On October 7, 2020, ABC News published one of the better summation articles on the Vice-Presidential debate. It was written by Cheyenne Haslett and Meg Cunningham. Cheyenne Haslett is the 2020 campaign reporter and producer at ABC News, based out of Washington, D.C. covering the presidential campaigns and reporting for the network. Meg Cunningham is a senior convergence journalism major with an emphasis in investigative reporting from Kansas City, Missouri who also reports for ABC News. Below is the article with a link followed by additional commentary and analysis.

ABC NEWS REPORT

The vice presidential candidates for president faced off on Wednesday for their first and only debate, giving Americans a much more substantive look at the ticket — though often not the substance that they were prompted for.

The candidates repeatedly dodged the questions from moderator Susan Page, remaining focused on one thing: correcting the wrongs of last week’s debate.

For Vice President Mike Pence, the goal was to tout the administration’s economic success pre-pandemic and erase the disheveled, at times disrespectful debate from last week, spearheaded by President Donald Trump’s constant interruptions.

The president, of course, watched in isolation from the White House, after contracting coronavirus himself after flouting countless Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines.

For Democratic vice presidential nominee Kamala Harris, the goal was to defend presidential nominee Joe Biden’s record and hammer the administration’s response to coronavirus.

The candidates took the stage separated by 12 feet and plexiglass barriers, demanded by Harris because of the 34 White House staffers and other contacts in the administration’s orbit. Though Pence tested negative for coronavirus on Wednesday ahead of the debate, he is still within the potential incubation period for the virus.

The debate took place at the University of Utah in Salt Lake City.

A DISCUSSION ON CORONAVIRUS, LADEN WITH EMPATHY

In stark contrast to Trump’s performance during the debate last week — almost a lifetime of news cycles ago — Pence repeatedly offered something the president, who describes himself as a fighter, rarely focuses on: empathy.

In defending the federal response to coronavirus, Pence consistently offered condolences to Americans who have suffered before launching into his response.

“You know, there’s not a day gone by that I haven’t thought of every American family that’s lost a loved one. And I want all of you to know that you’ll always be in our hearts and in our prayers,” Pence said.

“One life lost is too many, Susan,” Pence said later, before flipping Harris’ criticism of the White House’s response on its head by saying it was dismissive of the sacrifice Americans have made.

“When you say what the American people have done over these last eight months hasn’t worked, that’s a great disservice to the sacrifices the American people have made,” he said.

But Harris was quick to point out the missteps the Trump administration has made in controlling the pandemic, which has killed over 211,000 Americans over the last eight months, including audio released of Trump acknowledging that the disease was airborne in January, long before that critical information was disclosed to the public.

“Whatever the vice president is claiming the administration has done, clearly it hasn’t worked. When you’re looking at over 210,000 dead bodies in our country, American lives that have been lost, families that are grieving that loss,” Harris said.

She was blunt in describing the tragedy, not mincing any words.

“The American people have witnessed what is the greatest failure of any presidential administration in the history of our country,” Harris said. “They knew what was happening and they didn’t tell you … They knew and they covered it up.”

She added that her and Biden’s plan includes a national strategy for contact tracing, testing, administration of the vaccine, “and making sure that it will be free for all.”

HARRIS EXPRESSES SKEPTICISM OVER VACCINE WHILE PENCE CALLS ON HER TO STOP POLITICIZING THE VIRUS

Harris reiterated her concern about the safety and validity of a vaccine spearheaded by the Trump administration, stating strongly that she won’t get any vaccine pushed by Trump, and will only get a vaccine backed by medical professionals — a statement that leaves room for Harris to reject a vaccine that arrives before the Election, although that’s an unlikely scenario.

“If the public health professionals — if Dr. Fauci, if the doctors tell us that we should take it, I’ll be the first in line to take it, absolutely,” Harris said. “But if Donald Trump tells us I should take it — that we should take it, I’m not taking it.”

Harris’s concerns come on the heels of fears that the Trump administration was fast-tracking a vaccine to help his chances in reelection efforts, though the administration approved FDA guidelines on Wednesday that allow for a more robust trial period.

Pence called on Harris to “stop politicizing the virus,” saying she was playing politics with American lives.

“So, the fact that you continue to undermine public confidence in a vaccine, if a vaccine emerges during the Trump administration, I think is unconscionable,” Pence said. “And Senator, I just ask you, stop playing politics with peoples’ lives. The reality is, that we will have a vaccine, we believe, before the end of this year.”

Despite the skepticism coming from Harris on the vaccine, a CNN poll recently found that Republicans are more skeptical of the coronavirus vaccine than Democrats. If a coronavirus vaccine were widely available at a low cost, 60% of Democrats say they would receive the vaccine, well 35% say they wouldn’t. In contrast, 41% of Republicans say they would get the vaccine, while 55% say that they wouldn’t.

NOTABLY MILDER TONE STANDS IN CONTRAST TO LAST DEBATE

The style of the debate this week resembled just what it was billed as: a vice presidential debate.

There was not a remarkably high bar for civility after the last debate, but it was exceeded on all sides. It wasn’t without interruptions, dodges, disagreements and one-liners, but moderator Susan Page kept the candidates on track, cracking down on time limits to ensure each candidate got 2 minutes, uninterrupted.

The debate was mostly focused on records and absent of personal attacks.

Instead, Pence seemed to make a deliberate decision to take a completely different approach than Trump, who aggressively interrupted over 70 times in 90 minutes, often with insults.

“Senator Harris, it’s a privilege to be on the stage with you,” Pence began the debate by saying. Later, he congratulated her on “the historic nature” of her nomination as the first Black woman and the first person of Indian descent to be nominated for national office by a major party.

He also turned to Harris and thanked her for both her and Biden’s “expressions of genuine concern” when the president was diagnosed with coronavirus.

When disagreeing, Pence twice used the line, “You’re entitled to your own opinion,” before adding “you’re not entitled to your own facts.”

But Harris clearly wasn’t buying Pence’s politeness, politically-motivated or not.

“Mr. Vice President, I’m speaking,” she said whenever he interrupted, words that carried the heavy weight of Trump’s notoriously hard-to-watch performance last week.

“If you don’t mind letting me finish, we can have a conversation,” she said another time. The next time Pence interrupted; Harris shot him a single glance. Pence stopped speaking, and looked away.

ON THE SUPREME COURT, STILL NO CLEAR ANSWER FROM HARRIS ON COURT-PACKING

Pence held Harris’ feet to the fire over the question of court-packing, a move that would allow Biden and Harris, if they win the presidency and Democrats take control of the Senate, to add more members to the Supreme Court and adjust for the conservative majority that Judge Amy Coney Barrett would bring.

Multiple times, Harris refused to heed to Pence’s demands for her to give a straight answer. Court-packing, which is heralded by progressives, is a more touchy subject amongst moderate Democrats — creating a political tightrope both Biden and Harris continue to walk.

“Now you’ve refused to answer the question, Joe Biden has refused to answer the question,” he continued. “So I think the American people would really like to know, if Judge Amy Coney Barrett is confirmed to the Supreme Court of the United States, are you and Joe Biden, if somehow you win this election, going to pack the supreme court to get your way?”

Harris offered a non-answer, instead, making a dig at the judges Trump and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell have nominated to federal courts across the country.

“And do you know that of the 50 people who President Trump appointed to the court of appeals for lifetime appointments, not one is black?” Harris said. “This is what they’ve been doing. You want to talk about packing a court? Let’s have that discussion.”

Pence called Harris out for her lack of an answer.

“The American people deserve a straight answer. And if you have not figured it out yet, the straight answer is they are going to pack the Supreme Court if they somehow win this election.”

PENCE DEFLECTS ON CLIMATE CHANGE, A PEACEFUL TRANSITION OF POWER AND THE FUTURE OF ROE V. WADE

Vice President Pence spent much of his time either deflecting questions to hammer Harris, or answering previous questions posed to him by Page. When asked about Roe V. Wade, he brought up the Trump administration’s killing of Iranian general Qasem Soleimani. On China, he pivoted to NAFTA.

And on the question of climate change, Pence pivoted to Joe Biden’s tax plan.

“As I said, Susan, the climate is changing. We’ll follow the science. But, once again, Senator Harris is denying the fact that they’re going to raise taxes on every American,” he said. “Joe Biden said twice in the debate last week that on day one, he was going to repeal the Trump tax cuts. Those tax cuts delivered $2,000 in tax relief to the average family of four across America.”

Page posed to Pence the possibility of Roe V. Wade being overturned should conservatives gain a larger majority in the courts — and what he would like to see happen in his home state of Indiana if that were the case.

“Well, thank you for the question, but I will use a little bit of my time to respond to the very important issue before. The American people deserve to know, Qasem Soleimani, the Iranian general was responsible for the death of hundreds of American service members,” he said.

He also danced around the question about the transparency of presidential health.

“Is this information voters deserve to know?” Page asked Pence of presidential health records. “Vice President Pence, would you like to go first?”

“Susan, thank you. And let me, let me say on behalf of the president and the First Lady how moved we’ve all been by the outpouring of prayers and concern and for the president,” he said, not offering a response relevant to the question.

On the consequential question of a peaceful transition of power out of the White House, which the president has consistently refused to pledge should he lose in November, Pence, too, dodged, instead attacking Democrats for impeaching the president.

“When you talk about accepting the outcome of the election. I must tell you, Senator, your party has spent the last three and a half years overturning the last election. It’s amazing,” Pence said.

https://abcnews.go.com/Politics/key-takeaways-vice-presidential-debate/story?id=73466213

DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Vice-Presidential debate was a huge contrast from the first, and probably the only Presidential Debate between Trump and Biden. Vice President Mike Pence and Senator Kamala Harris sat 12 feet apart and were separated by plexiglass. Despite the plexiglass, the cameras were focused on both and the Plexiglas was hardly even noticed. Trump is already saying he will not participate in the next debate because the Commission of Presidential Debates want it to be a “virtual debate.”

By and large, the debate was noteworthy because it was a civil and normal debate. It was not at all like the playschool shouting match between Biden and Trump. In short, it was two people who acted like adults.

Harris talk about Trump and Pence talked about Biden. Both pivoted to totally different topics, answering very little of the original questions. Both Senator Harris and Vice President Pence did what they needed to do, stood their ground and did not make a fool of themselves.

THE FLY IN THE OINTMENT

About two thirds into the debate, a very large fly landed on Vice President Mike Pence’s head, and stayed there for over two minutes as if grooming and feasting on something. Social media went wild.

The fly has now become a new way for Joe Biden’s campaign for fundraising and to get out the word about voting. Mere moments after the fly that spent two minutes nestled in Pence’s head flew off, Biden TWEETED a photo of himself holding a flyswatter, along with the caption “Pitch in $5 to help this campaign fly” with a link to donate. Biden went on to tweet out a link to flywillvote.com, which redirected to iwillvote.com, a website that helps people register to vote.

President Trump, the reality show TV personality, knows how damaging optics can be, and he no doubt was livid. Rumor has it that Trump is now calling for a congressional investigation to find out if the fly was in fact a Chinese drone sent in to influence the election. Pence for his part was seen leaving the debate stage with Frank Sinatra singing over the intercom “Come Fly With Me”.

On November 5, 2018, New Mexico voters, with a 75% majority, voted for a constitutional amendment to establish an independent statewide ethics commission with subpoena power. On March 15, 2019, the New Mexico State legislature enacted legislation creating a new, independent ethics commission. On January 4, 2020, a little more than 10 months since the NM Legislature enacted the creation of the Ethics Commission, it was reported that the Ethics Commission is fully operational and accepting complaints to investigate.

