Mayor Debate Aftermath: “Verbal Altercation” Between Keller and Gonzales Reported ; The Likely Source Of DWI Coverup Charge; Journal Poll Anticipated; Expect Editorial; Gonzales Should Withdraw From Race

Posted on October 21, 2021 by

KOB Channel 4 devoted a significant amount of time to report on what occurred during and after the live debate it sponsored on October 19 between Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller, Sheriff Manny Gonzales and radio Talk Show host Eddy Aragon.

During the debate, the candidate were allowed to ask questions of each other. The moderators were not told what the questions would be from the candidates. Sheriff Manny Gonzales asked his question of Mayor Tim Keller.

Following is the transcript of the exchange:

SHERIFF GONZALES: Mayor Keller, Where is your accountability? There are serious misconduct allegations at City Hall under your watch, allegations of your own domestic violence incident being covered up by high ranking city officials. Another allegation of a high ranking city official who was driving drunk and was involved driving a city vehicle and involved in a crash. And the third is also you having allegations of having an affair with a city subordinate. How can the public trust you to fight crime in ABQ when you can’t even fight crime at City Hall?

MAYOR KELLR: What a disgusting prepared question you just read. . . I don’t even know where to begin. . . I have never been involved in any of the incidents you mentioned and as my family will attest to have never, ever done things like had an affair. Look, if you’re going to just make your questions the gossip on Twitter and Facebook. I mean, I hear all sorts of stuff about everyone all the time, I don’t dignify it because I don’t believe it because there’s no evidence or truth behind any of it. And this is coming from a guy who has a litany of myths and mistruths that he says. .
…

There is literally nothing behind anything your saying. You’re just saying words you saw on social media. . There was something in there about a co-worker and you know that’s defamation and you should know that, Sheriff. You can have a debate. We can talk about policies but unless you have any shred of evidence of any kind then that is actually to be on you. Talk about accountability. Fraud in your own campaign. Literally. And now just blatantly defaming people for a political stunt so that you can raise money off of it which is what you just asked voters to do. It’s pathetic.

The link to the full Channel 4 debate is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/watch-kob-4-hosts-albuquerque-mayoral-debate/6274455/?cat=500

KOB 4 FOLLOW UP REPORTING

On the Wednesday October 20 Channel 4 news cast, the station devoted a significant amount of air time to report on what they had found out that occurred during and after the debate.

According to the report, KOB 4 was aware of the rumors of an affair and a domestic call out to the Keller residence and received multiple tips on the allegations made by Gonzales. The 4 Investigation team went to search for records or documentation that police were called to the mayor’s house, and came up empty-handed. The tips never provided any documentation or proof.

As far as a coverup of a “DWI by a high ranking official” the Albuquerque Police Department told KOB it has not covered up a DWI.

In a statement released to KOB 4 after the debate, the Keller campaign said:

“We’re appalled by these tactics but not surprised that Manny is so desperate, with no record to run on, that all he has is internet conspiracy theories. We are pursuing legal options against these defamatory claims.”

The Gonzales’campaign manager Shannan Calland also said in a statement to the Albuquerque Journal:

“We have spoken to two high-ranking members of the Albuquerque Police Department with direct knowledge of the domestic incident stemming from the sexual harassment scandal and are awaiting IPRA responses based on that information (which we expect to be intentionally covered up until after election),” she wrote. The statement included the phrase in parentheses. IPRA refers to the state’s … [Inspection of Public Records Act].”

You can read the entire Journal article quoted here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2439136/televised-mayoral-debate-gets-personal-ex-gonzales-accuses-keller-of-serious-misconduct-mayor-denies-allegations.html

READING A PREPARED QUESTION

Channel 4 reporter and debate moderator Chris Ramirez went out of his way to point out how Sheriff Gonzales read his line of questioning of Mayor Keller from a piece of paper. Gonzales had ostensibly hidden the paper from the moderators and produced it when he asked his question of Keller. It was reported that it was against the debate rules to have a prepared line of questioning.

