EDITOR’S NOTE: This blog article is the second of two related articles on the 2021 Mayor’s race. The article lists potential candidates, Keller’s re-election efforts, fundraising activities and a predicted winning strategy. The link to the first blog article entitled “Mayor Tim Keller’s Record Of Broken Promises, Failures And High Murder Rates As He Seeks A Second Term” is here:

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/

On January 1, 2021, like it or not, the Albuquerque municipal election season began. On November 2, 2021, the elections for Albuquerque Mayor and City Council will be held. Candidates for Mayor usually make announcements in January or February. It was on election night November 5, 2019 that Mayor Tim Keller made it known in election coverage radio interview he is seeking a second 4-year term as Mayor.

ANEMIC OPPOSITION AKIN TO NO OPPOSITION

There are names being mentioned and emerging as potential candidates to run against Mayor Tim Keller. There are some very serious candidates, others not so serious, but no one is considered viable enough by city hall observers to upset Keller’s incumbency, continuous public relations activities, his fund-raising prowess and his “likeability”. There is also a chance that Keller may even run unopposed.

Notwithstanding, those who are being mentioned as running for Mayor against Keller include:

1. Democrat Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales

Gonzales is saying privately that he is running against Keller on a “law and order” platform to reduce violent crime. Initially, Gonzales was considered a threat to Keller. Not anymore. Sherriff Gonzales has effectively self-destructed with his opposition to lapel cameras, conflicts with the District Attorney’s office over mandated disclosures of deputy misconduct and his announcement that he feels the Governor’s Health care orders are “unconstitutional”. Gonzales said on FOX News the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s office will not enforce the health orders. The Sheriff’s viability took a serious hit when he started spreading the lie that the Governor’s Health Care orders are unconstitutional. Sheriff Gonzales’ cozying up to President Trump last summer did not help him much either. Democrat Gonzales was viewed as endorsing Trump for a second term when he traveled to Washington, DC in the summer. Gonzales first said he was going to met with Trump, but the truth was he went to attend a White House photo-op billed as a press conference.

2. Democrat City Councilor Pat Davis

Davis has told more than one source he wants to run for Mayor and be the city’s first openly gay Mayor akin to former Mayor Pete Buttigieg of South Bend Indiana. Davis actively began discussing running against Keller when the two competed for Albuquerque Journal front page coverage to take credit to use social workers to handle low level APD calls for service. Davis claims to be “a reformed” former police officer who left law enforcement because he had “done things he was not proud of” as a cop. What Davis ostensibly was not proud of turned out to be that Davis as a Washington, DC Cop shot an African American twice during a traffic stop. Davis was also employed as a UNM campus cop and involved with 4 separate civil rights cases for unconstitutional search and seizure that essentially trashed homes without finding any evidence of marijuana they were looking for. One lawsuit cost upwards of $20,000 to settle for property damage when Davis stormed a private residence accompanied by 20 sworn police officers including APD. Two college students lived at the private residence and an iron gate and front door were smashed in and 3 “flash grenades” were fired into the home. No one was at home the time, no drugs were found and no one was charged with a crime. Davis was never disciplined for the shooting in DC nor the unlawful searches in New Mexico. Davis proclaims he is a “former conservative” who is now a “progressive democrat” that advocates for police reforms. Progress Now, the progressive organization that Davis was Executive Director of at one time called upon Davis to resign from city council because of his past police misconduct. Davis is also said to be looking at running for congress again to replace Secretary of Interior designate Debra Haaland. Sources say Davis has called members of the Democratic Party State Central Committee who will be meeting to select a nominee but he is finding out his has little support.

3. 2020 Republican US Senate candidate Mark Ronchette

On Monday night, January 11, Mark Ronchetti returned to doing his nightly weather cast for KRQE-TV, Channel 13. That may be the case, but once addicted to politics, a relapse is always a possibility and there is still talk of him running for Governor in 2022. He could easily run for Mayor. Ronchetti campaigned saying “I stand with President Trump” and claimed he represents New Mexico values. The only thing Ronchette really knows about New Mexico is that it looks like a very big square on a green screen map where weather temperatures are easily arranged, with names of cities he probably does not know the English translation (ie Portales, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Ojo Caliente, Los Ranchos, Las Trampas, Questa). Notwithstanding, Ronchette made a respectable showing for U. S. Senate and his strong Republican base of support and likeability by his viewers in Albuquerque would make him formidable in a nonpartisan race such as Mayor. He would be formidable at least until he opens his mouth and shows his ignorance about city policy and city issues and not just the fact that Albuquerque has 310 days of sunshine a year.

4. Republican and former City Councilor Dan Lewis

Lewis lost to Keller 3 years ago in a landslide runoff. Lewis is giving mixed signals if he wants to run again for his old city council seat or run for Mayor. Lewis relied on private finance to run for Mayor 4 years ago. Review of all the campaign finance reports filed with the City Clerk reveals that Republican Dan Lewis raised more than $847,000 in private cash contributions for his 2017 run for Mayor and raised more than $22,000 in “in-kind” contributions for the elections for a total of $869,000, which is an impressive amount of money by any measure for a municipal election. Lewis attempted a social media campaign and he attacked the courts as being “soft on crime” and releasing too many violent criminals calling the criminal justice system a “revolving door”. Lewis threatened to plaster judges faces on bill boards to hold them accountable for their rulings. Lewis forgot he had been a City Councilor for 8 years, did nothing to help the criminal justice system and he did not understand a Mayor has no authority over judges. Lewis did know that attacking judges was like shooting fish in a barrel and Judges could not defend themselves, but he just had to go there knowing it would gin up his conservative base. Interesting that he declined to support Trump.

5. Republican and conservative radio talk show host for the “Rock The Talk” Eddy Aragon

Aragon also ran for Mayor four years ago but failed to get on the ballot and collect the $5.00 qualifying donations for public finance because of a last-minute entry. Just recently, Aragon ran against State Republican Party Chairman Steve Pierce for Republican Party chairman proclaiming the party needed a new generation of leader. Aragon is an extreme, right wing conservative and staunch supporter of President Trump. Aragon is known for his sharp tongue approach on his radio programs that alienates both friends and foes alike. Aragon has essentially bought into the Sean Hannity approach to promoting right wing conservatism. Aragon has been extremely critical of Mayor Tim Keller and Keller’s progressive agenda at the city, and that is likely to get worse even if Aragon does not run.

6. Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes

Garcia Homes is a retired APD officer and Democrat Attorney General Gary King’s spokesperson, a 2017 candidate for Mayor, the 2018 Republican candidate for Lt. Governor and the 2020 Republican Candidate for Congress and staunch Trump supporter even after the January 6 insurrection and takeover of the United States Capital. Garcia Homes is now posting on FACEBOOK that it was not Trump supporters who stormed the capitol but “antifa” dressed up pretending to be Trump supporters. Sources are saying she is up for another run at congress, she has indicated it as so on her FACEBOOK page, but her defeat by Debra Haaland will be difficult to ignore by the Republican party and she would be better off running for Mayor in some small southern town in New Mexico and not a Democratic City such as Albuquerque. She is beginning to get the reputation of running for office whenever an election rolls around and she is now becoming the lonesome Dave Cargo of her generation. Her staunch and unwavering support of Donald Trump, especially after the January 6 insurrection, has no doubt alienated more than a few.

7. Republican Darren White

Believe it or not, Darren White’s name is beginning to be thrown around as a possible candidate for Mayor. White is a former State Department of Public Safety Chief, 2 -term Bernalillo County sheriff, a former City of Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer and one of the directors for Purlife, a medical marijuana dispensary company. White ran for Congress and was defeated by Martin Heinrich some years ago. White is also a conservative radio talk show host with a daily week day afternoon program on KKOB. White is no stranger to controversy having resigned as Chief Public Safety Officer after an attempt to interfere with his wife’s arrest for DWI. White was also hired as the Construction Manager for the new Downs Casino. White raised more than a few eyebrows recently condemning Republican State Party Chairman Steve Pearce and Republican Congresswoman Yvette Harrell for their refusal to condemn President Trump’s speech on January 6 to his supporters to storm the United States capitol. White went out of his way to say that he was a Republican Conservative long before Donald Trump ever was. That would be one of the very few truths White has ever said given that he has the signature of Ronald Reagan as a tattoo on his ankle that he is very proud of and is known to show off to others. Confidential sources are saying longtime Republican political operative and consultant Jay McClusky, who is a very close friend to Darren White, is slithering around looking for work and pining for the good old days where he made millions off of Republican candidates Governor Susana Martinez and Mayor Richard Berry. McClusky convincing White to run would give them both the opportunity to return to their old glory days of political opportunism at its worse.

8. Republican freshman City Councilor Brook Bassan

City Councilor Bassan is emerging as a major critic of Mayor Keller on the City Council and making some sense at times. Bassan still has very limited understanding of city government and how it works after serving only two years, but would likely attract strong Republican support both in organization and funding.

9. Former APD Chief Michael Geier(Party affiliation unknown)

Keller gave Geier a choice between getting fired or retiring. Within days, Geier made the rounds to all local news agencies and gave exclusive interviews to unload on Keller giving rise to extensive speculation he was setting himself up to run for Mayor. If Geier does in fact run, he would be viewed as a “grudge” candidate or a spoiler candidate just to make Keller uncomfortable or look bad.

10. Steve Maestas (Party affiliation unknown)

Steve Maestas is a respected and successful real estate developer and principal of Maestas & Ward. He has never run nor held public office before and is unknown to the general public. Sources are saying is he is willing and wealthy enough to self-finance, but saying it and doing it are always two totally different things.

ORGANIZING FOR MOBILIZING

City hall sources are reporting that Mayor Tim Keller has been aggressively organizing his 2021 campaign for the last 6 months. Keller has sought early endorsements from City Councilors who will be on the ballot with him and other elected officials as well. He is also asking for help in collecting the necessary nominating petition signatures and the necessary $5.00 donations to qualify for $660,000 in public finance. The amount of public finance has doubled from 4 years ago thanks to the changes in the public finance laws made by the City Council last year. Keller will also be relying on his city volunteer group of upwards of 3,000 that resembles more of a fan club that he organized soon after getting elected 3 years ago.

On August 8, 2018, it was reported that Keller hired his longtime political consultant and 2017 Mayor campaign consultant Alan Packman to work for the City in the Department of Innovation and Technology (IT). The IT Department oversees the 311 citizens call center. As of August 27, 2020, Mr. Packman is paid $80,329 a year. Mr. Packman reports directly to Keller. The 311-call center is the “eyes and ears” of city government working directly with the general public. It’s likely Packman has been working on Keller’s campaign for reelection in the off hours ( wink, wink) at least that is what is mandated by personnel rules and regulations. Only Keller and Packman really know for certain what projects Packman works on and what events Packman attends with Keller.

KELLER’S HIGH APPROVAL RATING HOLDS STEADY

Three years ago, Keller was elected with 62% of the vote. On September 12, 2020 it was reported that an Albuquerque Journal poll taken revealed that 60% of likely city voters approve of Keller’s job performance. According to the poll Keller’s disapproval rating was a mere 22%. Another 16% said they had mixed feelings, while 3% didn’t know or wouldn’t say how they felt. The results are essentially identical to a 2018 Journal Poll that found Keller had a 61% approval rating after his first 9 months in office.

In the September 12 Journal article reporting on the poll, Brian Sanderoff, the President of Research & Polling, said it was unknown whether Keller’s approval rating dropped at any point in the previous 2 years and then climbed back up. Sanderoff said the public perception of Keller has improved during the COVID-19 pandemic. He said that may be partly because the virus has temporarily supplanted crime as voters’ top concern.

The link to the full Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1495901/mayor-keller-maintains-his-high-approval-rating.html

Mayor Tim Keller’s public relations efforts with the pandemic have in fact paid off for his bid for a second term. He has been able to maintain or perhaps return to a high approval rating essentially identical the percentage of the vote he received when he ran for Mayor in 2017 portraying himself in a positive manner devoid of any controversial stories.

MAYOR TIM KELLER BECOMES THE CRISIS MANAGEMENT MAYOR

On Wednesday, March 18, less than 48 hours after the Albuquerque City Council passed and amended “Emergency Powers Ordinance”, Mayor Tim Keller declared a “public health emergency” to deal with the corona virus epidemic in the city. Keller announced and signed the “Declaration of Local State of Emergency Due to Novel Corona Virus COVID-19”. With his Public Health Emergency declaration, Mayor Tim Keller became the first Mayor in the city’s history to become a “crisis management Mayor” to deal with a major health crisis and epidemic.

Keller substantially increased his already high public relations efforts once the corona virus hit hard in February of 2020. Keller held daily news conferences as if competing with Governor Lujan Gresham’s daily press conferences. Keller was very cautious not to be too aggressive with the Governor’s health care orders preferring to “educate” the public as opposed to “citing and fining” people and businesses for violation of the orders.

“AND YOU GET A GOVERNMENT CHECK, AND YOU GET A GOVERNMENT CHECK!”

The city was successful in securing $10 million Small Business Economic Relief Grant Program from the federal government which was used to set up grants of $10,000. On November 14, in the first of several rounds, Keller personally handed out $10,000 grant checks to nearly 100 local business owners. The grants are indeed critical support for the local economy at a time when spiking cases are forcing shutdowns and closures again. The 97 grants, totaling $970,000 in economic relief to local small businesses and locally owned franchisees, were funded by a $10 million Small Business Economic Relief Grant Program. The city awarded one-time grants of up to $10,000 to businesses with less than 50 full-time employees who have been impacted by the current public health emergency.

