I guess desperate times call for desperate measures.

It is alarming when neighborhoods start talking about hiring their own private security to patrol their neighborhoods because property crimes and violent crimes have gotten so out of control APD cannot respond fast enough.

Obviously, it is the more affluent parts of the city and neighborhood associations that are talking about hiring private security to patrol their neighborhoods.

The more cynical would argue that if the more affluent parts of our city go ahead and provide security for themselves, poorer areas of town will be able to get the police presence they need to bring down their crime rates.

Mayor Berry has even gotten on the “let’s privatize law enforcement” bandwagon with his suggestion to hire a private security company at the rate of $1.5 million a year to hire 25 retired cops to help with crime scene investigations and processing evidence.

Law enforcement is a very basic essential service that must be provided by a municipal government and the hiring of private security companies by neighborhoods should in no way be considered an acceptable alternative.

We must demand what we pay for as taxpayers when it comes to law enforcement.

All taxpayers in all parts of Albuquerque have the right to expect and demand equal law enforcement protection from their police department.

Albuquerque’s violent and property crime rates have hit a 10-year high. In 2015, there were 34,082 property crimes with a 15% increase.

Murders spiked in Albuquerque from 30 in 2014 to 46 in 2015.

In 2015, Albuquerque’s violent crime jumped by 9.6% and property crime increased by 11.7%.

Seven years ago APD had 1,100 sworn police officer and response times had been brought down below the national average. Albuquerque’s crime rates were at historical lows.

Today APD has 830 sworn police officers and only 430 patrolling our streets and response times at historical highs with calls to APD taking hours instead of minutes to respond, endangering public safety.

Mayor Berry spent $60,000 for a study to tell him why crime has spiked when the answer is that “community based policing” does not exist anymore in Albuquerque, he has a feckless chief of police and a mismanaged, out-of-control police department.

Albuquerque needs at least 1,200 full-time sworn police officers with 650 spread out over three shifts, patrolling our streets and neighborhoods to get the job done that will have an effect on violent and property crime rates.

In my November 21, 2016 blog article “It’s Time to Clean Out APD’s and City Hall’s Sewer Lines,” I proposed the creation of a civilian Police Commissioner and a Department of Public Safety, a complete replacement of the command staff, and civilian management of APD Internal Affairs.

Until aggressive action is taken with APD and its personnel shortage, APD will continue to spin out of control, violent crime will continue to rise and Albuquerque will continue to see dramatic spikes in crime.

Privatization of law enforcement is not the answer.

https://www.abqjournal.com/902024/abq-likely-to-see-unusual-race-for-mayor-in-2017.html

I have a strong desire to run for Mayor again in 2017 because I know what needs to be done and know how to do the job. I will not be using the office to run for higher office, I will not be beholden to anyone and I will not hide from problems.

All the reasons I ran for Mayor in 2013 still exist today, but things have only gotten worse: the complete destruction and mismanagement of the Albuquerque Police Department, some of the highest violent and property crime rates in the country, a declining and failing city economy and high unemployment rates.

I strongly oppose the disastrous ART bus project destroying Route 66 and construction should immediately stop. We need to clean APD’s sewer line, reform APD and return to community based policing. We need a “community inspired” economic development plan that works, that will create jobs with a future and turn our economy around. I support the mandatory paid sick leave voter initiative and advocate for the working class. I support public finance reform for Albuquerque’s elections.

These are all issues that I have already published articles on my blog PeteDinelli.com

If I run again, it would be as a privately finance candidate and I will need a lot of help raising the donations to run an effective campaign on the issues.

Please stay tuned.

As a community, we need to decide what kind of City we want to become and identify our needs; otherwise we are destined to continue our economic death spiral.

As a community, we can do things to turn our City economy around, diversify our economy and reduce our reliance on federal government funding.

A community effort to identify our needs has actually been done in the past and should be undertaken again.

It is a community effort that should be lead by the Mayor, the Albuquerque City Council, the Bernalillo County Commission, the Albuquerque business community, civic organizations and include charitable organizations.

