Mike Voorhees, whose educational background includes degrees in geography and engineering, moved to Albuquerque in 1995 to help grow the aerospace sector. Since then, he has been involved in various community organizations and activities, including a Habitat for Humanity house build, open space trail repair, and advocacy for safety and education in hot air ballooning.  In 2024, after exposing multiple improper actions of the City’s Planning Department, he was elected to the Executive Committee of the West Side Coalition of Neighborhood Associations (WSCONA) as Member at Large.  In 2004, he was presented the FBI Director’s Award for “Exceptional Service in the Public Interest” for his work protecting and improving the security posture of critical infrastructure in New Mexico against both natural and human-caused threats.

MIKE VOORHEES GUEST OPINION COLUMN

Following is a guest opinion column written by Mike Voorhees. The guest column is a follow up column to one published on January 1, 2025 entitled in part “ABQ City Councilor Dan Lewis Sponsors Sinister Legislation to Gut Your Rights and Silence Neighborhoods To Favor Developers; Lewis Violates Both Court Order and Settlement Agreement”. The link to that column in the poscript below.

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this guest opinion column by Mike Voorhees do not necessarily reflect those of www.petedinelli.com blog. Mr. Voorhees gave consent to publish his guest column and he was not compensated for it. The guest column is being published as a public service announcement to educate citizens of Albuquerque.

Predatory hedge funds and unscrupulous developers have figured out the right formula to co-opt well-meaning housing advocates into doing their dirty work.

Most nations with high wealth but increasing economic disparity are facing a housing affordability crisis.  This is largely due to a structural flaw in policy that treats housing as an investment opportunity rather than a necessity and a human right.  And this lack of affordability is great for investors and developers.  Many investors want income streams that function as reliable annuities.  Expanding a vast rental class subject to coordinated price-fixing by corporate absentee landlords is one of their favorites.  It is so successful, that these entities are able to pool funds to outbid the vast majority of individual would-be home buyers.  This of course, drives up home prices.

But the greed of investors has not been quenched by this imbalance.  Long-term efforts by neighborhood advocates to improve the environment; make communities safe for young children; and ensure nearby access to parks, green spaces, and community amenities are seen as an inconvenient check on developers to build the maximum potential return on investment on every square foot they can acquire.

DIVIDE AND CONQUER

What to do?  The hedge funds realized a coordinated campaign of astroturfing could ensnare well-meaning housing advocates to embrace a dubious theory by reframing the argument.  By repeated messaging that zoning ordinances were the real enemy of housing affordability, they could convince stressed (as well as incentivized) politicians into stripping away the last impediments to unchecked corporate avarice.  In many cities, this messaging has worked.

 And to make sure it continues to work, the messaging often includes references to the very real historic racist redlining and discrimination, and by the use of the “NIMBYism” tag.  Also, by promoting a narrative of generational warfare, they are tapping into a deep well of anger and frustration that the economic landscape isn’t fair, which is absolutely based in reality.  These corporate oligarchs have been cynically taking advantage of the phenomena recently borne out that “Gen Z And Millennials [are] More Likely To Fall For Fake News Than Older People.”

 https://www.forbes.com/sites/conormurray/2023/06/28/gen-z-and-millennials-more-likely-to-fall-for-fake-news-than-older-people-test-finds/

 Of course credulity in the face of obvious lies and disinformation is a growing problem among all age groups, but by pitting young advocates for affordable housing against older community advocates who have been speaking out for environmental justice for decades has been as effective as the fossil fuel industry sowing doubt and confusion about climate change through well-funded disinformation campaigns, delaying action and leading to disastrous impacts on our lives and the environment.  And because, like climate change, the impacts of “upzoning” take time, developers have reaped a windfall in the short term, even as communities of color are bearing the brunt of this ill-conceive policy push.

ETHICS MATTER

The attorneys on the staff of the NM State Ethics Commission found that Albuquerque City Councilor Dan Lewis violated Subsection 10-16-4(C) by acquiring a financial interest in the Asphalt Pavement Association of New Mexico (APANM), being hired as its Executive Director, while at the same time attempting to silence the Albuquerque-Bernalillo County Air Quality Control Board which was scheduled to hold hearings regarding the planned expansion of polluting activities in Albuquerque’s South Valley by an APANM member.  Where corporate interests are concerned, Councilor Dan Lewis has been there for them.  So it is not surprising that Councilor Lewis sponsored this latest assault on the rights of neighborhood associations and sustainable, livable communities.  It is also not surprising that Lewis’ response to those who shed light on his unethical conduct are targeted in surreptitious email campaigns making false statements and sadly employing the straw man fallacy, obvious to anyone actually paying attention.  Unfortunately in this day and age, distractions abound.

Where zoning has been stripped of protections and thoughtful design standards, the hedge funds have pounced.  And the impact has been felt most severely in older neighborhoods with lower incomes, which are often predominately comprised of residents of marginalized ethnicities.  As owner-occupied homes are converted into rental units, community advocacy lessens, and as renters have less invested (although often more spent) in the long term viability of any particular neighborhood, they typically participate less in neighborhood advocacy organizations.

FLAT EARTH ZONING

Developers have been pushing for what can best be called flat-earth, cookie-cutter, one-size-fits-all zoning.  They claim that is the only way for them to make money.  Everything must become high-density. By building from the same designs over and over, they maximize their investment in standardized plans.  But this comes at a high price for communities.  Not only does this approach erode the unique character of neighborhoods and cities, it produces vast generic swaths of rental properties and corporate fast food, often devoid of the amenities that help young families or seniors, or really anyone, to live healthy lives or to enjoy their community.

 But the earth is not flat!  And this is especially so in western cities and towns with unique, and often dramatic, topography.  Mountains, rivers, bottomlands, riparian zones, rift valleys, high desert, and volcanoes are just some of the many features we have in Albuquerque that each require a more sensitive treatment in zoning to preserve these natural landscapes so that the whole community may best enjoy them in their daily life.  Abandoning zoning to “free market capitalism” rarely benefits the residents, but it does extract local wealth and funnels it to out-of-state shareholders.  Since developers make money when they build, if they convert vibrant, historic neighborhoods into a generic wasteland of perpetual rental monstrosities, it suits them just fine.  As cities loose their unique character and charm, their appeal as a destination for visitors and tourists declines.  The promised Utopia dissolves into corporate Generica.

WAKE UP CALL

 Fortunately, some cities have started to wake up from the developer pushed propaganda dream machine.  Denver, which had gone all-in on this supposed panacea, has recently halted its densification push in six predominantly Hispanic neighborhoods to keep them from unbridled gentrification.  Other cities are beginning to reevaluate this trendy obsession, too.

 But Albuquerque took the bait—hook, line, and sinker.  Even when faced with a legislative proposal under the shadow of surprise introduction over the holidays, no substantive community input, violation of its own rules, defiance of a court order, a councilor with a very real ethics conflict, and even associated criminal behavior in related zoning issues, only two of the nine councilors saw the proposal for what it really was: a corporate handout to hedge funds and developers, and a gut punch to democracy and community engagement.

 READ THE BILL

 The bill that passed does not mandate any affordable housing. In fact, the word “affordable” isn’t even mentioned anywhere in the bill.  The bill removes building height restrictions that apply to any “premises” within a quarter mile of certain roads, like Central.  Under Albuquerque’s Integrated Development Ordinance as amended, that can mean any building—a ten-story tall self-storage facility, massive data centers, 50 story hotels, and office skyscrapers looming in and over Old Town.

 Dan Lewis’ bill was designed to silence your voice.  If you are not a developer, he wants you to shut up and go away.  If you care about our parks and open space, he doesn’t want to hear it.  He’s perfectly happy to convert your historic neighborhood of pueblo deco bungalows into tall boxes blotting out your solar access and leaving your garden in permanent shade.  He gladly took away your use of public lands as a basis of standing to appeal any decision with the City.  Onerous provisions that violate the equal protection clauses of both the New Mexico and United States Constitutions unfairly burden neighborhood associations, while giving developers a pass, and for Dan Lewis and six of his fellow councilors, that’s just fine.  When hedge funds scoop up residential properties and convert them to over-priced low-quality rental units, Dan Lewis will be happy as a clam at high tide.

THE UPSIDE DOWN

 The downsides of up-zoning are many.  Especially in the arid Southwest, increasing urban density concentrates the heat island effect, and as the number of days over 100˚ F has dramatically increased, the localized heat is even more concentrated within densified urban zones.  Multi-unit buildings typically decrease the tree canopy, block cooling breezes in the summer, and reduce aquifer recharge, while they simultaneously increase the flood potential of climate change enhanced rain storms.  One need only look to Houston’s wild west no zoning approach to see the drownings and devastation that kill its residents and wash out whole blocks. Without thoughtful planning and well reasoned ordinances, the so called “free market” disproportionately impacts those with the fewest resources to recover.

Both Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus—the yellow-fever and tiger mosquitos—have been spreading both in response to climate change and within developments of greater urban density.   These invasive pests spread the diseases Zika, Dengue, Chikungunya, and even West Nile Virus to humans, and Dirofilariasis to dogs and cats.  Traditionally less dense communities are less favorable to pestilence, but infill reverses that.  So too, catastrophic wildfire is also more dangerous when populations are crowded together.  Wind-fueled fire events, like the current devastation in Los Angeles, the Marshall Fire in Colorado, and the Lahaina Fire on Maui, show the serious hazard potential in arid wind-prone locations.  Add to that increased infill and structure-to-structure fire spread, lessened off-street parking requirements, locally congested roads, and an inadequate patchwork of transit infrastructure, and the question is not if but when?

DON’T GET FOOLED AGAIN!

 If you were one of those fooled by the slick messaging of the predatory hedge funds and unscrupulous developers, don’t beat yourself up.  They spend millions on PR.  Affordable housing IS needed and long-term solutions are also needed for the un-housed.  But this bill only made those problems worse.

 If cities want to actually address housing affordability, then enact mandates for affordable housing. Subsidize maintenance for local landlords who accept vouchers.  Reserve land banks for subsidized affordable housing. Enforce codes for livable standards. Place limits on corporate owners of residential property and enact owner-occupied requirements.  There are solutions to these complex challenges, but the easy narrative spouted by developers and their financiers to trust them and give up your fundamental rights isn’t one of them. Rather than vilify the advocates of environmental justice at the neighborhood scale, please work with us in partnership to grow our communities sustainably. And before you believe the dubious claims of “The Great and Powerful” Councilor Lewis—look behind the curtain.  His corporate paymasters are there for all to see.

DINELLI ANALYSIS COMMENTARY

 It was on October 18, 2022 Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller set the goal for the City of Albuquerque to be involved with adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year.  According to Keller, city officials and the city council, the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city needs as many as 33,000 new housing units immediately.

During his news conference announcing his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” Keller emphasized the importance of amending the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).  Keller said this:

“Right now our zoning code will never allow us to meet the housing demand in the city … If you want a place to advocate, if you want a place to change policy, if you want a place to argue, it’s all about the IDO [Integrated Development Ordinance] .  …  The proposed changes are intended to be transformative, which is fitting for the crisis facing our local government, thousands of families in our community, and our housing partners.”

To add 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025, Keller proposed that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low-income housing.  The strategy included a zoning code “rebalance” to increase population density in established neighborhoods. It included allowing “casitas” which under the zoning code are known as “accessory dwelling” units and duplex development on existing housing and other major changes relating to parking and height restrictions.  It included “motel conversions” and conversion of existing commercial office space to housing.  It also included enactment of ordinances to regulate the rental and apartment industry and promoting city sanctioned tent encampments for the unhoused.