According to the KOB 4 news report:

Keller’s campaign manager notified KOB 4 staff that Gonzales met with a campaign staffer during a commercial break and took a pre-prepared note into the studio. If that is true, it would violate the rules candidates agreed to prior to the debate. When these allegations were made, KOB 4 management spoke with the debate moderators and staff, but none of our staff saw Mr. Gonzales take the note into the studio.

“VERBAL ALTERCATION” REPORTED

After the debate ended, KOB 4 reported Keller and Gonzales got into a “verbal altercation” inside the studio. Keller demanded Gonzales apologize to his wife for the remarks he made. Gonzales responded by saying he has no respect for the mayor. It was Ramirez who reported that Keller and Gonzales did not get physical with each other but were yelling. Ramirez also reported that no one else in the news station was accosted or hurt by either of the men.

In addition to denying the allegations, the Keller campaign said it is planning to take legal action.

KOAT TV TARGET 7 REPORT

On October 21, KOAT-TV Target 7 posted a report that a Target 7 public records request in June came back showing no evidence of a domestic violence incident involving Mayor Tim Keller.

Target 7 also reported it had obtained documents on the cae crash involving a city employee and a city-owned car. KOAT TV confirm a crash occurred, but never identified who was driving the city vehicle.

Target 7 reported it spoke with the person whose car was hit by the city employee. The woman, who didn’t want to go on camera, claims that after the crash, the city employee got out of the car, handed her his card and then left. The woman involved with the crash told Target 7:

“It was real simple … Real weird, no cop, it was real simple, real fast. … He said he worked for the mayor on the 11th floor. No police came or ambulance came. Nobody came. … ” the crash victim said to Target 7.

Channel 7 asked her if she thought the city employee was driving under the influence.

She said, “no I didn’t.”

The link to the KOAT TV Report is here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-mayoral-race-heats-up-with-personal-attacks-accusations/38018587

LIKELY SOURCE OF RUMORS OF ACCIDENT COVERUP

During and after the live debate, Sheriff Manny Gonzales never identified the two “high-ranking members of the Albuquerque Police Department with direct knowledge of the domestic incident stemming from the sexual harassment scandal.” Sheriff Gonzales also failed to identify by name the “high ranking city official who was driving drunk and was involved driving a city vehicle and involved in a crash.”

Not withstanding, a car accident by “ high ranking city official” on September 14, was reported on by the on line news ABQReports.

On October 14, ABQReports posted a story written by retired APD Sergeant Dan Klein, who is now a private business owner and also writes articles for ABQReports. Klein is known to support and advise Sheriff Manny Gonzales and has been severely critical of Mayor Keller and his administration. Following are the relevant excerpts from the ABQ article:

“…

ABQReport was notified by attorney, Thomas Grover, of a car accident that Albuquerque Chief Operations Officer, Lawrence Rael was involved in on September 14, 2021, while Rael was driving his city Tahoe. Grover had to tell us because APD has no record of this accident, or at least that is what the city is saying. That’s right, COO Lawrence Rael, who knows the rules and regulations for city employees never notified APD, as required, of his car accident involving an expensive piece of city property”

Thomas Grover issued the following statement to ABQReport:

“My office was alerted to this matter in September and an IPRA request was promptly filed. The day following the submission of the IPRA request, goons from Keller’s office went to the City’s fleet yards to shake employees down to find out who “leaked” this information to my office. I’d like to remind the Keller Administration that there’s a Whistleblower statute in this state (as well as a City Whistleblower ordinance) and while we know you don’t like to follow rules and laws that apply to you, others will enforce them. Also, the balance of the public records my office requested will be past due if they are not produced by close of business on Thursday, October 14, 2021.”

Editor’ Note: Private Attorney Grover is also a retired APD police officer who represents APD officers in personnel actions charging them with misconduct. Grover represented ex-Albuquerque Police Officer Jeremy Dear who was cleared of all criminal wrongdoing in the 2014 fatal shooting of 19-year-old Mary Hawkes that resulted in the city paying $5 million to settle the wrongful death action filed by the Hawkes family against the city.