The following guest column, submitted by New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and all members of the Ethics Commission was submitted to the Pete Dinelli blog for publication:

A GUIDE FOR EXPENDITURES OF CAMPAIGN FUNDS

“As New Mexico enters another election season, candidates from all corners of the state will collectively raise and spend millions of dollars to get elected. And whether they’re a first-time candidate or a seasoned campaigner, they will all repeatedly face a particular question, “Can we use campaign funds for this?” The New Mexico Campaign Reporting Act (CRA) governs how funds raised by a campaign can be spent and explicitly states they can be used towards: “expenditures of the campaign”; performing certain duties of their office; and donations to other political campaigns, the state general fund, or certain charitable organizations. While the CRA enumerates limitations on use and the Secretary of State’s Candidate Campaign Finance Reporting Guide (SOS Guide) provides a practical interpretation and some common examples, gray areas invariably arise that may require campaigners to self-evaluate or otherwise seek guidance to maintain compliance with the law regarding their use of campaign funds.

For expenditures solely dedicated to furthering a campaign and that could not be attributed to any other purpose, it’s common sense that most are permissible. However, certain expenditures permissible under the CRA are nevertheless prohibited by the Election Code—namely, those that benefit potential voters so as to influence their votes. Think, for example, of expenditures for gift cards, bus passes, and meals that suggest an intent to purchase votes. To avoid this issue, candidates should ask themselves “Could a reasonable person perceive this expenditure as made to induce the recipient to vote in a particular way?”

At the other end of the spectrum are expenditures that are clearly impermissible. For example, a personal trip to a ski resort or a spa, payments towards personal credit card debt, or a new watch. The common trait that makes expenditures like these stick out is that they are all personal and have nothing to do with a campaign. To avoid these expenditures, the filtering questions are “Would the candidate make this expenditure if they were not in or running for office?” or “Is the candidate receiving some personal gain from this expenditure?” If the answer is yes, the expenditure would likely be considered personal and an impermissible use of campaign funds.

But what about expenditures that clearly support a campaign but also have a personal component, such as a laptop, phone, or tank of gas? The tank of gas is simple—the New Mexico Administrative Code (NMAC) already outlines a system for tracking campaign-related mileage and reimbursement. However, the other examples depend on whether an expenditure will ever entail personal purposes. The SOS Guide and 1.10.13.25 NMAC state that permissible expenditures of the campaign are “reasonably attributable to the candidate’s campaign and not to personal use or personal living expenses….” In contrast, if an “expense would exist even in the absence of the candidacy, or even if the legislator were not in office” then it would not be considered related to the campaign.

Thus, if a laptop was bought initially for a campaign but later kept for personal use, it would not meet both criteria under the CRA. A campaigner would need to buy the laptop from the campaign with personal funds for the original purchase price if they wanted to keep the device for personal use. Similarly, a candidate could not use campaign funds to pay for his or her regular phone bill because it is a personal expense that would exist otherwise. However, buying an additional phone used exclusively for campaigning or paying for an overage due to the campaign would likely be permissible.

State law provides for transparency, guidance, and enforcement of these issues. The Secretary of State administers the campaign finance reporting system used by candidates to disclose the use of their campaign funds. The public can search this information at https://login.cfis.sos.state.nm.us/#/index. The Secretary of State’s Office educates candidates on the CRA and seeks voluntary compliance from candidates required to comply with the CRA spending limitations. And, for expenditures that fall into a gray area, candidates and campaign treasurers may seek advisory opinions from the Secretary of State or the State Ethics Commission. Finally, the Commission investigates, adjudicates, and enforces violations of the CRA.”

REPECTFULLY YOURS

Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver and State Ethics Commissioners William Lang (Chair), Jeff Baker, Stuart Bluestone, Garrey Carruthers, Ronald Solimon, Judy Villanueva, and Frances Williams

To learn more visit: https://www.sec.state.nm.us/

PETE DINELLI BLOG COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS:

New Mexico has had more than its fair share of public corruption scandals over the years. A rogue’s gallery of unethical conduct, fraud, theft and abuse of power and influence in New Mexico politics includes Former Democrat State Senator Manny Aragon, two former Democrat State Treasurers, Michael Montoya and Robert Vigil, former Republican Secretary of State Dianna Duran, former Democrat State Senator Phil Griego, former Republican State Senator Monica Youngblood, former Republican New Mexico Taxation, and Revenue Secretary Demesia Padilla.

Unproven allegations of “pay to play” plagued the 8-year tenure of Democrat Governor Bill Richardson with a federal grand jury investigation resulting in no indictments and no finding of “pay to play”. Former Republican United States Attorney for the District of New Mexico Gregg Forate, with an obvious strong Republican partisan bias, released a scathing letter of condemnation that accused the Richardson administration of “corrupting” the government contract award process.

During the 8-year tenure of former Republican Governor Susana Martinez, allegations of unethical conduct and undue influence with the award of the billion-dollar, 20-year Downs Race Track Lease, dubbed the “Dirty Downs Deal”, occurred. What also occurred was a federal grand jury investigation of the Republican Governor’s number one political consultant and campaign manager relating to misuse of her inauguration funding.

EMPOWER COMMISSION WITH AUTHORITY TO SUSPEND OR REMOVE

The Ethics Commission as well as New Mexico Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Oliver have made major inroads into restoring faith in our election process and to free it from corruption. The guest column is a good example of their work and they have even more work ahead.

One area that merits serious consideration by the New Mexico Legislature is to empower the Ethics Commission with the authority to suspend or remove a public official or give the Commission the authority to seek from a District Court or Supreme Court the suspension or removal from office elected officials who have been found to have engaged in nefarious or unethical conduct or campaign finance law violations. Further, the Ethics Commission should be given authority over local elected officials such as Mayors and City Councilors.

The statewide Ethics Commission should eventually help rebuild trust in a state government that has experienced way too much corruption throughout the decades. However, it will be able to do so only if it is empowered with real authority to suspend or remove someone for nefarious or unethical conduct. Otherwise, the Commission will be an exercise in futility to hold nefarious and unethical officials actually accountable for their actions short of criminal prosecution, forced resignations or hoping that they will be voted out of office.

____________________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ETHICS COMMISSION EXPLAINED

The New Mexico Ethics Commission is empowered to oversee state public officials, including state lawmakers, state employees and constitutionally elected officials, including the governor. The seven-member commission is empowered to fine public officials if they are found by the commission to have violated civil provisions of state laws. There is no authority to suspend or remove from office elected officials.

POWERS AND DUTIES OF THE COMMISSION

Under the New Mexico Ethics Commission Act, the commission:
“may initiate, receive, investigate and adjudicate complaints alleging violations of, and issue advisory opinions concerning, standards of ethical conduct and other standards of conduct and reporting requirements, as may be provided by law, for state officers and employees of the executive and legislative branches of government, candidates or other participants in elections, lobbyists or government contractors or seekers of government contracts and have such other jurisdiction as provided by law.”

Additionally, the Ethics Commission:

“may require the attendance of witnesses or the production of records and other evidence relevant to an investigation by subpoena as provided by law and shall have such other powers and duties and administer or enforce such other acts as further provided by law.”

Powers and duties of the commission also include the power to develop, adopt and promulgate the rules necessary to implement and administer the provisions of the State Ethics Commission Act.
Absent from the enabling legislation creating the ethics commission is any authority to suspend or remove elected or appointed officials for nefarious or unethical conduct.
https://www.ncsl.org/research/ethics/50-state-chart-state-ethics-commissions-powers-a.aspx

COMPLAINT PROCESS

An Ethics Case before the Commission can begin in one of three ways:

1. A complainant may file a complaint with the Commission.
2. Another agency may refer a complaint filed originally with that agency to the Commission.
3. The Commission may initiate a complaint with the approval of at least five Commissioners.

Anyone who files a complaint must secure a notary public and attest to the truth of the allegations in the complaint under penalty of perjury. Although the Ethics Commission accepts only signed complaints, it can also initiate its own complaints with approval from 5 of the 7 commissioners. It can also accept referrals from other agencies.

The attorney appointed as “general counsel” by the seven-member commission serves as an investigator and prosecutor. The commission’s general counsel determines whether a complaint warrants investigation and if so, the general counsel will investigate the allegations made.

The Ethics Commission “hearing officers” are appointed to adjudicate the cases where evidence suggests there is an ethical violation. The hearing officers are required to use the legal standard of “preponderance of evidence” to make the determination if there was an ethical violation and must make specific findings.

The legal term “preponderance of the evidence” means the greater weight of the evidence required for the trier of fact, the hearing officer, to decide in favor of one side or the other. “Preponderance of the evidence” is based on the more convincing evidence and its probable truth or accuracy, and not on the amount of evidence.

The Ethics Commission through its general counsel is empowered to petition a state judge to issue subpoenas for documents and other materials as part of its work and with a judge designated to issue and grant the subpoenas on behalf of the commission itself. A public official who disputes a hearing judge’s finding are given the right to appeal the ruling to the seven-member ethics commission.

Ethics complaints are be made public 30 days after probable cause is found to proceed with an investigation. The ethics commission is prohibited from revealing ethics complaints that have been deemed frivolous or unsubstantiated, but the accuser or accused can publicly disclose the complaints.

The ethics commission is not empowered to investigate violations of legislative policies by legislators, such as sexual harassment policies, unless the Legislature works out an agreement for the ethics commission to investigate such complaints. Even then, if the ethics commission determines that a legislator has violated legislative policy, the ethics commission is required to turn over its findings to the Legislature, which would then in turn determine the legislator’s punishment.

A very significant provision included in the commission powers is authority over include statewide public officials such as the governor, the lieutenant governor, attorney general, secretary of state, public land commissioner and state auditor, or candidates for those offices, to those prohibited from soliciting campaign contributions from January 1 through the end of each year’s legislative session. However, the ethics commission has no authority over school board members and local officials such elected Mayors or City Councilors.

The enforcement of the state’s Open Meetings Act and Inspection of Public Records Act is left to the New Mexico Attorney General, and such enforcement is not made part of the duties of the Ethics Commission. State legislators are already prohibited from soliciting campaign contributions from January 1 through the end of each year’s legislative session.

JURISDICTION OF COMMISSION

According to its website, the Commission has “jurisdiction to enforce the civil compliance provisions of eight statutes and one constitutional provision for public officials, public employees, candidates, persons subject to the Campaign Reporting Act, government contractors, lobbyists and lobbyists’ employers”.

Allegations of criminal conduct are referred to law enforcement agencies. The 8 statutes the Ethics Commission is authorized to enforce are strictly civil in nature and provides for civil penalties and fines. The one power or penalty the Ethics Commission is not granted is the power to suspend or remove an elected or public official.

OFFICIALS NOT SUBJECT TO THE COMMISSION’S JURISDICTION

According to its website, the Ethics Commission has limited jurisdiction and only over certain individual as follows:

“LOCAL OFFICIALS AND EMPLOYEES”

The Commission’s jurisdiction is limited. … it cannot hear complaints alleging violations by local elected officials or local public employees such as county commissioners or municipal employees.

NO JURISDICTION OVER CRIMINAL CONDUCT

The Commission does not hear complaints alleging violations of state or federal criminal laws. The Commission will refer any complaint alleging criminal conduct to the Attorney General, the appropriate District Attorney, or the federal prosecutors. Such a referral does not prevent the Commission from pursuing civil enforcement, either through an administrative hearing or a civil action in state court.

LAWS OUTSIDE THE COMMISSION’S JURISDICTION

The Commission lacks jurisdiction to adjudicate complaints alleging violations of any law that is not expressly provided for in the State Ethics Commission Act including … the Human Rights Act, the Open Meetings Act, the Inspection of Public Records Act, the Extra Compensation Clause of Article IV, Section 27, or the Emoluments Clause of Article XX, Section 9.

