions to pay off the bond could instead be used to combat homelessness or crime and that the city has so many other pressing issues that come before a stadium. For decades, such arguments have been made to stop major quality of life facilities and projects. The best example is when voters said no to a performing art center in the late 1980’s.

For the last 50 years, City Hall and virtually all Albuquerque Mayors have been fascinated and enamored with trying to revitalize the Downtown Central area. All Mayors wanted to bring back Downtown Central of its heyday of the 1950’s and 1960’s where it was the center of commercial, business and retail and entertainment activity. The new multipurpose stadium is one major project that has the most potential to finally change and encourage development of the downtown area.

The city is already spending as much as $25 to $30 million a year to help the homeless with services, voucher programs, and grants to service providers to the homeless. The city has purchased the old Loveless Hospital on Gibson for $15 Million for the new Gateway homeless shelter. Further, the county enacted the behavioral health tax that raises $20 Million a year for mental health care facilities and programs that also help the homeless.

As far as crime and police are concerned, the Albuquerque Police Department is the largest city budget having a $227 Million dollar a year budget. APD’s budget continues to increase year after year. Its not an issue of not having the resources to fight crime, but an issue of a poorly managed police department with at least 150 vacancies in sworn police.

The New Mexico United has “skin in the game” when it comes to the City of Albuquerque investing $50 million in building an outdoor sports complex. The $10 million contribution by United New Mexico and the lease is enough for the public to seriously consider it.

Albuquerque cannot be just a cop on every corner, a fire truck on every street, a jail or homeless shelter in every city quadrant, a garbage dumpster at every turn, streets without potholes and buses like ART that no one uses. Any truly great city must include facilities that enhance the quality of life of its citizens, such as libraries, zoos, museums, aquariums, the ABQ Biopark and athletic facilities like Isotopes Park and yes a soccer stadium.

Should the measure fail at the ballot, which appears likely, the city and the state should explore funding the multipurpose stadium with a joint venture.