The ABQ Reports article continues:

Mayoral spokesman Ava Montoya emailed ABQReport this statement about Rael’s crash:

“The City’s COO was involved in a minor traffic accident at a stop light on 5th Street. There was only minor damage and no injuries so Rael and the other driver exchanged contact information and insurance information. For minor accidents like this, APD recommends that drivers exchange information and address the situation through their insurance companies. Following City procedures, Rael went immediately to Risk Management to report the accident, where he was instructed to fill out a form, which he did. Risk Management then resolves these situations following normal protocols.”

The ABQReports article provides the following links to the city’s “accident information sheet” and the Risk Management Report on the Rael car accident:

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1rX0Pa8AE6FYtyL592aTgdlEFBQzlbf3B/view

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1coPZDV0-WiwsWs16nLGryj0exVI8deCn/view

The accident information sheet outlines the process that city employees are required to follow to follow when an accident occurs while driving a city vehile. The Risk Management Report provides the factual basis for the claim to be processed by the city.

The City of Albuquerque Risk Management form is required to be filled out by the drivers’ supervisor or their designee and is required to submitted to City Risk Management within 24 hours of the accident. According to the report, Rael crashed his assigned city owned vehicle on September 14, 2021, yet Risk Management didn’t sign it in until September 29, 2021. There is no explanation for the delay in the filing.

The ABQReport continues:

“More issues with this report include the fact that Rael is listed as the person filling out the form, not his supervisor or designee. Sources tell ABQReport that the damage was anything but “minor” as Rael writes in the report, and that Rael’s city vehicle was not drivable and had to be towed to the city yards. Furthermore, the other driver, Victoria Elosia, has no phone number as required by the Risk Management form. The license plate is also missing. A search of available databases doesn’t show anyone with the name Victoria Elosia (or Elosia Victoria) in the Albuquerque area.”

The link to the full ABQReport is here:

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/did-coo-rael-break-the-rules

ABQREPORTS CALLS FOR RAEL’S RESIGNATION OR FIRING

SECOND ARTICLE PUBLISHED

ABQ Reports published a second article again written by Dan Klein on the Rael car accident demanding that Rael resign or be fired by Mayor Tim Keller for Rael’s violation of personnel rules and regulations. The most relevant portions of the second published article include:

“…

The City of Albuquerque’s rules for employees involved in an accident:

“1. Any driver involved in a motor vehicle accident, while operating a vehicle on official city business, shall immediately call the police and the drivers’ supervisor or his department investigator to the scene.

“2. The driver shall not leave the scene until the police have completed their investigation. If the police do not investigate at the scene, the driver should make a report at the police station as directed by his supervisor.
…
“.., An APD officer had this to say, “A person doesn’t notify the cops when they don’t want the cops to know what they were doing at the time of the accident.” Here are some reasons why people in accidents don’t want to call the police:

· The driver believes they were at fault and don’t want to get a ticket.
· The driver doesn’t want their insurance company notified.
· The driver is driving on a suspension or revocation or has warrants.
· The driver may be impaired with drugs or alcohol.
· The driver has someone with him/her that they don’t want others to know about.
· The driver was texting or talking on their phone, and they don’t want their conversation exposed.

These are the only reasons that, in my 20 years of law enforcement experience, explain why a driver doesn’t want the cops called. I am not accusing COO Rael of any of these actions, only explaining what I have witnessed with other people who did not want police notified. Unless Rael makes a public statement explaining his decision to violate city rules, this will be a cloud over his head for the rest of his political career.

Because a police officer was not called to investigate Rael’s accident, we can only use his, and the other driver’s, statement to Risk Management to determine what happened. This points out glaring issues with Rael writing his own report and not having a police officer do it. Rael’s report is inaccurate at best and a lie at worse.”

… .