LIMITATIONS BASED ON TIME

Three time-based constraints limit the Commission’s jurisdiction:

First, the Commission cannot adjudicate a complaint alleging conduct that occurred more than two years in the past or more than two years after the alleged conduct could reasonably have been discovered.
Second, the Commission lacks jurisdiction over a complaint that is filed against a candidate 60 days before a primary or general election for the pre-election period, unless the complaint alleges a violation of the Campaign Reporting Act or the Voter Action Act.
Third, the Commission lacks jurisdiction over conduct occurring on or before July 1, 2019.”

https://www.sec.state.nm.us/faqs/#Section02

WEBSITE LINK WITH INSTRUCTIONS

The link to the website can be found here:

https://www.sec.state.nm.us/

The website contains a section where the public can sign up for updates from the commission including pending cases and advisory opinions. The website also gives a detail explanation on how a complaint can be filed, gives instructions on how to file an ethics complaint, provides forms and outlines what the complaint needs to allege, including laws believed to have been violated, witnesses and evidence relied upon. The website also provides a guide to respondents and what they must do to respond.

On August 8, 2018, it was reported by long-time political blogger Joe Monahan on his political blog “New Mexico Politics With Joe Monahan” that high profile Democratic political consultant Alan Packman had been hired by Mayor Tim Keller. The city confirmed Packman would be working in the Department of Technology and Innovation which oversees the 311 citizens call center. 311 is the centralized call center for all non-emergency inquiries and services. Packman’s official title is listed as “Integration Specialist” and when hired he was paid a salary of $75,000. City records now reflect that as of August 27, 2020, Mr. Packman is being paid $80,329.

On an election evening coverage program on November 3, 2019 with Joe Monahan who was covering election results, Mayor Tim Keller called in and announced that he is running for a second term as Mayor in 2021. Keller went so far as to say “you can say you heard it here first [that I’m running]. Keller’s statement on the public radio station was taken literally by many city hall observers’ and the general public listening as Keller’s “declaration of candidacy” for his reelection bid in 2021.

This blog article is an in depth report on Mayor Keller’s hiring of Alan Packman and to call for a Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices to investigate if city personnel and resources are being used for Mayor Tim Keller’s announced second term bid and for his personal use in violation of the city’s personnel rules and regulation and the city charter.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The below postscript to this blog article provides the provisions of the City Charter and City Personnel Rules and Regulations reviewed and relied upon for this blog article.

PACKMAN’S BIOGRAPPHY AND PERSONAL BACKGROUND

Alan Packman is a 2003 graduate of George Washington University in Washington, DC, graduating with a BA in Political Science & BA in History. From 2003-2009, he worked for LSG Strategies in Washington, DC as Chief of Operations where he supervised the day-to-day operations of firm. LSG’s focus is interactive communications, grassroots field organizing and campaign strategy.

From 2010 to 2012, he worked for Strategic Management in Albuquerque, managing marketing strategy, press relations, media communications and budgets for advocacy organizations, nonprofit organizations, festivals and electoral campaigns. He lists his experience to include “10 years of strategic and project management experience with marketing, issue advocacy and electoral campaigns focused on creating & executing project plans & budgets. Six years of large-scale event production, marketing and advance experience.”

PACKMAN THE NEW MEXICO POLITICAL CONSULTANT

Alan Packman was the main principal in at least two political consulting firms in New Mexico. One was known as “Full Arsenal” and the other “Rio Strategies”.

Packman has been involved in a number of statewide campaigns for public office in New Mexico. He was the campaign manager for the 2010 U.S. House campaign of former Albuquerque Democrat Mayor Marty Chavez. Packman also worked as the campaign manager for Democrat Tim Keller’s 2014 campaign for New Mexico State Auditor. In 2014, Packman managed Democrat Maggie Toulouse Oliver’s unsuccessful campaign for New Mexico Secretary of State.

Alan Packman has also played a significant role in the careers of progressive Democratic candidates in the 40 to 45+ age group crowd. Rio Strategies and Packman were known to charge clients as much as $10,000 a month for consulting services. Mr. Packman has also been known to speak and make presentations at “Progress Now” forums in breakout sessions with hundreds in attendance to teach progressive candidates how to run for office.

The political campaigns Packman worked on as a political consultant and managed directly through his consulting firms have been Raul Torrez for Bernalillo County District Attorney, Jeff Apodaca for Governor, Garrett Vene Klausen for Land Commissioner, Pat Davis for City Council and United States Congress and Roman Montoya for Bernalillo County Clerk to mention a few. Packman also worked for Senator Martin Heinrich’s campaigns at times. In the interest of full disclosure, in 2013 Mr. Packman was employed by the Pete Dinelli for Mayor campaign at which time he was paid a nominal monthly salary of approximately $1,000 to $1,250 per month for 8 months and Packman was employed at the same time as a political consultant for Tim Keller and Maggie Toulouse Oliver.

PACKMAN AND NEW MEXICO STATE AUDITOR TIM KELLER

Alan Packman has always played a significant role in the political career of Tim Keller. Packman’s political consulting firm’s managed Tim Keller’s campaign for New Mexico State Auditor.

According to campaign finance reports filed with the New Mexico Secretary of State, Mr. Packman’s consulting firms were paid lucrative consulting fees in the thousands of dollars by Tim Keller while he was New Mexico State Auditor.

According to the New Mexico Secretary of State First Biannual “Report of Expenditures and Contributions” filed on April 11, 2016, New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller had $37,755 total monetary in contributions and had total expenditures of $27,081.10 for the reporting period and paid $22,944.57 to Packman’s firm listed as “Full Arsenal” for “consulting”.

https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/3505_43165_2016_4_11_145218.pdf

According to the Second Biannial “Report of Expenditures and Contributions” filed on October 11, 2016 for the reporting period, Mr. Keller had $14,900 total monetary contributions with total expenditure of $25,414.00 and paid $14,018.63 to Packman’s firm “Rio Strategies”.

https://www.cfis.state.nm.us/docs/FPReports/3505_47459_2016_10_11_133710.pdf

State Auditor Keller never disclosed why he needed professional “consulting” services as the New Mexico State Auditor and what work those firms did for the State of New Mexico. Tim Keller has never disclosed if “Full Arsenal” and “Rio Strategies” worked or were paid to do work on Keller’s campaign for Mayor of Albuquerque the year before Tim Keller announced he was running for Mayor nor what was the “consulting” and services performed for Keller by Packman’s Full Arsenal and Rio Strategies.

PACKMAN AND MAYORAL CANDIDATE TIM KELLER

When Keller ran for Mayor, Alan Packman was front and center and paid very well for consulting services to get Keller on the ballot and to collect 3,000 qualifying $5.00 donations for public financing.

According to the July 14, 2017 Tim Keller Campaign Finance Report, on April 3, 2017 the Keller campaign was given $342,952 by the City of Albuquerque in public finance and paid to the campaign by the Albuquerque City Clerk. The July 14, 2017 Keller Campaign Finance Report for Mayor listed total of $130,863.63 of which the following amounts were paid to Packman’s “Rio Strategies” for consulting and staff salaries and campaign management.

Following is a breakdown of finances paid to Rio Strategies:

April 17, 2017, “CONSULTING” $42,110.31
April 17, 2017, “STAFF SALARY FOR JAN-MARCH $10,471.72
May 10, 2017, “STAFF SALARIES AND CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT” $20,784,24
June 6, 2017, “STAFF SALARIES AND CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT” $14,410,14
July 11, 2107 “STAFF SALARIES AND CAMPAIGN MANAGEMENT” $14,201.60

TOTAL PAID TO “RIO STRATEGIES” IN 3 Month Period: $101,978.01

The August 11, 2017 Keller for Mayor Campaign Finance report reflects that $5,216.21 was spent during the last reporting period which includes $3,115 paid to Rio Strategies for the printing of 2,000 yard signs.

PACKMAN’S PAY FROM KELLER’S 2017 $1.3 MILLION RACE FOR MAYOR

According to the city’s 2017 campaign finance reports, Tim Keller was given a total of $506,254 in public finance combined for the first election and the runoff and he also collected $37,870 in “in kind” service donations. The City’s Ethics Board found that $30,000 of the $37,870 “in kind” service donations were in fact cash donations made to the Keller campaign.

Of the total $506,254 in public finance, upwards of 20% of the public finance went to pay Alan Packman and Rio Strategies or at least $105,093 total.

Notwithstanding being a public finance candidate, Keller had three (3) measured finance committees that either raised money directly to spend on his behalf or that indirectly spent money and supported him financially.

ABQ Forward Together is the measured finance committee that was formed specifically to raise money to promote Tim Keller for Mayor. It was managed by Tim Keller’s former campaign manager Neri Olguin for his State Senate race. Neri Olguin is familiar to and known by Alan Packman. ABQ Forward Together raised $663,000, with major contributions from organized labor including city unions such as AFSME.

The measured finance committee ABQFIREPAC, organized by the City’s local Fire Union raised $67,000 with that money spent to help not only Keller but also Democrat City Council candidates. ABQFIREPAC spent at least $25,000 for a TV commercial benefiting Keller, yards signs and a freeway billboard.

The measured finance committee ABQ Working Families also supported Tim Keller and raised $122,000 and its Executive Director is Eric Greigo who has strong ties and friendships with Tim Keller and ostensibly Alan Packman.

Broken down, at least $1,169,254 minimum was spent on Tim Keller’s campaign for Mayor in 2017 ($506,254 public finance money + $663,000 ABQ Forward = $1,169,254 total). Broken down further, a maximum of $1,358,254 was potentially spent on Tim Keller’s campaign for Mayor ($506,254 public finance money + $663,000 ABQ Forward + $67,000 ABQFIREPAC + $122,000 ABQ Working Families = $1,358,254.)

A link to a related 2017 blog article is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2017/11/13/tim-kellers-1-3-million-campaign-for-mayor/

PACKMAN’S PAST CAMPAIGN FUND RAISING FOR KELLER INVESTIGATED

Keller, Packman and his Rio Strategies firm came under fire during Keller’s mayoral campaign over financial improprieties. According to a complaint filed with the City’s Ethics Board, Packman solicited $30,000 in cash donations but listed them as “in-kind” services to the Keller for Mayor campaign. The city ethics board ruled the Keller campaign had violated the ethics code, but Keller did not mean to, and did not fine nor reprimand him.

Packman’s star was diminished significantly after he ran into the ethics buzzsaw and he closed his political consulting firm.

Links to the news coverage can be found here:

https://www.kob.com/investigative-news/tim-keller-mayoral-campaign-manager-soliciting-monetary-donations-despite-public-financing-rules/4597420/

https://www.abqjournal.com/1091963/city-ethics-board-keller-broke-campaign-finance-rules.html

CITY’S RESPONSE TO REQUEST FOR INSPECTION OF PUBLIC RECORDS

Tim Keller was sworn in as Mayor on December 1, 2017. According to city hall personnel records, Alan Packman started to work for the city on August 6, 2018, a eight months after Tim Keller was sworn in as Mayor. Alan Packman remains at city hall to the present.

PACKMAN HAS NO JOB DESCRIPTION

An Inspection of Public Records request (IPRA) was made asking for “Previous and present Job Titles with city, with Job Description containing job duties and responsibilities, minimum qualification and qualifications, education requirements and certificates.”

The City Clerk’s office response to the IPRA request was as follows:

“Mr. Packman’s job title is Constituent Services Integration Specialist. Mr. Packman’s position is unclassified. As a result, there is no record which lists job duties and responsibilities, minimum qualification and qualifications, education requirements and certificates. His role, however, is to coordinate outreach and marketing activities with the City’s departments and communications staff. … Mr. Packman works within the Department of Technology and Innovation. Mr. Packman’s immediate supervisor is Mark Leech, the Deputy Director of Technology and Innovation. [Mr. Packman] does not manage any employees.”