Never being one to miss a public relations or photo opportunity, Keller set up a “drive by” process where the business owners could drive up to Keller in their cars to social distance so Keller he could personally hand out the checks to them. Despite the pandemic, the United States postal services did a remarkable job with absentee voting, as do the banks “direct deposit and withdrawal” programs, but hand delivery of a check by Keller made a better photo op and for a FACEBOOK video. .

A link to Keller discussing and the city handing out the checks is here:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lQqSII7so77IszVAdIHanSigrD1zGxsm/view

TOWN HALL MEETINGS

Keller has taken his corona virus public relations campaign to an even higher level than handing out government checks by holding regular telephone “town hall meetings”. Keller’s “town hall” meetings are especially effective for his public relations given the sure magnitude of the calls made and the number of times the townhall meetings have been conducted. The townhall meetings consist of calling upwards of 13,000 people at one time.

Confidential sources have confirmed Keller’s political consultant Alan Packman came up with the idea of telephone townhall meetings. Packman has acted as the moderator or announcer of the telephone town hall meetings and he screen’s all incoming calls and questions for Mayor Keller to answer. Further, Department Directors and other City employee participate in the town hall meetings to help respond to questions and discuss city efforts to deal with the pandemic

The town hall meeting calls are being made to those who have already called 311 where a work invoice has been generated and that 311 city resources are used to compile call lists. When “town hall” phone meetings are to be held, initial calls are made with a recording of Keller announcing the date and time of the town hall meeting. The phone call conference calls last up to a full hour.

The town hall meetings appear innocent and appropriate. The problem is Keller has already announced he running for a second term, which means the use of city resources to campaign would be inappropriate and unethical. Further people who have call 311 with a problem and needing help do not realize they are giving their private phone numbers to be used for what are essentially unwanted “robo calls”. Like it or not, the appearance of impropriety exists that Keller is using city resources to promote himself as he runs for a second term. The actual need for the town hall meetings is highly questionable given the numerous press conferences Keller holds not to mention the efforts of Governor Lujan Grisham.

KELLER’S $1.3 MILLION DOLLAR CAMPAIGN FOR MAYOR WILL REPEAT ITSELF

Keller will likely qualify for the $660,000 in public finance as he did 4 years ago by collecting 3,000 qualifying $5 donations made to the city by registered voters. Measured finance committees will also likely raise another $800,000 as they did for Keller 3 years ago.

During the 2017 race for Mayor, Keller was the only candidate out of 8 candidates that was able to secure public financing. In 2017, Keller was given $342,952 by the City in public finance in exchange for agreeing not to spend or raise and spend anymore. Keller made a big deal out of going the public finance rout to run for Mayor saying he was opposed to dark money and always for and collecting large donations for campaigns thereby being indebted to donors. Keller bragged that by accepting public finance he was “walking the talk.” The truth was, Keller’s public finance campaign was seriously underwritten by at least 3 “measured finance committees” that raised thousand of dollars to promote Keller for Mayor.

“ABQ Forward Together” was the progressive measured finance committee that was formed specifically to raise money to promote progressive Tim Keller for Mayor. The measured finance committee chairperson was a former campaign manager of Tim Keller’s when he successfully ran for State Senate. “ABQ Forward Together” raised over $663,000 for Keller’s 2017 bid for Mayor. The amount included cash donations or in-kind donations from the Working Families Party, Ole and the Center for Civic Action.

During the 2017 Mayor’s race, Keller received significant support in one form or another from the progressive organizations of OLÉ of New Mexico, the New Mexico Working Families Party, and Progress Now New Mexico. All 3 organizations or their membership in one form or another became very involved with the 2017 Albuquerque Mayor’s race.

When it was all said and done, a total of $1,358,254 was actually spent on Tim Keller’s 2017 successful campaign for Mayor. According to City Campaign finance reports, Keller was given $506,254 public finance money, $663,000 was raised by the measured finance committee ABQ Forward for Keller, $67,000 was spent by ABQFIREPAC on Keller’s behalf and $122,000 was spent ABQ Working Families for Keller for a total of $1,358,254.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/01/02/2018-year-to-reform-city-public-campaign-finance-laws-revised-article/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

When then State Auditor, Tim Keller was running for Mayor in 2017, he was swept into office riding on a wave of popularity he orchestrated as State Auditor for a mere 1 year and six months of his 4-year term in office. He proclaimed he combated “waste, fraud and abuse” in government and promising “transparency”. Keller no doubt crafted his “white knight” image as NM State Auditor with the help of his longtime political consultant Alan Packman. According to campaign finance reports filed with the Secretary of State, in 2016 Keller paid Packman at least $37,962 for “consulting services” out of his State Treasurer Campaign account. Packman is now working for the city’s 311 call center and paid over $80,000 a year.

In 2017, it was a very high voter turnout of progressive democrats that swept Keller into office. It is not at all likely Keller has lost any degree of support within the progressive wing of the Democratic Party. Democrat progressive supporters get very aggressive in Keller’s defense whenever anything is said that is even remotely negative of his job performance. Mayor Tim Keller could drive an ART Bus down the middle of Central Avenue and runover someone and he wouldn’t lose a progressive vote.

Keller looks great on paper, he is young, charismatic, has a beautiful young family and he is “likeable” with a smile on his face and a grin in his voice at all times. More importantly, to an ever-increasing Democrat city, Keller is a “progressive democrat.” Truth was and still is, Tim Keller is still too good to be true given that he has accomplished very little as Mayor in keeping his campaign promises and his public image makes mediocrity look really good.

During the last 3 years under Mayor Tim Keller’s leadership, things have only gotten worse in the city. The sweeping and dynamic change that Keller was perceived to represent in 2017 never materialized. APD continues to implode, violent crime is still out of control, and with the pandemic, the state and city is likely headed for another major recession. In normal times, Tim Keller would be a one term Mayor given his record of broken promises and failures.

Normally, voters are a very fickle lot and unforgiving when politicians make promises they do not or cannot keep. Sooner rather than later people demand and want results. But not in the age of the Corona Virus. Campaign promises made in 2017 and promises not kept by 2021 really do not matter from a political standpoint. A link to the blog article entitled “Mayor Tim Keller’s Record Of Broken Promises, Failures And High Murder Rates As He Seeks A Second Term” is here:

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/

In times of crisis for a community, a community usually tends to fall behind and supports its elected officials. It called “rally behind the flag” phenomenon. It is very easy to see how Mayor Keller’s handling and managing the city during the corona virus pandemic will have a major impact on sustaining his popularity as he seeks a second term.

A campaign with the slogan “Give me more time and another chance to do good on my promises” is not a winning strategy, especially after what Keller promised when he was running the first time and what is happening now with the pandemic and crime in the city. What is a winning strategy is saying “I have led you through rough times and have earned another term!”. Keller will likely proclaim he needs a second term because he could not fulfill his promises all because to the pandemic. He will say we are all “One Albuquerque” or “One Burque”, depending on the group of voters his is pandering to at the time.

The Corona virus pandemic has replaced crime and APD reform as the biggest issue facing the city. Voters will be deciding come November 2, 2021 if Mayor Keller has done a good job in managing and handling the delivery of city services in the middle of a pandemic. None of Keller’s failures nor broken promises will likely make much of a difference to the voting public given Keller’s high approval rating, the image he has carefully crafted with his relentless public relations and the lack of any viable candidates willing to oppose him.

People do want to see and do need to have viable alternatives before they are even willing to just consider making any kind of change. Mayor Tim Keller will likely be elected to a second term primarily for the lack of any viable opposition, the inability of anyone being able to raise at least $1.3 million, people’s short memories, inclination to forgive and forget or no longer caring and as violent crime chaos swirls around the city.

In 2020, Dinelli Blog Had 105,793 Total Reader Views, 70,208 Total Blog Visitors; Thanks For Viewing And Visiting; Onto A Better 2021 New Year! PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN MASK!

EDITOR’S NOTE: This blog article is the first of two related articles on the 2021 Mayor’s race. The first article is a discussion of Mayor Tim Keller’s record of broken promises and failures as he seeks a second term. The second article entitled “Anemic Opposition And Incumbency Gives Mayor Tim Keller Upper Hand As He Seeks A Second Term; Expect Another $1.3 Million Race From Keller” is a listing of potential candidates, an analysis on Keller’s re-election efforts and his chances for a second 4-year term with the link to it here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/01/12/anemic-opposition-and-incumbency-gives-mayor-tim-keller-upper-hand-as-he-seeks-a-second-term-expect-another-1-3-million-race-from-keller/

On January 1, 2021 the Albuquerque municipal election season began. On November 2, 2021, the elections for Albuquerque Mayor and City Council will be held. It was on election night November 5, 2019 that Mayor Tim Keller made it known in an election coverage radio interview he is seeking a second 4-year term as Mayor.

MAYOR KELLER’S RECORD OF BROKEN PROMISES AND FAILURES

In 2017 when the New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller ran for Mayor, he ran on the platform of reducing the city’s high crime rates, implementing the Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree and all the mandated reforms, increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), returning to “community based policing”, no tax increase without a public vote even for public safety, address the homeless crisis by building a centralized shelter, stopping waste fraud and abuse, and a commitment to transparency and economic development.

There are any number broken promises, failures and controversies that will likely emerge in an attempt to deprive Mayor Tim Keller of a second term. Keller’s record of broken promises and failures from the beginning to the present are easily identified:

1. BROKEN PROMISE NOT TO RAISE TAXES WITHOUT PUBLIC VOTE

Candidate for Mayor Tim Keller during a televised debate with his run off opponent promised in clear words not to raise taxes without a public vote, even if it was for law enforcement or for public safety. In May, 2018, 4 months after Keller was sworn in as Mayor, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a gross receipt tax increase that raises upwards of $50 million a year. The tax was enacted was in response to reports that the city was facing a $40 million deficit. Mayor Keller broke his promise to demand a public vote on the tax and signed off on the $50 million a year tax increase. He signed off on the tax increase without any fanfare and without proposing any alternative budgets dealing with the deficit. The $40 million projected deficit never materialized. The City Council never repealed the tax. Keller went on a spending binge.

2. KELLER EMRACES DISASTEROUS ART BUS PROJECT

Mayor Tim Keller a few months after being elected announced that the ART Bus project was “a bit of a lemon”. Instead of abandoning the project, Keller made the deliberate decision to finish the ART Bus Project. Keller spent over half of his term to complete the ART Bus project and the city is still trying to make it work.

Since starting service November 30, 2019, the ART buses have had accident after accident and upwards of 25 major accidents and upwards of 30 minor accidents. The accidents range from a minor “vender benders” to more serious crashes, including two that temporarily sidelined two buses. Multiple crashes have resulted in damage to other vehicles, including at least 3 that involved Albuquerque police officers. There have also been crashes involving pedestrians, one of which left an 18-year-old woman dead.

Notwithstanding all the accidents, and the proof of a poorly designed project, Keller refused to shut down the bus line and find alternative uses for the bus stop platforms. Berry’s Boondoggle became Keller’s Crisis Project that has now destroyed historic Route 66.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1422320/car-crashes-into-art-bus-in-nob-hill.html

Keller with great bravado ordered the filing of a breach of contract lawsuit against the bus manufacture saying in part:

“We’re no longer going to be guinea pigs [for the bus manufacturer] anymore … Obviously, we very concerned about what we’ve been put through as a city … I think down the road, we’re interested in being fairly compensated for what we have been misled on these buses.”

A few weeks later, Keller settled the case with a mutual dismissal of claims. Absolutely no damages were paid to the city by the bus manufacturer, even for the loss revenue to the city for the delay.

The ART Bus line has been temporarily suspended as a result of the corona virus pandemic. During the temporary closure of the bus line, the Keller Administration began spending in January, 2021 over $200,000 more to construct “pin curbs” which are concrete edging to form barriers to boundaries for the dedicated bus lanes to prevent vehicles from traveling into the dedicated lanes.

3. KELLER’S FAILURE TO IMPLEMENT DOJ REFORMS AS PROMISED

In 2017, Tim Keller aggressively campaigned to be elected mayor by vowing to implement the Department of Justice (DOJ) mandated reforms agreed to after the DOJ found a “culture of aggression” within APD and repeated unconstitutional “excessive use of force” and “deadly force” cases. Upwards of $62 million in judgments had been paid over the previous 10 years in police misconduct cases.

Keller vowed to implement the DOJ mandated reforms even as he received the endorsement of the APD Union who opposed the reforms. Keller has spent 3 full years trying to implement the consent decree reforms, the exact same amount of time his predecessor used, for a total of 6 years combined. The difference is that Keller has also spent millions more on the reforms to no avail. Both Mayor Berry and Mayor Keller failed miserably to implement the DOJ reforms. The federal court action has not been dismissed even though the consent decree was to be fully implemented by November 16, 2020.

APD is still failing with “operational compliance” levels, which is the most critical of the 3 compliance areas required in the consent decree. It reflects failure to implement the reforms by all APD personnel, from the Mayor to Chief to the command staff to the rank and file sworn officers. The Federal Monitors $4 million contract has been extended with an additional $1.5 appropriation. Its likely it will have to be extended again.