The link to read the full ABQReport article is here:

https://www.abqreport.com/single-post/lawrence-rael-should-be-fired

JOURNAL POLL

Sources have confirmed that the Albuquerque Journal began taking a poll in the Mayor’s race the day of the KOB 4 debate. The poll was taken Tuesday to Thursday and was conducted by Research and Polling, the most respected and most reliable polling company in the state with Brian Sanderoff as the chief principal. The Albuquerque Journal has used Research and Polling for decades as its exclusive pollster. The result of the poll will be published on Sunday, October 24 and likely accompanied by an editorial on Gonzales performance at the debate.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Both the ABQReports articles ask far more questions than they answer, contain hearsay and speculation, including asking did Lawrence Rael break the city’s personnel rules and regulations that he knows extensively about and that he has enforced against many city employees over his years of service with the city. That is not the big picture.

Connecting the dots, you can see the big picture. That picture is that it’s far more likely than not that Sheriff Manny Gonzales was relying on the September 14 car accident involving Chief Operations Officer Lawrence Rael, the city documents and the ABQReports articles written by one of his supporters as the basis of his libelous and false claim “of a high-ranking city official who was driving drunk and was involved driving a city vehicle and involved in a crash.” Sheriff Gonzales did not actually name the official during the debate. Not naming the official was likely intentional by Sheriff Gonzales knowing damn well that naming and accusing Rael would be grounds for a cause of action for libel or slander if not true.

Mayor Keller appointed Lawrence Rael Chief Operations Officer and he has served in that capacity for the last 4 years. He has served the city well. Mr. Rael is also a former Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) for the city for 12 years under former mayors. Mr. Rael is highly respected and is known for his professionalism, knowledge and understanding on how the city operates and “the nuts and bolts” of running the city and “keeping the trains running on time” as the old adage goes. COO Lawrence Rael knows more about the city and how it operates than Mayor Keller, CAO Sarita Nair and all of Keller’s department directors combined, but then again they do not know much anyway about running a city like Lawrence does.

PROGRESSIVE DICIPLENARY PROCESS VERSUS “AT WILL” EMPLOYMENT

As COO, Rael is an “at will employee” that works at the pleasure of the Mayor and can be fired without cause by the Mayor at any time and for no reason at all. As an at will employee, Rael does not have the same protections given to classified employees. Classified positions are jobs were you must be terminated for cause and even then you are entitled to the “progressive disciplinary” process and ultimately a right to appeal a termination to the personnel board. Progressive discipline for classified employees begins with verbal or written admonishments, suspension of pay, being place on administrative leave with or without pay, transfer, demotion or termination for cause.

Rael may have violated personnel rules and regulations in the delay in reporting the accident and that may be grounds to take disciplinary action against him by Mayor Keller, but that’s Keller’s decision and no one else’s. To say that Rael should be terminated is too extreme. The Mayor has many other options far more appropriate but only if he decides personnel action is warranted.

Any allegations of DWI or other criminal conduct is sure speculation, yet Sheriff Manny Gonzales went there with his false allegations. Sheriff Gonzales is the same candidate for Mayor that argued he was denied “due process of law” when his campaign was denied public finance by the city clerk, yet he makes salacious accusations and accusations of DWI assuming guilt without due process of law afforded to those he has accuses without any proof.

Sheriff Gonzales has failed to identify the 2 high-ranking members of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) with direct knowledge of the domestic incident he is alleging involves the Keller family and an allege affair. As a law enforcement official, Sheriff Gonzales is held to a higher standard and knows better and damn well that he accused Keller of a crime and accused another of DWI with virtually no proof.

CONCLUSION

Sheriff Manny Gonzales has likely already lost his case to becoming the next Mayor of Albuquerque. This will likely be confirmed by the Journal poll to be published on October 23. Sheriff Gonzales has managed to damaged, if not destroy, his own personal reputation of honesty and integrity, what little he had left after his reliance on forgeries and fraudulent documents to try and secure $630,000 in public finance.

Sheriff Manny Gonzales should apologize to Mayor Tim Keller, the Keller family and withdraw from the race and perhaps even resign as Bernalillo County Sheriff.