The fact that Mr. Packman’s position is “unclassified” means that he is an “at-will employee.” Packman can be terminated without any cause, anytime and anywhere by Mayor Tim Keller even if Keller is dressed “incognito” wearing a cap and sunglasses and sitting on park bench as he did recently with former APD Chief Michael Geier giving him the choice of retiring or being fired. Although Packman has an immediate supervisor Mark Leech at city hall, confidential sources at city hall say that Packman reports directly to Mayor Keller, either by phone or in person, and that Packman’s supervisor signs off an his bi weekly hours worked and approves Mr. Packman’s annual and sick leave pay.

PACKMAN’S “UNCLASSIFIED” CITY EMPLOYEE PAY

A request for inspection of public records asked for CITY JOB INFORMATION and asked for “Hours of employment” for Mr. Packman. The City Clerk’s response was “Mr. Packman is a salaried employee.”, yet no salary amount was given,

According to the city’s web pay rate report for ungraded employee, Alan Packman is paid $38.62 an hour by the city which translates into $80,329.60 a year in pay ($38.62 hourly X 2080 working hours a year =$80,329.60).

According city personnel records provided, from February 14, 2019 to August 14, 2020 Mr. Packman has taken 145 hours of vacation leave and paid $5,599.90 for that leave (145 vacation hours X $38.62 = $5,599.90). Since August 14, sources believe Mr. Packman has taken additional vacation time and the city records provided have not been updated.

No records were provided by the city as to the amount of sick leave Mr. Packman has taken and been paid. In response to the request for inspection of records, the city clerk’s office stated “the personnel records of the employees which pertain to illness, injury, disability, inability to perform a job task, and sick leave shall be considered confidential under the statute and not subject to release to the public, except, of course, by the consent or waiver of the particular employee.”

In addition to his yearly pay, Mr. Packman, the city makes contributions to his Public Employee Retirement Association Account (PERA). All benefits paid by the city add up to approximately 10% to 15% more to Mr. Packman’s base pay. Mr. Packman will be vested and be eligible for a PERA pension after 5 years of full time employment with the city, county or state. Upon leaving the city, Mr. Packman will have the option of withdrawing all of his PERA contributions if he decides he does not want a pension, but the city contributions remain with PERA and are separate.

PACKMAN’S CELL PHONE RECORDS REVIEWED

The city has provided Mr. Packman with a cell phone that allows him to make local and national cell phone calls at his discretion and the city pays the monthly bill. Monthly cell phone billings provided in response to a request for public records reflect that the city pays upwards of $56.50 per month for phone service for Mr. Packman. Twenty 27 Verizon cell phone records provided by the City Clerk’s office reflect the city has paid a total $1,637.61 up and until release of cellphone records on October 5, 2020.

A trace made of at least 13 out of state phone numbers revealed a significant number of conference calls to those numbers on Zoom ranging from 30 to 60 minutes with municipalities and corvid related information sources. The remaining cell phone numbers were local and in state numbers and too numerous to identify with any certainty if they were work related.

PACKMAN’S OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT CONTRACT

City records provided by the City Clerk’s Office reflect that Alan Packman received permission for outside employment once from his assigned Department Director, the Risk Management Director, the Human Resources Director and Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair.

Mr. Packman was given permission to work 10 hours in outside employment for the “SOMOS ABQ” festival event held on September 28, 2019. The SOMOS festival is a highly popular one day event held in celebration of Albuquerque with arts, live bands, and other entertainment events and food. In the past, SOMOS has attracted crowds of up to 20,000 to 25,000 people. The event is open to the public and entrance fees charged have been anywhere from $39.99 and upwards of $299 for ticket packages. In the past the SOMOS event has been held on civic plaza and at Balloon Fiesta Park.

According to the “Request for Permission To Engage In Outside Employment” provided to the City, Mr. Packman provided “logistics support” on September 28, 2019 for the one-day Somos Festival. According to the authorization, no real physical demands or job hazards were involved.

Personnel records provided pursuant to an inspection of public records reflect that Mr. Packman did not take any vacation time off on September 28, 2019. This means that Packman was likely paid by both the City and the SOMOS Festival for the same time period worked. Mr. Packman’s pay rate with the city is $38.62 per hour and 10 hours of work with the city would be $386.20. There is no disclosure as to what Alan Packman was paid for his “logistic support” for SOMOS, if anything was paid.

NO OTHER RECORDS PROVIDED:

Under the caption of “City Expenses” the following requests for documents were made followed by the with the “city clerk’s responses”:

Copies of city vehicle use authorizations for Alan Packman, year, model and mileage of vehicle and vehicle mileage.

[City clerk’s response] No responsive records.

Copies of “P-Card” expenditures or credit card charges for City of Albuquerque and purchase made by or on behalf of and for the city or for use by Alan Packman.

[City clerk’s response] Mr. Packman does not have a Pcard but see the attached receipts.

E-Mail Copies of two receipts were provided and they are:

July 13, 2020 Invoice from AMAZON in the amount of $65.98 for the purchase of a webcam with microphone for a fusion web camera for a 1080 P computer to be used for ZOOM video conferences, and one YOU Tube, Recording , Skyp and streaming computer camera with extended view for a PC Desktop computer.

January 22, 2020 Walmart receipt in the total amount of $18.50 for the purchase of a floor lamp.

Copies of any personal service contracts, goods and service contracts, signed by Alan Packman for and behalf of the city or the Mayor.

[City clerk’s response] There are no responsive records to this aspect of your request.

Inventory of city issued equipment to employee including, but not limited to, cell phones, cars, contracts for service and training.

[City clerk’s response] No responsive records.

SOCIAL MEDIA ACTIVITIES

Ever since Mayor Tim Keller assumed office on December 1, 2017, he has taken political showmanship to all new levels. Keller is known for his photo ops and press conferences, attending protest rallies to speak at, attending marches, attending heavy metal concerts to introduce the band, running in track meets and participating in exhibition football games as the quarterback and enjoying reliving his high school glory days.

It is important to note that it was reported that APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos sent out a TWEET he had written on behalf of the APD Chief Geier, a TWEET that Geier later denied he authorized and Gallegos was force to apologized. This is important to remember given Mayor Keller’s extensive social media presence.

Tim Keller has two FACEBOOK accounts, one personal and one official as Mayor. Keller posts pictures, press conferences and “fluff” videos on FACEBOOK page Keller also maintains a TWITTER account. It is unknown if Mr. Packman or any other city personnel resources, such as the Mayor’s spokesperson or personal aide or office worker, are maintaining the FACEBOOK and TWITTER accounts for Tim Keller and posting on his behalf.

CITY’S 311 CITIZEN’S CONTACT CENTER INCLUDED IN KELLER’S PUBLIC RELATIONS ACTIVITIES

The city’s 311 call center employs upwards of 30 telephone operators. Virtually all of the thousands of calls made to the 311 calls each year to the call center are logged in one form or another. Each and every one of the 311 calls that involve a city complaint, the 311 call operators prepare a “work order” with a work order number assigned. The work order is sent to the various departments to respond to on behalf of the city. Follow up emails are then sent to callers confirming the status of the complaints.

Keller increased his public relations activities once the corona virus hit hard in February of this year. Keller held daily news conferences as if competing with the Governor’s daily press conferences. Keller has also taken his public relations to another level by holding regular telephone “town hall meetings”.

Keller’s “town hall” meetings are especially effective for his public relations given the sure magnitude of the calls made and the number of times the townhall meetings have been conduct. The townhall meetings consist of calling upwards of 13,000 people at one time. Confidential sources are saying calls are being made to those who have called 311 where a work invoice has been generated and that 311 city resources are used to compile call lists.

When “town hall” phone meetings are to be held, initial calls are made with a recording of Keller announcing the date and time of the town hall meeting. The phone call conference calls last up to a full hour. Alan Packman has acted as the moderator or announcer of the telephone town hall meetings and he screen’s all incoming calls and questions for Mayor Keller to answer. Further, Department Directors and other City employee participate in the town hall meetings to help respond to question and discuss city efforts to deal with the pandemic

It is more likely than not that all of Mayor Tim Keller’s public relations efforts have in fact payed off for him. He has been able to maintain a high approval rating essentially identical the percentage of the vote he received when he ran for Mayor in 2017 portraying himself in a positive manner devoid of any controversial stories.

KELLER’S USE OF CAMPAIGN LOGO FOR SELF AND CITY PROMOTION

Since being elected in November 2017, Mayor Tim Keller has implemented a public relations and marketing campaign to re-brand the city image with his “One ABQ” initiatives and with his new logo and the street slang nickname for the city. Keller came up with a strained logo that rearranges the letters in the city’s name to reflect the street slang name “BURQUE” in red letters with t-shirts and created a web page with slick videos promoting the city. The attempt to re brand and change the promotional name of “Duke City” to “BURQUE” is no doubt considered a smart political promotional advertising move by Mayor Tim Keller and his political consultant Packman, now city employee, to appeal to younger people.

What the news media has ignored or is not aware of and what the public may have not noticed, is that Mayor Tim Keller and his handlers have the city using his 2017 Mayoral campaign logo and colors with his name and the outline of the city backdrop in a circle with his “rust brown” color scheme backdrops on city literature and most city promotional materials. Keller’s campaign logo is replacing the city’s official seal or logo at his press conferences and on podiums he speaks from behind. This should sound very familiar. It was done before by Mayor Martin Chavez. City construction billboards used Mayor Chavez’s mayoral campaign reelection city photos with purple color hues as a backdrop in his last city election running for Mayor.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Normally, it is not a big deal that any former campaign worker wants to go to work for a successful candidate whose candidacy they supported. When it comes to city hall, it is common knowledge that key supporters or prominent campaign workers are hired for high management or mid management levels positions that already exist, such as Chief of Staff or as a City Department Directors or Division Directors and paid $95,000 to $110,000 a year. Virtually all Mayors have done it in one form or another to varying degrees.

What is a major difference with the employment of Alan Packman for the city is that he is a professional political campaign consultant and campaign manager who has worked for Tim Keller in the past to get Keller elected. Working for the 311 citizens contact center means Packman is allowed access to private citizens cell phone numbers, land line phone numbers, addresses and email address to those who have contacted the 311-call center. These are members of the public and voters who never intended or did not authorize that they be contacted for unrelated matters to their original contact with 311. The question that must be raised is to what extent and to what purpose Packman has had access to the 311 citizen’s contact information?

PACKMAN’S PAST AND PRESENT WORK FOR KELLER

In 2017, Democrat Tim Keller was elected Mayor in a runoff with a 62.2% vote against Republican Dan Lewis at 37.8%. Mayor Keller made it known election night in November 2019 that he intends to run for a second 4-year term in 2021. On Sunday, September 13, 2020, the Albuquerque Journal reported that its poll revealed that Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller has a 60% approval rating close to 3 years into his term. Such an approval makes Keller the automatic front runner as he seeks a second term. Keller’s public relations has helped to keep his approval rating high with the public

When then State Auditor Tim Keller was running for Mayor in 2017, he was swept into office riding on a wave of popularity he orchestrated as State Auditor for a mere 1 year and six months of his 4-year term in office combating “waste, fraud and abuse” in government and promising “transparency”. When it comes to the work of Alan Packman for Keller, there never has been transparency.

Ostensibly, Keller crafted his “white knight” image as NM State Auditor with the help of his longtime political consultant Alan Packman. NM State Auditor Tim Keller paid literally thousands for “consulting services” to Packman out of the Keller campaign funds raised for his State Auditor race. Mayor Tim Keller has now brought Alan Packman into city hall working for the city’s 311 call center and is paying him over $80,000 a year and once again, there is no real transparency as to Packman’s job duties and work being performed at taxpayer expense.