Allowing both casita and duplex development, increasing density in established neighborhoods, reducing parking  requirements in new developments as well as allowing increases in height restrictions were all changes strongly supported and lobbied for by the development community. The local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) lobbied heavily in favor of Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”.  NAIOP is considered the most influential business organization in the city consisting of developers, investors and contractors with membership in excess 300 with many bidding on city contracts.  NAIOP has its own politcal action committee and the organization endorses candidates for Mayor and City Council while the membership donates to candidates.

ENACTMENT OF CITY COUNCIL BILL NO. O-24-69

On January 6, the Albuquerque City Council enacted city ordinance O-24-69 voting 7 to 2 making extensive amendments to the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). The bill aims to increase housing along the ART Bus route as well as main street corridors like 4th Street and Broadway through zoning changes to allow more multi-family developments and new restrictions on how those projects can be appealed by property owners and neighborhood associations. The ultimate goal of the amendments enacted  is  to ease the burden of getting residential and commercial developments approved by the city  and to  allow duplexes, townhouses and multifamily housing along key streets and heavily traveled areas of the city.

Passage of the legislation amending the IDO was justified by city officials and city councilors as a need to add affordable housing and streamlining  the development process. City officials have argue that at least 5,000 people are experiencing some form of homelessness and the city needs to add at least 15,000 units to its housing inventory to satisfy demand. Simply put, the enactment of the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance as embodied by Council Bill No. O-24-69 was nothing more than a continuation of Mayor Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”.  It is not at all likely that the adopted changes to the IDO will spur development of affordable housing. The actions and rush job by the Albuquerque City Council to enact the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance was feckless and  about as underhanded as it gets and a breach of trust by elected officials.

The city council bill making amendments to the IDO, was introduced on December 16 by City Council President Dan Lewis and he did not refer the legislation to any committee for review, hearings and public comment as is normally done. The council scheduled final action and a final vote on the ordinance for January 6, 2025 where upwards of 10 amendments were offered and debated for hours by city councilors. The action of City Council President Dan Lewis of introducing the legislation and then scheduling it for final action within weeks without committee hearings was as nefarious as it gets and nothing more than the city council gutting the rights and remedies of property owners in favor of developers.

The housing shortage is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans. The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. Simply put, the City Council has declared  a “housing crisis” in order to shove amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance   down the throats of the city residents and property owners and to gut the rights of neighborhood associations. It not at all likely developers will want to invest in affordable housing.

The link to a related guest column 

Mike Voorhees Guest Opinion Column: “ABQ City Councilor Dan Lewis Sponsors Sinister Legislation to Gut Your Rights and Silence Neighborhoods To Favor Developers; Lewis Violates Both Court Order and Settlement Agreement”; Lewis Needs To Go; Tell City Council To Vote NO On Lewis Council Bill No. O-24-69

 

 

 

On Sunday January 6, the Albuquerque Journal announced major changes to its Editorial Opinion Page. The paper now features 5 types of opinion columns submitted for publication: those by the paper’s Editorial Board, those by the paper’s Community Council, those by Syndicated Columnists, those by Local Columnists and those by Local Voices.  “Local Columnists are tasked with carrying a heavy load of responsibility to help readers scrutinize issues impacting them, their community and their country. It is the Journals goal to publish columnists from all walks of life and varying political viewpoints to give readers exposure to all sides of local issues.”

On January 16, the Albuquerque Journal published the below “Local Columnist” guest column:

HEADLINE:  “City Council Should Claw Back Bogus Bonuses Paid To City Employees”

BY PETE DINELLI, LOCAL COLUMNIST

The Office of the Inspector General of the city of Albuquerque is an independent City Hall entity. It is responsible for detecting waste, fraud and abuse in City Hall expenditures and deterring criminal activity through independent investigations.

The OIG issued an investigation report which found that a group of City Hall employees, including top administrators in Mayor Tim Keller’s Family & Community Services Department, received improper bonuses using money intended to sustain “childcare providers” during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The OIG found “questionable expenditures” of federal grant funds to 27 employees between 2021-23. In total, $287,972.77 was distributed to 27 city employees, a majority who worked outside the Family & Community Services Department.

Bonuses, called premium payments, of up to $22,498 were paid to City Hall employees who earned $32,469 to $123,490 annually. The highest bonus of $22,498 went to the Child and Family Development division manager. The position pays $88,000 annually and before the “premium pay.”

The source of the funding for the bonuses paid came from the federal American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 for childcare stabilization grants. The grants were intended for funding childcare providers and to defray unexpected business costs associated with the pandemic and to help stabilize their operations “so that they may continue to provide (child) care.”

The premium payment bonuses were $3,878.99 to $22,498.03, with the highest payments given to office assistants, fiscal analysts, a fiscal manager, a facilities operations coordinator, and a child and family development division manager.

In July 2022, 23 of the 27 employees received a bonus of either $3,878 or $8,533. In December of the same year, 14 employees received bonuses ranging from $5,400 to $13,000. All bonus premium payments were reviewed and approved by Mayor Tim Keller’s chief administration officer at the time, either Sarita Nair or Lawrence Rael.

On Jan. 2, the Accountability in Government Oversight Committee, which is comprised of community members appointed by Mayor Tim Keller and the City Council, met. They voted not to approve the OIG report proclaiming the OIG “lacked sufficient jurisdiction under the city’s Inspector General ordinance to investigate one or more of the allegations.”

Their vote was a whitewash of nefarious conduct by the Tim Keller administration. The city ordinance that created OIG provides its goals, including to “prevent and detect fraud, waste, and abuse in city activities.”

Simply put, it was waste, fraud, abuse and government corruption that the Keller administration approved the payment of bonuses to City Hall officials of $5,400 to $22,000 by using funding from childcare stabilization grants intended to give financial relief to childcare providers and defray unexpected business costs associated with the pandemic.

The Keller administration’s excuse that there was no intent to do anything wrong and that it did not have direction from the federal government on where to appropriate the funds rings very hollow and is very disingenuous. The Keller administration made absolutely no effort to seek guidance on what they could do with the funds.

The blunt truth is Mayor Tim Keller, and his executive staff, saw a pool of federal money they could divert and give out as bonuses to reward 27 City Hall employees to the tune of $287,972.77. The federal grant funds were accepted and approved by the council for use and were intended exclusively for early childhood programs as outlined in the grant’s description.

Therefore, the City Council has the authority to enact a resolution requiring the return of the $287,972.77 by those who were paid the bonuses. Anything less would be the City Council condoning the Keller administration’s nefarious conduct.

Pete Dinelli is an Albuquerque resident and former Albuquerque city councilor. You can read his daily news and commentary blog at PeteDinelli.com.

The link to the Albuquerque Journal column with photo is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/opinion/article_6dd0cd68-ce0d-11ef-94ff-2b3999a15149.html

The link the related blog article is here:

City Inspector General Finds Keller Administration Paid Out $280,000 In Covid Grant Funds Intended For Child Care To Pay Bonuses To 28  Keller City Officials; Referral Made To US Attorney; Keller Administration Lashes Out; Council Should Vote Requiring “Claw Back” Refunds From Those Paid

On January 20, President Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as the 47^th  President of the United States. Trump has said he would not be a dictator “except for Day 1” when he intends to issue an extensive number of “executive orders”. According to one news report, Trump is preparing more than 100 executive orders starting Day One, in what amounts to a shock-and-awe campaign on border security, deportations and a rush of other policy priorities.

https://apnews.com/article/trump-day-one-border-executive-actions-30f78c3c983ae74555f281446fe22710

TRUMP’S DAY ONE INITIATIVES

On December 26, the online news agency AXIOS,  that covers Politics and Policy, published a short but remarkable article entitled “Trump’s first day frenzy: Everything he promised to do on “day one” written by AXIOS staff reporters  Zachary Basu and Erin Davis. Following is an edited version of the article:

President-elect Trump is setting the stage for an explosive first day in office: pardons for Jan. 6 rioters, a vacuum sealing of the southern border and a massive regulatory rollback affecting vast swathes of the American economy.

Why it matters: The tone of the next four years will be set on Day One. Trump and his transition — armed with a cannon of executive orders — are preparing an early shock-and-awe campaign to lay the foundation for his ambitious second term.

The big picture: Trump’s Day One promises largely fall under three themes:

1. IMMIGRATION:

No issue has defined Trump’s political identity more than his crusade against illegal immigration, particularly after border crossings surged to record highs under President Biden.

• A brain trust of West Wing border hawks, led by Stephen Miller and former acting ICE director Tom Homan, will help unleash a flurry of executive orders ending Biden’s temporary “parole” programs, restarting construction of the border wall and suspending refugee admissions.
• Trump is hellbent on immediately launching the largest deportation operation in U.S. history, despite the logistical challenges. Watch out for a Day One photo op flexing the new administration’s deportation muscle.
• The president-elect has also vowed to issue an executive order ending birthright citizenship, setting up a constitutional clash over the 14th Amendment that could wind up at the Supreme Court.

2. RED MEAT FOR MAGA: 

The second bucket of executive orders will seek to institutionalize the conservative culture wars that have dominated Republican politics over the last few years.

• Top priorities for Day One include a ban on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programs and requirements across the federal government, and pardons for supporters convicted for breaking into the Capitol on January 6.
• Trump, whose campaign spent millions of dollars on anti-trans ads, also wants to use executive action to ban trans women from women’s sports, though the exact mechanism for doing so is not yet clear.

3. BIG BUSINESS:

 CEO and investor confidence has soared in the wake of the election, as Corporate America revels in Trump’s promise to slash 10 regulations for every new one introduced during the Biden administration.

• Trump has vowed to expedite permits for drilling and fracking, even if it means acting like a “dictator” for one day. Inauguration will also start the clock on his one-year goal of reducing energy prices by 50%.

• Trump plans to aggressively target Biden’s climate policies by cutting off support for electric vehicles and rolling back emissions standards, as well as any “job-killing” regulations affecting automakers.
• Wall Street, meanwhile, is working feverishly to persuade Trump not to impose sweeping tariffs on U.S. trading partners — but he seems intent on ushering in a new era of MAGA protectionism as quickly as possible.

Between the lines: Many of Trump’s sweeping promises will require the support of Congress. Others have proven to be hyperbole, which Trump himself has acknowledged.

• “It’s hard to bring [prices] down once they’re up. You know, it’s very hard,” the president-elect told NBC’s “Meet the Press,” despite constantly pledging to crush inflation on the campaign trail.
• Trump has also tamped down his talk of settling the Russia-Ukraine war within 24 hours of taking office, telling reporters last week that peace may even be “more difficult” than ending the Israel-Hamas war.”

The AXIOS article provides an extensive list of the things Donald Trump has said he will do on day one in office compiled from 122 speeches, press conferences and interviews that Trump did  from January 1, 2023, to December 6, 2024.

https://www.axios.com/2024/12/26/trump-first-day-executive-orders

REPORTS ON DAY ONE PROMISES

Following is an edited and more detailed breakdown of Trump’s most extreme day one promises as reported by MSNBC News and the PBS News agencies:

SETTLE THE WAR BETWEEN RUSSIA AND UKRAINE

Trump has repeatedly said he could settle the war between Russia and Ukraine in one day. When asked to respond to the claim, Russia’s U.N. ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, said “the Ukrainian crisis cannot be solved in one day.”

