A Search For Solutions

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http://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/mayoral-candidates-on-downtown-crime/4565399/?cat=500

Channel 4 did this story regarding the downtown walking tour to discuss crime.

I was glad to see that all eight (8) candidates for Mayor participated.

I hope more of these tours are scheduled throughout the city and perhaps in each City Council District.

Most of the candidates like Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis still stuck to their scripts of meaningless talking points saying we need far more police officers and we need to change our spending money priorities, yet he has been on the council for the last eight (8) years when he could have done something.

A few of the candidates finally started to offer real solutions.

Gus Pedrotty once again came up with a realistic solution regarding using different model for crime fighting by saying “When we try and get more police officers we know that’s a long-run change; no way we’re going to hire all the officers in a single year” … We need a new service model to reduce the strain on those officers now.”

When the candidates attend candidate’s forums, they give their canned answers and slogans to questions sounding like they know what they are talking about but not really understanding what the problem is associated with the question.

I for one hope that all the candidates get away from their talking points and slogans and start articulating real solutions and not just parrot what we all know our problems are.

When I was Director of the Safe City Strike force dealing with crack houses, meth labs, slumlords and properties that had become magnets for serious crimes, I had to go out and interact and meet with the neighborhoods and citizens affected by crime.

When you see fear, anger, desperation and hopelessness in people’s faces, eyes, and voices, and they are asking for help, you listen and learn.

You become determined to find solutions to the problems and forge a desire to help.

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About

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.