On September 25, 2020, APD Chief Michael Geier was forced to retire by Mayor Tim Keller. At the time of Geier’s forced retirement Mayor Keller said in part:

“ … We know reform efforts have hit some snags, and we know there have been back office challenges and distractions. Chief Geier’s retirement comes at the right time for a new phase of leadership to address the old embedded challenges that continue to hamper the department. … .”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/chief-geier-forced-out-of-his-position-with-apd/5858023/?cat=500

Keller saying that the “reform efforts have hit some snags” was Keller’s “spin” at its very best and a Keller lie at its worst. Keller was given advanced notice what was coming in the 12th federal monitor’s report to be released on November 2. On Friday, October 6, in a hearing on the 12th Federal Monitors Report, the Federal Monitor Ginger told the court:

“We are on the brink of a catastrophic failure at APD. … [The department] has failed miserably in its ability to police itself. … If this were simply a question of leadership, I would be less concerned. But it’s not. It’s a question of leadership. It’s a question of command. It’s a question of supervision. And it’s a question of performance on the street. So as a monitor with significant amount of experience – I’ve been doing this since the ’90s – I would have to be candid with the Court and say we’re in more trouble here right now today than I’ve ever seen.”

On November 2, 2020, the Federal Court Appointed Monitor James Ginger filed with the Federal Court his 12th Compliance Audit Report. The 12th Federal Monitors report provides the following scathing overall assessment of APD management, all upper command staff appointed by Tim Keller 3 years ago:

We have no doubt that many of the instances of non-compliance we see currently in the field are a matter of “will not,” instead of “cannot”! … issues we continue to see transcend innocent errors and instead speak to issues of cultural norms yet to be addressed and changed by APD leadership.”

“… The monitoring team has been critical of the Force Review Board (FRB), citing its past ineffectiveness and its failing to provide meaningful oversight for APD’s use of force system. The consequences are that APD’s FRB, and by extension APD itself, endorses questionable, and sometimes unlawful, conduct by its officers.
…

“During the reporting period … virtually all of these failures can be traced back to leadership failures at the top of the organization.
…

“[The federal monitor] identified strong under currents of [resistance to APD reforms] in some critical units on APD’s critical path related to CASA compliance. These include supervision at the field level; mid-level command in both operational and administrative functions, [including] patrol operations, internal affairs practices, disciplinary practices, training, and force review). Supervision, [the] sergeants and lieutenants, and mid-level command, [the commanders] remain one of the most critical weak links in APD’s compliance efforts.”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/11/09/12th-federal-monitors-report-apd-on-the-brink-of-catastrophic-failure-failing-miserably-to-police-itself-police-union-obstructs-reforms-commentary-rem/

KELLER’S STUNNING ADMISSION OF IGNORANCE

Many excuses can be given for Keller’s failure to force APD to fully implement the DOJ reforms. In a recent interview with the Albuquerque Journal editors Mayor Keller said he wishes he’d known earlier about the serious problems the Albuquerque Police Department was having with its reform effort and said:

“I think what we have learned is how deeply challenged some of these areas are, including self-monitoring. For us at a senior level, we were led to believe that things were much improved, and it turns out they weren’t as much.”

A link to the Journal story on APD’s progress is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1532419/a-tumultuous-year-at-apd-comes-to-a-close.html

Keller’s comment that he “was led to believe that things were much improved” is a stunning admission of Keller’s ignorance of what is going on in his police department after 3 years in office. Simply put, Keller’s does not know what he is doing and neither does his appointed Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair when it comes to APD. Keller does not understand how bad APD really became under the leadership he handpicked.

Truth is, Keller never showed any real curiosity about how bad thing were with APD when he ran for Mayor. Keller did not bother to attend a single court hearing when he was running for Mayor where the Federal Monitor gave the Court an update on his reports and the consent decree. Keller pretended at forums that he was “deeply concerned” and knew what was happening. What was misleading is that Keller said he knew what needed to be done and he was “uniquely qualified” to be Mayor. Voters bought into his false campaign propaganda.

4. KELLER’S FAILURE TO BRING VIOLENT CRIME RATES DOWN AS PROMISED

In August, 2017, New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller and candidate for Albuquerque Mayor had this to say about the city’s high crime rates:

“It’s unfortunate, but crime is absolutely out of control. It’s the mayor’s job to actually address crime in Albuquerque, and that’s what I want to do as the next mayor.”

The crime statistics released for 2018 and 2019 make it clear that despite all of Mayor Tim Keller’s promises to bring down skyrocketing violent crime, he has failed. In 2019, Keller implemented 4 new programs to address violent crime, increased APD personnel by 116, and spent millions. Violent crime is still “absolutely out of control”. Regrettably , Mayor Tim Keller has failed to do his “job to actually address crime in Albuquerque.”

Given Mayor Keller’s words as to whose job it is to address crime, a discussion of crime statics during Mayor Tim Keller’s tenure is in order.

VIOLENT CRIME UNDER KELLER

In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes, 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 during Keller’s second full year in office, 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.

On Monday, September 21, 2020, the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released statistics that revealed that overall crime in the city was down by less than 1% cross all categories in the first six months of 2020 as compared with the first six months of 2019. Crimes against persons are all violent crimes combined and include murder, deadly weapons assault and injury and rape.

The decreases in “violent crime” from 2019 to 2020 was a decrease by only 21 crimes or a 0.28% decrease. Over a 2-year period, it decreased 4%. According to the FBI statistics released, there were 7,362 crimes against persons reported in the first six months of 2020 and there were 152 more in the second quarter than in the first.

HISTORICAL HIGH HOMICIDE NUMBERS WITH FAILED PROGRAMS UNDER KELLER

In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides. In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. The previous high was in 2017 when 72 homicides were reported in Mayor Berry’s last year in office. The previous high mark was in 1996, when the city had 70 homicides. The year 2020 ended with 76 homicides, the second-highest count since 1996. The decline dropped the homicide rate from 14.64 per 100,000 people in 2019 to about 13.5 in 2020.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1534762/homicide-numbers-high-despite-pandemic.html?amp=1

In 2019, Mayor Tim Keller reacting to the spiking violent crime rates, announced 4 programs in 9 months to deal with and bring down the city’s high violent crime rates . Those APD programs are: the Shield Unit, Declaring Violent Crime “public health” issue, the Metro 15 Operation, “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP Program). Based on the city’s high violent crime and murder rates, it appears Keller’s programs have been a failure

HISTORICALLY LOW HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES UNDER KELLER

For the past three years during Mayor Keller’s tenure, 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, under Mayor Berry the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, 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 UNDER KELLER

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) reports 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

5. KELLER’S FALSE CLAIMS OF REDUCING CRIME

When Keller took office on December 1, 2017, every quarter when APD released the city’s crime statistics, Mayor Keller would do a press conference to proclaim and to some extent take credit for crime going down in all categories. He did so on July 1, 2019. Mayor Keller reported that crime was down substantially, with double-digit drops, in nearly every category.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1335502/crime-declining-in-albuquerque-new-numbers-show.html

On Sunday, December 1, 2019 the Albuquerque Journal reported that all the crime rate reductions Keller reported in his July 1, 2019 press conference were in fact seriously flawed by big percentages. Both the 2019 mid-year statistics and the statistics released at the end of 2018 were revised dramatically to include hundreds, and in some cases thousands, more incidents than were initially reported. The final numbers for all of 2018 showed violent crime actually increased.

At an October meeting of the City Council, APD provided the revised statistics but failed to disclose to the council that the numbers had changed drastically. Mayor Keller also did not hold any kind of a press conference to correct nor announce the corrected statistics. The Keller Administration blamed the false numbers on antiquated software programs, but only after the Keller Administration had essentially been caught by the Albuquerque Journal. Mayor Keller for his part has never issued his own personal apology for misleading the public and trying to take credit for bringing down crime rates by using false statistics.

The corrected crime statistics from those announced by Keller are:

Auto burglaries decreased 16%, not 38% as previously announced by Keller
Auto theft decreased 22%, not 39% as Keller reported
Commercial burglary decreased 3%, not the 27% Keller reported
Residential burglary decreased 16%, not 39% as Keller reported
Homicide decreased 2.5%, not 18%, but homicides have since increased substantially and the city has tied the all-time record of 71.
Rape decreased 3%, not the 29% Keller reported
Robbery decreased 30%, not 47% reported by Keller
Aggravated assault decreased 7.5%, not 33% reported by Keller

The link to the full December 1, 2029 Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1396782/flaws-discovered-in-apds-crime-statistics.html

6. KELLER’S FAILURE TO GROW APD TO LEVEL HE PROMISED

Tim Keller campaigned to be elected mayor on the platform of increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), returning to community-based policing and promising to bring down skyrocketing crime rates. To that end, the Keller Administration began implementing an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 positions filled to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period. The massive investment was ordered by Mayor Tim Keller to full fill his 2017 campaign promise to increase the size of APD and return to community-based policing as a means to reduce the city’s high crime rates. Keller promised to increase the number of sworn police in the department to 1,200 by the end of his first term. As of January 9, 2021, APD payroll shows that there are 953 sworn officers and now only 48 cadets in the academy. An APD spokesman said before there were 51 cadets that were expected to graduate in mid-March. The number of APD retirements will likely approach 30 to 40. APD will likely be short by at least 200 of the 1,200 was promised by candidate Tim Keller once retirements are factored in.

7. UNDER KELLER’S FECKLESS LEADERSHIP, APD CONTINUES TO IMPLODE

In 2017, when campaigning for Mayor, Keller promised sweeping changes at APD, especially within the upper command of the Chief’s office. During Mayor Tim Keller’s first 8 months in office, he did not make the dramatic management changes he promised as a candidate. Keller appointed APD retired past management who continued with archaic management practices. The appointed Chief and Deputy Chiefs were APD insiders and have been with APD for a number of years and many are eligible for retirement whenever they want.

Keller conducted a sham national search for a new chief outside of APD simply to turn around and appoint a retired APD “retread” as APD Chief. Confidential sources have confirmed Keller met with Geier and made Geier a 4-year commitment to be APD Chief months before he was elected Mayor. After elected, Keller appointed APD management that were “throwbacks” to past practices and failed management philosophy. Chief Geier and the “new” APD Deputy Chiefs came up through the ranks under former Chiefs Ray Schultz and Gordon Eden. Keller’s appointed management team was “old guard” that held onto the status quo and no change in management style nor philosophy.

KELLER FORCES GEIER TO RETIRE

On Thursday September 10, 2020 APD Chief Michael Geier and Mayor Keller held a joint news conference to announce that APD Chief Geier was “retiring” for a fourth time from law enforcement after a 47-year career. Geier was APD Chief for close to 3 full years. Within a few days, it was revealed that former Chief Michael Geier was forced to retire by Mayor Tim Keller and his Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair. According to sources Geier was given the choice between termination or retirement and Geier chose to retire.

It was revealed that it was First Deputy Chief Harold Medina who orchestrated Geier’s removal. According to Geier Mayor Keller and his CAO Sarita Nair micro managed APD’s priorities while then First Assistant Harold Medina undermined all of Geier’s efforts. Geier intended to take personnel action against Medina for insubordination. Immediately hearing of the pending action against him, Medina went to CAO Nair and working together, the convinced Mayor Keller to terminate Geier or force his retirement.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2018/06/14/national-search-for-new-apd-chief-a-sham/

KELLER APPOINTS INEPT, PROBLEM COP AS INTERIM CHIEF

During the September 10, 2020 press conference, Mayor Tim Keller announced First Deputy Harold Medina as Interim APD Chief. Keller announced a national search would be conducted to find a new chief. Interim Chief Harold Medina has a very troubled past of police officer involved shootings with reactive decision-making and failed leadership resulting in the killing of two mentally ill people having psychotic episodes. Medina was never disciplined for his conduct relating to 2 high profile shootings proclaiming he did nothing wrong.

First, in 2004, then APD Field Officer Harold Medina killed a 14-year-old Cibola High School student in a church who was brandishing a BB Gun. The boy was reported as having a psychotic episode saying he was possessed by demons and went to church for help.

Second, on January 13, 2010, Kenneth Ellis, III, a 25-year-old veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and threatening to kill himself holding a gun to his head. Elis was shot and killed by APD police officers and it was then Lieutenant Harold Medina that authorized the use of deadly force against Elis as a tactic to take him into custody. A $10.5 Million dollar judgment was awarded to the Elis family for the shooting.

Interim Chief Harold Medina spins the two tragedies as a positive credential to run the department saying because of the shootings he now understands the DOJ reforms, their need and can implement them. Good luck with that! Truth is, Medina is part of the problem with APD that brought the DOJ here in the first place. Medina has no business being interim Chief let alone being made permanent. Medina helped create, did not stop and he participated the “culture of aggression” and the use of deadly force that resulted in a DOJ investigation.

8. KELLER’S FAILURE TO DEAL WITH APD POLICE OVETIME ABUSE SCANDAL

On Monday July 13, New Mexico State Auditor Brian Colon said his office was ordering a special audit of APD’s overtime payment policies to APD Police Officers. Auditor Colon ordered a special audit of all APD overtime policies after he said his office found enough red flags related to overtime practices and internal controls at the department. State Auditor Colon has also asked Attorney General to assist in the investigation of APD.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/07/16/nm-state-auditor-colon-calls-in-nm-attorney-general-balderas-to-help-with-probe-of-apd-overtime-abuse-the-irony-of-the-3-amigos-of-colon-balderas-and-keller-having-served-as-state-auditor-not-lost/

The announced audit came after longtime APD spokesman Sgt. Simon Drobik abruptly retired from the department as he was under investigation by APD’s Internal Affairs for overtime pay abuse. In 2018, Drobik was paid $192,973 as a result of massive amounts of overtime claimed and he was continuing his pace of overtime pay in 2020. Drobik’s base salary was approximately $68,000 a year.