Trump press secretary Karoline Leavitt told Fox News after Trump was declared the winner of the election that he would now be able to “negotiate a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine.” She later said, “It includes, on Day 1, bringing Ukraine and Russia to the negotiating table to end this war.”

Russia invaded Ukraine nearly three years ago. Trump, who makes no secret of his admiration for Russian President Vladimir Putin, has criticized the Biden administration for giving money to Ukraine to fight the war.

At a CNN town hall in May 2023, Trump said: “They’re dying, Russians and Ukrainians. I want them to stop dying. And I’ll have that done — I’ll have that done in 24 hours.” He said that would happen after he met with Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy and Putin.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

IMMIGRATION

[Speaking  at his Madison Square Garden rally in New York, Trump said this:

“On Day 1, I will launch the largest deportation program in American history to get the criminals out. I will rescue every city and town that has been invaded and conquered, and we will put these vicious and bloodthirsty criminals in jail, then kick them the hell out of our country as fast as possible.”]

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

Trump has [also] said he intends  to carry out “the largest mass deportation program” in the country’s history beginning on Day 1 of his presidency. It is totally unclear just how a such a large-scale operation will be executed, but immigration officials have said it would be a huge logistical and financial effort. Economists have also warned that such a program would cause an “economic disaster” for the U.S., which relies heavily on migrant labor. Trump told NBC News in November that there would be “no price tag” for his mass deportation plans.

In a move that could face a prolonged legal fight, the president-elect has also said that he wants to end birthright citizenship through executive action on his first day to deny citizenship to U.S.-born children of undocumented immigrants. Birthright citizenship is a protection enshrined in the U.S. Constitution, but Trump has said that he would consider changing the Constitution to rescind the rule. And amending the Constitution is a power that lies with Congress, not the president.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-day-one-deportations-jan-6-pardons-tariffs-rcna185019

TARIFFS

Trump has vowed to sign an executive order imposing steep tariffs on goods from some of the U.S.’ largest trading partners on the first day of his presidency.

In a Truth Social post in November, he threatened to charge a 25% tariff on imports from Canada and Mexico as punishment for what he called the “open borders” through which people are “bringing Crime and Drugs at levels never seen before.”

“This Tariff will remain in effect until such time as Drugs, in particular Fentanyl, and all Illegal Aliens stop this Invasion of our Country!” he wrote. “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. We hereby demand that they use this power, and until such time that they do, it is time for them to pay a very big price!”

During his campaign, Trump promised to impose a 60% tariff on goods from China. In late November, he further vowed to charge China an additional 10% tariff on imports as retaliation for “the massive amounts of drugs, in particular Fentanyl, being sent into the United States.”

Trump has also threatened to raise tariffs on countries in the European Union if they don’t increase their purchases of American oil and gas.

The president-elect has a history of pitching steeper tariffs on foreign countries as a way to protect American businesses, to generate federal revenue, to restrict illegal immigration and to encourage companies abroad to manufacture goods in the U.S.

However, many experts have said that tariff hikes will ultimately be a burden on U.S. consumers. Contrary to Trump’s claim that foreign companies pay for increased tariffs, it is in fact the American businesses that import goods from abroad that would foot the bill, and they are more likely than not to offload those additional costs onto the consumer.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-day-one-deportations-jan-6-pardons-tariffs-rcna185019

Trump would likely not need Congress to impose these tariffs, as was clear in 2018, when he imposed them on steel and aluminum imports without going through lawmakers by citing Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962. That law, according to the Congressional Research Service, gives a president the power to adjust tariffs on imports that could affect U.S. national security, an argument Trump has made.

“We’re being invaded by Mexico,” Trump said at a rally in North Carolina this month. Speaking about the new president of Mexico, Claudia Sheinbaum, Trump said: “I’m going to inform her on Day 1 or sooner that if they don’t stop this onslaught of criminals and drugs coming into our country, I’m going to immediately impose a 25 percent tariff on everything they send into the United States of America.”

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

PARDON JANUARY 6 RIOTERS

More than 1,500 people have been charged since a mob of Trump supporters were ginned  up by Trump to attacked the Capitol on January 6 , 202.  Trump launched his general election campaign by not merely trying to rewrite the history of that riot, but positioning the violent siege and failed attempt to overturn the 2020 election as a cornerstone of his bid to return to the White House. As part of that, he called the rioters “unbelievable patriots” and promised to help them “the first day we get into office.” As president, Trump can pardon anyone convicted in federal court, District of Columbia Superior Court or in a military court-martial. He can stop the continued prosecution of rioters by telling his attorney general to stand down.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

He has called the insurrection “a day of love” and cast the rioters as “patriots” who were “horribly and unfairly treated.” In an interview with NBC News, he also did not rule out pardoning individuals who pleaded guilty to their crimes, including assaulting police officers, saying that they “had no choice.” Trump told Time magazine in December that his administration would be looking “at each individual case,” starting “in the first hour that I get into office.”

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-day-one-deportations-jan-6-pardons-tariffs-rcna185019

ENERGY REGULATIONS AND CLIMATE POLICIES

Trump is looking to reverse climate policies aimed at reducing planet-warming greenhouse gas emissions.  With an executive order on Day 1, he can roll back environmental protections, halt wind projects, scuttle the Biden administration’s targets that encourage the switch to electric cars and abolish standards for companies to become more environmentally friendly.  He has pledged to increase production of U.S. fossil fuels, promising to “drill, drill, drill,” when he gets into office on Day 1 and seeking to open the Arctic wilderness to oil drilling, which he claims would lower energy costs.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

However, revoking regulations cannot be done simply with the sweep of a pen: The Environmental Protection Agency is required to go through a notice-and-comment process — which can take years — to do so, and the Trump administration will likely face fierce pushback from environmental organizations in courts.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-day-one-deportations-jan-6-pardons-tariffs-rcna185019

ROLL BACK PROTECTIONS FOR TRANSGENDER STUDENTS

Trump said during the campaign that he would roll back Biden administration action seeking to protect transgender students from discrimination in schools on the first day of his new administration. Opposition to transgender rights was central to the Trump campaign’s closing argument. His campaign ran an ad in the final days of the race against Vice President Kamala Harris in which a narrator said: “Kamala is for they/them. President Trump is for you.”

The Biden administration announced new Title IX protections in April that made clear treating transgender students differently from their classmates is discrimination. Trump responded by saying he would roll back those changes, pledging to do some on the first day of his new administration and specifically noting he has the power to act without Congress.

“We’re going to end it on Day 1,” Trump said in May. “Don’t forget, that was done as an order from the president. That came down as an executive order. And we’re going to change it — on Day 1 it’s going to be changed.”

It is unlikely Trump will stop there.

Speaking at a Wisconsin rally in June, Trump said “on Day 1″ he would “sign a new executive order” that would cut federal money for any school “pushing critical race theory, transgender insanity and other inappropriate racial, sexual or political content onto the lives of our children.”

Trump hasn’t said how he would try to cut schools’ federal money, and any widespread rollback would require action from Congress.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-

Trump made several promises to crack down on transgender rights upon his return to office. He said he would cut federal funding for schools that teach “critical race theory” and what he called “transgender insanity.” He also said he would bar trans women from competing in women’s sports, fueling an issue that conservatives have framed as a widespread threat to cisgender women but in reality is supported by scant evidence.  Research has shown that such rhetoric and threats to further disenfranchise trans people have a demonstrably negative impact on a community that is estimated to make up less than 1% of the U.S. population. After Trump’s win in November, several LGBTQ advocacy organizations reported a surge in calls to their crisis hotlines.

https://www.msnbc.com/top-stories/latest/trump-day-one-deportations-jan-6-pardons-tariffs-rcna185019

DISMANTLE THE ‘DEEP STATE’ OF GOVERNMENT WORKERS

Trump could begin the process of stripping tens of thousands of career employees of their civil service protections, so they could be more easily fired.He wants to do two things: drastically reduce the federal workforce, which he has long said is an unnecessary drain, and to “totally obliterate the deep state” — perceived enemies who, he believes, are hiding in government jobs.

Within the government, there are hundreds of politically appointed professionals who come and go with administrations. There also are tens of thousands of “career” officials, who work under Democratic and Republican presidents. They are considered apolitical workers whose expertise and experience help keep the government functioning, particularly through transitions.

Trump wants the ability to convert some of those career people into political jobs, making them easier to dismiss and replace with loyalists. He would try to accomplish that by reviving a 2020 executive order known as “Schedule F.” The idea behind the order was to strip job protections from federal workers and create a new class of political employees. It could affect roughly 50,000 of 2.2 million civilian federal employees.

Democratic President Joe Biden rescinded the order when he took office in January 2021. But Congress failed to pass a bill protecting federal employees. The Office of Personnel Management, the federal government’s chief human resources agency, finalized a rule last spring against reclassifying workers, so Trump might have to spend months — or even years — unwinding it.

Trump has said he has a particular focus on “corrupt bureaucrats who have weaponized our justice system” and “corrupt actors in our national security and intelligence apparatus.”

Beyond the firings, Trump wants to crack down on government officials who leak to reporters. He also wants to require that federal employees pass a new civil service test.

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/politics/what-trump-has-said-he-will-do-on-day-1

COMMENTARY

It was the economy and inflation that swept Trump to a decisive victory. Exit polls showed that the voting public were extremely disgruntled if not downright hostile with the direction the country is going, with inflation out of control. Voters were far more were concerned about making a decent living, angered over grocery and gas prices, as opposed to any threat Trump posed to democracy. Voters simply believed they were better off when Trump was President the first time believing all his lies. Voters chose to forget the 4 years of total chaos Trump brought upon the county and his failure to deal with the pandemic that killed millions worldwide and in the United States and that had a strangle hold on the country and that destroyed the economy.

In the end, voters simply ignored Trumps flawed character, the multimillion dollar civil judgements against him for sexual assault and slander, his criminal conduct in the private sector and while in office, his fraud in securing millions in loans in New York, the  multiple state criminal convictions and pending federal criminal charges, his two impeachments, his misogyny,  his racism, his threat to democracy, his attempt to overthrow the government with all his lies that the election was rigged and stolen from him, his attacks on woman’s rights and civil rights, his partiality to racists groups such as the Proud Boys, his promotion of racist policies and his cult following of Christian fundamentalist who totally ignored his immorality, multiple marriages and affairs and praised him as the second coming.

Trump will be our President come January 20 and there will be a peaceful transfer of power, unlike 4 years ago when Trump promoted an insurrection. The country will get the President it has elected. Voters will get a clown car of a cabinet filled with people who have no business being appointed and whose goal is to destroy the very agencies they will head. The reality is that with his executive appointments he is following the conservative  Project 2025 agenda to the tee. (See postscript below on Project 2025).

There may be a peaceful transition of power, but come January 20, four years of total chaos will commence. Trump has already said he can only serve another term but hinted that may change if people really want to change that.  With Trumps announced appointments, it his clear he intends to gut the Department of Justice, the military leadership, our health care system and dismantle government to carry out his personal vendetta.

Trump and his Republican Party will overreach declaring they have a mandate to do whatever they damn well want with no guard rails. Trumps selections for cabinet positions also indicate there will be no checks and balances from congress in that some Senate Republicans are already indicating a willingness to forego their “advise and consent” of appointments an allow for “recess appointments”.  There will be no intervention from the Trump appointed Supreme Court of right-wing conservative disciples who have given him immunity from prosecution making him above the law.