Sheriff Gonzales Makes Salacious Accusations Against Mayor Keller In The Form Of A Question; Gonzales Needs To Name APD High Ranking Officials With Direct Knowledge Of Domestic Incident Or Apologize And Withdraw From Race

Posted on October 20, 2021 by

During the final October 19 televised debate on Channel 4 between incumbent Mayor Tim Keller, Sheriff Manny Gonzales and radio Talk Show host Eddy Aragon, the candidates were allowed to ask questions of each other. The moderators were not told what the questions would be from the candidates. Sheriff Manny Gonzales asked his question of Mayor Tim Keller.

Following is the transcript of the exchange:

SHERIFF GONZALES: All I asked was a simple question. A yes or no answer if you could. How could the public trust you fighting crime when you can’t even fight crime at City Hall. That was my question.

RADIO TALK SHOW HOST EDDY GONZALES: “Real life TV drama here.”

The link to the full Channel 4 debate is here:

https://www.kob.com/albuquerque-news/watch-kob-4-hosts-albuquerque-mayoral-debate/6274455/?cat=500

ALBQUERQUE JOURNAL COVERAGE

On Wednesday, October 20, the Albuquerque Journal reported the exchange in part as follows:

“Rumors have swirled for months on social media about police covering up a domestic violence response at Keller’s home and about an alleged affair Keller is having with a city employee.

Keller has previously denied the allegations in an interview with Journal reporters. A Journal public records request earlier this year seeking police incident reports and dispatch records for Keller’s home address since Jan. 1 yielded only a few calls around Jan. 6 – the date of the U.S. Capitol insurrection – in which there were reported threats to the home. Records show officers kept watch throughout their shift and found the home was secure. There were no other records.

People who have raised the allegations with the Journal have provided no proof. At the time the rumors surfaced, the police union president [Shaun Willoughby] – who has been critical of the Keller administration – told the Journal he had no documents to substantiate them.”

After Tuesday’s debate, Gonzales’ campaign manager Shannan Calland said in a statement:

You can read the entire Journal article quoted here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2439136/televised-mayoral-debate-gets-personal-ex-gonzales-accuses-keller-of-serious-misconduct-mayor-denies-allegations.html

COMMENTRY AND ANALYSIS

Live political debates, especially those on TV, are in the courtroom of public opinion. There is an old saying amongst experienced trial attorneys, especially prosecutors:

“Never, ever, ask a question of a witness on the witness stand one you do not already know the answer to. ”

The rational for the saying is that you need to know your case completely and want to be able to impeach and discredit the witness with proof they are lying if they do not tell the truth when they testify.

Sheriff Gonzales needs to identify the two high-ranking members of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) with direct knowledge of the domestic incident he is alleging and the affair. If not, Gonzales needs to apologize to Mayor Keller and consider withdrawing from the race. As a law enforcement official, he is held to a higher standard and knows damn well that he is accusing Keller of a crime, and to make such a charge without proof is libelous.

Notwithstanding, it is not at all likely that this stunt will cost Gonzales any votes in that those who support him, like Trump supporters, will not change their minds about him. Mayor Keller’s and Eddy’s Aragon’s supporters will be embolden to vote.

Sheriff Manny Gonzales has likely already lost his case to becoming the next Mayor of Albuquerque. He has also damaged his own personal reputation of honesty and integrity, what little he had left after the forgery to public finance debacle, but he got way too personal and asked a salacious question that he ostensibly thought he had the answer to and based on gossip and innuendo.

ABQ Journal Endorses Mayor Keller Not Because He Has Done Great Job, But Because Opponents Not Qualified; Fact Checking The Endorsement

Posted on October 19, 2021 by

On Sunday October 17, the Albuquerque Journal published its endorsement of Mayor Tim Keller for a second term over Sheriff Manny Gonzales and radio talk show host Eddy Aragon . The link to read the full endorsement is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2438101/keller-best-of-field.html

The Journal endorsement of Keller was predicted by city hall watchers and political analysts. The endorsement reads in part:

“The Journal Editorial Board endorses Tim Keller for mayor as he is the most qualified candidate for the job. … The reality for Albuquerque voters is their choice of candidates consists of a radio talk show host with little to no management experience, a sheriff who talks tough about protecting the public but who’s displayed a complete disregard for the public’s right to know and Keller, the incumbent, who steered the city through the pandemic and has started some initiatives to fight crime and homelessness that have promise.”