The City maintains a list of the 250 top city hall wages earners and what they are paid for the full calendar year of January 1, to December 31 of any given year. The City of Albuquerque list for the year 2019 reflects that 134 police officers were paid between $107,885.47 t0 $193,666.40 with many being paid 2 and 3 times their base pay.
The breakdown is as follows:

There were 32 APD Lieutenants in the list of 250 top paid employees in 2019 earning pay ranging from $108,031 to $164,722. Hourly pay rate for APD Lieutenants is $40.00 an hour or $83,200 yearly.

There were 32 APD Sergeants in the list of 250 top paid employees in 2019 earning pay ranging from $109,292 to $193,666. Hourly pay rate for APD Sergeants is $35 an hour, or $72,800 a year.

There were 70 APD patrol officers first class, master, senior in the list of 250 top paid employees in 2019 earning pay ranging from $108,167 to $188,844. Hourly pay rate for Patrol Officers is $29.00 an hour to $31.50 an hour depending upon years of experience.

Mayor Keller is now faced with the likelihood that more than a few police officers have engaged in criminal activity and that criminal charges will be filed against police officers who claimed overtime and paid overtime for hours never authorized or never worked. The problem for Keller is that he was fully aware of what was going on with APD’s overtime abuse and was made aware of two separate audits that were conducted. Two attempts were made to place overtime caps on APD, but the programs were never fully implemented.

If APD is hit with a series of indictments of police officers for overtime time fraud and “waste, fraud and abuse by government officials” it will damage Keller’s re-election chances along with the skyrocketing violent crime rates Keller promised to bring down when he ran in 2017. What is ironic is that State Auditor Tim Keller made a name for himself investigating government officials for “waste, fraud and abuse”.

9. KELLER’S FAILURE TO DELIVER 24-7 CENTRALIZED HOMELESS SHELTER; CITY PURCHASE OF FORMER LOVELACE HOSPITAL NOW IN JEOPARDY

Mayor Tim Keller made it known that building a new, centralized homeless shelter was one of his top priorities. The new homeless shelter would replace the existing West Side Emergency Housing Center, the former jail on the far West Side.

Mayor Keller deemed that a 24-hour, 7 day a week temporarily shelter for the homeless was critical toward reducing the number of homeless in the city. The city owned shelter was projected to assist an estimated 300 homeless residents and connect them to other services intended to help secure permanent housing. The new facility would have served all populations of men, women, and families. Further, the city wanted to provide a place anyone could go regardless of gender, religious affiliation, sobriety, addictions, psychotic condition or other factors. The city facility was to have on-site case managers that would guide residents toward counseling, addiction treatment, housing vouchers and other available resources.

On Wednesday, May 7, 2020 Mayor Tim Keller in a surprise announcement, said that the city was abandoning the development concept of a single, 300-bed homeless shelter. He announced the city will be proceeding with a “multi-site approach” to the city’s homelessness crisis. Mayor Tim Keller went so far as to state that the 300 bed Gateway Center was “off the table”.

https://www.facebook.com/MayorKeller/videos/290814465247439/UzpfSTEwNTQ4MTY4OTY6MTAyMjAwNDA5NDYxMDgwMTQ/

Now that Keller has abandoned plans to build one centralized homeless shelter, Keller is saying the city is taking a “multi-site” approach that could mean a series of smaller facilities throughout the community. It can be viewed as Keller’s “spread the homeless” pain policy. Ostensibly, there would be no single resource hub in one large facility as was originally proposed with the 300 bed Gateway Center. Small shelters would be 100 to 150 beds of emergency shelter that could be defined as a smaller shelter.

In an attempt to buy a first location, the city made an offer to buy the former Lovelace Hospital on Gibson Boulevard in Southeast Albuquerque for $13 Million. A city report an analysis said the cost to purchase the Lovelace Hospital Complex would be $14 million in acquisition and renovation costs. A June 2020 appraisal valued the property, which covers nearly 21 acres and has buildings with a total floor space of about 570,000 square feet, at $18.5 million.

It has been reported that the city’s attempted purchase of the property is now in serious jeopardy. The facility and property are now embroiled in a highly contested lawsuit between the two former business partners who owned the property, Nick Kapnison and Jimmy Daskalos.

According to a news report, the city entered into a $13 million purchase agreement for the property with Nick Kapnison. Jimmy Daskalos is now suing both the City and Kapnison to stop the purchase. Daskalos and his wife are alleging breach of contract. They claim Kapnison is selling the Gibson Medical Center against their wishes, has violated the terms of his power of attorney and is offering the property at less than a “commercially reasonable” price in violation of his fiduciary responsibilities. Mr. Kapnison is denying the accusations through his private attorney Paul Kennedy but has yet to answer the complaint.

The city for its part has denied the Daskalos allegations, contending in its response and counterclaim that Kapnison had the legal authority to negotiate the sale in that he had a power of attorney. The city also disputes the claim that the purchase price is far below the property’s value.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1534612/citys-planned-shelter-site-embroiled-in-lawsuit.html

It appears that the purchase of a 529,000-square-foot building to house upwards of 150 homeless is nothing more than a “bait and switch” transaction. Keller is now saying he wants to ultimately make the Lovelace complex his original 300 person “Gateway” centralized homeless shelter. Keller said he plans on asking the legislature for help to help pay for the old Lovelace Hospital on Gibson so the city can turn it into a homeless shelter.

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/one-on-one-with-mayor-tim-keller-looking-ahead-to-2021/5964383/

10.KELLER’S FAILURE TO CREATE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

On Monday, June 15, 2020 Mayor Tim Keller announced plans to create a new Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS). It was proposed in part as a response to police shootings happening throughout the country, especially after the killing of African American George Floyd. Keller proclaimed it was the “first of its kind” department in the country. Keller received national news coverage on the concept, including the in the Washington Post. It turns out the only “first of its kind” aspect was a department. Using social workers to take call for service instead of cops has been going on for years in other cities.

The new department as originally announced was to have 192 positions with 32 people for each of the 6 area commands, staffed around the clock, to respond to tens of thousands of calls for service a year. The estimated annual cost of the new department was $10,201,170. The ACS as Keller originally presented was to have social workers, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts. They were to be dispatched to homelessness and “down-and-out” calls as well as behavioral health crisis calls for service to APD. The new department was to connect people in need with services to help address any underlying issues. The intent is to free up the first responders, either police or firefighters, who typically have to deal with down-and-out and behavioral health calls.

Two words that best to describe Keller’s Public Safety Department are “publicity stunt.” The new department as proposed by Keller was simply thrown together in a haphazard manner so he could call national news media outlets, which he did, and then hold a press conference for local news media outlets, which he also did.

On Thursday, September 3, Mayor Tim Keller released his proposed budget for the 2020-2021 fiscal year. The new city department was pared down significantly to $7.5 million in personnel, equipment and contractual services. Not a single licensed mental health professional, social worker, councilor, housing and homelessness specialists and violence prevention and diversion program experts were included.

Keller cut the new ACS Department from the originally suggested 192 positions to 100 employees with 60 positions taken from other city departments. The 100 employees included 40 transit security officers, 13 security staffers from the Municipal Development Department, 9 parking enforcement workers, 6 crossing guard supervisors and one from the city’s syringe cleanup program.

On October 15, the proposed Keller budget for the new department was slashed to the bone from $7.5 million to $2.5 million for fiscal year 2021. The City Council removed virtually all of the positions originally proposed by Keller. Cut from Keller’s proposed budget for the new department were 83 employees and a $7.5 million cost. The staffing cut include 53 security personnel, 9 parking enforcement employees and 6 people from the city’s crossing guard program.

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

During the last 3 years under Mayor Tim Keller’s leadership, things have only gotten worse in the city. The sweeping and dynamic change that Keller was perceived to represent in 2017 never materialized. APD continues to implode, violent crime is still out of control, and with the pandemic, the state and city are likely headed for another major recession.

In normal times, Tim Keller would be a one term Mayor given his record of broken promises and failures. Normally, voters are a very fickle lot and unforgiving when politicians make promises they do not or cannot keep. Sooner rather than later people demand and want results. But not in the age of the Corona Virus. Campaign promises made in 2017 and promises not kept by 2021 really do not matter from a political standpoint.

The tragic truth is that no one really cares about a politician’s poor job performance when they are struggling to make a living, make ends meet and struggling to keep themselves and their family’s healthy and safe from the Corona Virus as bills add up. The ultimate factor that will determine if Tim Keller is a one term Mayor is if anyone will emerge as a viable candidate.

In the age of the Covid 19 pandemic, none of Keller’s failures nor broken promises will likely make much of a difference to the voting public given Keller’s high approval rating, the image he has carefully crafted with his relentless public relations and the lack of any viable candidates willing to oppose him. These are all topics of discussion in a related blog article. The link to the related blog article entitled “Anemic Opposition And Incumbency Gives Mayor Tim Keller Upper Hand As He Seeks A Second Term; Expect Another $1.3 Million Race From Keller” is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/01/12/anemic-opposition-and-incumbency-gives-mayor-tim-keller-upper-hand-as-he-seeks-a-second-term-expect-another-1-3-million-race-from-keller/

In 2020, Dinelli Blog Had 105,793 Total Reader Views, 70,208 Total Blog Visitors; Thanks For Viewing And Visiting; Onto A Better 2021 New Year! PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN MASK!

On the Morning of January 6, Führer Donald Trump spoke to thousands of his upset and angry supporters in Washington, DC in front of the White House before the Congress was to schedule to accept the electoral college vote as mandated by the United States Constitution.

As usual, Trump’s speech was inflammatory and full of lies. Trump told the crowd that the election had been “rigged” by “radical democrats” and the “fake news media” and he said in part:

“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. … Our country has had enough. We’re not going to take it anymore.”

Not at all surprising, Trump stoked his followers to take action and head to capitol hill to protest and said:

“And after this, we’re going to walk down there, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down … to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. … And we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

“You’re the real people. You’re the people that built this nation. You’re not the people that tore down this nation.”

Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy.”

STORMING THE CAPITOL

Soon after Trump spoke, supporters believing all Trumps lies that the election was rigged went to the United States Capitol to protest. The Congress had already begun the process of counting and certifying the electoral college vote. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, where one person was shot and later died.

Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they engaged with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers “traitors” for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.

The protesters first breached exterior security barriers, and video footage showed protesters gathering and some clashing with police near the Capitol building. A number of protesters climbed up the side of the Capitol building to gain access. Windows were broken to gain access. Protesters roamed the interior of the building and went to the House Chamber and congressional offices and did property damage. In the end, 6 people died, one domestic terrorist shot and killed by capitol police with one capitol police officer succumbing to his injuries.

Within 7 hours after protestors took over the Capitol building and after they were evacuated from the building, the Congress returned to work and about 4:30 am in the morning on January 7, President Joe Biden was elected the new President of the United Sates. The final electoral college vote was Joe Biden 306 electoral votes, Donald Trump 232 electoral votes.

ARTICLE OF IMPEACHMENT

On January 8, it was reported that 3 House Democrats will be introducing on Monday, January 11, an article of impeachment against President Trump for incitement of insurrection after the January 6 Wednesday’s riots at the U.S. Capitol. The one count article of impeachment accuses Trump of “willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States “ while Congress was counting the Electoral College votes. The article states that Mr. Trump “willfully made statements that encouraged, and foreseeably resulted in imminent lawless action at the Capitol.”

https://www.cbsnews.com/news/impeachment-democrats-introduce-articles-trump/

The Article of Impeachment is a mere 4 pages long, double spaced, and reads as follows:

RESOLUTION

Impeaching Donald John Trump, President of the United States, for high crimes and misdemeanors.

RESOLVED, That Donald John Trump, President of the United States, is impeached for high crimes and mis-demeanors and that the following article of impeachment be exhibited to the United States Senate:

Article of impeachment exhibited by the House of Representatives of the United States of America in the name of itself and of the people of the United States of America, against Donald John Trump, President of the United States of America, in maintenance and support of its impeachment against him for high crimes and mis-demeanors.

ARTICLE I: INCITEMENT OF INSURRECTION

The Constitution provides that the House of Representatives ‘‘shall have the sole Power of Impeachment’’ and that the President ‘‘shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors’’. In his conduct of the office of President of the United States—and in violation of his constitutional oath faithfully to execute the office of President of the United States and, to the best of his ability, preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution of the United States, and in violation of his constitutional duty to take care that the laws be faithfully executed- Donald John Trump engaged in high Crimes and Misdemeanors by willfully inciting violence against the Government of the United States, in that:

On January 6, 2021, pursuant to the Twelfth Amendment of the United States Constitution, the Vice President of the United States, the House of Representatives, and the Senate met at the United States Capitol for a Joint Session of Congress to count the votes of the Electoral College.

Shortly before the Joint Session commenced, President Trump addressed a crowd of his political supporters nearby. There, he reiterated false claims that ‘‘we won this election, and we won it by a landslide’’.