As the saying goes elections have consequences. But that includes unintended consequences. Trumps agenda will go way beyond what people thought they were voting for. It’s not at all likely voters will be any better off financially than they are now in two years under a Trump second presidency let alone the 4 years to come. His imposition of tariffs and the effects of mass deportation on the agricultural work force will have an impact as will corporate greed and refusal to reduce consumer prices. It may be the “economy stupid” but in reality a President can do little to bring down the cost of goods and services which is subject to the laws of market  supply and demand, and corporate profits and sure greed.

It’s only a matter of time before the general public turns on Trump as they did 4 years ago once they realize they have been had once again.  The public turned on  Republican President George W. Bush after he was elected by a popular vote and the Republicans lost congress. It will happen again. Voters have now voted for the return of chaos. Based on Trump’s agenda, and his cabinet appointments, chaos is exactly what we will get with millions getting hurt in the process. This is what happens when the big lies replace reality and personal finances outweigh preservation of our democracy.

Throughout his successful campaign, Trump campaigned on the idea that he would “rescue our middle class” and fight for the average American. Now that he has been elected,  its clear from his day one plans he intends to sow chaos,  controversy  and divide the American people even further than we are now.

Links to related blog articles are here:

Trump’s “Clown Car” Appointments Will Seek Trump’s Revenge On Department of Justice, Fire Military Hierarchy, Endanger Public Health And Compromise Nations Intelligence And Security; Trump Relies On Oligarchs To Systematically Dismantle Government; Trump Wants Recess Appointments To Avoid Senate Confirmation Hearings

 

Trump’s Second Administration Packed With Project 2025 Architects And Authors; Their Ultimate Goal Is To Systematically Dismantle Federal Government And Give Trump Unfettered And Total  Control Of Government

Trump’s Billionaire and Millionaire Appointments; Oligarchs Will Be Running And Representing The Country And Be Damned The Average American  

The 2025 New Mexico legislative session begins January 21 and ends on March 22, 2025.  It is referred to as the  60-day long session where legislators are free to introduce what they want unlike 30 day sessions limited to what the Governor places on the agenda.

On January 10, Speaker of the House Javier Martinez accompanied by House Majority Leader Szczepanski,  D-Santa Fe, House Majority Whip Dayan Hockman-Vigil, D-Alb., and House Judiciary Committee Chairwoman Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, held a press conference in Albuquerque’s historical Martineztown  to discuss the top priorities Democrats  intend to address during the upcoming 2025 legislative session. Democrats are entering the 2025 session with a 43-26 majority in the House.

The Democratic House leadership are proposing a wide ranging agenda that includes legislation to improve public education, boosting the state’s economy, public safety initiatives, tax relief and creation of an of an independent office of the Child Advocate with the New Mexico Department of Justice. The only major announcements on what to do with the state’s historic revenue surplus dealt with the state’s behavioral health system and tax relief.  Nothing was  said about using the historic surplus for  major capital improvement or infrastructure outlays.

BREAKDOWN OF PROPOSED LEGISLATIVE AGENDA

Following is a summary of the proposed legislative agenda as proposed by the Democrat House leadership:

PUBLIC SAFETY

• Continued investments in law enforcement and communities to address root causes of crime.
• Addressing juvenile crime.
• Reducing gun violence.
• Tightening up DWI laws and addressing reckless drivers who endanger New Mexicans.
• Increasing punishments for certain heinous crimes like human trafficking and improving our services for victims of these crimes.
• Increasing penalties for fentanyl traffickers.
• Creating more avenues for people involved in our criminal justice system who are in need of treatment to get the help they need.
• Putting a $200 million down payment on rebuilding New Mexico’s behavioral health infrastructure.

CHILD WELL-BEING

• Continued investments in education, from cradle to career.
• Creating an independent Office of the Child Advocate within the New Mexico Department of Justice to better protect children’s rights to privacy, health care, and education.
• Demanding greater accountability, transparency, and oversight from the Children, Youth and Family’s Department (CYFD).

ECONOMIC RELIEF/AFFORDABILITY

• Investing in New Mexico communities and supporting their small, local businesses.
• Investing significantly in improving access to affordable housing and healthcare.
• Relieving the pressures of inflation by cutting taxes for middle-class
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0CKZGnwR4cYNew Mexicans, so people can keep more of their hard-earned dollars

A link to the quoted news source is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-2025-legislative-session/63397777

FILLING IN THE GAPS

During the January 10 press conference Speaker of the House Javier Martinez said much of the legislation proposed will prioritize making New Mexicans safer.  Speaker Martínez said this:

“This legislative session we will be focusing on making life better and more affordable for you and your family.”

REFORMING CYFD

One major priority announcement that is sure to cause controversy with Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham is reform of the beleaguered Children Youth and Family Department (CYFD). The Governor has strenuously opposed similar measures in recent years.

Speaker Martinez revealed House Democrats are planning to address the longstanding issues at the CYFD and the way the embattled state department handles child abuse cases. Martinez says it’s time to bring in oversight with a new Office of the Child Advocate inside the New Mexico Department of Justice.

Speaker Martínez said this:

“The agency is broken, and our children need help. We will propose the creation of an independent office of the child advocate within the New Mexico Department of Justice and we will bring and demand greater accountability, transparency, and oversight from this critically important agency. … The idea behind the Office of a Child Advocate is to have an independent voice for those children and not require a full out lawsuit to be able to get data, to get information, to get, sometimes, just basic facts of a particular case.”

Reforming CYFD is not a new idea. State Senate Republican lawmakers have been calling for increased CYFD oversight for past few  years but faced serious hesitation from Democrat leaders and strong opposition from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

PUBLIC SAFETY

The 4 Democratic House leaders made it clear  that a top priority for the upcoming session  is public safety. This includes supporting law enforcement and investing money into communities to address crime at its roots. Rep. Christine Chandler, D-Los Alamos, the House Judiciary Committee’s chairwoman, said House Democrats will push for crime-related proposals during the 2025 legislative session including tougher penalties for human trafficking, shooting threats and fentanyl distribution.

Chandler said the following  will  be top priorities:

• Changes to the juvenile justice system and  prevention of  youth crime
• Changes to the state’s red flag gun law, which allows law enforcement to temporarily seize weapons from individuals deemed to pose a threat to themselves or others,
• A push to tighten DWI laws
• Increasing  punishments for crimes related to human trafficking

Rep. Christine Chandler said this:

“Our efforts in the upcoming session will be focused on holding violent criminals accountable, preventing recidivism, [and] improving our behavioral health care and substance use treatment systems. … We all know how much more work needs to be done. … We expect much of this agenda to make its way quickly through both chambers and to the governor’s desk. … Addressing juvenile crime to prevent our youth from becoming involved in crime, whether as victims or as perpetrators, reducing gun violence by making necessary red flag laws, and addressing gun threats in our schools.”

BEHAVIORAL HEALTH

The 4 Democratic House leaders announced efforts to address behavioral health.  They said they are ready to rebuild New Mexico’s behavioral health system, something that has been asked for by city and state leaders in recent years especially to deal with the homeless.

State Rep. Reena Szczepanski, the new House Floor Leader, said House Democrats are proposing a $200 million investment to increase capacity and address a backlog of behavioral health patients across the state and to provide mental health and substance abuse treatment programs.

Szczepanski  said $200 million from a the  state’s  historic revenue windfall could be earmarked for improving the state’s behavioral health system. The  $200 million would be deposited in a new state trust fund and could be used to build new facilities and recruit additional providers.  Szczepanski  described the state’s current behavioral health facilities as understaffed and overwhelmed and she said this:

“No one should have to make 10 calls for an appointment for themselves or for a loved one. … “We’re starting to make progress strengthening those systems, but we’re still a long way from where we need to be. This is a wrong that we must make right. Every New Mexican should be able to get help when and where they need it.”

Speaker  Javier Martinez for his part said the  behavioral health-related bills will be prioritized in the first 30 days to make sure lawmakers have time to get them to the governor’s desk before the session ends.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/democratic-leaders-lay-out-priorities-ahead-of-60-day-legislative-session/

TAX RELIEF

During the January 10, press conference, the House Leadership said the state’s budget surplus could be used to provide tax relief to New Mexicans, and they said  they will push specifically for tax cuts for middle-income residents. Those changes could include an expansion of a tax break called the Low-Income Comprehensive Tax Rebate, which is currently offered to individuals with a modified gross income of $36,000 or less per year.

Links to relied upon or  quoted news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-2025-legislative-session/63397777

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/democratic-leaders-share-top-policy-priorities-ahead-of-legislative-session/

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/democratic-leaders-lay-out-priorities-ahead-of-60-day-legislative-session/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_5d3a9652-cf7d-11ef-988d-831e0ce8d646.html

GOV. MLG RELEASES FISCAL YEAR 26 EXECUTIVE BUDGET

On December 13, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham released her proposed budget for Fiscal Year 25 – 26.  According to the Governor’s office, the proposed budget builds on her first 6 years in office while boosting investments in health care, child well-being and infrastructure across New Mexico.

The Governor’s budget recommendation includes $10.9 billion in recurring spending which is an increase of 5.3% over current year spending. The budget contains an additional $172 million for state employee pay raises, which includes additional compensation for New Mexico educators. The executive recommendation maintains reserves at 30.4%.

Lujan Grisham’s budget recommendation includes $3.33 billion in reserves or 30.4%, through FY26 while the State has $10.9 billion in recurring spending.

The Governor’s proposed budget includes the following major line items:

• $4.56 billion for the Public Education Department
• $2.2 billion for the Health Care Authority
• $1.4 billion for the Higher Education Department
• $365 million for the Early Childhood Education and Care Department
• $352 for the Department of Corrections
• $286 million for Children, Youth and Families Department
• $268 million for courts
• $211 million for the Department of Health
• $196 million for the Department of Public Safety
• $81 million for the Public Defender’s office
• $41.5 million for the State Engineer’s Office
• $26.3 million for the Tourism Department
• $13.5 million for the Workforce Solutions Department

The budget proposal includes $172 million for state employee pay raises. These raises are included for educators also.

ESTIMATED $892.3 MILLION IN “NEW MONEY” PROJECTED FOR STATE

On December 9, the Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) held one of its last regularly scheduled meetings before the 2025 legislative session that begins on January 21, 2025. The LFC is made up of legislators from each chamber in budget-writing committees. Senate Finance Committee chairman Sen. George Muñoz, D-Gallup, chairs the LFC. House Appropriations and Finance Committee chairman Nathan Small, D-Las Cruces, serves as vice chair.

The revenue estimates released will be used as a roadmap as lawmakers begin drafting a budget for the fiscal year that starts in July 2025. The budget surplus is part of a multi-year revenue bonanza, fueled primarily by record-high oil and natural gas productions in southeast New Mexico’s Permian Basin. New Mexico is the second-largest oil producer in the nation, behind only Texas, and oil and gas revenue make up about 35% of the state’s total revenue collections, according to legislative data. The two southeast New Mexico counties of Eddy and Lea make up one-third of the state’s gross receipts tax revenue, despite making up only about 6.3% of the state’s population.