The fact that there is no job description for Alan Packman that lists his job duties, responsibilities, minimum qualifications, education requirements or certificates is a “red flag” that a high paying job was created out of whole cloth by Tim Keller to give his long time paid political consultant a job. The position was never advertised. When it comes to Alan Packman, the professional political consultant, and his job in the Department of Technology and Innovation dealing with “constituent services”, Keller and Packman have created the appearance of impropriety, whether true or false, that Packman is working on behalf of Mayor Tim Keller’s re-election campaign.

Packman’s assignment to the 311-call center and his work on Keller’s city-wide town hall phone conferences calling upwards of 13,000 people requires the use of city hall resources and personnel is very problematic and disturbing. There is no need for telephone town hall meetings given the fact that number of press conferences Keller already does on a daily basis. Once again, Keller has created the appearance of impropriety, whether true or false, that Packman is working on behalf of Mayor Tim Keller’s reelection bid and using city 311 resources. There is little doubt that whatever personal information of those who call into 311 can be misused in the future as Keller seeks a second term.

The attempts by Mayor Keller to re-brand the city image with his own campaign logo and colors scheme is nothing less than Keller using city resources and personnel to increase his name identification and promote Tim Keller. Now that Keller is running for second term, it is more likely than not that Keller intends to use his “One Albuquerque” theme and the rebranding of the city as “Burque” incorporating them into his reelection materials, themes and campaign slogans.

The City Attorney or the City’s Human Resources Department needs to demand and require in no uncertain terms that political consultant, and now city employee, Alan Packman be required to sign a binding “non-disclosure and confidentiality agreement” that prohibits him from duplicating or copying for his use or Keller’s use in his re election bid, any and all telephone log lists compiled with 311 resources, and any other city resources materials now and in the future for a political campaign. The execution of such a document would be a condition of continued employment for Mr. Packman. Such an agreements have been mandated in the past of city employees. Such an agreement is necessary and required now based on Keller’s and Packman’s past history of nefarious campaign fund raising and campaign finance violations.

Further, the Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices should initiate on its own an investigation to what extent, if any, city employee Alan Packman has been working on or preparing Mayor Keller’s re-election campaign and issue a report on its findings. To that end, it would be appropriate for the City’s Internal Audit Department or the City’s Personnel Department to conduct a “desk job audit” of the work being performed by Mr. Packman and to determine what extent, if any, Mr. Packman may be involved in Mayor Keller’s 2021 reelection campaign. Most importantly a verification that no city resources nor personnel are being used for political purposes to promote Tim Keller for a second term is needed.

Declared candidate for reelection Tim Keller and his political consultant and city employee Alan Packman would be wise to read and fully understand the election code, especially the provisions that prohibit the use of city personnel and city resources for political campaigns. Both Keller and Packman should do so before a member of the general public complains and before they are both accused of once again of nefarious campaign practices as they were accused of in 2017 with solicitation of cash donations and reporting the cash donations as “in kind” donations. If Allen Packman is indeed working on Mayor Keller’s campaign for re election during city office hours, he needs to resign immediately from city employment or take a leave of absence until the election is over.

___________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

Following are the provision of the City Charter and City Personnel Regulations review and relied upon for this blog article:

OUTSIDE EMPLOYMENT

Personnel rules and regulations mandate that all city employees must request and secure permission to work and be paid for outside employment. Rule 310 of the City’s personnel Rules and Regulations are clear and provide:

EMPLOYMENT OUTSIDE THE CITY SERVICE. All employees must obtain the written permission of the department director and concurrence of the Human Resources Director allowing them to engage in outside employment.

The link to the city’s personnel rules and regulations governing is Conditions of Employment are here:

http://documents.cabq.gov/human-resources/personnel-rules-regulations/Section%20300%20-%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf

CITY’S PERSONNEL RULES AND REGULATIONS PROHIBITS POLITCAL ACTIVITIES

Rule 311.3 of the City’s personnel rules and regulation covering all city employees provides in part:

“Political Activities. No person shall engage in political activity that diminishes the integrity, efficiency or discipline of the City service. No employee will participate in the following types of activity:

A. Use of one’s position or status to influence the support of other officials or employees of the City for or against any candidate or issue in any election or use of political activity to influence the employee’s position or status within City government; … . “

The link to the city’s personnel rules and regulations governing is Conditions of Employment are here:

http://documents.cabq.gov/human-resources/personnel-rules-regulations/Section%20300%20-%20Conditions%20of%20Employment.pdf

CITY CHARTER PROVISIONS PROHBITING USE OF CITY PROPERTY AND PERSONNEL AND PENALTIES

Article XII, Sections 6 and 7 of the Albuquerque City Charter is very specific on the prohibition of city elected officials use of public property for political purposes and the misuse of city employees in campaigns. Article XII, Section 8 also provides for penalties.

Article XII, Sections 6, USE OF PUBLIC PROPERTY, states:

No official of the city shall use property, owned by any governmental body or funds of any governmental body, for personal benefit, convenience or profit, except in accordance with policies promulgated by the Council. This prohibition includes the use of city property or funds to advertise or promote the campaign of any official, except as provided in this section. …

No campaign activities shall be conducted in those portions of city facilities that are dedicated as work areas for city employees. Officials are prohibited from using any method of communication paid for with city resources, including but not limited to public service announcements, signage, official websites or mail during the three months prior to their election date, if such advertising states or implies personal responsibility of the official for any city accomplishment.

Officials are prohibited from using any method of communication paid for with city resources, including but not limited to public service announcements, signage, official websites or mail if such communication is in a form that would be reasonably mistaken for the campaign materials of the official because of the similarity of design, content or graphics being used in the campaign.

(Am. Ord. 34-2006)

Article XII, Sections 7, MISUSE OF CITY EMPLOYEES IN CAMPAIGNS states

No official shall participate in the following types of political activity:

(A) Using his or her position or employment with the city to influence support of employees of the city for or against any candidate, issue or Measure Finance Committee or other similar organization in any election or pre-election activity; provided, however, that nothing herein shall deny the right of an official of the city to express his or her views on any issue.
(B) … ,(C) … ,(D)…, (E) … .

Article XII Section 8. ENFORCEMENT; VIOLATION; PENALTY; AUTOMATIC FINES; REMOVAL FROM OFFICE; APPEAL provides:

“(a) Any charge of violations of this Code of Ethics shall be brought before the City Clerk. Any private citizen may initiate such a charge in accordance with regulations established by the City Clerk.
(b) … .
(c) … .
(d) In addition to imposing such sanctions, or as an alternative thereto, the Board may recommend to the Council that an appointed or employed official be suspended or removed from office or that an elected official be removed from office.
(e) The Council may, upon the recommendation of the Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices, and after due hearing of the charge, order the suspension or removal of an appointed or employed official, or the removal of an elected official; provided, however, that no official shall be removed or suspended except upon the concurrence of two-thirds of the Councilors qualified to vote thereon.
(f) … .”

THE BOARD OF ETHICS AND CAMPAIGN PRACTICES

The Board of Ethics and Campaign Practices was created by Charter Article XII, the Code of Ethics. The Board of Ethics is a board of limited jurisdiction for election-related matters and violations of the Code of Ethics.

The Board may conduct investigations regarding possible violations of the Election Code, the Open and Ethical Elections Code and the Code of Ethics. The Board also may issue advisory opinions at the request of City Officials and Candidates.

The Board has issued Rules and Regulations to assist in the administration, conduct, interpretation and enforcement of the Code of Ethics and the Elections Code. The rules and regulations were updated and adopted on February 28, 2020, and signed off on by Andrew Schultz, Chair, Board of Ethics Campaign Practices and Ethan Watson the Acting City Clerk.

The Rules & Regulations of the Board of Ethics & Campaign Practices has a provision for the board on its own to initiate and investigation and charges. Section 4 of the Rules & Regulations of the Board of Ethics & Campaign Practices provides:

“Notwithstanding any other provision in this Section, the Board may, on its own initiative, initiate a charge or charges that a Candidate or the chair of a Measure Finance Committee or any other group has committed a violation of the Codes or of these Rules and Regulations.”

The link to the Rules & Regulations of the Board of Ethics & Campaign Practices is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/documents/2020-final-boe-rules-regulations.pdf

Not surprising the Albuquerque Journal ran an expected editorial on the forced “retirement” of former APD Chief Michael Geier. What was surprising was the mere suggestion that Medina may be the “right guy” for Chief and to move “carefully” with a national search, with the former simply not true given his past and the latter a likely sham.

Below is the editorial in full followed by a link to it.

“There was always this idea there was some magical person who could be all things to all people and be a new police chief in Albuquerque. People would say (the chief would) have to have done all the DOJ reforms, and they’d have to be respected by front-line officers and they also have to be from outside Albuquerque but they also have to know Albuquerque. The amazing thing about this is the closest person to that is Chief Geier.”

– Mayor Tim Keller, June 13, 2018

Keller made those comments at a news conference announcing his decision to remove the title of “interim” in front of Michael Geier’s name after a compressed national search that took just six months, rather than the initial one-year projection, to find a chief for the Albuquerque Police Department. There was no need to drag things out, the mayor told reporters back then, because Geier checked all the boxes.

So much for the magic. It’s long gone in a city that’s plagued by violent crime and a police force operating under a Department of Justice oversight agreement that has no end in sight – and is once again in need of a new chief.

Earlier this month, after two years and nine months in the job, Geier was shown the door by Keller and Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair. The departure was initially billed as a voluntary retirement where everybody made nice – a day earlier Nair had even chastised a city councilor who had asked during the council meeting whether the chief still had the administration’s support.

It’s now turned into something of a free-for-all.

The voluntary retirement cease-fire lasted until the day after Geier’s last official day on the city payroll, Sept. 18. Then, the chief, who had kept an unfortunately low profile during this tenure whether by choice or, as he claims, by orders from a mayor who does love the cameras – had a lot to say.

Geier, who had a 45-year career in law enforcement that included stints as an officer in the Chicago area, as an APD commander and as chief in Rio Rancho, says the Keller administration micromanaged the department and put a higher priority on dog-and-pony press conferences than on real crime-fighting. Geier says he wasn’t allowed to call his own briefings without including the mayor and was handed talking points by the administration. “I’m not a cop anymore; I’m just a politician’s aide, is the way I describe it,” he told the Journal.

The outgoing chief says the man Keller named as interim chief to succeed him, Deputy Chief Harold Medina, worked against him on key initiatives including one dealing with gun violence. Geier told the Journal he had recommended to Nair that Medina be moved out of his position for insubordination. Instead, it was Geier who was out the door and Medina moved up to the top spot as interim chief.

Nair said this was not a quick decision – that the administration had had concerns about Geier’s job performance since early this year and had met with him multiple times over the summer.

Keller told the Journal it had become clear to him this was the time to make a change. “As mayor, it is my job to hold my team accountable. I offered Geier an honorable retirement, and while he has taken the low road on the way out, full of sour grapes and new-found complaints, I will not follow suit.”

The mayor’s chief of staff, Mike Puelle, however, showed no such reluctance. He said Geier wasn’t putting in the work, that he was rarely at important incidents like officer-involved shootings, protests, staff meetings or press conferences. “The job just wasn’t getting done,” Puelle said.

The back-and-forth goes on, but the end result doesn’t change. The department needs another chief to oversee a department with roughly 1,000 officers in a city with a big-time crime problem.

While the city has posted the job and begun its search – and it’s worth noting Keller’s pick is subject to City Council approval – Medina would seem to be a front-runner. After all, it appears he’s been angling for the position for some time and is openly lobbying for it now.

But his record with APD throws up red flags.

Medina shot and killed a 14-year-old boy in the sanctuary of a West Side church in 2002. The boy had a BB gun in his hand and Medina says the incident haunts him to this day. “That’s why it’s imperative you have a police chief that knows what people go through on both sides,” he said. The boy’s mother says learning Medina has been named interim chief was like “ripping the scab off the wound.”
Medina was the ranking officer on the scene of APD’s fatal shooting of 25-year-old Iraq War veteran Kenneth Ellis in 2010 – one of the department’s most controversial that ended with a jury awarding the family $10.3 million. Ellis had been holding a gun to his own head when another officer shot him in the neck.