He also willfully made statements that encouraged—and2 foreseeably resulted in—imminent lawless action at the Capitol. Incited by President Trump, a mob unlawfully breached the Capitol, injured law enforcement personnel menaced Members of Congress and the Vice President, interfered with the Joint Session’s solemn constitutional duty to certify the election results, and engaged in violent, deadly, destructive, and seditious acts.

President Trump’s conduct on January 6, 2021 was consistent with his prior efforts to subvert and obstruct the certification of the results of the 2020 presidential election. Those prior efforts include, but are not limited to, a phone call on January 2, 2021, in which President Trump urged Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to ‘‘find’’ enough votes to overturn the Georgia presidential election results and threatened Mr. Raffensperger if he failed to do so.

In all of this, President Trump gravely endangered the security of the United States and its institutions of government. He threatened the integrity of the democratic system, interfered with the peaceful transition of power, and imperiled a coordinate branch of government. He thereby betrayed his trust as President, to the manifest injury of the people of the United States.

AN UNHINGED PRESIDENT WHO COULD START A WAR

The president of the United States has exclusive authority to order a nuclear strike. It is a decision that does not have to be approved by Congress or the military. Military leaders have previously stated they understand their responsibility to not carry out illegal orders. The “nuclear football”, which is a suitcase with communication tools and plans for using nuclear codes, is carried by a military aide near the president at all times.

On Friday, January 9, it was reported that Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi spoke with the nation’s top military officers about preventing President Trump from launching a military attack or nuclear strike in his final days in office. Pelosi said in a letter to House Democrats:

“This morning, I spoke to the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Mark Milley to discuss available precautions for preventing an unstable president from initiating military hostilities or accessing the launch codes and ordering a nuclear strike. … The situation of this unhinged President could not be more dangerous, and we must do everything that we can to protect the American people from his unbalanced assault on our country and our democracy.”

A spokesman for Milley, Army Col. Dave Butler, responded to Pelosi in a brief statement:

“Speaker Pelosi initiated a call with the Chairman. He answered her questions regarding the process of nuclear command authority.”

The former top commander of U.S. nuclear forces Air Force General John E. Hyten, who is now the vice chairman of the Joints Chiefs of Staff, ranking directly under Milley said in 2017 that he would push back on any illegal nuclear strike and said:

“I provide advice to the president. … He’ll tell me what to do, and if it’s illegal, guess what is going to happen? I’m going to say, ‘Mr. President, that’s illegal.’ And guess what he’s going to do? He’s going to say, ‘What would be legal?'”

WHAT HAPPENS NOW

A simple majority of members in the House of Representatives is required for impeachment. Because Democrats control the House of Representatives, the impeachment resolution once introduces will move to the floor and could get a vote very quickly because there would be no hearings to present evidence. Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi has yet to appoint The Judiciary Committee for the 117th Congress, so an impeachment resolution would go directly to the floor under what’s known as a “privileged resolution” so it is highly likely to pass.

Once the Article of Impeachment is passed officially charging Trump with the high crimes and misdemeanor and sedition, it is then is forwarded to the United States Senate for a vote. Although the United Sates Senate is now split evenly with 50 Democrats and 50 Republicans, Democrats are control the Chamber with Vice President Kamala Harris, once sworn in, would break any tie. The Senate two thirds vote to convict and remove Trump is required and the vote would have to be 67 to 33, meaning all 50 Democrat Senators and 17 Republican Senators would have to vote to convict.

Once the Senate receives articles of impeachment, it is required to consider them before acting on any other business, including confirming any nominees for President Joe Biden’s cabinet. A confirmation hearing is scheduled for Biden’s pick to lead the Defense Department, retired General Lloyd Austin, on January 19, the day before inauguration. That would potentially be delayed. The Senate would also have to delay a vote on a waiver to allow him to serve as defense secretary, given his recent departure from the military.

On January 8, The Washington Post reported it had obtained a memo from Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell to Republican senators that outlines how a potential Senate trial would work for President Trump. McConnell’s memo sates that the Senate will not reconvene for substantive business until January 19, which means the earliest possible date that impeachment trial proceedings can begin in the Senate is the day before President-elect Joe Biden is inaugurated.

Although the Senate will hold two pro forma sessions next week, on January 12 and January 15, it is barred from conducting any kind of business during those days including “beginning to act on received articles of impeachment from the House” without agreement from all 100 senators. With a number of Trump-allied senators in the Republican conference, that unanimous consent is highly unlikely.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/senate-impeachment-trump-

The United States House of Representative impeached Trump in December, 2018 on charges of obstruction of Congress and abuse of power, but Trump was acquitted by the Senate in early February 2019. Only one Republican senator, Mitt Romney, voted to remove Mr. Trump from office.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

What happened in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, and the images of what happened are indeed another “day of infamy”, such as Pearl Harbor, that will no doubt be remembered for decades to come. Pearl Harbor was an attack on our country by a foreign enemy that started World War II. What is shameful and disgusting is that what unfolded on January 6 was an attack on our country, our very democracy, by an elected President of the United States who lost his election for a second term and then attempted a COUP D’É·TAT of his successor who won not only the electoral college vote but the popular vote.

Those who stormed the Capital on January 6 were not patriots like Texas Senator Ted Cruz referred to them before, but domestic terrorist’s hell bent on destruction of our democracy. The full rath of the Department of Justice and an criminal justice system needs to come done hard and swift on as many of the domestic terrorists that can be identified and arrested.

It is clear that Trump is the first fascist ever elected President of the United States who put himself above the law and his own country and who has no respect for our constitution nor free elections. Trumps strongest and closest allies and supporters need to come to their senses and the realization that Trump is a traitor to his own country, to them, to all of us and to our democracy. Attempting to set aside the vote of the American people was an attempt to undermine our very democracy. It was a coup d’é·tat that failed.

The same goes for the clown car full of the Republican House and Senate members who initially sought to seek to set aside the 2020 victory of Joe Biden by voting not to certify the electoral college vote. Their conduct likewise is nothing less than in insurrection or rebellion against the United States and are democratic form of government. They too should be removed from office by their constituents.

Trump is saying he is refusing to resign. It is painfully obvious that Vice President Mike Pence does not have the backbone and will not seek to remove Fascist Trump from office as allowed by the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution.

For these reasons the United States House of Representatives need to Impeach Trump for a second time and the United States Senate needs to convict and remove him from office immediately. Any Republican United States Senator who does not vote to convict Trump is an enabler and a disgrace to their country claiming acts of sedition are acts of patriotism denying the will of the American voter. If convicted, Trump will lose his lifetime pension of $200,000 and lose his $1 Million in yearly travel expenses and secret service protection. Most importantly, with a conviction Fuhrer Trump will be barred and unable to run for any office again in the United States.

In 2020, Dinelli Blog Had 105,793 Total Reader Views, 70,208 Total Blog Visitors; Thanks For Viewing And Visiting; Onto A Better 2021 New Year! PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN MASK!

On the Morning of January 6, Führer Donald Trump spoke to thousands of his upset and angry supporters in Washington, DC in front of the White House before the Congress was to schedule to accept the electoral college vote as mandated by the United States Constitution.

As usual, Trump’s speech was inflammatory and full of lies. Trump told the crowd that the election had been “rigged” by “radical democrats” and the “fake news media” and he said in part:

“We will never give up. We will never concede. It doesn’t happen. You don’t concede when there’s theft involved. … Our country has had enough. We’re not going to take it anymore.”

Not at all surprising, Trump stoked his followers to take action and head to capitol hill to protest and said:

“And after this, we’re going to walk down there, and I’ll be there with you, we’re going to walk down … to the Capitol and we are going to cheer on our brave senators and congressmen and women. … And we’re probably not going to be cheering so much for some of them. Because you’ll never take back our country with weakness. You have to show strength and you have to be strong.”

“You’re the real people. You’re the people that built this nation. You’re not the people that tore down this nation.”

“Now it is up to Congress to confront this egregious assault on our democracy.”

NOVEMBER 3RD ELECTION WAS THE MOST SECURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY

On November 12, The Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) Executive Committee – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement regarding the 2020 Presidential election and said:

“… The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. … There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised. … While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections …”

The link to the full statement is here:

https://www.cisa.gov/news/2020/11/12/joint-statement-elections-infrastructure-government-coordinating-council-election

The actions and demands of all the Republican lawmakers who objected to the electoral college votes are tied directly to President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged and the election was stolen from him in the key battleground states that voted for Biden.

Over 60 federal lawsuits file by the Trump campaign challenging the state election have been dismissed and thrown out of court because there was virtually no evidence of election fraud. Election officials from all the battleground states, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Supreme Court have found virtually no evidence of election fraud.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/gop-senators-threaten-object-electoral-college-results-if-commission-not-n1252667

STORMING THE CAPITOL

Soon after Trump spoke, supporters believing all Trumps lies that the election was rigged went to the United States Capitol to protest. The Congress had already begun the process of counting and certifying the electoral college vote. A mob was able to breach security and successfully enter the building, where one person was shot and later died.

Hundreds of pro-Trump protesters pushed through barriers set up along the perimeter of the Capitol, where they engaged with officers in full riot gear, some calling the officers “traitors” for doing their jobs. About 90 minutes later, police said demonstrators got into the building and the doors to the House and Senate were being locked. Shortly after, the House floor was evacuated by police. Vice President Mike Pence was also evacuated from the chamber, he was to perform his role in the counting of electoral votes.

An armed standoff took place at the House Chamber front door. Capitol police officers had guns drawn pointing at someone who looking through the chamber’s broken glass window and who was trying to breach the door of the chamber. Afte gaining access to the Chamber, a Trump supporter sat in the chair of the Senate President located on the Senate dais. Other protesters gained access to house offices. One insurgent was photo graphed stealing the podium from the House of Representatives chamber floor.

Smoke grenades were used on the Senate side of the Capitol as police worked to clear the building of rioters. Windows on the west side of the Senate were broken, and hundreds of officers amassed on the first floor of the building.

The protesters first breached exterior security barriers, and video footage showed protesters gathering and some clashing with police near the Capitol building. A number of protesters climbed up the side of the Capitol building to gain access. Windows were broken to gain access. Protesters roamed the interior of the building and went to the House Chamber.

Protesters pushed against metal fences and police using the fences to push protesters back, while other officers reached over the top to club people trying to cross their lines.

After the building was breached, the Capitol police officer in the House chamber told lawmakers that they may need to duck under their chairs and informed lawmakers that protesters were in the building’s Rotunda. House members were seen wearing gas masks as they move between Capitol buildings.

Congressional leaders were evacuated from the Capitol complex and taken to Fort McNair, a nearby Army base in Washington.

A woman is dead after being shot in the chest on the Capitol grounds, DC police confirmed to CNN. More information on the shooting was not immediately available and a police spokesperson said additional details will come later.

https://www.cnn.com/2021/01/06/politics/us-capitol-lockdown/index.html

The display of insurrection was the first time the US Capitol had been overrun since the British attacked and burned the US Capital building during the War of 1812.

CONGRESS RETURNS TO WORK AND CERTIFIES BIDEN 46 PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES

Within 7 hours after protestors took over the Capitol building and after they were evacuated from the building, the Congress returned to work to certify the election of Joe Biden. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said the congressional leadership wanted to continue by saying:

“Today, a shameful assault was made on our democracy. It was anointed at the highest level of government. It cannot, however, deter us from our responsibility to validate the election of Joe Biden. … To that end, in consultation with Leader Hoyer and Whip Clyburn and after calls to the Pentagon, the Justice Department and the Vice President, we have decided we should proceed tonight at the Capitol once it is cleared for use. Leader Hoyer will be sending out more guidance later today.”

Senate Republicans who planned to object to the election in multiple states Biden won withdraw their objections. Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said on the Senate floor:

“United States Senate will not be intimidated. We will not be kept out of this chamber by thugs, mobs or threats. … We will certify the winner of the 2020 presidential election.

After Congress finally certified President Biden’s election in the early morning hours of February 7, Führer Trump said:

“Even though I totally disagree with the outcome of the election, and the facts bear me out, nevertheless there will be an orderly transition on January 20th.”

Führer Trump’s statement was posted to Twitter by aides after his personal account was locked by TWITTER for posting messages that appeared to justify the assault on the seat of the nation’s democracy.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is clear that Trump is the first fascist ever elected President of the United States who put himself above the law and his own country and who has no respect for our constitution nor free elections.

Trumps strongest and closest allies and supporters need to come to their senses and the realization that Trump is a traitor to his own country, to them, to all of us and to our democracy. Attempting to set aside the vote of the American people was an attempt to undermine our very democracy. It was a coup d’é·tat that failed. The same goes for the clown car full of the Republican House and Senate members who initially sought to seek to set aside the 2020 victory of Joe Biden by voting not to certify the electoral college vote. Their conduct likewise is nothing less than in insurrection or rebellion against the United States and are democratic form of government. They too should be removed from office.

What happened in Washington, DC on January 6, 2021, and the images of what happened are indeed another “day of infamy”, such as Pearl Harbor, that will no doubt be remembered for decades to come. Pearl Harbor was an attack on our country by a foreign enemy that started World War II.

What is shameful and disgusting is that what unfolded on January 6 was an attack on our country, our very democracy, by an elected President of the United States who lost his election for a second term and then attempted a COUP D’É·TAT of his successor who won not only the electoral college vote but the popular vote.