New revenue estimates released by LFC financial analysts are projecting that legislators will have $892.3 million in “new money” available next year. The “new money” projection figure represents the difference between projected revenue and current total spending levels.  The $892.3 million figure is upwards of $233 million more than was projected in August of this year. In all, the nearly $13.6 billion in projected revenue for the coming budget year is roughly $3.4 billion more than the state’s $10.2 billion budget.

While state spending has increased, lawmakers have also set aside millions of dollars from the revenue windfall in trust funds. The money in those funds is then invested for future use. An early childhood trust fund established with a $300 million appropriation in 2020 has ballooned to a projected $9.6 billion balance in the current fiscal year.

The state’s reliance on oil-generated dollars has been tempered in large part by lawmakers funneling much of the revenue bonanza into trust funds. That funding is then invested for future use. The  investment earnings are set to surpass personal income taxes as the state’s second-largest revenue source this year.

HISTORY OF SURGING REVENUES

New Mexico revenue levels have surged to record-high levels in recent years amid an ongoing oil drilling boom. The state’s record-high levels of revenue for the past 10 years is as follows:

• 2017 — $6.5 billion
• 2018 — $6.9 billion
• 2019 — $7.8 billion
• 2020 — $8.2 billion
• 2021 — $8 billion
• 2022 — $8.8 billion
• 2023 — $10.9 billion
• 2024 — $13.2 billion
• 2025 — $13.3 billion
• 2026 — $13.6 billion

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/article_4f85ed8c-b645-11ef-912f-8b5314e188f7.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

With just a few days before the 2025 Legislative session, New Mexico House leaders  are saying  they’re optimistic that their proposed legislative agenda  will move forward with bipartisan support. Speaker  Martínez said this:

“I’m hopeful and I fully expect that compromise can be reached on …  a host of a variety of issues.”

It is promising to see the New Mexico House Democrat leadership  proposing legislation before the session starts.  However, it was somewhat disappointing that they limited themselves  to what should be done with the historic revenue surplus to the mental health system and tax relief. The 2025 New Mexico legislative session will again be hot and heavy on how to spend the historic surpluses, and they should be spent on major capital improvement projects.

There is indeed a lengthy list on what the surplus can be spent upon. The list includes:

Major infrastructure needs such as roads and bridge repair, funding for wastewater projects, dams and acequia projects, the courts, law enforcement and the criminal justice system, funding for our behavioral health care system, job creation endeavors, economic development programs, funding for the Public Employee Retirement funds to deal with underfunded liabilities and benefits should all be topics of discussion during the upcoming 2025 legislative session. All merit serious consideration and funding with the historic surplus.

NOT PUBLIC EDUCATION THIS TIME

Public education is always at the top of the list for funding. However, public education is a reoccurring expenditure that must rely on continuing taxation. During her first term, Govern Lujan Grisham undertook to fully fund the state’s efforts to reform the State’s public education system and she was highly successful.  Lujan Grisham succeeded in securing over $1 Billion dollars for public education during the 2019, 2020, 2021 and 2022 legislative sessions.

In addition to the dramatic increases in public education funding, Lujan Grisham administration created the Early Childhood Department, issued mandates to the Children, Youth and Families and Public Education departments.  An Early Childhood Trust Fund of $320 million was also created.  The base pay for teachers has been increased by upwards of 20% and have risen to $50,000, $60,000 and $70,000 depending on the level of years of teacher experience.

Given the enormous amounts the state is now spending on education and what the state will be spending because of the enacted constitutional amendment, the $3.8 billion surplus would be better spent elsewhere and not on public education.

MAJOR CAPITAL OUTLAY PROJECTS SHOULD BE IN THE MIX

Whenever surpluses in state revenues occur,  fiscal conservatives always begin to salivate and proclaim all taxation is bad and that rebates and tax reform are desperately needed and the only way to spend the surpluses. The tired and old political dogma  has always been that tax revenues are the people’s money and anything in excess of what is actually needed over and above essential government services should be returned to the taxpayer. It is a short-sighted philosophy believing that only essential, basic services should be funded with taxpayer money such as public safety.

If that were the case, there would be no public libraries, no museums, no zoos, no mass transit expansions and no memorial monuments.

What all too often is totally ignored because lack of revenues are major capital outlay projects that are for the benefit of the public and that improve the overall quality of life. Roads and water projects are such priorities but are not exclusive. Given the sure magnitude of the surplus, it is likely municipalities, citizens and interest groups will be asking for funding for special capital projects such as swimming pools, parks, recreation facilities, sport facilities and entertainment venues. The Governor and the legislature should listen and fund such projects while they can.

A TRANSFORMATIVE PROJECT

On December 3, Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham and state officials announced that the state intends to fund and move the NM State Fair grounds to a new location without identifying a new location nor cost to rebuild. $500,000 will be spent to develop a master plan for the existing 236 acre cite location. Ideas being suggested on what to do with 236 acres of prime property for development include affordable housing.

Governor Lujan Grisham announcing that the state is seeking to relocate the Expo New Mexico Fair Grounds borders on the absurd. It made dramatic press, but it was done without conferring with surrounding neighborhoods and with nothing but speculation on the economic benefits of moving the fairgrounds to another location without discussion of the ultimate cost to relocate and rebuild. Past feasibility studies have suggested the cost to relocate and rebuild the State Fair will be upwards of $1 Billion.

The highest and best use for the 236 acres of property is not affordable housing but the creation of an Entertainment and Commercial Hub that could revitalize the entire Southeast Heights and surrounding area.  It would   create all new commercial property areas for shops, restaurants, theaters and family entertainment venues and spur private residential redevelopment of the area. The Albuquerque Downs Racetrack and Casino occupies roughly a quarter of the state fairgrounds, it is not going anywhere and would be a critical component of the Entertainment and Commercial Hub. 

The redevelopment plans for the existing Expo New Mexico property includes building of a new, modern arena to replace Tingly Coliseum that would support year-round large-scale concerts and events. The building of a multipurpose state-of-the-art arena to replace Tingly Coliseum is an investment for future generations. It’s a capital improvement project that should go forward regardless of what happens to moving Expo New Mexico.

Indeed, the 2025 legislative session could very well turn out to be a “once in a century opportunity” to really solve many of the state’s problems that have plagued it for so many decades. It should also be viewed as an opportunity to build facilities that are needed to enhance quality of life and that will have a lasting impact on the state’s quality of life for decades to come.

 

On January 6, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a city ordinance voting 7 to 2  making  extensive amendments to the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). The bill was co-sponsored by conservative Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis and Progressive Democrat Joaquín Baca. Voting YES were Republican City Councilors Dan Lewis, Renee Grout, Brook Basaan, Dan Champine and Democrats Joaquín Baca, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Nicole Rogers. Voting NO were Democrats Klarissa Pena and Louie Sanchez.

The bill aims to increase housing along the ART Bus  route as well as main street corridors like 4th Street and Broadway through zoning changes to allow more multi-family developments and new restrictions on how those projects can be appealed by property owners and neighborhood associations. The ultimate goal of  the amendments enacted  is  to ease the burden of getting residential and commercial developments approved by the city  and to  allow duplexes, townhouses and multifamily housing along key streets and heavily traveled areas of the city.

Passage of the legislation amending the IDO was justified by city officials and city councilors  as a need to add affordable housing and streamlining  the development process. City officials have argue that at least 5,000 people are experiencing some form of homelessness and the city needs to add at least 15,000 units to its housing inventory to satisfy demand.

MAJOR CHANGES OUTLINED AFFECTING NEIGHBORHOOD ASSOCIATION APPELATE RIGHTS 

The amendments enacted to the Integrated Development Ordinance removes administrative appeals for projects on city-owned property.  The amendments enacted makes it so neighborhood association appeals to a development must have a petition signed by the majority of residents within 660 feet of the proposed site.

The enacted amendments limits the standing of Neighborhood Associations to file appeals by excluding an individual’s use of public lands as a basis for standing.  The enacted amendments eliminates the failure to notify Neighborhood Associations as a basis for appeal or remands.

The enacted amendments allows amendments at the request of a developer or other unknown party and to bypass the Environmental Planning Commission or the Land Use Planning and Zoning Commission and go straight to the City Council for approval.

The changes to the IDO allows  a City Councilor to NOT be recused by  themselves even when that councilor sponsors an amendment and where there is a conflict of interest.

The amendments enacted mandates  that Neighborhood Associations must  pay the attorney fees of developers when Neighborhood Association’s appeals are denied, but provides that  developers have no liability to pay attorney fees of Neighborhood Associations when developers appeal a denial, regardless of the decision.

The enacted amendments eliminates failure to notify Neighborhood Associations as a basis for appeal or remand and allows a City Councilor to NOT be recused themselves even when that councilor sponsors an amendment;

STRONG OPPOSITION EMERGES

On January 6, an exceptional number of concerned citizens and neighborhood association representatives signed up to speak on a  short week end notice and to object to the city council actions and to  oppose enactment of the amendments. Many of those who spoke expressed major  concerns about the amendments and expressed   a desire to retain the ability to fight new developments in or near their neighborhoods.

The Inter-Coalition Council voiced strong opposition to the legislation and said this:

“This bill is not about affordable housing or homelessness; its intent is to disenfranchise members of the public, enrich the development community, and concentrate power amongst fewer elected officials.”

The Inter-Coalition Council added  that this ordinance violates the “New Mexico Civil Rights Act.”

District 7’s neighborhood association president Janice Arnold-Jones expressed her frustration, telling News 13 that this bill was a rushed job.  Arnold-Jones  said this:

“We’ve not had absolutely no chance to weigh in [on the bill] … and that is wrong. It is not public, it is not transparent, and it does not follow due process.  … I learned that you have to take the time to hear the citizens, because my perspective of what is happening may differ greatly from yours. And we need to figure out where’s the common ground, and when we do that, the citizens of Albuquerque win”

The two city councilors who opposed the bill were Klarissa Peña  who represents the city’s Southwest side and Louie Sanchez, who represents the Central Westside.  Peña said this:

“I think everybody, probably, here on this Dias [but]  only speaking for myself,  thinks that we do need additional affordable housing, but sometimes there’s an opposite effect to when we do that”.

SUPPORT SHOWN

One organization that showed up to speak in support of the measure was the local chapter of Strong Towns a non-profit that aims to improve the financial health of cities. Jordon McConnell, Communications Chair for Strong Towns Albuquerque, said this:

“We’re pretty happy to engage with neighborhood folks who feel upset or even sad about these changes, really what we’re looking for is a city that engages everybody and we all want the same thing, which is a stronger Albuquerque”

McConnell added that the organization sent over 100 letters dispersed among the nine city councilors urging their support and received a response from each.

William Indelicato, Civic Liaison for Strong Towns said this:

“One of the things we’ve identified in our research is when a city or when a region undertakes a lot of construction of housing, it’s both market rate and affordable options. It’s when a region or a city restricts housing development, is when you start that shift towards those higher prices.”

MAYOR KELLERS HOUSING FORWARD PLAN

It was on  October 18, 2022 Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller  set the goal of the City of Albuquerque being involved with adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year.  According to Keller, city officials and the city council, the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city needs as many as 33,000 new housing units immediately.

During his news conference announcing his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” Keller emphasized the importance of amending the city’s Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).  Keller said this:

“Right now our zoning code will never allow us to meet the housing demand in the city … If you want a place to advocate, if you want a place to change policy, if you want a place to argue, it’s all about the IDO [Integrated Development Ordinance] .  …  The proposed changes are intended to be transformative, which is fitting for the crisis facing our local government, thousands of families in our community, and our housing partners.”