Geier and Medina clashed on APD’s controversial handling of protests that turned violent concerning the Oñate sculpture at the Albuquerque Museum. The outgoing chief says he told Medina to have uniformed officers – like bicycle cops – at the scene as a deterrent but that his directive was ignored. Medina says he was concerned that having officers there in riot gear would escalate tensions – so APD officers stayed behind the building until things went south. The administration points out that Geier was not at the scene.

Keller has been lavish in his praise of Medina, saying that “in just the last few weeks, this change at the top has reinvigorated our crime-fighting and reform efforts.”
From the outside it looks as though Medina already was the power at APD and Geier had been marginalized. And Medina may, in fact, be the right person for the job – especially if there is a preference for an “insider.”

But the city needs to move carefully. It should do a bona fide national search – which won’t be any easier given the micromanagement allegations, Geier’s messy departure, the appearance Medina may be the chosen one, a mayoral election coming up next November and a global pandemic.

Those are good reasons the City Council should consider playing a bigger role, even though it’s the mayor’s appointment subject to council approval. Why not have a council listening session or two that allow the public, the business community, activists and others to express their frustrations on crime and lawlessness in the city? And give officers a chance to explain why more than 80% in a recent survey said they felt the mayor didn’t support them? (Geier didn’t fare much better at 62%, and the City Council was worse at 96%.)

Chief of police is perhaps the most critical job in the city of Albuquerque. If this city is to ever reach its potential, we must get on top of the crime problem. And we can’t afford another pick where the seemingly perfect candidate is told to hit the road after less than three years on a job that’s a long way from being done.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1503470/mayor-needs-more-input-before-picking-apds-next-leader.html

DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD Chief Michael Geier knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted the job as APD Chief. After all he learned his lessons well under former Chief Ray Schultz, rose up through the ranks under Schultz to become a commander where he met then State Senator Tim Keller. Geier knew that being APD Chief is a political appointment. Mayor’s demand and expect results. Geier knew that he served at the pleasure of the Mayor, but he took the job anyway. Geier knew that he could be terminated without cause or reason, anytime and anywhere, including sitting on a park bench, so he has only himself to blame on many levels for taking the job.

GEIER’S LAST DOG AND PONY SHOW

What is painfully obvious is that what former Chief Geier said during the press conference with Mayor Tim Keller announcing his retirement was just another “dog and pony show” done in an attempt to save face and to allow Keller, Nair and Medina deniability that he was being terminated. Geier gave essentially the same reasons for retiring from APD as he did from Rio Rancho as chief. Instead of trying to mislead the public and the press with the joint press conference to save face, Gieir should have cleared out his office, left city hall with his head held high and with an extended middle finger to Keller, Nair and Medina. Geier should of held his own press conference. Instead, he made the media rounds saying he has been wronged and back stabbed and the media are all over it with great relish.

ANOTHER SHAM NATIONAL SEARCH

Interim Chief Harold Medina has already said he will apply to be permanent Chief when the national search starts. If this sounds at all familiar, it is. This is the exact same sham strategy Keller used to make Michael Geier permanent Chief. Soon after being appointed Interim Chief, then Interim Chief Geier made it know he was applying to be permanent chief. After the so-called national search, Keller waived his magic wand and “presto chango”, Keller appointed Geier as permanent APD Chief. Keller went so far as to say that it turned out that the most qualified person to be Chief was already here and it was Interim Chief Geier. If Medina is made permanent chief, the national search will be just another sham.

JOURNAL IGNORS THE PAIN MEDINA HAS BROUGHT UPON VICTIM’S FAMILYS

The Albuquerque Journal does no one any favors by saying Harold Medina’s “record with APD throws up red flags” . The only throw up here is when the Journal editors say “Medina may, in fact, be the right person for the job, especially if there is a preference for an “insider.” The blunt truth is, APD does not need another insider and Interim Chief Harold Medina has no business applying to be Chief let alone being made permanent.

It is pathetic the Journal ignores what Kenneth Ellis Jr told the Journal about Medina. Kenneth Ellis Jr. is the father of Kenneth Ellis III who was the 25 year old suffering from post-traumatic syndrome who was killed by APD with Medina giving authorization use deadly force. The Ellis family sued the city and was awarded $10 Million by a jury. Ellis Senior said Harold Medina is an old face that predates the DOJ investigation and the culture of aggression and lack of accountability it uncovered at APD. According to Ellis, Medina cannot bring forth the change needed at a department “ingrained in corruption” and Ellis said:

“Medina has been part of the problem and, if you’re part of the problem, you can’t be part of the solution. ”

When Bridget Montoya, the mother of 14-year-old Dominic Montoya heard that Harold Medina, the officer who shot and killed her son while the child was having a psychotic episode, named Harold Median interim chief of APD, she said:

[It’s like] ripping the scab off the wound. People think it’s been 18 years, that I should be over it by now, and I’m not. It was so traumatic and so awful what happened – it ruined my life. … My son had just turned 14 years old. He was just a kid. [I have had to work] very, very hard to forgive Harold Medina. I know that I have to. I can’t live with that bitterness. ”

It’s god damn pathetic and abhorrent that Medina said his experiences with the shootings make him committed to reforming the department and said to the Journal:

“That is the biggest thing, looking at these incidents I’ve been involved in and knowing that the direction we’re moving and these changes we’re making could’ve impacted those situations and we could’ve had different outcomes as a department.”

Medina’s comments are like Medina being the doctor who killed a patient during surgery and then offering to be the mortician to make the corpse look good for the burial.

MEDINA PART OF THE PROBLEM

Interim Chief Harold Medina is part of the very problem that brought the Department of Justice (DOJ) here in the first place. It was the past APD management practices that resulted in the “culture of aggression” found by the DOJ that lead to the federal consent decree after 18 police officer involved shootings and the findings of excessive use of force and deadly force by APD.

Any one in APD command staff who assisted, contributed or who did not stop the “culture of aggression” found by the Department of Justice and who have resisted the reform process has no business being APD Chief or Deputy for that matter, and that especially includes Harold Medina. It is not at all likely, despite whatever public comments he makes, that Interim APD Chief Medina will ever truly be committed to all 270 Federal mandated reforms. This alone should disqualify him from being the interim APD Chief and for that matter the new permanent Chief.

The city has “posted” the position and is taking applicants. Mayor Keller has said he will be announcing soon the process that will be followed likely including a selection committee.

Keller needs to find the city another Chief and spare us all from another sham chief selection process

In American politics, October surprise is “a revelation disclosed in the month prior to an election, often orchestrated in the hopes of dramatically influencing the result”.

https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/what-does-october-surprise-mean-in-politics

Because the date for the Presidential elections is the first Tuesday in November, events that take place in October have greater potential to influence the decisions of prospective voters. October “last-minute news” a few weeks before and election can either completely change the entire course of an election or strongly reinforce the inevitable.

Four years ago, the October surprise that impacted the Presidential election was that former FBI Director James Comey had reopened the investigation of Hilliary Clinton’s email a mere 3 weeks before the election and many say that event cost her the elections, even though nothing was found.

BREAKING NEWS AFTER MIDNIGHT

In the early morning hours of Friday October 2, the major news outlets started reporting that President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump have tested positive for the coronavirus. In a tweet, just before 1 a.m., Trump made the announcement:

“Tonight, @FLOTUS and I tested positive for COVID-19. We will begin our quarantine and recovery process immediately. … We will get through this TOGETHER!”

Trump said he and first lady were quarantining in the White House for the full 14 days. The White House physician said the president is expected to continue carrying out his duties “without disruption” while recovering in the White House.

Trump’s announcement came hours after he confirmed that Hope Hicks, one of Trumps trusted and longest-serving aides, had been diagnosed with the virus. Hicks began feeling mild symptoms during the plane ride on Air Force One going home with Trump from a rally in Minnesota.

It is a stunning announcement that will surely will upend the Presidential election into even further uncertainty just a month before the presidential election. Trump is 74 years old, is severely overweight putting him at higher risk of serious complications from the virus that has infected more than 7 million people nationwide.

Trump who has been trying desperately to convince the American public that the worst of the pandemic is behind them. Ever since the early outbreak of the pandemic, Trump has consistently downplayed the threat of a virus. He disclosed last month to veteran news reporter Bob Woodward of Watergate fame, that he was aware of the seriousness of the virus back in February, but he intentionally downplayed it to avoid “panicking” the American public. The pandemic has now killed more than 205,000 Americans, yet Trump continued to take try and discredit his own experts and has insisted a that a vaccine will found and even distributed before the end of the year.

Trump has always played down concerns about being personally vulnerable. Trump has refused to abide by basic public health guidelines, including those issued by his own administration, such as wearing masks in public and practicing social distancing believing it was a sign of weakness. Instead, he continued to hold campaign rallies that draw thousands of supporters who also refused to wear masks and take precautions.

Trump’s handling of the pandemic was a major point of contention during the debate a few days before against Democrat Joe Biden who spent much of the summer off the campaign trail because of the virus. Trump mocked Biden at their debate saying:

“I don’t wear masks like him. Every time you see him, he’s got a mask. He could be speaking 200 feet away from me, and he shows up with the biggest mask I’ve ever seen.”

MILD SYMTOMS THUS FAR

On October 2, a White House official said Trump is experiencing “mild symptoms.” According to news reports, the next 5 to 10 days will be critical for Trump following his positive test for Covid-19. Doctors are warning the illness can suddenly worsen after several days of relatively mild symptoms. That’s particularly true for patients with two of the biggest risk factors for serious and even life-threatening complications of the disease: obesity and older age. Trump, 74, with a body mass index of 30.5, qualifying him as obese, fits both criteria.

https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/trump-experiencing-mild-covid-symptoms-why-first-week-matters-n1241778

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It has always been not if, but when, Trump would catch the virus given his negligence and carelessness dealing with the virus. The diagnosis marks a major and potentially complete devastation to Trump’s reelection bid. The biggest question that remains is just how sick will Trump be. It was reported that former Vice President Joe Biden and his Dr. Jill Biden underwent PCR testing for COVID-19 and COVID-19 was not detected. Vice President Michael Pence has also tested negative for the virus.

One thing is for sure, the remaining two Presidential debates will be cancelled and the election will go forward. Unless of course the Republicans persist in filling the Supreme Court vacancy of Ruth Bader Ginsburg in order for the Supreme Court to suspend the election to allow Trump to recover, remain president or allow Vice President Mike Pence to assume power.

Now that would be another October Surprise.

“Do not go gentle into that good night,
Old age should burn and rave at close of day;
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Though wise men at their end know dark is right,
Because their words had forked no lightning they
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

Wild men who caught and sang the sun in flight,
And learn, too late, they grieved it on its way,
Do not go gentle into that good night.

Grave men, near death, who see with blinding sight
Blind eyes could blaze like meteors and be gay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.

And you, my father, there on the sad height,
Curse, bless, me now with your fierce tears, I pray.
Do not go gentle into that good night.
Rage, rage against the dying of the light.”

Dylan Thomas – 1914-1953

On Wednesday, September 9, during it 10:00 pm news cast, KRQE News 13 reported that effective September 30, APD Chief Michael Geier had been relieved of his duties and was out as APD Chief. News 13 also reported Deputy Chief Harold Medina would take over as acting chief on September 30. When News 13 contacted Mayor Keller’s office to see what sparked the move, Keller’s office would not confirm or deny the report.