What is revealing is that in no way can the Journal endorsement be considered unequivocal. It did not say that Keller has done a brilliant or fantastic job as Mayor. Four years ago, there were 8 candidates running for Mayor with more than 3 qualified to be mayor. Saying that Keller is the “best of the field” is a cause for snickering when only 3 are running. Saying Keller is the most qualified of the 3 is telling voters we do not have much of a choice.

At the end of the endorsement, the Journal editors make an appeal that borders on begging Mayor Keller to do better if elected to another years by saying:

“… we accompany our endorsement with an appeal that, if elected, Keller get the Gateway Center going while adopting a more aggressive approach to tackling the homeless issue, redeploy resources to cut 911 response times (so our senior citizens don’t have to play Dirty Harry) and follow through on recent promises to support legislative changes that would keep more repeat violent suspects in custody prior to trial. We also urge him to do his homework and due diligence on grand ideas like the stadium before asking for voter support. That’s quite a to-do list. Keller will need to hit the ground running to tackle these and other pressing issues to move Albuquerque toward a brighter future.”

FACT CHECKING THE ENDORSEMENT

There were a few misstatements and conclusions in the editorial containing false content and false statements made by Mayor Keller. Following are those editorial comments with fact checking analysis and commentary.

JOURNAL EDITORIAL CONTENT

“Keller inherited a tough situation after the U.S. Department of Justice hammered the Albuquerque Police Department in 2014 for a “pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

On April 10, 2014, the United States Department of Justice (DOJ), Civil Rights Division, submitted a scathing 46-page investigation report on an 18-month civil rights investigation of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD). You can read the entire report here.

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

It was not just a “pattern or practice of use of excessive force, including deadly force” that the Department of Justice (DOJ) investigation found. It was a “culture of aggression” that had gone on in the department for many years, if not decades, engrained in the department, costing the city millions to settle police misconduct cases and use of deadly force cases. APD’s consent decree is totally different from all other consent decrees in the country.

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

A significant number of the cases reviewed by the DOJ involved persons suffering from acute mental illness and who were in crisis. A few of those cases resulted in judgments and settlements in the millions of dollars. The investigation found APD’s policies, training, and supervision did not ensure that officers encountering people with mental illness were respected and police did not act in a manner that was safe for all involved.

JOURNAL EDITORIAL CONTENT

“… Keller told the Journal Editorial Board court-appointed independent monitor Dr. James Ginger has gone well beyond oversight and is “straight-up dictating what’s up at APD.” It’s hard to argue otherwise. Ginger has become the weekend guest who never leaves.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

This statement by Mayor Keller is simply false. The only people with authority to “straight-up dictate what’s up at APD”is Mayor Keller, APD Chief Harold Medina and APD’s command staff. Federal court appointed Monitor Ginger has no such authority.

Under the terms and conditions of the settlement, Federal Court appointed monitor James Ginger and his monitoring team have absolutely no management, authority or control over APD, its resources nor its personnel. The Federal Monitor has no authority under the settlement to dictate nor order APD to do anything. The only thing the federal monitor can do is “audit” APD for compliance and report findings to the Federal Judge.

The CASA is a 112-page, federal court approved agreement with 344 paragraphs containing 271 mandated reforms. A link to the CASA is here:

http://documents.cabq.gov/police/reports/department-of-justice/465-second-amended-restated-casa.pdf

Review of the monitors authority under the settlement merits review. It is paragraphs 294, 295, 296, 297 and 298 on pages 85, 86, 87, 88 of the CASA settlement that outlines with great specification the limited authority the monitor has over APD as well specifically outlining the duties and responsibilities of the monitor. Following are the paragraphs:

“A. Independent Monitor

294. The Parties will jointly select an Independent Monitor (“Monitor”) who will assess and report whether the requirements of this Agreement have been implemented, and whether this implementation is resulting in high-level, quality service; officer safety and accountability; effective, constitutional policing; and increased community trust of APD.