SOBERING REALITY

For the past seven years, the City of Albuquerque’s Economic Development Department has not attracted or convinced a single major corporation to come or relocate to Albuquerque.

It has been reported that Albuquerque lost 14,900 jobs during the last 10 years, which is roughly 4 jobs a day.

According to one Brookings Institution report, the Albuquerque metro area’s economy was so bad between 2009 and 2014 that it almost fell off the charts of three measures of economic health.

Of the largest 100 metro areas in the U.S., Albuquerque ranked 100th, 99th and 83rd in the three areas measured by the Brookings Institute: Growth, Prosperity and Inclusion.

According to the same Bookings Institute report, economically hobbled cities like Jackson, Miss., and Rochester, New York, fared better than Albuquerque. Albuquerque ranked 99th for economic growth, 83rd for prosperity and 100th for inclusion, which measures how an area’s poorest residents are doing in the economy.

According to US Census reports, more people are leaving the State than moving in, and our youth are leaving Albuquerque in droves to seek employment with a future elsewhere even after they get their college education at our universities.

QUALITY OF LIFE LEGISLATION APPROACH

In 1987, when I was a City Councilor, the Albuquerque City Council engaged in a process of public hearings to determine and identify what type of facilities and projects were needed for a growing city that would enhance our quality of life and make Albuquerque an attractive City to raise a family.

In 1987, the City Council held extensive public hearings for months, throughout the City, to get public input on what should be built.

The business community, the private sector and many civic organizations got behind the effort and participated.

By a unanimous, bipartisan vote, the Albuquerque City Council enacted the “Quality of Life” legislation that resulted in the construction of the Albuquerque Aquarium, the Albuquerque Children’s Science Museum, the Botanical Gardens and the Balloon Museum.

Originally, a performing arts center was identified as a needed facility with funding included, but the funding was later struck down by a voter initiative.

Years later, the private sector, without any government funding but with reliance on private fund raising and contributions, built the Hispano Cultural Center which has a performing arts venue that fills the void for a performing arts center.

The “Quality of Life” legislation funded the acquisition of critical open space with open land acquisitions completing the final phase of what forms the backbone of our “urban parks”.

The “Quality of Life” legislation included a ten year quarter cent sales tax with a sunset clause, and the tax has long since expired, but the facilities were designed and built.

The “Quality of Life” tax was not put on the ballot for a public vote thanks in large part to strong community support and the extensive public hearings held by the Albuquerque City Council and the forging of a public consensus of what needed to be built.

Money was also approved by the 1987 City Council to fund major improvements to our zoo, a major remodeling and expansion of our Convention Center, and the largest expansion and remodeling of the Albuquerque Sunport in Albuquerque’s history.

Looking back on it, what would Albuquerque be today without all of the “quality of life” facilities, our expanded open space and urban parks system, the expanded convention center, improvements to the zoo and the expanded airport?

Each “Quality of Life” facility contributes to our City character and helps make our City an attractive place to live, work, and raise a family.

Without the “Quality of Life” projects you cannot help but wonder if Albuquerque would be nothing more than just another dying, dusty little southwestern town.

TRY INVESTING IN OURSELVES

The same approach used in 1987 for the Quality of Life legislation can be done today to develop a successful economic development program, with or without an “economic development” tax voted upon by taxpayers.

There have been major cities where voters have agreed to tax and invest in themselves to repair or rebuild their communities and facilities.

Albuquerque and Bernalillo County voters did it to an extent in 2014 with the enactment of the Mental and Behavioral Health tax and again in 2015 with the BioPark gross receipts tax voter initiative.

In 2014, Albuquerque and Bernalillo County voters overwhelmingly voted to impose a one-eighth percent gross receipts tax to improve access to mental and behavioral health care services in the county.

The one-eighth percent gross receipts tax voted by taxpayers for mental health is to be used for the purpose of providing more mental and behavioral health services for adults and children in the Albuquerque and Bernalillo County area, and to provide a safety net system that develops mental health care not otherwise funded in New Mexico.