Fascist Trump needs to be immediately removed from office by his cabinet as allowed by the 25th Amendment to the United States Constitution. If not, the United States House of Representatives need to Impeach him one again and the United States Senate need to vote to convict so that Trump can be removed from office, lose his lifetime pension of $200,000, his $1 Million in yearly travel expenses, and with a covicton he would be unable to run for any office again in the United States.

Best wishes to President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

POSTSCRIPT

A quick review of the law is in order:

The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution provides in part:

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same … .”

The federal law against seditious conspiracy can be found in Title 18, U.S.C. § 2384. The federal law includes treason, rebellion, and similar offenses. According to the statutory definition of sedition, it is a crime for two or more people within the jurisdiction of the United States:

• To conspire to overthrow or destroy by force the government of the United States or to level war against them;
• To oppose by force the authority of the United States government; to prevent, hinder, or delay by force the execution of any law of the United States;
… . “

https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/sedition.html#:~:text=Sedition%20is%20a%20serious%20felony,of%20destroying%20or%20overthrowing%20it.

Under the federal criminal law, rebellion or insurrection is also a felony and the federal law provides:

“Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;  and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-2383.html

18 U.S. Code § 2384 entitled Seditious Conspiracy provides:

If two or more persons in any State or Territory, or in any place subject to the jurisdiction of the United States, conspire to overthrow, put down, or to destroy by force the Government of the United States, or to levy war against them, or to oppose by force the authority thereof, or by force to prevent, hinder, or delay the execution of any law of the United States, or by force to seize, take, or possess any property of the United States contrary to the authority thereof, they shall each be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than twenty years, or both.

On September 10, Mayor Tim Keller and APD Chief Michael Geier held a press conference to announce that Chief Geier was retiring after 2 years and 9 months as APD Chief. Keller announced a national search would be conducted to find a new chief. During the September 10 press conference, Mayor Tim Keller announced he was appointing First Deputy Harold Medina as Interim APD Chief.

During the September 10 press conference Mayor Keller said in part:

“ … We know reform efforts have hit some snags, and we know there have been back office challenges and distractions. Chief Geier’s retirement comes at the right time for a new phase of leadership to address the old embedded challenges that continue to hamper the department. … .”

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/chief-geier-forced-out-of-his-position-with-apd/5858023/?cat=500

It was on September 5 Labor Day Holiday weekend that Mayor Tim Keller and CAO Sarita Nair summoned Chief Geier to a city park where Keller, according to Geier, showed up “incognito”, wearing a cap and sunglasses to met with Geier. Keller told Geier he had decided to let Geier go, that his services were no longer needed and it was time for Geier to leave APD. Keller gave Geier the choice of retiring or being fired and he chose retirement.

Within days after being forced out, Geier made the rounds to all local news outlets and gave exclusive interviews. Geier unloaded on Mayor Keller proclaiming that Keller and his Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair micro managed the department. Geier also said that First Deputy Chief Harold Medina circumvented all he did to the point of insubordination.

Keller’s removal of Geier as APD Chief was viewed by city hall insiders and political observers as Keller’s first major step to his bid for a second term. Keller saying that the “reform efforts have hit some snags” was a gross understatement if not a downright lie by Keller. City hall confidential sources have confirmed that Mayor Keller was given an advanced briefing that the 12th Federal Monitor’s report on APD’s compliance with the 271 reforms was going to be the most scathing of all 12 reports as to APD’s leadership. It was.

On Friday, October 6, in a hearing on the 12th Federal Monitors Report, the Federal Monitor Ginger told the court:

“We are on the brink of a catastrophic failure at APD. … [The department] has failed miserably in its ability to police itself. … If this were simply a question of leadership, I would be less concerned. But it’s not. It’s a question of leadership. It’s a question of command. It’s a question of supervision. And it’s a question of performance on the street. So as a monitor with significant amount of experience – I’ve been doing this since the ’90s – I would have to be candid with the Court and say we’re in more trouble here right now today than I’ve ever seen.”

PUBLIC INPUT GIVEN ON WHAT DESIRED IN CHIEF

Within days after the departure of Chief Geier, the city posted and advertised the position nationally. The Keller Administration hired a consultant to help search for the City’s next APD Police Chief. The result was 39 applicants who submitted their resumes.

The City conducted more than 40 virtual meetings with community groups and interested parties. According to a city spokesperson, the city received more than 2,200 responses to an online survey seeking feedback on the Chief’s position. City spokeswoman Alicia Manzano said 5 themes emerged from those meetings expressing a desire for a chief to have an understanding:

1. Behavioral health issues.

COMMENTARY: This should come as no surprise. The 2014 Department of Justice of investigation of APD found a “culture of aggression” with APD’s interactions and responses to suspects that were mentally ill and that were having psychotic episodes. APD used deadly force against people who posed a minimal threat, including individuals who posed a threat only to themselves. Two cases in particular highlight the problem: the shooting of homeless camper and mentally ill James Boyd by APD SWAT in the Sandia Mountain foothills and the shooting of military army veteran Ken Ellis, III who was suffering with Post Traumatic Stress Disorder. The Boyd case resulted in a $5 million dollar settlement to the Boyd family, the Ellis case resulted in a $10 million settlement to the Elis family, both lawsuits file for wrongful death and police misconduct. The two SWAT Officers that killed Boyd were charged with murder but the charges were dismissed after a jury could not reach a verdict and deadlocked.

2. A commitment to de-escalation use by police.

COMMENTARY: The DOJ found APD failed to use deescalating tactics when encountering the mentally ill. The DOJ found APD police officers too often used deadly force in an unconstitutional manner in their use of firearms against the mentally ill. The DOJ consent decree mandates significant training of officers in de-escalation tactics to deal with the mentally ill and mandated behavioral health policies and procedures.

3. Transparency.

COMMENTARY: APD has an extensive history of withholding and delaying damaging information and even going to great lengths to withhold informatikon, especially when it comes to police misconduct cases, releasing lapel camera footage, and has repeatedly delayed the releasing of information within APD Internal Affairs. Repeatedly, the city has been fined over the years for Inspection of Public Records (IPRA) request violations. At one time, the Federal Court Monitor charged APD command staff of delay, diversion and obstruction tactics in the release of information and cooperation.

4. Community policing.

COMMENTARY: The 2014 Department of Justice investigation found that APD was severely shorthanded and was having difficulty in handling the severe spike in calls for service and criminal investigations. In 2017, Tim Keller campaigned to be elected mayor on the platform of increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), returning to community-based policing and promising to bring down skyrocketing crime rates. To that end, the Keller Administration began implementing an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 positions filled to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period. Keller promised to increase the number of sworn police in the department to 1,200 by the end of his first term. According to city records and reports, APD has 974 officers at last count. APD is short by upwards of 200 sworn police of what was promised by candidate Tim Keller.

5. Racial equity

COMMENTARY: APD, just like all law enforcement agencies over the country, is under more and more public scrutiny regarding its interactions with minorities. The killings of so many unarmed African Americans has brought forth that scrutiny. It was many organizations involved with minority issues that were instrumental in bringing the Department of Justice to Albuquerque to investigate APD’s use of force and deadly force. Six years ago, APD was sued in Federal Court for “racial profiling” and targeting African Americans and Hispanics involved in Federal narcotics investigations and prosecutions in the South East Heights area, but those civil rights cases were dismissed by the courts with a finding of no racial profiling

https://www.abqjournal.com/1532419/a-tumultuous-year-at-apd-comes-to-a-close.html

PUBLIC CONCERNS MIRROR THE DOJ INVESTGATION FINDINGS

It is not at all surprising that virtually all 5 of the themes the public survey found as to what the public wants in its next Chief hit squarely on the issues identified and involved with the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation and the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement.

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted a scathing 46-page investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). The investigation was conducted jointly by the DOJ’s Washington Office Civil Rights Division and the United States Attorney’s Office for the District of New Mexico.

The link to the DOJ investigation 46-page report is here:

https://www.justice.gov/sites/default/files/crt/legacy/2014/04/10/apd_findings_4-10-14.pdf

The DOJ reviewed all fatal shootings by officers between 2009 and 2012, and found that officers were not justified under federal law in using deadly force in the majority of those incidents. The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision were insufficient to ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness or in distress do so in a manner that respected their rights and in a manner that was safe for all involved.

A significant number of the use of force cases reviewed by the DOJ involved persons suffering from acute mental illness and who were having a mental health crisis. The DOJ found APD failed to use deescalating tactics when encountering the mentally ill. The DOJ found APD police officers too often used deadly force in an unconstitutional manner in their use of firearms. Officers used deadly force against people who posed a minimal threat, including individuals who posed a threat only to themselves or who were unarmed. Officers were found to have used deadly force in situations where the conduct of the officers heightened the danger and contributed to the need to use force.

What differentiates the DOJ’s investigation of APD from the other federal investigations of police departments and consent decrees is that the other consent decrees involve in one form or another the finding of “racial profiling” and use of excessive force or deadly force against minorities. The DOJ’s finding of a “culture of aggression” within APD dealt with APD’s interactions and responses to suspects that were mentally ill and that were having psychotic episodes.

On November 10, 2014, the City and the Department of Justice entered into a Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) that mandates 271 sweeping reforms of the APD. The CASA was negotiated to be completed within 4 years and after 2 years of consecutive compliance, the case was to be dismissed in November of 2020. Six years have now expired and APD has failed to fully implement the reforms and is not in compliance.

CHIEF APPLICANTS FROM ACROSS THE COUNTRY

On January 1, 2021, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page story entitled “39 Apply to be Albuquerque’s Top Cop”. The Journal made an Inspection of Public Records Request (IPRA) and the city provided the paper with the resume’s that had been turned in by the applicants on or before December 4. On Wednesday, December 30, the city released the names of 39 applicants.

According to a city spokesperson, a screening process was undertaken. The candidates and their résumés were sorted into 25 “qualified” candidates and 9 “unqualified” candidates. The city gave no specific explanation as to why an applicant was disqualified. The 9 applicants found not to be qualified. Two of those disqualified were identified as David Bibb, the recently ousted chief of the Las Vegas Police Department in New Mexico, and Emil Radosevich, who recently resigned as chief of the Pueblo of Jemez Police Department.

There were 5 applicants who had applied after the Journal’s records request and are identified as : Al Fear, Philip Holmes, Robert Jones, Kenneth McCoy Jr. and Daniel Neill.

The link to the full Journal story is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1531748/39-apply-to-be-albuquerques-top-cop.html
The story divided the qualifying applicants into 3 categories:

1. Police chiefs of small cities
2. Higher ranking officials within large police departments,
3. Those who have left law enforcement for other professions and who are seeking to return.

In response to an Inspection of Public Records Act (IPRA) request, the Journal received the following list of identified applicants:

SMALL CITY POLICE CHIEFS

1. George Austin, chief of police of the Milton Police Department in Georgia.

2. Roland Camacho, chief of police of the Chambersburg Police Department in Pennsylvania.

3. Joel Fitzgerald Sr., chief of police of the Waterloo Police Department in Iowa. Fitzgerald was police chief in Fort Worth, Texas, but was fired in 2019.

4. Clinton Nichols, chief of police of the Commerce City Police Department in Colorado.

5. Edward Reynolds, chief of police of the Southern University of Shreveport Police Department in Louisiana.

6. Todd Richardson, who was the sheriff of Davis County, Utah, until 2019. He’s now a deputy with the Beaver County Sheriff’s Office.

LARGE POLICE DEPARTMENT OFFICIALS:

7. Harold Medina, APD’s interim chief while the search unfolds. Medina previously served as deputy chief of APD and, before that, was Chief of Police for the Pueblo of Laguna.

8. Jason Lando, a commander with the Pittsburgh Bureau of Police.

9. Mark Molinari, a commanding officer at the New York City Police Department.

10. James Rhoden, a commander with the Baltimore Police Department.

11. Michael Rigoli, who recently retired as a lieutenant with the Chicago Police Department.

12. Joseph Sullivan, who recently retired as a deputy commissioner of patrol operations for the Philadelphia Police Department.

13. William Taylor, chief deputy of the DeKalb County Marshal’s Office in Decatur, Georgia.

14. Michele Williams, who retired from the Santa Fe Police Department as a lieutenant. She is suing the city of Santa Fe, alleging her rights as a whistleblower were violated when she was removed from her position for reporting time card fraud and other improprieties.

15. Joseph Lestrange, a division chief of the Homeland Security Investigations transnational organized crime division in Washington, D.C.

16. Albert Pleasant IV, a special agent with the Air Force Office of Special Investigations in Texas.

THOSE WHO HAVE LEFT LAW ENFORCEMENT AND SEEKING TO RETURN

17. Jesus Eduardo Campa, CEO of Americas Best Strategic Security Group in El Paso and executive director for the Council on Law Enforcement Education and Training, a regulatory law enforcement agency for the State of Oklahoma. He served previously as chief of police for the Marshall Police Department and applied to be the chief of police in Santa Fe in 2015.

18.Thomas Cassella, director of security and valet at Caesars Entertainment Horseshoe Casino in Baltimore, Maryland. He worked previously for the Baltimore Police Department for 23 years.