295. The Monitor shall only have the duties, responsibilities, and authority conferred by this Agreement. The Monitor shall not, and is not intended to, replace or assume the role and duties of APD, including the Chief or any other City official. The Monitor shall be subject to the supervision and orders of the Court, consistent with this Agreement and applicable law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: There are no provisions in the settlement giving the monitor authority to write policy, and no authority is given to disciplined nor to remove and appoint personnel and issue appropriate orders and commands to sworn personnel. The only power the monitor has is to audit as provided in the settlement terms. The specific terms of the CASA are as follows:

“296. In order to assess and report on the implementation of this Agreement and whether implementation is resulting in the outcomes … , the Monitor shall conduct the reviews specified in this Agreement, and shall review APD policies, training curricula, and programs developed and implemented under this Agreement.

B. Compliance Reviews and Audits

297. The Monitor shall conduct compliance reviews or audits as necessary to determine whether the City has implemented and continues to comply with the material requirements of this Agreement.

… .

C. Outcome Assessments

298. In addition to compliance reviews and audits, the Monitor shall conduct qualitative and quantitative assessments to measure whether implementing this Agreement has resulted in the outcomes expressed in [the settlement]. These outcome assessments shall include collecting and analyzing the following outcome data trends and patterns:

[listing A through I] … .”

http://documents.cabq.gov/police/reports/department-of-justice/465-second-amended-restated-casa.pdf

The Journal Editor’s likely know that all the monitor can do is conduct audits, file reports and report to the federal court, yet the editors failed to challenge Keller for making the accusation that the monitor is “straight-up dictating what’s up at APD.”

JOURNAL EDITORIAL CONTENT

“[Federal court appointed monitor] Ginger has become the weekend guest who never leaves.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

This is a very common complaint by Mayor Keller and his administration, Chief Medina and the Police Union, but the complaint is bogus when they fail to assume any responsibility for contributing to the Federal Monitor still being here after 8 years when the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) was supposed to be fully implemented after 4 years and dismissed after a full 2 years of compliance.

The CASA contains the following suspension and termination provisions:

“Termination of the Agreement

342. The City will endeavor to reach full and effective compliance with this Agreement within four years of its Effective Date. The Parties agree to jointly ask the Court to terminate this Agreement after this date, provided that the City has been in full and effective compliance with this Agreement for two years. “Full and Effective Compliance” shall be defined to require sustained compliance with all material requirements of this Agreement or sustained and continuing improvement in constitutional policing, as demonstrated pursuant to the Agreement’s outcome measures.

343. If after six years from the Effective Date the Parties disagree whether the City has been in full and effective compliance for two years, either Party may seek to terminate this Agreement. In the case of termination sought by the City, prior to filing a motion to terminate, the City agrees to notify DOJ in writing when the City has determined that it is in full and effective compliance with this Agreement and that such compliance has been maintained for no less than two years.”

The key to the Federal Monitor leaving and the case being dismissed is the “full and effective compliance” in 3 compliance levels by APD that the monitor reviews.

After a full 7 years under the CASA and in the last and the 13th Independent Monitors Report (IME13) the Federal Monitor made the following findings on the 3 compliance levels:

Primary Compliance: 100%;
Secondary Compliance: 82%;
Operational Compliance: 59%.

Since the 12th federal monitor’s report, compliance levels went down in 2 of the major compliance areas as follows:

Primary Compliance: No change at 100%
Secondary Compliance: A loss of 9.9%
Operational Compliance: A loss of 7.8%

As has been the case so many times over the past 8 years with two Mayors (Berry and Keller), 3 APD Chiefs (Eden, Geier and Medina), 3 United States Attorneys for New Mexico (Martinez, Anderson and Interim Federici) and 2 Federal Judges (Judges Brack and Browning), APD is in no better position under Keller’s leadership after 4 years to dismiss the case. The CASA is nowhere close to being dismissed after millions spent on the reforms by the Keller Administration.

The only thing that has not changed in 8 years is Federal Court Appointed Monitor James Ginger making damaging findings and the City, the DOJ, APD and the Union never being taken to task by the Federal Court in any meaningful way.