During the 2015 municipal election, Albuquerque voters wisely approved with an overwhelming majority the voter petition drive initiative to increase the gross receipts tax that will raise $255 million dollars over 15 years for the BioPark.

The BioPark, with its zoo, aquarium and botanical gardens, is the number one tourist attraction in the State of New Mexico.

With the enactment of both the mental and behavioral health tax and the BioPark tax, voters said they wanted to invest in their community, increase services and repair and preserve facilities that help make Albuquerque a great and unique City.

Albuquerque’s taxpayers must be convinced by its political and business leaders of the importance of investing in major public facilities, construction projects and infra structure and for economic development.

Albuquerque can turn our economy around with an aggressive and massive investment to reinvent itself like has been done by great American cities such as Denver, El Paso, Pittsburgh, Oklahoma City, Columbus, and other cities that have invested billions in their communities.

PUBLIC AND PRIVATE LEADERSHIP REQUIRED

Albuquerque must redefine its identity, take bold and aggressive, calculated risks to attract and create high-paying jobs to keep our youth and talent from leaving.

Albuquerque is one of the few major metropolitan cities its size that does not have a City operated entertainment venue or facility, as was the Civic Auditorium, but relies extensively on higher education facilities such as the UNM’s “The Pit” and Popejoy Hall.

Improving our schools and vocational systems, reducing dropout rates, are critical to diversifying Albuquerque’s economy.

Albuquerque as a community needs to voice our demands loud and clear to our New Mexico House and Senate members that they need to be far more aggressive in improving and funding our education system and fund early childhood care and intervention programs and mental health care programs and stop wasting time on “all crime, all the time” agendas increasing criminal penalties, but rather getting to and solving the root cause of crime: poverty, poor education system, high unemployment, drug addiction, to mention just a few root causes of crime.

City economic development efforts need to be better coordinated with our vocational institutions to identify new industries that can be attracted to Albuquerque and insure Albuquerque has the trained work force to accommodate any new industry.

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

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

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

Special emphasis and support should be given to Albuquerque’s film industry which is developing, expanding and proving to be very successful in providing well paying jobs.

Albuquerque’s taxpayers must be convinced by its leaders of the importance of investing in major projects and in our neighborhoods to make Albuquerque more of a “walk able” City, where people can raise their family, work and make a living and have recreational and entertainment opportunities all within a small radius thereby reducing our reliance on the automobile.

A well designed, efficient mass transportation system is a basic essential service that must provided by a City.

Any mass transportation system that is developed must truly serve the entire community and not just a small geographic area such as is the poorly designed ART bus project which is destroying historic Route 66.

More community centers with recreational facilities would be a good start achieving a walk able city.

The City of Albuquerque needs to partner more with the State of New Mexico wherever possible.

A good first start in partnering with the State is to find a new vision for the State Fair grounds and how that very valuable gem in the center of Albuquerque can be better utilized to serve the Albuquerque community.

A suggestion would be for the City and State to jointly fund a tear down the old Tingly Coliseum and construct a multipurpose, state of the art facility that could be used for entertainment and sports events and operated year round with a joint powers agreement.

Other joint powers agreements can be entered into between the City, State and County for the mutual use of facilities.

CONCLUSION

Our political, business and civic leaders need to show far more backbone and commitment to improving and diversifying Albuquerque’s economy.

Otherwise, we are destined to become a dying, dusty southwest city without any real potential for growth and better economic times.

City Councilor Pat Davis is supposed to be an ex cop and at one time was the spokesperson for the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s Office. Maybe he knows criminal law, but it is downright embarrassing that he does not know or understand the meaning of “Federal Court Jurisdiction” and “Federal Court Order”. At the very least, he knows better and wants the headlines.

Davis for a second time wants the City to dodge the review and enforcement process and requirements of the Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA). In essence, Davis wants to dodge the authority of the Federal Judge and the Court appointed monitor.