19. Brian Childress, an instructor at the Law Enforcement Command College at Columbus State University in Georgia and an assessor for the Commission on Accreditation for Law Enforcement Agencies in Virginia. He served as chief of police for the Valdosta Police Department from 2013 to 2018.

20. Jonathan Lewin, senior public safety adviser for the First Responder Network Authority in Virginia. He spent 15 years with the Chicago Police Department.

21. John Pate, the city manager and director of public safety for city of Opa-locka, Florida. He worked previously for the Cook County Sheriff’s Office and the Village of Phoenix Police Department, both in Illinois.

22. Anthony Schembri, who quotes Rudy Giuliani as saying he’s a “pioneer” and has been appointed to various posts by three governors, two mayors of New York, and more. He was a county administrator and director of public safety for Citrus County, Florida, from 2008 to 2009.

23. George Smith, vice president of Corporate Security Life Safety for the Bank of America in Delaware. He previously spent 27 years with the Radnor Township Police Department.

24. David Williams, a mission assurances division chief for the U.S. Air Force in Nebraska.

KELLERS SEEKS TO APPOINT CHIEF PUBLIC SAFETY OFFICER

On December 11, it was reported that the city is looking to hire a Chief of Public Safety who would oversee the chiefs of the Albuquerque Police Department, the Fire and Rescue Department and the Office of Emergency management. The Chief Public Safety Officer would be a civilian post and report to the city’s Chief Administrative Officer.

According to the job posting on the city’s website, in addition to overseeing the three department heads, the new hire “must coordinate with the Chief of Police to provide strong reform-minded leadership as the department works to achieve and maintain compliance” with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement dictating the police reform effort.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1526078/city-seeking-to-hire-chief-of-public-safety.html

Mayor Keller has said hopes to have the police chief position filled by March but has said he doesn’t have a time frame for when a Chief of Public Safety will be in place. Keller acknowledges that both potions will be hard to recruit because of the city’s out of control crime rates, the reform efforts and the fact that both positions are “at will” positions. Whoever is hired will be at risk of losing their job if Keller does not win a second term.

On May 1, 2018, just a few months after Keller took office, an article on this blog was posted and sent to Keller proposing the exact same thing that Keller is proposing, except with the title “Public Safety Commissioner” and including the creation of an entire Public Safety Department.

Below is the link to the May 1, 2018 blog article:

“Create Department Of Public Safety; Abolish APD Internal Affairs; Create Salary Structure”

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/12/12/political-plagiarism-is-one-of-the-highest-forms-of-flattery-tim-keller-should-just-listen-from-the-get-go-instead-of-not-being-upfront/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Historically, when a Mayor appoints a Chief of Police, it generates a significant amount of interest and competition amongst the ambitious command staff, usually with Commanders, now called Captains, and even Lieutenants applying for the job. Further, it is also common that former APD command staff also apply and try to return as Chief, such as Chief Ray Schultz and Chief Michael Geier who both retired from APD to go work for another department only to return a few years later to be Chief. This is not happening now.

HAROLD MEDINA

It is very concerning that Interim APD Chief Harold Medina is the only named applicant for Chief from within the ranks of APD who has applied for the position. Interim Chief Harold Medina has a very troubled past of police officer involved shootings with reactive decision-making and failed leadership resulting in the killing of two mentally ill people having psychotic episodes. Medina was never disciplined for his conduct relating to 2 high profile shootings proclaiming he did nothing wrong.

First, in 2004, then APD Field Officer Harold Medina killed a 14-year-old Cibola High School student in a church who was brandishing a BB Gun. The boy was reported as having a psychotic episode saying he was possessed by demons and went to church for help.

Second, on January 13, 2010, Kenneth Ellis, III, a 25-year-old veteran who was suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder and threatening to kill himself holding a gun to his head. Elis was shot and killed by APD police officers and it was then Lieutenant Harold Medina that authorized the use of deadly force against Elis as a tactic to take him into custody. A $10.5 Million dollar judgment was awarded to the Elis family for the shooting. At the time of the Ellis shooting, former APD Chief Michael Geier was on the Force Review Board and he has stated that then Lt. Harold Medina failed in his command conduct and that he should have been disciplined.

Interim Chief Harold Medina spins the two tragedies as a positive credential to run the APD saying because of the shootings he now understands the DOJ reforms, their need and can implement them. Good luck with that! If anything, the two killing should have resulted in Medina being disqualified as an applicant. Truth is, Medina is part of the problem with APD that brought the DOJ here in the first place. Medina has no business being interim Chief let alone being made permanent. Medina helped create, did not stop and he participated the “culture of aggression” and the use of deadly force that resulted in a DOJ investigation.

Medina was never disciplined for his conduct relating to the high-profile shootings. When asked if the mayor’s office was aware of the cases, Keller’s Chief of staff Mike Puelle wrote in a statement:

“Acting Chief Medina has been very open about these lessons learned and how he applies them to the ongoing reform efforts at the department.”

HEAVY HANDED MANAGEMENT STYLE DEMANDING LOYALTY

It is no coincidence that Medina is the only named applicant for Chief that currently works for APD or who has worked for APD in the past. APD Command staff, who wish to remain anonymous, have said that Medina is highly aggressive, demands 100% loyalty, feels he is entitled to the job of Chief. It is said Medina does not tolerate anyone who remotely questions his directives and that he manages with intimidation and coercion. Working for such a Chief no doubt eliminates any potential challengers for APD Chief from within the department.

Interim Chief Harold Medina is part of the very problem that brought the Department of Justice (DOJ) here in the first place. It was the past APD management practices that resulted in the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice that lead to the federal consent decree after 18 police officer involved shootings and the findings of excessive use of force and deadly force by APD. The litany of cases includes 4 Cases where $21.7 Million was paid for APD’s excessive use of force and deadly force and $64 Million for 42 police officer shootings in 10 years.

Any one in APD command staff who assisted, contributed or who did not stop the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice and who has resisted the reform process has no business being APD Chief or Deputy for that matter. Interim Chief Harold Medina was and still is part of the problem with APD. It is not at all likely, despite whatever public comments he makes, that Interim APD Chief Medina will ever get behind the Federal mandated reforms which should disqualify him from being the interim APD Chief and for that matter the new permanent Chief.

OTHER APPLCIANTS OSTENSIBLY HAVE NO POLICE REFORM BACKGROUND

The number one priority of the next full time APD Chief, and in a real sense, the biggest crisis that Chief faces from day one will be implementation of the DOJ mandated reforms. The crisis is very real when the Federal Monitor told the court on October 6, 2020:

“We are on the brink of a catastrophic failure at APD. … [The department] has failed miserably in its ability to police itself. … If this were simply a question of leadership, I would be less concerned. But it’s not. It’s a question of leadership. It’s a question of command. It’s a question of supervision. And it’s a question of performance on the street.”

Based on the listing of the other 38 applicants, it appears none of the applicants has any prior experience or working knowledge dealing with implementation of any federal consent decree and the requirement of constitutional policing training and practices.

If Mayor Tim Keller is indeed sincere in conducting a national search to find someone else other than Interim APD Chief Harold Medina, he should order the national employment search company the city has retained to find qualified law enforcement professionals who have the experience to manage a department in crisis. Experience with a law enforcement department under a DOJ consent decree should be an absolute requirement.

Further, Keller should notify Medina that he has been disqualified from applying for the potion because of his troubling history of excessive use of force and deadly force. Otherwise, it sure does look like Keller is engaged in another sham national search only to appoint and make Harold Medina the permanent chief.

CREATE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY

Creating the position of Chief Public Safety is nearly not enough. There is a need for a complete overhaul and restructuring of APD with the appointment of a new APD Chief, Deputy Chief’s, new Commanders, Lieutenants, a new Academy Director and a 911 manager. The Public Safety Department needs to consist of four civilian staffed divisions and managed by the Public Safety Commissioner:

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

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

APD has consistently shown over many years it cannot police itself which contributed to the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice. The APD Internal Affairs Unit needs to be abolished and its functions absorbed by the Office of Inspector General. “Deadly use of force” cases need to continue to be investigated by the Critical Incident Review Team and the final reports with finding and recommendations.

CONCLUSION

Mayor Tim Keller squandered a considerable amount of his political capital given to him with his landslide win in 2017 when he failed to seize immediately after his election the opportunity to make sweeping changes by hiring a new generation of police management , hiring Chief Public Safety Officer and with the creation of a Department of Public Safety. Now Keller’s back is against the wall time wise with only 11 months left of his term as he seeks another term. Anyone who accepts either job will have to take one big leap of faith and hope Keller wins a second term, otherwise they could be out of a job within a few months or weeks after taking it.

Mayor Tim Keller and his Administration need to pay special attention to the survey and the input they have received from the public as to what they want in the next police chief. Keller has now appointed as Interim Chief the one person who embodies what the Department of Justice Reforms are all about when it comes to police misconduct.
Mayor Keller has made it known he is running for a second term. He can not afford to make another mistake with APD management appointments and just give his usual smile and lip service and public relations to the process he has put in place.

In 2020, Dinelli Blog Had 105,793 Total Reader Views, 70,208 Total Blog Visitors; Thanks For Viewing And Visiting; Onto A Better 2021 New Year! PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN MASK!

The 14th Amendment of the United States Constitution provides in part:

“No person shall be a Senator or Representative in Congress, or elector of President and Vice-President, or hold any office, civil or military, under the United States, or under any State, who, having previously taken an oath, as a member of Congress, or as an officer of the United States, … to support the Constitution of the United States, shall have engaged in insurrection or rebellion against the same … .”

The federal law against seditious conspiracy can be found in Title 18, U.S.C. § 2384. The federal law includes treason, rebellion, and similar offenses. According to the statutory definition of sedition, it is a crime for two or more people within the jurisdiction of the United States:

• To conspire to overthrow or destroy by force the government of the United States or to level war against them;

• To oppose by force the authority of the United States government; to prevent, hinder, or delay by force the execution of any law of the United States;

… . “

https://criminal.findlaw.com/criminal-charges/sedition.html#:~:text=Sedition%20is%20a%20serious%20felony,of%20destroying%20or%20overthrowing%20it.

Under the federal criminal law, rebellion or insurrection is also a felony and the federal law provides:

“Whoever incites, sets on foot, assists, or engages in any rebellion or insurrection against the authority of the United States or the laws thereof, or gives aid or comfort thereto, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than 10 years, or both;  and shall be incapable of holding any office under the United States.”

https://codes.findlaw.com/us/title-18-crimes-and-criminal-procedure/18-usc-sect-2383.html

FEDERAL VOTER FRAUD LAWS

There are 2 separate federal laws that deal with voter fraud as follows:

18 U.S. Code § 594 – Intimidation of voters

Whoever intimidates, threatens, coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any other person for the purpose of interfering with the right of such other person to vote or to vote as he may choose, or of causing such other person to vote for, or not to vote for, any candidate for the office of President, Vice President, Presidential elector, Member of the Senate, Member of the House of Representatives, Delegate from the District of Columbia, or Resident Commissioner, at any election held solely or in part for the purpose of electing such candidate, shall be fined under this title or imprisoned not more than one year, or both.

52 U.S. Code § 20511 – Criminal penalties

A person, including an election official, who in any election for Federal office—

(1)knowingly and willfully intimidates, threatens, or coerces, or attempts to intimidate, threaten, or coerce, any person for—

(A) registering to vote, or voting, or attempting to register or vote;
(B) urging or aiding any person to register to vote, to vote, or to attempt to register or vote; or
(C)exercising any right under this chapter; or

(2)knowingly and willfully deprives, defrauds, or attempts to deprive or defraud the residents of a State of a fair and impartially conducted election process, by—

(A) the procurement or submission of voter registration applications that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held; or
(B) the procurement, casting, or tabulation of ballots that are known by the person to be materially false, fictitious, or fraudulent under the laws of the State in which the election is held

FÜHRER TRUMP COMMITS ACTS OF REBELLION AND SEDITION OR VOTER FRAUD

The Washington Post reported that on Saturday, January 2, 2020, President Trump held an hour-long phone call with Georgia’s Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger. Trump was joined on the call by White House Chief of Staff Mark Meadows and several lawyers, including longtime conservative operative attorneys Cleta Mitchell and Georgia attorney Kurt Hilbert. Raffensperger was joined by his office’s general counsel, Ryan Germany, and Deputy Secretary of State Jordan Fuchs. The call was recorded.

On the call, Trump urges Raffensperger to alter the outcome of the presidential vote in Georgia. The Washington Post report on the recording states in part:

“Trump alternately berated Raffensperger, tried to flatter him, begged him to act and threatened him with vague criminal consequences if the secretary of state refused to pursue his false claims, and at one-point warning that Raffensperger was taking “a big risk.” Throughout the call, Raffensperger and his office’s general counsel rejected Trump’s assertions, explaining that Trump was is relying on debunked conspiracy theories and that President-elect Joe Biden’s 11,779-vote victory in Georgia was fair and accurate.
…

On the call, Trump details an exhaustive list of disinformation and conspiracy theories to support his position. He claims without evidence that he had won Georgia by at least a half-million votes. He floated a barrage of assertions that have been investigated and disproved: that thousands of dead people voted; that an Atlanta election worker scanned 18,000 forged ballots three times each and “100 percent” were for Biden; that thousands more voters living out of state came back to Georgia illegally just to vote in the election.
…

The secretary of state repeatedly sought to correct Trump, saying at one point, “Mr. President, the problem you have with social media, they — people can say anything.”