To add the 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025, Keller proposed that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low-income housing.  The strategy included a zoning code “rebalance” to increase population density in established neighborhoods. It included allowing “casitas” which under the zoning code are known as “accessory dwelling” units and duplex development on existing housing and other major changes relating to parking and height restrictions.  It included “motel conversions” and conversion of existing commercial office space to housing.  It also included enactment of ordinances to regulate the rental and apartment industry and promoting city sanctioned tent encampments for the unhoused.

Allowing both casita and duplex development, increasing density in established neighborhoods,  reducing parking  requirements in new developments as well as allowing increases in height restrictions were all changes strongly supported and lobbied for by the development community. The local chapter of the  National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP) lobbied heavily in favor of Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”.  NAIOP is considered the most influential business organization in the city consisting of developers, investors and contractors with membership in excess 300 with many bidding on city contracts.  NAIOP has its own politcal action committee and the organization endorsees candidates for Mayor and City Council while the membership donates to candidates.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Simply put, the enactment of the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance as embodied by Council Bill No. O-24-69 is  nothing more than a continuation of Mayor Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”.  It is  not at all likely that the adopted changes to the IDO will spur development of affordable housing. The actions and rush job by the Albuquerque City Council to enact the amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance was about as underhanded as it gets and a breach of trust by elected officials.

The city council bill making amendments to the IDO, was introduced on December 16 by City Council President Dan Lewis and he did not refer the legislation to any committee for review, hearings and public comment as is normally done. The council scheduled final action and a final vote on the ordinance for January 6, 2025 where upwards of 10 amendments were offered and debated for hours by city councilors. The action of City Council President Dan Lewis of introducing the legislation and then scheduling it for final action within weeks without committee hearings was as nefarious  as it gets and nothing more than the city council gutting the rights and remedies of property owners in favor of developers.

The housing shortage is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans. The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. Simply put, the City Council  has declared  a “housing crisis” in order to shove amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance   down the throats of the city residents and property owners and to gut the rights of neighborhood associations.

SINISTER MOTIVATIONS OF CITY COUNCILOR  DAN LEWIS

The sinister motivations of City Councilor Dan Lewis with his sponsorship of Council Bill No. O-24-69 must be challenged. The City of Albuquerque lost a lawsuit in District Court that the Westside Coalition Of Neighborhood Association  filed when Dan Lewis acted improperly on behalf of developers to gut scenic protection rules near Petroglyph National Monument.  His behavior was specifically cited in the Judges  Opinion and Order in that case (No. D-202-CV-2023-03961).  The City appealed and lost again in the Court of Appeals.  What ostensibly has upset Councilor  Dan Lewis is that the Judge reversed the Council’s action and barred him from participating in the remand of the issue.  Undeterred, Lewis  “cleverly” got around the judge’s order by passing Council Bill No. O-24-69 that is  so sweeping, that no neighborhood association could hope to win in the future, or even have standing to appeal anything, going forward.

CITY COUNCIL AMENDMENTS TO IDO OUT OF CONTROL

Ever since its enactment in 2017, the City Council has enacted amendments to the IDO with an average of 100 to 150  changes considered each year, most of which have  lessened protections for neighborhoods, historic districts, parks, open space, and the values of sustainability and livable communities. The City Council amendments and legislative changes are often worded in complex, conflicting, and vague language, requiring thousands of hours of review to understand the consequences and give thoughtful and cogent feedback in hopes that the city adopts and maintains fair and equitable rules to grow our city in a way that meets shared values and protects Albuquerque’s character and natural setting. The postscript to this article provides a short history of the adoption of the integrated development ordinance.

Much of the public feedback comes from Neighborhood Associations.  These are volunteer-run, non-partisan organizations made up of residents from all walks of life who care about their community, and are willing to give countless hours of their time in public service.  They give voice to the concerns of their neighbors, promote sustainable neighborhoods, and advocate for planning that considers the whole community and not just the profit-driven motives of developers.

A SMUG AND ARROGANT CITY COUNCILOR

On January 8, City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn attended a meeting of the District 7 Coalition of Neighborhoods and reported on enactment of the ordinance.  She  refused to outline the 9 amendments she sponsored and she refused the request to move for reconsideration of the ordinance.  Feibelkorn exhibited her usual degree of contempt and arrogance that she is known for as she advocates for  her own personal agenda. Feibelkorn smugly declared that she had fixed a highly defective ordinance with her amendments ignoring or not at all caring  how Neighborhood Association rights had been gutted.

RECONSIDERATION OR VETO

Any one of the 7 City Councilors who voted for the legislation enactment has the right to move for its reconsideration and ask that it go through the committee process.  Mayor Keller also could VETO the measure and demand that the city council refer it to the committee for hearing and public input.

This year, 5 of the 9 City Councilors, along with Mayor Keller  will be up for re election. Those City Councilors are Republicans Dan Lewis,  Brook Bassan and Democrats Tammy Fiebelkorn, Klarissa  Pena and Louie Sanchez. Neighborhood Associations need to remember the actions of Republicans Dan Lewis,  Brook Bassan and Democrat Tammy Fiebelkorn and especially  their arrogance ignoring and gutting the rights of property owners and neighborhood associations in favor of the development community.

Links to relied upon and quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/article_9d1e1708-cd4d-11ef-b718-fb0091bfc539.html

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/criticisms-mount-over-proposed-albuquerque-housing-bill/

_________________________________

POSCRIPT

RECALLING ADOPTION OF THE INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE

On March 20, 2017, the Albuquerque City voted to adopt the findings and recommendations of the “ABC-Z Project”. The project was an aggressive two-year initiative begun in 2015 by then Republican Mayor Richard Berry, a contractor and developer, to update the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Comprehensive Plan and to create an Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO).

On December 1, 2017, the City Council voted to approve the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which incorporated and adopted the “ABC-Z Project”. At the time of enactment of the IDO, there were 60 sector development plans which governed new developments in specific neighborhoods. Forty (40) of the development plans had their own “distinct zoning guidelines” that were designed to protect many historical areas of the city. Examples of areas of the city governed by long standing sector development plans include Barelas, San Jose, Hunning Highland, Silver Hills, Nob Hill and Old Town. Under the “ABC-Z Project” the number of sector development zones went from 250 to fewer than 20, which was  dramatic and excited the real estate development community.

The “ABC-Z Project” project was promoted as a way to simplify zoning and subdivision regulations “in order to improve economic development, protect established neighborhoods and special places, streamline the development review/approval process and promote more sustainable development.” What it actually did was to  “gut” in full historical overlay zones and sector development plans enacted to protect neighborhoods and their character. Many of the affected historical neighborhoods condemned the ABC-Z comprehensive plan as being racist, something totally ignored by the entire city council, Democrats and Republicans alike on the city council, to the delight of Mayor Berry.

The Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO)  repealed a number of historical sector development plans making it far easier and cheaper for real estate developers and contractors to do re-development free of many zoning and construction and design code restrictions. The ABC-Z project rewrite spear headed by the Berry Administration was nothing more than making “gentrification” official city policy and “gutted” long standing sector development plans designed to protect neighborhoods and their character. Many of the affected historical neighborhood condemned the ABC-Z comprehensive plan as being racist.

The links to related blog articles are here:

Mike Voorhees Guest Opinion Column: “ABQ City Councilor Dan Lewis Sponsors Sinister Legislation to Gut Your Rights and Silence Neighborhoods To Favor Developers; Lewis Violates Both Court Order and Settlement Agreement”; Lewis Needs To Go; Tell City Council To Vote NO On Lewis Council Bill No. O-24-69

 

Mayor Keller’s Housing Forward Goal Of 5,000 City Subsidized Low Income Housing Units In Two Years Falls Short By 3,000; Keller Reacts Like Spoiled Child Blaming City Council And Legislature For His Failure; Revisiting Where Kellers’ Housing Forward Plan Succeeded And Failed

Since his November 5 victory, President elect Donald Trump HAS been going at break neck speed to fill cabinet and executive positions before he is sworn in on January 20.  Eight years ago, he relied significantly on the Republican party and appointed traditional Republican insiders, many who were considered wealthy, but not billionaires.

Eight years later, Trump is ignoring traditional Republican appointments  reaching way  beyond Republican insiders and appointing many individuals who are antigovernment with great reliance on wealthy billionaires who have the ultimate goal of dismantling government and agencies that they believe have interfered with their business interests.

BILLIONAIRE AND MILLIONARE APPOINTMENTS

Trump has tapped an unprecedented number of  billionaires and millionaires for his administration. Trumps  nominees make up the richest presidential administration in modern history.  His nominees include a wrestling magnate, a private space pioneer, a New York real estate developer, the heir to a small appliance empire, and the wealthiest man on the planet, Elon Musk,  with several being donors and close personal friends of Trump.

In total, the combined net worth of the wealthiest members of his administration could surpass $460 billion which exceeds the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) of mid-sized countries. Even if you discount Elon Musk, Trump’s cabinet will  still be the wealthiest in history. Trumps cabinet will include billionaires Howard Lutnick  nominated as Commerce Secretary, Linda McMahon nominated as Education Secretary, and Scott Bessent nominated as Treasury Secretary.

 BILLIONARE APPOINTMENTS

Beginning with President Elect Donald Trump himself, following are Trumps biggest appointment and their estimated net worth:

PRESIDENT-ELECT DONALD TRUMP:  $6.2 BILLION

Trump’s original fortune comes from real estate, which includes residential and office buildings, hotels and golf courses worldwide, including Mar-a-Lago in Florida and Trump Tower in New York.  The former president also has a $3.5 billion stake in his social network, Trump Media & Technology Group, though he has vowed not to sell his shares.Trump’s net worth is $6.2 billion, according to Forbes.

DEPARTMENT OF GOVERNMENT EFFICIENCY: OLIGARCKS ELON MUSK AND VIVEK RAMASWAMY

Trump announced that Elon Musk, a billionaire backer, and Ramaswamy, another billionaire and a  former primary rival who endorsed Trump, would lead an effort to slash government spending and regulations. Trump said the effort would partner with the Office of Management and Budget, but would provide guidance from “outside of Government.” Musk in particular has extensive financial holdings with government contractors that could complicate an official government job. Both men have absolutely no background in government and are hell bent on trying run government like their own private businesses. Private businesses are run for profit, while government is run to provide essential services free of charge to the public.

ELON MUSK: $363.3 BILLION

Musk is the world’s richest person, with his stakes in Tesla, SpaceX, Twitter, and artificial intelligence startup xAI making him worth over $400 billion, according to Forbes. The tech mogul spent over a quarter of a billion dollars to help return Trump to the White House, and has emerged as one of the most influential figures in Trump’s world.

Trump tapped Musk to lead the Department of Government Efficiency, an outside of government advisory group Trump plans to establish once he takes office. Much is still unknown about the new commission, how exactly it will function, but Musk promised it “will send shockwaves through the system, and anyone involved in Government waste.”

Musk said  he believes he can cut $2 trillion from the country’s $6.75 trillion budget and acknowledged that such large cuts could be uncomfortable. “We have to reduce spending to live within our means. … And, you know, that necessarily involves some temporary hardship, but it will ensure long-term prosperity.”