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-police-chief-relieved-of-duties/?fbclid=IwAR1EwxihuZ3l1FvMrdfOyf9wxRpfX2nQjE1kHAJVhDSAPbTYA_9dFoEHY7s

PRESS CONFERENCE ANNOUNCING GEIER’S RETIRMENT

On Thursday September 10, APD Chief Geier and Mayor Keller quickly called a joint news conference to announce that APD Chief Geier was retiring for a fourth time from law enforcement after a 47-year career. Geier has been APD Chief for close to 3 full years. Before, Gieir retired from the Chicago Police Department after 20 years, came to work for APD and retired after 20 years, went on to become Chief of the Rio Rancho Police Department, retired there in 2016 and was then appointed by newly elected Mayor Tim Keller in December, 2017 as APD Interim Chief and then permanent Chief.

During the September 10 press conference, Geier announced he was retiring and Mayor Tim Keller announced First Deputy Harold Medina as Interim Chief. Keller announced a national search would be conducted to find a new chief.

At the news conference, Geier said he was retiring to spend more time with his two young grandchildren, whom he and his wife are raising, and said “After 47 years in law enforcement, it’s time to pass the baton [to a younger generation.] Keller and Geier both insisted at the time that the decision for Geier to retire was a “mutual decision” after lengthy discussions. However, Keller said there were many “small distractions” and “big issues facing the city”. Keller said he saw the need “for increased progress and for a faster rate of change” at APD.

Within a few days, it was revealed that former Chief Michael Geier was indeed forced to retire by Mayor Tim Keller and his Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair and that it was First Deputy Harold Medina that helped orchestrate Geier’s removal. Confidential sources provided information that APD Chief Michael Geier was summoned to a city park by Mayor Tim Keller and CAO Sarita Nair during the September 5 Labor Day Holiday weekend. The purpose of the meeting was that Keller had decided to let Geier go, that his services were no longer needed and it was time for Geier to leave APD.

According to sources Keller told Geier he wanted to take APD in a different direction. Geier was given the choice between termination or retirement and Geier agreed that it was time for him to retire. Soon after their walk in the park, sources say that Geier met CAO Nair in her office at city hall and the meeting became hostile. On Thursday morning, September 10, the details of Geier’s “retirement” were worked out and the press conference was held by Keller where Geier read his statement.

A related blog article report is here:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2020/09/14/gieirs-walk-in-the-park-ends-with-his-retirement-ask-me-no-questions-you-internet-rumor-monger-pollster-explains-kellers-6/

GEIER BREAKS HIS SILENCE AND MAKES THE MEDIA ROUNDS

Since the September 10 press conference, former APD Chief Geier has sought media interviews to disclose the facts and circumstances surrounding his departure from APD. Needless to say, former Chief Geier has made some astounding disclosures to the media. Geier has revealed that Mayor Keller is heavy handed, preoccupied with public relations, obsessed with his failure to keep his campaign promises to reduce high violent crime rates, implementing the Department of Justice reforms and returning to community-based policing.

THE ALBQURQUE JOURNAL INTERVIEW

On Sunday, September 27, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page article, complete with colored photographs, reporting on Geier’s accomplishments with APD, the circumstances surrounding Mayor Tim Keller’s forcing Geier to retire and Interim Chief Medina’s efforts to replace Geier. The Journal front page, bold headline blared “Ousted chief, Mayor’s Office trade accusations”.

The link to the report is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/1501123/city-former-top-cop-take-gloves-off.html

Former APD Chief Geier sharply criticized Mayor Keller and his administration for constant micromanagement of APD. According to Geier, he could not even hold his own press conferences and was told what to say at the ones he was present to participate. Geier said the news press conferences were “dog and pony shows”. Geier alleged that the Mayor’s Office set APD’s priorities and dictated staffing structures.

As an example of micro management by the Keller Administration, Geier said he was given a “matrix” that listed projects that needed to be carried out and specific deadlines. Geier said he wasn’t allowed to call his own briefings without including the mayor and was handed talking points from the administration.

One particular and very insulting moment for Geier was when he was told not to speak to the media until after Mayor Keller arrived. It was the time when bones were found buried in a West Side dirt lot that was being made into a park. Initially, it appeared to be a huge development in the notorious West Mesa serial killer case that Geier himself had worked on the investigation years ago after the burial site was found in 2009. The human bones turned out to be ancient and not connected to the serial killings.

Geier said:

“The chief should be able to say, ‘We’re going to do the press conference [and] you don’t even have to be there, Mr. Mayor, unless you want to see what’s out there. … I don’t want to get out in front of the cameras, but if someone knows something about it, that’s the person you want out there. … [In the case of the West Side serial killings] … I don’t think anyone knows it better than me. … I’m not a cop anymore; I’m just a politician’s aide is the way I [will] describe it.”

ACTS OF INSUBORDINATION

As gun violence continued to increase, many plans were formulated to address it. In 2019, in response to the continuing increase in violent crime rates, Mayor Keller scrambled to implement 4 major crime fighting programs to reduce violent crime: the Shield Unit, Declaring Violent Crime “Public Health” issue, the “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP program) and the Metro 15 Operation program. Based upon the statistics, the Keller programs have had very little effect on reducing violent crime. Geier told the Journal that he and a commander created a violence reduction plan that included scheduling regular meetings and brainstorming sessions for officers to talk with their supervisors about patterns in fatal shootings and shootings with injury in their area commands and come up with plans to address it.

Geier told the Journal that Medina never embraced the gun violence plan and that Medina went so far as to not instruct his officers to follow it through. Geier said the program was delayed in launching by six weeks, and those under Medina’s command had to undergo remedial training on the project again because they still didn’t understand it. Medina told Geier it was too confusing.

Geier wrote in a memo to Medina dated August 31:

“We had a number of discussions over the next several months and it appeared that you made little effort to bring your people on board. … On May 19, 2020, I had to issue Special Order 20-40 in an effort to make up for lost time in our efforts to reduce gun violence. Rather than reductions, APD saw significant increases for over 4 months in this regard.”

In his memo to Medina, Geier wrote the startling comment that he felt like it’s “almost as if you made an effort to make this program fail … [and your] behavior has “bordered on insubordination.” Geier wrote Medina that he intended to move him from the field services bureau. “I plan on discussing this with [CAO] Sarita [Nair] at our weekly update meeting this coming Friday, September 4th. I expect you to handle your new position as a professional so as to renew my faith and trust in you.” Geier made the very serious mistake of giving Medina a heads up that he would be talking to Nair because what Medina did was run right away to Nair.

Geier described instances in which the mayor’s communications staff, and his own spokesman, attributed statements to him that he didn’t make. The most egregious example was a TWEET about Jacob Blake, the African American who was shot 7 times in the back by police in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August. Hours after the tweet, Chief Geier sent an email to his officers saying that tweet wasn’t from him. It turns out it was APD Spokesperson Gilbert Gallegos who sent out the TWEET and apologized.

THE CHANNEL 13 INTERVIEW

On September 29, in a remarkable interview with Channel 13, former Chief Geier gave an extended interview making it clear he was forced out as APD Chief by Mayor Tim Keller. The link to the story is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-polices-former-chief-speaks-out-on-what-led-to-his-dismissal/

In a remarkable and candid extended interview, a relaxed, quiet yet forceful interview, former APD Geier spoke out and told his version about what really led to his dismissal. Geier made it clear that retirement was not something he was ready for yet and said:

“In this case, I feel I was done wrong and I feel sorry for the citizens and the officers that support me.”

According to Geier, the problems started almost immediately after Keller appointed him Chief. Geier said he was never allowed to do his job. Most recently, Geier said he was growing more frustrated with Mayor Tim Keller and said:

“The Mayor’s not accepting resources and funding for things that he actually, you know, fought for or asked for … [that included funding for an anti-crime initiatives Operation Relentless Pursuit and Operation Legend.]”

EDITOR’S NOTE: FBI statistics reveal that Albuquerque has the dubious distinction of having a crime rate about 194% higher than the national average. In 2018, during Mayor Keller’s first full year in office, there were 69 homicides. In 2019, during Mayor Keller’s second full year in office, there were 82 homicides. Albuquerque had more homicides in 2019 than in any other year in the city’s history. As of September 30, the city has had 57 homicide in 2020. In 2018 during Mayor Keller’ first full year in office, there were 6,789 violent crimes There were 3,885 Aggravated Assaults and 491 Non-Fatal Shootings. In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault. In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397. On June 26, 2019 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the most stolen vehicles reported. Despite a 28% reduction in auto thefts over a two-year period, Albuquerque ranked No. 1 in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita for the third year in a row. On July 30, 2020 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that Albuquerque is now ranked #2 in the nation for auto theft.

Geier says he came up with plans to bring down the city’s crime problem, but his ideas and proposals went unanswered by Keller and Nair. Geier said:

“So I knew these programs would work, but it seemed like no one listened. ”

Ultimately, crime wasn’t getting any better, but in fact has become worse during Keller’s first two years in office. Geier says Mayor Keller blamed him for the high crime rates and it was obvious to Geier that Keller was looking for a scapegoat. Gieir described it this way:

“I mean there were no other earlier red flags or anything like oh, here’s a warning that you’re doing something wrong, or here’s where you’re off track. We all saw every day that violent crime was high, but then when he said this is on you … ”

Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair strongly disputed Geier’s claims that Keller did not want to listen to him and said:

“That’s untrue. He was in charge of implementing his own ideas. So if there was a delay, he would understand why that was happening. There was no push back from here.”

Nair called all of Geier’s accusations as “petty distraction.”

Geier told News 13 that he is willing to admit to any of his mistakes and take responsibility them during his time as chief but said it is time to finally share his side of the story:

“It’s not to be vindictive or get bitter, it’s just to say and point out where people can do better.”

A link to the Channel 13 interview is here:

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/apd-police-chief-relieved-of-duties/

THE CHANNEL 4 INTERVIEW

On September 30, KOB Channel 4 did extended news coverage of former Chief Michael Geier based upon a lengthy extended interview with former Chief Gieier. The news story lasted the first full 15 minutes of the 30-minute newscast without any commercial interruptions. Once again, Chief Geier gave a remarkable and candid extended interview, appeared relaxed, was soft-spoken but gave forceful interview. Geier made what Channel 4 labeled as “bomb shell” allegations regarding Mayor Tim Keller, CAO Sarita Nair and Interim Chief Harold Medina. A summary of the Channel 4 report is as follows:

Geier said he was forced out of the department, and he believes Interim Chief Harold Medina played an instrumental role in convincing Mayor Keller to remove him as Chief.

According to Geier:

“This is where things kind of went bad. Medina wanted his agenda, he wanted to be chief, he made that clear from way back. … At some point he convinced the mayor that the dog and pony shows were where it’s at.”

Geier said Deputy Chief Medina and Mayor Tim Keller would often met privately without him. Geier believes the two conspired against him so Medina could be his replacement and said:

“People came and warned me. … In my last month, people were warning me, ‘be careful, he’s going to do this [to you]’.”

Geier said a few days after he tried changing Medina’s duties, Keller asked to meet at a park. That’s when Geier said Keller told him his time with APD was up. Geier stated:

“When I asked [Keller] why, he said, ‘well crime is too high and it’s all on you’.”

Geier acknowledged that Albuquerque has a crime problem, and had this to say:

“It’s my responsibility as much as I can, but I have to depend on my people and there are factors outside my control. … I took it personal. When I saw a homicide, it would inspire me to push harder with what we were doing. The mayor didn’t resist actively, but we could have used more help from the feds and gotten more help because we need more officers on the streets.”

Geier said Keller did not express dissatisfaction with the way he was doing his job as Chief and that is why the firing came as a surprise. Geier said:

“I felt blindsided, but when it came to fruition, now looking back, I see the signs were all there. … He never gave me that.”