Davis is the City Councilor, along with the City Attorney, who called for the hiring of someone outside of City Hall, and not APD, to investigate the allegations made by a former APD records custodian that there was erasing, altering, corrupting or tampering and withholding of evidence of police officer lapel camera video in police officer involved shooting cases. The allegations included that high ranking APD command staff and the City Attorneys office ordered the altering or withholding of lapel camera video.

Davis went so far as to say appointing and hiring of an “outside investigator” or counsel would “avoid potential conflicts of interest” and boost public confidence in the review process.

Davis does not understand that the allegations are criminal in nature and need to be investigated by a law enforcement agency.

Davis apparently does not understand that when the City selects and hires and outside investigator, an inherent conflict of interest is created.

City Councilor Pat Davis is now calling for an outside law enforcement agency, and not APD, to investigate when Albuquerque Police shoot someone. Davis for a second time just ignores the fact that APD is operating under a Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and that the Federal Court and the Federal Court Monitor have jurisdiction over APD. You need to wonder if he has even bothered to read the settlement agreement or knows what is required of APD under it.

There is no doubt that the changes proposed by Councilor Davis will in all likely result in placing the City in violation of the Department of Justice Court Approved Settlement Agreement, and the City Attorney has basically said that to him, exposing the City to being held in contempt of court for violating the terms and conditions of the settlement.

The Court Approved Settlement Agreement is over 106 pages long and it is extremely detailed. It cost about $1.5 million dollars in taxpayer money to negotiate the settlement.

The settlement agreement covers precisely how APD is to report and investigate “use of force” and “lethal force that cause serious bodily injury or death” cases.

The CASA defines “lethal force” and “serious use of force” and mandates that APD develop a constitutional “use of force policy” and then implement that policy.

There are at least four levels of review of use of force and lethal use of force cases under the settlement agreement:

1. A supervisory investigation
2. A use of force investigation by APD Internal Affairs
3. An investigation by the Use of Force Review Board set up under CASA
4. An investigation by the Multi Jurisdictional Task Force

Included in the settlement agreement is the exact process and the requirements of how APD is to conduct the Supervisory Investigation, the Internal Affairs Investigation, and the requirements of the Use of Force Review Board.

The settlement goes even further and is very specific and mandates and requires that APD participate, cooperate and be involved with the Multi Agency Task Force that is called in after a police officer involved shooting resulting in death.

The Multi Agency Task Force has personnel from at least four law enforcement agencies involved with the final investigation that is eventually turned over to a prosecuting agency.

There is no doubt that the changes proposed by Councilor Davis will in all likely result in placing the City in violation of the Department of Justice Court Approved settlement agreement.

Maybe Councilor Davis will learn and understand the meaning of Federal Court Order and get the message when the City and APD are found in contempt of a Federal Court Order, and that is something he will not be able to dodge.

dinelli_safeagain_v6

Here is my TV ad from 2013 regarding police numbers and APD’s response times. And yes that is former Albuquerque Chief of Police Bob Stover and his wife Linda Stover, the Bernalillo County Clerk elect, in the commercial.

Things have gotten only worse in 3 years. Albuquerque’s violent and property crime rates have now hit a 10 year high. In 2015, there were 34,082 property crimes with a 15% increase. Murders spiked from 30 in 2014 to 46 in 2015. In 2015, Albuquerque’s violent crimes jumped by 9.6% and property crimes increased by 11.7%.

Seven years ago, APD had 1,100 sworn police officer and response times had been brought down below the national average and crime rates were hitting historical lows. Today, APD has 826 sworn police officers with only 430 patrolling our streets with response times at historical highs with calls to APD taking hours instead of minutes to respond.

Mayor Berry spent $60,000 for a study to tell him why crime has spiked when the answer is that “community based policing” does not exist anymore in Albuquerque, his appointed Chiefs of Police have destroyed a once great police department, and APD is under a DOJ consent decree after 41 police shootings with close to $50 million paid in police officer involved shootings and police misconduct cases.

Two issues that I feel very strongly about and support are increasing the minimum wage to the level of a “living wage” and the mandatory sick leave initiative know as the “Healthy Workforce Act”.