VIVEK RAMASWAMY: $1 BILLION

Vivek Ramaswamy is an entrepreneur and former pharmaceutical executive who rose to prominence as one of the Republican presidential candidates, and as a challenger to Trump. He eventually dropped out and threw his support behind Trump and parroting to great lengths all things that are Trump essentially becoming a clone of Trump. Ramaswamy, a biotech entrepreneur made his fortune through his 10% stake in Roivant Sciences, a biotech company he founded in 2014. After leaving Roivant in 2021, he founded Strive Asset Management, which manages approximately $1.7 billion — including offering an “anti-woke” index fund. During his long shot bid for the White House, Ramaswamy loaned and contributed $26 million to his own campaign.

Trump tapped Ramaswamy to join Musk in co-leading the Department of Government Efficiency. In an opinion column they co-wrote for the Wall Street Journal, the two said they view their role is to “cut the federal government down to size.”

“We are entrepreneurs, not politicians. We will serve as outside volunteers, not federal officials or employees. Unlike government commissions or advisory committees, we won’t just write reports or cut ribbons. We’ll cut costs,” they wrote.

Ramaswamy’s net worth is $1 billion, according to Forbes.

COMBINING FORCES TO DISMANTAL GOVERNEMENT

Since Trump announced his plans for a “Department of Government Efficiency” (DOGE),  both Musk and Ramaswamy have talked up their big plans to slash government regulations and spending while downsizing the federal workforce.  Despite its name, it won’t actually be a government “department,” like the Department of Education or the Department of Homeland Security.

On November 21, Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy outlined a plan  for Trump to oversee a massive reduction in the federal workforce, arguing the employees won’t be needed after Trump eliminates “thousands of regulations” in his next administration. Musk and Ramaswamy, singled out in a Wall Street Journal op-ed federal employees “who view themselves as immune from firing thanks to civil-service protections.” The duo pointed to recent Supreme Court decisions to argue the incoming president has the executive power to nullify many regulations unilaterally without Congress, pursue “large-scale firings” of federal workers and relocate some agencies outside of Washington. They said “a drastic reduction in federal regulations” would require vastly fewer federal employees.

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/elections/2024/11/20/musk-ramaswamy-federal-workforce-trump-admin/76458753007/

One area Musk targeted after the panel was announced was spending on medical research.

Ramaswamy, meanwhile, said on X that the government shouldn’t appropriate money for programs that have expired. Ramaswamy said this:

“There are 1,200+ programs that are no longer authorized but still receive appropriations,” he wrote. “This is totally nuts. We can & should save hundreds of billions each year by defunding government programs that Congress no longer authorizes. We’ll challenge any politician who disagrees to defend the other side.”

Ramswamy’s post prompted some users to note that among those expired programs is veterans’ health care, one of the largest expenses in that bucket.

Ramaswamy, the founder of the biotech company Roivant Sciences, had a laser focus on slashing the federal bureaucracy during his time as a GOP presidential primary candidate. Speaking with NBC News as a candidate, he outlined his desire to use what’s known as “reduction in force” regulations to trim the federal workforce while also shuttering a number of federal agencies.

Ramaswamy predicted he would overcome any legal challenges because he wasn’t proposing to fire individual career officials, who are covered by civil service protections, but to institute widespread layoffs, eliminating jobs altogether. Ramaswamy also sought to eliminate the FBI; the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives; the Education Department; the Nuclear Regulatory Commission; and the Food and Nutrition Service within the Agriculture Department.

LINDA MCMAHON, EDUCATION SECRETARY: Up to $3 billion

McMahon, with her husband Vince McMahon, founded the company that later became World Wrestling Entertainment Inc. Under her leadership, WWE became the world’s largest wrestling entertainment company, with Vince McMahon worth over $3 billion in 2024. The McMahons have since separated, and it’s unclear how much of the company Linda owns individually.

Trump turned to McMahon, co-founder of World Wrestling Entertainment, as his choice to lead the Department of Education . On the campaign trail, Trump repeatedly spoke about dissolving the federal education department and instead leaving education decisions up to the individual states. McMahon, who donated $6 million to Trump’s first presidential campaign, served as leader of the Small Business Association in the former president’s first administration and currently works as co-chair of Trump’s transition team.  Prior to that, McMahon served for a year on the Connecticut Board of Education, and served on the board of trustees for Sacred Heart University in Connecticut. McMahon, along with her husband Vincent McMahon, founded WWE in the early 1980s.

McMahon shares a $3 billion net worth with her husband, Vincent McMahon, according to Forbes.

HOWARD LUTNICK, COMMERCE SECRETARY: $2.2 billion

Trump nominated Lutnick, head of brokerage and investment bank Cantor Fitzgerald, a financial services firm he joined in 1983,  to be his Secretary of Commerce. The billionaire businessman has led the investment firm  since 1991 and owns about 60% of the company, according to Bloomberg Lutnick, who currently serves as co-chair of the Trump transition team, would be in charge of promoting and building American industries.

While campaigning, Trump proposed tariffs on imported goods as a way to drive sales for American-made products. Among his proposals were a 60% tariff on goods from China and a 20% tariff on all other imports. Lutnick supports the use of tariffs, and said that “balanced tariffs … make the most sense,” in a September interview with CNBC.

Lutnick’s net worth is $1.5 billion, according to Bloomberg.

SCOTT BESSENT, TREASURY SECRETARY: Reported billionaire

While Scott Bessent has been widely reported to be a billionaire, his exact amount of wealth is hard to pin down. Trump selected money manager Scott Bessent for Treasury Secretary, a move that will likely please Wall Street. He served as an economic advisor to Trump on the campaign trail and is the founder of hedge fund Key Square Capital Management.  As treasury secretary, Bessent would be responsible for advising Trump on domestic and international financial, economic and tax policy.

A protege of Democratic megadonor George Soros, Bessent worked as the chief investment officer of Soros Fund Management before founding his own firm, Key Square Group. Bessent developed a reputation for bold bets on macroeconomic trends, including making more than a billion dollars by betting against the British pound in the 1990s, followed by a similar trade against the Japanese yen in 2013 that netted more than a billion dollars in profits. At one point, Bessent’s Key Square Group managed more than $5 billion. During the campaign cycle, Bessent was a major fundraiser and emerged as a key economic adviser to Trump.

Bessent has defended Trump’s use of tariffs, writing in an op-ed earlier this month that they are a “revenue-raising tool and a way of protecting strategically important industries in the U.S.” He called warnings that tariffs will lead to higher prices for Americans “fundamentally incorrect,” despite 16 Nobel prize-winning economists saying otherwise.

If confirmed, Bessent will be the first openly gay treasury secretary, and first openly gay Senate-confirmed Cabinet member in a Republican administration, according to the Associated Press.

DOUG BURGUM, INTERIOR SECRETARY: $100 million

Trump picked Burgum, to head the Department of the Interior. As secretary, he would be responsible for managing federal land and natural resources. The Bureau of Land Management and the National Parks Service would fall under his leadership. Burgum previously ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary, but dropped out and eventually threw his support behind the former president. His exact net worth is not listed with Forbes, but Yahoo Finance estimates it is upwards of $1.1 billion.

Doug Burgum got his start in the software business in 1983 when he mortgaged a quarter million dollars worth of farmland to found Great Plains Software. Microsoft eventually purchased the company for a billion dollars in 2000, and Burgum went on to run a real estate development firm and venture capital company.  He was elected governor of North Dakota in 2016 and was reelected in 2020. He ran a long shot presidential campaign and dropped out before the primaries, though he was one of Trump’s final three picks for vice president.

While campaigning, Trump said “drilling, drilling, drilling” was one of his Day One promises. Trump believes by increasing oil and gas drilling and rolling back clean energy regulations, inflation will come down. Burgum, whose state ranks third in oil and gas production, is likely to uphold Trump’s commitment to increase drilling.

PETE HEGSETH, DEFENSE SECRETARY NOMINEE:  $17 million

Pete Hegseth is an American television host has a net worth of $17 Million. Hegseth earns a salary of $5 million annually from Fox News. He owns $9.2 million in real estate assets. https://www.caclubindia.com/trending/pete-hegseth/

Hegseth served as an officer in the Army National Guard and did tours in Afghanistan and Iraq, earning two Bronze Stars. He is currently a co-host for “Fox & Friends Weekend.” Trump has pledged to fire generals involved in the 2021 Afghanistan withdrawal and to eliminate “woke” initiatives that focus on diversity and equity in the military.

Secretary of Defense designate Pete Hegseth has railed against women in the military saying women should not be in combat, voiced support for troops accused of and in some instances, convicted of war crimes, and advocated for the firing of the military’s most senior officers accused of supporting so-called “woke” policies. Trump’s decision to place Hegseth into the top Pentagon job means he is set to put his ideas into action and clash directly with most current Pentagon leadership

ROBERT F. KENNEDY JR., HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES SECRETARY:  $15 Million

President-elect Donald Trump announced he will nominate anti-vaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, putting a man whose views public health officials have decried as dangerous in charge of a massive agency that oversees everything from drug, vaccine and food safety to medical research, Medicare and Medicaid.

RFK Jr.’s net worth is around $15 million, Forbes estimates, as of Nov. 14. However, the Kennedy family fortune was valued at $1.2 billion in 2015, according to Forbes. According to his 2023 financial disclosure, RFK Jr. owns Bitcoin worth between $100,001 and $250,000. He earned close to $5.5 million from his law firm Kennedy & Madonna LLP and made more than $1.5 million as a consultant for another law firm. RFK Jr. owns an estimated $3 million property on the Kennedy Compound in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, according to Forbes. He also owns a $7 million Los Angeles home with Hines.

https://www.newsnationnow.com/politics/rfk-jr-net-worth/

Kennedy founded one of the most prominent anti-vaccine groups in the country and has promoted the debunked claim that childhood vaccines cause autism. Kennedy vowed to purge entire departments at the Food and Drug Administration to root out corruption.

Kennedy is best known for his criticism of childhood vaccines. Again and again, Kennedy has made his opposition to vaccines clear. In July, he said in a podcast interview that “There’s no vaccine that is safe and effective” and told FOX News that he still believes in the long-ago debunked idea that vaccines can cause autism.

MAJOR AGENCY  APPOINTMENTS WHO ARE BILLIONARES OR MILLIONARES

Trump has announced the appointments of the following major agency heads:

FRANK BISIGANANO, SOCIAL SECURITY ADMINISTRATION COMMISSIONER: $1 billion

Bisiganano was one of JPMorgan Chase’s most influential executives during the 2008 recession, before taking over the financial services company First Data Corporation. Bisiganano became the CEO of Fiserv — a leading financial technology firm — when the company bought First Data in 2019. A hefty executive compensation package — more than $100 million in 2017 — and his stake in the company contributed to his net worth exceeding $1 billion, according to Fortune.

JARED ISAACMAN, NASA ADMINISTRATOR: $1.8 billion

Trump appointed Isaacman, CEO and founder of a credit card processing company, to lead NASA. Isaacman has collaborated with Musk since he bought a series of spaceflights from Musk’s SpaceX and in September Isaacman conducted the first private spacewalk. He also co-founded Draken International, a defense aerospace company.

Isaacman is a pioneer in private space exploration who made his fortune by founding the payment processing company Shift4 Payments. In addition to his stake in Shift4 — which processes a third of the customer payments made to American hotels and restaurants — Issacman sold his tactical aircraft company Draken International, LLC, to the investment company Blackstone for a reported nine-figure sum.