INTERIM CHIEF HAROLD MEDINA RESPONDS

Interim APD Chief Medina denied the allegations made by Geier and said the mayor doesn’t need to conspire with anyone to get rid of a police chief. Medina categorically denied that he and the mayor worked together to get rid of Geier. Medina went so far to say that it is he who was stabbed in the back by Geier and said:

“When I returned to Albuquerque, I returned because Chief [Geier] asked me to. And it was his hope that he would give me the experience, and like he stated, he was going to leave after the first four years. … Look back in my personnel file. He sent me to chief developmental classes because it was his hope that he would gain, I would gain enough experience.”

EDITOR’S NOTE: Confidential sources have said that in 2017 then Rio Rancho Chief of Police Michael Geier met with State Auditor and candidate for Mayor Tim Keller back before Keller announced for Mayor in January, 2017 and before Geier retired as Chief of the Rio Rancho Police Department on February 18, 2017. The very same sources have said that it was during the 2017 election Keller made the commitment in private to appoint Geier Interim chief, to keep him for a while, to see how he performed before he was made permanent. Keller supposedly also gave Geier a full 4-year commitment to keep Geier during Keller’s first entire term. Keller went so far as to tell city hall observers and insiders that Geier was going nowhere until the end of his first term.

MIXED MESSAGING FROM MAYOR TIM KELLER

Geier accused Mayor Keller of political posturing in an election year for the sake of publicity and not public safety. Geier pointed specifically when President Trump announced Operation Legend to send 35 federal agents to the city and $9 Million in funding to target violent felons. Keller called the federal authorities Trumps “secret police” such as those sent to Portland, Oregon to quell the protests.

According to Gieir he was surprised by Keller’s public comments in that Keller had agreed to apply for the federal funding and actually knew that the federal agents were already here. Keller had been fully briefed by United States Attorney John Anderson.

Geier believes Keller politicized public safety when he commented about Operation Legend. Keller claimed he was concerned that federal agents would be targeting protesters, which was a false accusation. Geier said those concerns were disingenuous because federal agents had been working in Albuquerque for weeks. Geier went so far as to say he even briefed Keller personally and said:

“When we had the conversation, it was right before he gave the big, ‘Trump, it’s going to be like Portland’ [speech], it will be troopers and it will be secret police and everything.”

Geier said Keller spoke with the U.S. Attorney before President Trump made the Operation Legend announcement. Geier said Keller was reassured the agents were not going to have a riot-control mission. According to Geier:

“The next day it’s ‘oh, we don’t want Trump here, it’s all Trump’s fault,’ and I was thinking, how did this become political. … It’s just a simple thing, they are already here. They were already doing results under Relentless Pursuit without the funding.“

CAO SARITA NAIR REACTS

Albuquerque Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair said it’s not uncommon for the city to work with federal agents. However, she said there was a huge outpouring of concern from the community about Operation Legend. She said they had more questions than answers when the initiative was announced. According to Nair:

“We talk to U.S. Attorney John Anderson on a regular basis, whether it’s about DOJ reform, or about operations going on in the city, and again, you know, he is always speaking from his best knowledge. But he, he had not, I don’t think been given the heads up necessarily on the change of branding from Operation Relentless Pursuit to Operation Legend. And we don’t expect him to be able to speak for the unpredictable Trump administration. … When the questions are that big, we want to give him time to make sure that he has the right answers, and to put those in writing so that there’s no question.”

ALLEGATIONS OF MICROMANAGING

Geier claims his job as APD Chief was crippled by the level of micromanagement from Keller and Nair and said:

“The mayor’s office would micromanage in terms of the details of these processes. … For example, I was told I wouldn’t be able to do the final discipline anymore.”

Nair claims the oversight of Geier was necessary because the job wasn’t getting done. She added that there was little engagement from Geier and said:

“You know, this is a specific concern that we had. And when we talk about sort of spending the whole summer expressing our concerns about Mike’s performance, this is a great example of that. So, you know, both the officers within the department and the Department of Justice had huge concerns about Mike’s discipline. It was unfair, it was uneven, and it was unpredictable. And so when we confronted him with these concerns, he said that he didn’t believe he had it in him to improve, and to do discipline better, and he actually chose the deputy chiefs that he wanted to delegate his disciplinary authority to.”

CRIME ALL THE TIME “DOG AND PONY” SHOWS

Geier claimed Keller puts on “dog and pony shows” that do not yield any true results and said:

“There were a lot of press conference, more than I ever saw before. In the past, and I’ve spoken with other chiefs, when it’s about policing, the chief should be doing it. I got called out one time where I did one, somebody from the mayor’s office was watching, and they went back to the mayor and said, ‘Well the chief said this.” I got called in. After that, I saw less and less. It was more orchestrated … It was like, we are going to do this, we are going to rehearse what the questions might be from you guys [in the press]– just anticipate so that it was a scrub version of what may come our way. There is nothing wrong with that, but it became where the order of who was going to speak, and what was going to be said and it couldn’t overlap.”

Geier believes Keller was more interested in controlling the message and his image rather than releasing important information on public safety. Nair claims the mayor was not trying to take credit when he held press conferences. Instead, she said he was trying to give credit to the department, and recognize the officers for their work. According to Nair:

“If Mike had been more engaged on that content, I think he would have actually come forward and say, ‘hey, we should talk to the community because my officers are doing some great work.’ But because he was distracted and dealing with the petty interpersonal disputes, rather than focusing on fighting crime, it was up to the rest of the department and us to say like, ‘let’s recognize some of these great initiatives.’

The link to the full KOB story is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/former-apd-chief-unloads-on-keller-administration-interim-chief-and-cao-respond/5880072/?cat=500

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

APD Chief Michael Geier knew what he was getting himself into when he accepted the job as APD Chief. After all he learned his lessons well under former Chief Ray Schultz, rose up through the ranks under Schultz to become a commander where he met then State Senator Tim Keller. Geier knew that being APD Chief is a political appointment. Mayor’s demand and expect results and Geier knew that he served at the pleasure of the Mayor, but he took the job anyway. Geier knew that he could be terminated without cause or reason, anytime and anywhere, including sitting on a park bench, so he has only himself to blame on many levels for taking the job.

What is painfully obvious is that what former Chief Geier said during the press conference with Mayor Tim Keller announcing his retirement was just another “dog and pony show” done in an attempt to save face and to allow Keller, Nair and Medina deniability that he was being terminated. Geier gave essentially the same reasons for retiring from APD as he did from Rio Rancho as chief. Instead of trying to mislead the public and the press with the joint press conference to save face, Gieir should have cleared out his office, left city hall with his head held high and with an extended middle finger to Keller, Nair and Medina and he should of held his own press conference. Instead, he now makes the media rounds saying he has been wronged and back stabbed and the media are all over it with great relish.

Based on the news coverage of the forced retirement of Chief Michael Geier, it is clear he is not going gently into the good night, and there is no reason he should. Former Chief Geier has devoted 47 years of his life to law enforcement, he returned to Albuquerque to serve as Chief, and he really did not need the job. But Mayor Tim Keller, Sarita Nair and Interim Chief Harold Medina have thrown Geier under the bus looking for someone to blame for all the city’s high crime rates without taking any sort of responsibility themselves, especially Tim Keller.

When then State Auditor Tim Keller was running for Mayor in 2017, he was swept into office riding on a wave of popularity he orchestrated as State Auditor for a mere one year and six months of his 4-year term in office combating “waste, fraud and abuse” in government and promising “transparency”. During his successful 2017 campaign for Mayor, Keller promised sweeping changes with APD. Keller promised a national search for a new APD Chief and a return to Community based policing and increasing the size of APD. He proclaimed he was uniquely qualified to be Mayor because of his background. In 2017, Democrat Tim Keller was elected Mayor in a runoff with a 62.2% vote against Republican Dan Lewis who garnered 37.8% of the vote.

When running for Mayor, Keller had zero knowledge of the extent of how serious the problems that were found by the Department of Justice and the “culture of aggression.” Keller was not interested in learning about the APD “culture of aggression” in that he did not bother to attend any one of the many Federal court hearings on the APD reforms when he was running for Mayor. Keller has no background nor practical experience in law enforcement and now his inexperience is showing, as is the inexperience of the political operatives such as CAO Sarita Nair he has surrounded himself with in his office.

It is no secret at city hall that Chief Administrative Officer Sarita Nair is very much involved with the day to day management of APD and that Interim Chief Harold Medina have developed a strong working relationship with CAO Nair. That relationship has now been fully exposed for the world to see. According to city hall sources Interim Chief Harold Medina will do whatever he is told to do by CAO Nair and Mayor Tim Keller. Confidential APD command staff also reported that Deputy Chief Harold Medina made it known to them that he intended to be the next Chief of APD sooner rather than latter even if took orchestrating Chief Geier’s departure relying upon CAO Sarita Nair’s support.

Mayor Tim Keller has now been exposed as nothing more than a publicity seeking political opportunist with a smile on his face and a grin in his voice with his eyes focused on another 4 year term or higher office unable to deal with yet another APD crisis. This time it’s a crisis of Keller’s own making and he has little to show for what he has done to bring down the city’s crime rates. Keller has forced his first, handpicked appointed APD Chief to retire in order to appoint an insubordinate Harold Medina with a nefarious past who was hell bent on orchestrating Geier’s removal and taking his job as Chief. Keller better watch his back, because if Medina betrayed a Police Chief who he considered a friend and one who brought him back to APD, he will have no problem betraying a politician like Tim Keller.

Mayor Keller is now faced with the very difficult task of finding and hiring a new APD Chief 13 months before the November 2021 election for Mayor. That may not happen because whoever is appointed by Keller likely will know they will be out of a job if Keller is not elected to another 4-year term. Interim Chief Harold Medina has already said he will apply to be permanent Chief when the national search starts. If this sounds at all familiar, it is. This is the exact same sham strategy Keller used to make Michael Geier permanent Chief. Soon after being appointed Interim Chief, then Interim Chief Geier made it know he was applying to be permanent chief. After the so-called national search, Keller waived his magic wand and “presto chango”, Keller appointed Geier as permanent APD Chief saying that it turned out that the most qualified person to be Chief was already here and it was Interim Chief Geier.

Given all the interviews given by former APD Michael Geier regarding his forced retirement and the Albuquerque Journal front page coverage, it is not at all likely this will be the last time the press and the public hears from former APD Chief Michael Geier. It is more likely than not Geier will want more than his pound of flesh out of the rear ends of Keller, Nair and Medina especially when crime increases.

Keller now has an Interim Chief who wants to be made permanent and who has a nefarious past who will lead APD in the reactionary manner that will result in disastrous outcomes. All former Chief Geier has to do at this point is sit back and watch as APD continues to disintegrate under the dynamic duo of Harold Medina and Sarita Nair both whose pay each approach $200,000 a year making them the highest paid city hall employees. It’s good to be retired and

“Good men, the last wave by, crying how bright
Their frail deeds might have danced in a green bay,
Rage, rage against the dying of the light. …
Do not go gentle into that good night.”

Dylan Thomas – 1914-1953

LINKS TO RELATED BLOG ARTICLES ARE HERE

A Chief Medina Is Keller’s “Unicorn”; Medina’s Reactive Decision-Making Results In Death; Chief Geier: “I Did Not Want To Retire”, Says Keller And Nair Micro Managed APD; Mayor Mike Geier?

Mayor Keller On Bob Clark Morning Show Expresses Confidence In Interim Chief Harold Medina; The DOJ Investigation Of APD’s Culture Of Aggression, APD’s Killing Of Mentally ILL Ken Ellis, The Harold Medina Interview

Gieir’s “Walk In The Park” Ends With His “Retirement”; “Ask Me No Questions, You Internet Rumor Monger!”; Pollster Explains Keller’s 60% Approval Rating Result Of Corona Virus PR Campaign

Mayor Keller Abruptly Terminates APD Chief Geier; Appoints First Deputy Chief Harold Medina Interim Chief; Keller Should Replace All Deputies; Freshman City Councilor Brook Bassan Shows Entire City Council How To Do Their Jobs