My support of both increasing the minimum wage and paying employees for sick leave is because of my background and coming from a working class family.

My father Paul Dinelli was a barber and my mother Rose Fresques Dinelli was a waitress.

LESSONS LEARNED

My mother was a waitress, an “at will” employee for some 35 years, with no pension and she was able to retire on her own savings and social security.

When I was about 10 years old, my mother needed to go to work full time to support a young family of four kids when my dad became 100% disabled. She fell back on her training from years past as a Harvey Girl at the Alvarado Hotel in Albuquerque.

All her life, my mother was a fiercely independent woman and I respected and admired her immensely.

I remember vividly her struggles to keep our family together, often working “double shifts” as a waitress and working through the evenings past 11:30 p.m. and paid the minimum wage and earning tips.

My mother instilled in me the importance of caring and being compassionate for others, getting an education, working hard, taking pride in what you do for a living, helping those less fortunate and doing the right thing in life.

Supporting increasing the minimum wage and the mandatory sick leave initiative is the right thing to do for the working class people of Albuquerque.

ALBUQUERQUE’S MINIMUM WAGE ORDINANCE

Increasing the hourly minimum wage for work to a “living wage” level that a person can live on and perhaps support a family has been hotly contested for many years.

In the 2016 Presidential election it was argued that the minimum wage should be $15 dollars an hour.

When elected officials in congress and the states for that matter, refuse to do the right thing and fail to look out and take care of the working class, many times voters take matters into their own hands on a local level and push for public referendums and vote to fill the leadership void.

In 2012, by a two-to-one ratio, voters in the City of Albuquerque decided to raise the City’s minimum wage from $7.50 per hour to $8.50 per hour.
The amended Ordinance also requires a cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) to the minimum wage and the current minimum wage is $8.75 per hour.

Employers who provide healthcare or childcare benefits equal to or in excess of an annualized cost of $2,500.00, the minimum hourly rate payable to those employees is $1.00 less than the then-current minimum wage.

The Mayor, many Albuquerque City Councilors and the business community at the time opposed and actually campaigned against the minimum wage voter initiative.

Opponents argued increasing the minimum wage would destroy small businesses, especially the restaurant and service industries in Albuquerque.

None of the “doom and gloom” predicted happened and for four (4) years the minimum wage ordinance has been in effect.

Other New Mexico communities such as Santa Fe increased their minimum wage.

After enactment of the City’s minimum wage ordinance, the Mayor did not object to his appointed City Attorney saying the City did not have the resources to enforce the law against all businesses who violated the minimum wage law.

The current attitude of City Hall is that workers need to go to court on their own if they were not being paid what they were entitled to under the ordinance.

One lawsuit was filed by a group of waiters and waitresses and they prevailed.

THE PAID SICK LEAVE ORDINANCE

This past summer, supporters of the sick leave ballot initiative known as the “Healthy Workforce Act” gathered enough valid petition signatures from registered voters to place the initiative on the ballot.

The Southwest Organizing Project, among other organizations, led the campaign to get the signatures.

The campaign needed 14,218 signatures of registered voters but at least 24,000 valid signatures were gathered and submitted for verification.

The Bernalillo County Commission declined the Albuquerque City Council’s request to put the initiative on the November, 2016 ballot with a State District Court upholding the Commission’s decision not to put it on the ballot.

The District Court ruling makes it likely that the mandatory sick leave initiative will be placed on next year’ s 2017 municipal election ballot at the same time as the Mayor and City Council races.

A silver lining is that this may increase the 2017 Municipal election voter turnout.

The Healthy Workforce Act will require business owners to pay one (1) hour of sick leave for every thirty (30) hours worked.

Part time workers normally are not afforded paid sick leave and will likely be the biggest beneficiary from the ordinance.

Large employers would be required to offer seven sick days per year after working 40 hours a week for a full year. Workers with smaller businesses would earn five sick days per year.