“Oh this isn’t social media,” Trump retorted. “This is Trump media. It’s not social media. It’s really not. It’s not social media. I don’t care about social media. I couldn’t care less.”

At another point, Trump claimed that votes were scanned three times:

“Brad, why did they put the votes in three times? You know, they put ’em in three times.”

Raffensperger responded: “Mr. President, they did not. We did an audit of that and we proved conclusively that they were not scanned three times.”

The link to the entire Washington Post article is here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-transcript-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/2768e0cc-4ddd-11eb-83e3-322644d82356_story.html

Georgia has already conducted 3 recounts, and the results were the same: Joe Biden won the state’s popular vote with 49.5% (2,473,633 votes) to Trumps 49.3% (2,461,854) thereby winning all 16 of Georgia’s electoral votes.

EGREGIOUS COMMENTS

Some of the most egregious comments and requests made by Trump during the January 2 telephone call with the Georgia Secretary of Sates that amount to sedition or rebellion to set aside a lawful election are:

“So, look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have. Because we won the state”

“Fellas, I need 11,000 votes … Give me a break. We have that in spades already.”

“The ballots are corrupt, and they’re brand new, and they don’t have seals, and there’s a whole thing with the ballots. But the ballots are corrupt. And you are going to find that they are — which is totally illegal — it is more illegal for you than it is for them because, you know, what they did and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal, that’s a criminal offense. And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer. And that’s a big risk.

… I’m notifying you that you’re letting it happen. So look. All I want to do is this. I just want to find 11,780 votes, which is one more than we have because we won the state.

And flipping the state is a great testament to our country because, you know, this is — it’s a testament that they can admit to a mistake or whatever you want to call it. If it was a mistake, I don’t know. A lot of people think it wasn’t a mistake. It was much more criminal than that. But it’s a big problem in Georgia, and it’s not a problem that’s going away. I mean, you know, it’s not a problem that’s going away.

“So what are we going to do here, folks? I only need 11,000 votes. Fellas, I need 11,000 votes. Give me a break. You know, we have that in spades already. Or we can keep it going, but that’s not fair to the voters of Georgia because they’re going to see what happened, and they’re going to see what happened.”

“So tell me, Brad, what are we going to do? We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this. And it’s going to be very costly in many ways. And I think you have to say that you’re going to reexamine it, and you can reexamine it, but reexamine it with people that want to find answers, not people that don’t want to find answers.”

“. .. we can play this game with the courts, but why do you say that? First of all, they don’t even assign us a judge. They don’t even assign us a judge. But why wouldn’t you . . . Hey Brad, why wouldn’t you want to check out [name redacted] ? And why wouldn’t you want to say, hey, if in fact, President Trump is right about that, then he wins the state of Georgia, just that one incident alone without going through hundreds of thousands of dropped ballots.”

“You just say, you stick by, I mean I’ve been watching you, you know, you don’t care about anything. “Your numbers are right.” But your numbers aren’t right. They’re really wrong, and they’re really wrong, Brad. And I know this phone call is going nowhere other than, other than ultimately, you know — Look, ultimately, I win, okay? Because you guys are so wrong. And you treated this. You treated the population of Georgia so badly. You, between you and your governor, who is down at 21, he was down 21 points. And like a schmuck, I endorsed him, and he got elected, but I will tell you, he is a disaster.”

“Well, under law, you’re not allowed to give faulty election results, okay? You’re not allowed to do that. And that’s what you done. This is a faulty election result. And honestly, this should go very fast. You should meet tomorrow because you have a big election coming up, and because of what you’ve done to the president — you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam — and because of what you’ve done to the president, a lot of people aren’t going out to vote. And a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative because they hate what you did to the president. Okay? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you would be respected. Really respected, if this thing could be straightened out before the election. You have a big election coming up on Tuesday. And I think that it is really is important that you meet tomorrow and work out on these numbers. Because I know, Brad, that if you think we’re right, I think you’re going to say, and I’m not looking to blame anybody, I’m just saying, you know, and, you know, under new counts, and under new views, of the election results, we won the election. You know? It’s very simple. We won the election.”

“So tell me, Brad, what are we going to do? We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this. … And it’s going to be very costly in many ways. And I think you have to say that you’re going to reexamine it, and you can reexamine it, but reexamine it with people that want to find answers, not people who don’t want to find answers.”

“You should want to have an accurate election. And you’re a Republican … You know what they did, and you’re not reporting it. That’s a criminal offense, and you can’t let that happen. … And you can’t let that happen. That’s a big risk to you and to Ryan, your lawyer.”

“The people of Georgia are angry, the people in the country are angry,” Trump said. “And there’s nothing wrong with saying, you know, um, that you’ve recalculated.”

“We won the election, and it’s not fair to take it away from us like this.”

“You have a big election coming up and because of what you’ve done to the president — you know, the people of Georgia know that this was a scam. … Because of what you’ve done to the president, a lot of people aren’t going out to vote, and a lot of Republicans are going to vote negative, because they hate what you did to the president. Okay? They hate it. And they’re going to vote. And you would be respected, really respected, if this can be straightened out before the election.”

The link to the Washington Post transcript is here:

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/trump-raffensperger-call-georgia-vote/2021/01/03/d45acb92-4dc4-11eb-bda4-615aaefd0555_story.html

TRUMP THREATENS LAWSUITS

Within hours after the Washington Post published its story on the recorded one-hour discussion between President Donald Trump and Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger it was announced that Trump intends to sue Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger for recording their phone call.

Trump intends to filed a state law suite and a federal lawsuit against the Georgia Secretary of State to block the release of the recording where Trump is heard pressuring the state election head to “recalculate” the votes and demanded he commit a crime and “find” votes. It is being alleged that the telephone conference call was secretly recorded and was a “confidential settlement discussion” of litigation that is still pending. At this point, no one really knows who released the audio or for that matter who recorded it.

Democrat Jon Ossoff who is running against Senator David Perdue in one of the Georgia Senate runoffs that will determine what party will control the Senate had this to say:

“At this moment, when the President of the United States calls on Georgia’s election officials and tries to intimidate them to change the result of the election to disenfranchise Georgia voters, to disenfranchise Black voters in Georgia who delivered this state for Joe Biden and Kamala Harris, that is a direct attack on our democracy.”

Ossoff also called on Senator David Perdue, who he is running against, and the other Georgia Senator Kelly Loeffler to defend voters from those types of actions.

https://www.11alive.com/article/news/politics/elections/trump-phone-call-brad-raffersperger-lawsuit/85-a0c1c287-b69f-470e-a8b6-d1cdf9df1b11

https://www.rawstory.com/trump-sues-georgia-official-recording/

NOVEMBER 3RD ELECTION WAS THE MOST SECURE IN AMERICAN HISTORY

On November 12, The Election Infrastructure Government Coordinating Council (GCC) Executive Committee – Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency issued a statement regarding the 2020 Presidential election and said:

“… The November 3rd election was the most secure in American history. … There is no evidence that any voting system deleted or lost votes, changed votes, or was in any way compromised. … While we know there are many unfounded claims and opportunities for misinformation about the process of our elections, we can assure you we have the utmost confidence in the security and integrity of our elections …”

The link to the full statement is here:

https://www.cisa.gov/news/2020/11/12/joint-statement-elections-infrastructure-government-coordinating-council-election

JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS TO CERTIFY ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE

On Wednesday, January 6, a joint session of the United State House of Representatives and United State Senate will met to formally count the electoral votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory over President Trump. Vice President Pence, as president of the Senate, will preside over the proceeding.

Upwards of 140 of the 196 Republican members of the House of Representatives will object and will vote against counting the electoral votes to certify President-elect Joe Biden’s victory. New Mexico’s newly sworn in Republican right wing flake of a Congresswoman Yvette Harrel from New Mexico’s Southern Mew Mexico District has announced she will be one of the 140 Republican members of congress to vote against certifying President Joe Biden’s victory. Yvett Harrel told Fox News in an interview in December that her 2018 defeat by Democrat Xochitl Torres Small was without question the result of fraud, a baseless charge that is a total lie, just like the one Harell has bought into about Trump’s loss.

On Saturday, January 2, 2021, 11 Republican senators demanded that a commission to audit the results of the 2020 election be convened, otherwise they will object to the Electoral College votes that declared President-elect Joe Biden the winner. The Senators want Congress to create a commission with “full investigatory and fact-finding authority, to conduct an emergency 10-day audit of the election returns in the disputed states.” This is after all states have certified their votes, recounts have occurred in many and over 50 lawsuits have been dismissed and thrown out of court for failure to present any evidence of fraud.

If such a panel is not established, the Republican Senators threatened “to reject the electors from disputed states as not ‘regularly given’ and ‘lawfully certified’ the statutory requisite, unless and until that emergency 10-day audit is completed.”

Only 1 house member and 1 US Senator are required to mount an objection when Congress counts the votes.

The actions and demands of all the Republican lawmakers are tied directly to President Donald Trump’s claims that the 2020 election was rigged and the election was stolen from him in the key battleground states that voted for Biden. Over 50 federal lawsuits file by the Trump campaign challenging the state election have been dismissed and thrown out of court because there was virtually no evidence of election fraud. Election officials from all the battleground states, the Electoral College, the Justice Department, the Department of Homeland Security, and the US Supreme Court have found virtually no evidence of election fraud.

https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/2020-election/gop-senators-threaten-object-electoral-college-results-if-commission-not-n1252667

CONGRESSIONAL PROCESS TO CERTIFY ELECTORAL COLLEGE VOTE EXPLAINED

“On January 6 of each year following a presidential election, Congress convenes a joint session to count electoral votes and confirm the result of the presidential election. Congress has the discretion to move the date of the session by law, as it did in 2013 when the joint session was held on January 4. In these sessions, according to the Electoral Count Act of 1887, members of Congress may object to statewide election results or specific electoral votes in a particular state or the District of Columbia.

Specifically, during the session one member of the U.S. House and one member of the U.S. Senate must submit a written objection after the body reads the vote count from a particular state or D.C.

Once a House member and Senator submit an objection, the two chambers of Congress separate to debate for two hours and to vote on whether to continue counting the votes in light of the objection. Both chambers must vote by a simple majority to concur with the objection for it to stand, otherwise the objection fails.

The newly elected Congress conducts this process. On January 3, all the newly elected members of Congress were sworn in. Following the 2020 elections, Democrats retained a majority in the House of Representatives. Republicans would control the Senate during this joint session, regardless of the results of the January 5 Georgia runoff elections since Vice President Mike Pence (R) would still be in office to act as a potential tie-breaking vote

If both chambers of Congress affirm the objection and the objection results in no one candidate receiving the necessary 270-vote Electoral College majority, the 12th Amendment dictates a congressional process for selecting a president and vice president.”

The link to the quoted source material is here:

https://ballotpedia.org/Can_members_of_Congress_object_to_Electoral_College_results%3F_(2020)

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

There is little to no doubt that Trump’s one hour conversation with Georgia RepublicaN Secretary of State Raffensperger has placed him in serious criminal jeopardy. It clear from the recorded conversation that Trump made a threat of criminal consequences if the Raffensperger did not act. The conversation was also a clear attempt at extortion when Trump threatened to deploy the Justice Department to launch an investigation. The entire one hour recorded conversation taken as a whole is evidence that Trump knowingly and intentionally attempted to corrupt the integrity of a federal election in a state that the results have been recounted 3 time and already been certified.

If there were any doubts that Trump is a fascist, those doubts should be clearly laid to rest with his act of sedition and rebellion in trying to coerce and force the Republican Georgia Secretary of State to “find 11,780 votes” that would allow him to win the State’s electoral college votes. The January 2 phone call recording of Trump is clear and undisputed evidence that Trump will say anything, do anything, lie about anything and coerce anyone, in a desperate attempt to hold on to and cling to power. Trump’s conduct and pressure to set aside the 2020 election results to remain in office is nothing less than insurrection or rebellion against the United States, the Constitution and our right to vote. Trump wants to disenfranchise any one who did not vote for him, much like what Putin does in Russia to hold on to power.

President Donald Trump’s Republican allies in the House and Senate have zero chance of changing the results of the Presidential election. Simply put, Joe Biden is the next President of the United States. The antics of the Republicans can only delay by a few hours, perhaps a day, the inevitable affirmation of Biden as the Electoral College winner and thus the next President of the United States. President elect Biden not only won the electoral college but the national vote as well by over 7 million votes.

Trumps strongest and closest allies and supporters need to come to their senses and the realization that Trump is a traitor to his own country, to them, to all of us and to our democracy. Attempting to set aside the vote of the American people is undermining our very democracy. The same goes for the clown car full of the Republican House and Senate members who are seeking to set aside the 2020 victory of Joe Biden by voting not to certify the electoral college vote. Their conduct likewise is nothing less than in insurrection or rebellion against the United States and are democratic form of government.

Führer Trump has really stepped into one big pile of excrement with his call to the Georgia Secretary of State to pressure him to change the outcome of already certified election results. At this point, do not be surprised if Führer Trump issues a pardon not only for himself but also all those who were on the the phone call with him.

In 2020, Dinelli Blog Had 105,793 Total Reader Views, 70,208 Total Blog Visitors; Thanks For Viewing And Visiting; Onto A Better 2021 New Year! PLEASE WEAR THE DAMN MASK!