“Jared will drive NASA’s mission of discovery and inspiration, paving the way for groundbreaking achievements in Space science, technology, and exploration,” Trump said in a statement. “Jared’s passion for Space, astronaut experience, and dedication to pushing the boundaries of exploration, unlocking the mysteries of the universe, and advancing the new Space economy, make him ideally suited to lead NASA into a bold new Era.”

Isaacman’s net worth is $1.7 billion, according to Forbes.

KELLY LOEFFLER, ADMINISTRATOR OF SMALL BUSINESS ADMINISTRATION: $800 million

Loeffler is a former Georgia senator and the former CEO of Bakkt, a cryptocurrency trading platform. She owned a minority stake in the WNBA’s Atlanta Dream in 2010 before selling her stake in 2021 amid criticism stemming from the Black Lives Matter movement. Loeffler is married to billionaire and major Trump donor Jeffrey Sprecher, the CEO of Intercontinental Exchange, which owns the New York Stock Exchange. She was appointed to fill a vacated Senate seat in Georgia in 2020 but was defeated in a special election in 2021. Trump recently named Loeffler to serve as the co-chair of his inaugural committee and nominated her to lead the SBA.

MEHMET OZ, ADMINISTRATOR OF THE CENTERS FOR MEDICARE AND MEDICAID SERVICES: $100 million

Dr. Oz is a heart surgeon-turned-TV-host who became famous for his program “The Dr. Oz Show.” He was previously the director of the Cardiovascular Institute at New York Presbyterian Hospital and vice-chairman and professor of surgery at Columbia University College of Physicians and Surgeons.

In 2003, Oz began his television hosting career with his show “Second Opinion” on the Discovery Channel, and later became a regular on “The Oprah Winfrey Show.” In 2009, Oz debuted his own “Dr. Oz Show,” which ran until 2022, when Oz ran for the Senate in Pennsylvania and lost.

During the coronavirus pandemic, Oz promoted the treatment of hydroxychloroquine, an anti-malaria drug unproven in treating COVID-19. He has faced criticism over his claims about weight-loss products and over his past statements on vaccination.

Oz has defended his endorsement of controversial medical products by saying that he goes against the “established grain,” and that he always puts patients first.

During his Senate run, he valued his assets between $100 million and $315 million, according to a federal financial disclosure.

STEPHEN FEINBERG: DEPUTY SECRETARY OF DEFENSE  (Forbes valuation: $5 billion).

Stephen Feinberg is the co-founder of private equity firm Cerberus Capital Management (approx. $65 billion in assets under management).  Feinberg was nominated by Trump as the upcoming deputy secretary of defense after serving as a chairman on the president-elect’s intelligence advisory board during his last term 

 

BILLIONARE AMBASSADORSHIP APPOINTMENTS

Trump’s ambassador picks  include several billionaires, including financier Warren Stephens, who has been tapped to serve as the ambassador to the United Kingdom, Conair executive Leandro Rizzuto Jr., tapped to serve as the ambassador to the Organization of American States, Charles Kushner, Trump’s son in law Jared Kusherners father named the ambassador to France, and Tom Barrack, named the ambassador to Turkey. Following is a listing aof announced Ambassador Appointments:

LEANDRO RIZZUTO JR., AMBASSADOR TO THE ORGANIZATION OF AMERICAN STATES: $3.5 billion

Rizzuto’s family made billions growing the hair product company Conair from a small family business run out of a Queens, New York, garage into one of the largest private companies in the United States. Forbes estimated the family’s net worth at approximately $3.5 billion in 2017. Rizzuto briefly served as Trump’s principal officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Bermuda in 2020 after his 2018 nomination to be ambassador to Barbados failed in the Senate.

WARREN STEPHENS, AMBASSADOR TO THE UNITED KINGDOM: $3.4 billion

Stephens has spent his entire career with his family’s Little Rock-based investment bank, becoming the firm’s CEO and president in 1986.  He spent $2 million in 2016 to support a group that aimed to stop Trump from winning the Republican nomination, but donated to Trump in the 2020 presidential race, and eventually supported Trump 2024 election after initially throwing his support behind other Republican candidates.

“Warren has always dreamed of serving the United States full time. I am thrilled that he will now have that opportunity as the top Diplomat, representing the U.S.A. to one of America’s most cherished and beloved Allies,” Trump said on social media.

Stephens’ net worth is $3.4 billion, according to Forbes.

CHARLES KUSHNER, AMBASSADOR TO FRANCE: $1.8 billion

Kushner is a real estate developer who made his fortune building thousands of residential units across New Jersey. In 2005, Kushner was sentenced to 24 months in prison after pleading guilty to multiple felonies, including making false statements to the Federal Election Commission, assisting in the filing of a false tax return, and retaliating against a cooperation witness.

During his plea hearing, he admitted to retaliating against his sister for cooperating with law enforcement by having a prostitute seduce her husband and covertly film them having sex.  After serving his sentence, Kushner made a series of successful investments in the New York real estate market, including the purchase of a midtown skyscraper for nearly $2 billion. He was subsequently pardoned by Trump at the end of Trump’s first term.

His son Jared Kushner is married to Trump’s daughter Ivanka Trump, and the Kushner family’s overall net worth is approximately $1.8 billion according to Forbes.

THOMAS BARRACK JR., AMBASSADOR TO TURKEY: $1 billion

In 1991, Barrack founded the private equity real estate firm Colony Capital, which now manages more than $80 billion as DigitalBridge Group.

A close friend of the president-elect, Barrack chaired Trump’s first inaugural committee and in 2022 was acquitted of federal charges accusing him of illegal foreign lobbying on behalf of the United Arab Emirates.

STEVEN WITKOFF, SPECIAL ENVOY TO THE MIDDLE EAST: $1 billion

Trump selected Witkoff, Florida real estate investor and Trump’s golf partner, to serve as his special envoy to the Middle East. He is chairman and chief executive officer of Witkoff Group, a real estate firm with luxury condos, office spaces and hotels around the country. Witkoff is also the co-chair of Trump’s inaugural committee along with Georgia Sen. Kelly Loeffler.  After first meeting Donald Trump in a New York deli in the 1980s, Witkoff climbed New York’s real estate ladder alongside Trump, ultimately building a personal fortune of a billion dollars.

Witkoff has remained close to Trump for decades, testifying as an expert witness at his New York civil fraud trial in defense of the former president, and golfing with Trump during his second assassination attempt in September. Despite his limited experience in foreign affairs, Witkoff was named Trump’s Special Envoy to the Middle East.

“Steve is a Highly Respected Leader in Business and Philanthropy, who has made every project and community he has been involved with stronger and more prosperous. Steve will be an unrelenting Voice for PEACE, and make us all proud,” Trump said in a statement.

Witkoff’s net worth is at least $1 billion, according to Forbes.

TILMAN FERTITTA, AMBASSADOR TO ITALY  (Forbes valuation: $10.4 billion).

Tilman Fertitta is Trump’s pick for ambassador to Italy. He is the owner of the Houston Rockets and Landry’s restaurant and entertainment company  

The link to relied upon or quoted news sources are here:

https://abcnews.go.com/US/trump-tapped-unprecedented-13-billionaires-top-administration-roles/story?id=116872968

https://www.usnews.com/news/national-news/articles/how-many-billionaires-are-in-trumps-administr

https://www.axios.com/2024/12/26/maga-civil-war-ramaswamy-musk-loomer-cernovich

https://www.forbes.com/sites/saradorn/2024/12/22/the-billionaires-trumps-picked-for-next-administration-elon-musk-tilman-fertitta-and-more/

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

The total net worth of the billionaires in the Trump administration equals  or is upwards of  least $382.2 billion,  which is more than the GDP of 172 different countries. Since Musk, Ramaswamy, Witkoff, Isaacman and Stephens won’t be part of Trump’s Cabinet, excluding them brings the net worth of Trump’s Cabinet to at least $11.8 billion, assuming all nominees are approved in the Senate. The wealth of Trump’s current cabinet rivals only that of his first-term cabinet, which had a combined net worth of $3.2 billion. By comparison, President Joe Biden’s Cabinet total net worth was about $118 million, and Trump’s first Cabinet total net worth was about $6.2 billion. Prior to Trump, former President Barrack Obama’s Cabinet net worth was about $2.8 billion in his second term, according to Forbes.

While it’s common for people with careers in business to serve in government,  ultra-rich individuals with complex financial backgrounds and previous business dealings raise concerns about potential conflicts of interest. Kedric Payne, senior director of Ethics at Campaign Legal Center, formerly deputy chief counsel of the Office of Congressional Ethics, said this:

“Being wealthy by itself is not a disqualifier. … It’s just simply the potential conflicts of interest that are the concern.”

Trump-Vance transition spokeswoman Karoline Leavitt  said this:

“The American people re-elected President Trump by a resounding margin giving him a mandate to implement the promises he made on the campaign trail, and his Cabinet picks reflect his priority to put America First. … President Trump will continue to appoint highly-qualified men and women who have the talent, experience, and necessary skill sets to Make America Great Again.”

Under federal ethics laws, Trump’s wealthy nominees and appointees will have to divest themselves of stock holdings that could raise conflict issues . They will be required to release their financial disclosures. It’s not yet clear if Musk and Ramaswamy will fall under the disclosure requirements, due to their positions being described as “outside” of the government despite the massive impact they could have on the government.

IT’S THE ECONOMY STUPID

It was the economy and inflation that swept Trump to a decisive victory. Exit polls showed that the voting public were extremely disgruntled if not downright hostile with the direction the country is going, with inflation out of control. Voters were far more were concerned about making a decent living, angered over grocery and gas prices, as opposed to any threat Trump posed to democracy. Voters simply believed they were better off when Trump was President the first time believing all his lies. Voters chose to forget the 4 years of total chaos Trump brought upon the county and his failure to deal with the pandemic that killed millions worldwide and in the United States and that had a strangle hold on the country and that destroyed the economy.

In the end, voters simply ignored Trumps flawed character, the multimillion dollar civil judgements against him for sexual assault and slander, his criminal conduct in the private sector and while in office, his fraud in securing millions in loans in New York, the  multiple state criminal convictions and pending federal criminal charges, his two impeachments, his misogyny and racism, his threat to democracy, his attempt to overthrow the government with all his lies that the election was rigged and stolen from him, his attacks on woman’s rights and civil rights, his partiality to racists groups such as the Proud Boys, his promotion of racist policies and his cult following of Christian fundamentalist who totally ignored his immorality, multiple marriages and affairs and praised him as the second coming.

Throughout his successful campaign, Trump campaigned on the idea that he would “rescue our middle class” and fight for the average American. Now that he had been elected, he has essentially turned his back on the average American and has chosen billionaires to run and dismantle government. Gone are all of his proclamations that he will reduce the cost of groceries and gas.  Trump has gone so far to suggest after he was elected there was not much he can do about consumer prices and the cost of groceries.   Now that Trump as been elected, he and his cadre of billionaire friends and associates will now have the opportunity to do what they have always wanted to do: dismantle government.

Links to related blog articles are here:

Trump’s “Clown Car” Appointments Will Seek Trump’s Revenge On Department of Justice, Fire Military Hierarchy, Endanger Public Health And Compromise Nations Intelligence And Security; Trump Relies On Oligarchs To Systematically Dismantle Government; Trump Wants Recess Appointments To Avoid Senate Confirmation Hearings