Read the full proposal here:

Click to access albuquerque-healthy-workforce-initiative-2016-5-09-final-without-resolution.pdf

The sick leave ordinance is in a real sense is an extension of increasing the minimum wage initiative passed by voters three years ago. It is a first step toward a living wage.

The “paid sick leave” initiative will help the working class who have no rights, who are mostly “minimum wage” or low hourly wage workers and who are overwhelmingly “at will” employees in the private sector.

“At will” employees can be terminated without any cause or notice by their employers.

“At will” employees have little or no employment rights and no real vested rights in their jobs except those already required by law such as being paid the minimum wage.

Federal and state laws governing working conditions also provide protections to workers and prohibit sexual harassment and retaliation.

I support the mandatory sick leave initiative and will be voting for it.

ENFORCING MINIMUM WAGE AND HEALTHY WORKFORCE ACT

The existing minimum wage ordinance and the sick leave ordinance if enacted by voters need to be enforced by the City, and not by the hourly wage workers, because these are the City’s ordinances.

Every single business in Albuquerque is required to register and have a license to do business and must agree to adhere to all enacted city ordinances and laws. Businesses cannot pick and choose what laws and City Ordinances they want to follow.

The City Attorney’s office and Planning Department have the authority to enforce existing ordinances.

Businesses licensed by the City can be ordered to follow the minimum wage law or the City will take court action to have their business licenses revoked and secure Court Orders to shut down the businesses for violating the law.

The City Attorney’s Office needs to do the right thing and enforce the existing minimum wage ordinance and the sick leave ordinance if enacted by the voters.

A COALITION OF THE USUAL OPPOSING SUSPECTS

A coalition of some 30+ major business organizations has already been formed to raise a significant amount of money to oppose the initiative, not only in Court, but in next year’s municipal election. The coalition includes as members:

• Apartment Association of New Mexico
• Associated Builders and Contractors
• Associated General Contractors New Mexico
• Albuquerque Economic Forum
• Albuquerque Hispano Chamber of Commerce
• American Subcontractors Association of New Mexico
• Commercial Association of Realtors New Mexico
• Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors
• Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce
• Home Builders of Central New Mexico
• National Association of Industrial and Office Parks (NAIOP)
• New Mexico Association of Commerce and Industry
• New Mexico Restaurant Association
• New Mexico Utility Contractors Association.

Notice not a single “mom and pop” or small business is listed?

What is interesting is a few of the organizations that oppose the sick leave ordinance have said publically it’s a good idea in concept, many businesses voluntarily provide for paid sick leave, but they feel it will be an accounting nightmare and do not like the “red tape”.

The truth is, most of the coalition members do not like being on the financial hook for increasing wages or benefits they have to pay to their employees or being told by government what they should pay their employees.

Arguments that are being used to oppose the sick leave initiative are identical or similar to those made against increasing the minimum wage and include:

1. It will destroy small businesses
2. Businesses can not afford it
3. People will be laid off
4. A small business will have to cut down on hours offered to work
5. Too much “red tape” to prepare and keep track of sick leave
6. Too much government regulation or intervention
7. No need for it, because many businesses already pay sick leave
8. Unskilled workers are already paid enough
9. “At will” employees do not want such a benefit

The arguments made against the sick leave ordinance, as was the case with the minimum wage, have little or no merit and no credible financial impact studies or compiled data has been offered to substantiate the claims, at least not yet.

I doubt if any of the coalition members listed will go bankrupt or be severely harmed financially by the sick leave ordinance, and for that reason, they should be ashamed of themselves. They need to be more appreciative of their employees.

The sick leave benefit will help attract and keep hardworking employees.

CONCLUSION

The proponents of the ordinance and opposing business coalition should have gotten together, along with City leadership, to come up with a solution that was acceptable and workable for all the parties.

That would have been called leadership that is so lacking at City Hall.

During Albuquerque’s 2017 municipal election, voters need to demand and ask where the candidates for Mayor and City Council stand on the issue and say what they will do if elected on enforcing the ordinances.

It now will be up to voters to decide what should be done.