REASONS FOR NONE COMPLIANCE

All of the complaints of delay in compliance went on for a full 7 years, before the pandemic and before the national movement of police scrutiny and accountability of police misconduct. The implementation of the Department of Justice reforms falls squarely on the shoulders of Mayor Keller, Keller’s appointed APD Chief Medina and his 3 Deputies and the Police Union obstruction and interference with the reforms. It is their actions, failures to act, resistance and negligent personnel management that have delayed full implementation of the reforms.

When you read all 13 of Federal Monitor’s reports it becomes very clear that one of the biggest causes of the delay for APD not becoming in compliance with the settlement is the police union opposition and objections to the settlement. The police union leadership have said repeatedly over the last 8 years that the mandated reforms under the consent decree are interfering with rank and file officer’s ability to perform their job duties. The police union went so far as to initiate a $70,000 political ad campaign saying “You can either have compliance with DOJ reforms or you can have lower crime. You can’t have both”, discrediting the need for reforms.

According to the police union, police officers are afraid to do their jobs for fear of being investigated, fired or disciplined. The police union has never articulated in open court and in clear terms exactly what it is about the reforms that are keeping rank and file from “doing their” jobs and “why they hate” the CASA as articulated by the union president.

It’s likely the union feels what is interfering with police from doing their jobs is the mandatory use of lapel cameras, police can no longer shoot at fleeing cars, police can no longer use choke holds, police need to use less lethal force and not rely on the SWAT unit, police must use de-escalating tactics and be trained in crisis intervention, and management must hold police accountable for violation of standard operating procedures.

JOURNAL EDITORIAL CONTENT

“Keller’s creation of an Internal Affairs Department staffed by civilians rather than police officers was smart, as was creating the position of superintendent of police reform to handle the Internal Affairs division, discipline, the DOJ reform effort and the police academy.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is false to say that Mayor Tim Keller created an “Internal Affairs Department staffed by civilians”. Keller had nothing to do with it and the Internal Affairs division is still predominately staffed by APD Detectives with civilian support staff. The Internal Affairs Division (IA) is divided into two separate divisions or bureaus:

1. The Internal Affairs Compliance Bureau, Accountability and Oversight Division responsible for investigations of sworn police violating policy and working with the Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree (CASA) and its implementation of its terms and conditions.

2. The Internal Affairs Force Division deals with investigation police misconduct cases involving excessive use of force and deadly force cases by APD.

APD Internal Affairs employs upwards of 25 full time sworn police detectives that investigate police misconduct and civilian complaints. APD has upwards of 8 “civilian investigators”, but they are not in charge nor do they supervise police officers.

On February 5, 2021, the City of Albuquerque and the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a stipulated order establishing an “External Force Investigation Team” (EFIT) on a temporary basis to assist APD in conducting use of force investigations by APD officers, while also assisting APD with improving the quality of its use of force by police investigations.

The EFIT team trains APD Internal Affairs investigators on how to properly investigate uses of force instances by APD police officers. According to the agreed to court order, the City will ensure that APD maintains at least 25 force investigators assigned to the APD Internal Affairs unit unless and until APD can demonstrate by an internal staffing analysis that fewer investigators are necessary to timely investigate uses of force by APD Officers. The EFIT teams are on negotiated contracts with $400,000 allocated for the current fiscal year and are staffed by retired police officers. The EFIT do not have management authority over APD Internal Affairs but function as another lawyer of review and bureaucracy to confirm that use of force cases have been properly done by APD Internal Affairs.

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1DO2UyAGKf5Srw50Y9DcYCmuX3WzESukC/view<

SUPERINTENDENT OF POLICE REFORM

The Journal editorial states in part:

“Keller’s … creating the position of superintendent of police reform to handle the Internal Affairs division, discipline, the DOJ reform effort and the police academy [was smart] .”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Many of the citizens stakeholders involved with bringing the DOJ here in the first place and involved with the CASA reforms would disagree that it was “smart” for Keller to create the position of Superintendent of Police Reform. Along with his appointment of Harold Medina as permanent APD Chief, Mayor Keller appointed Sylvester Stanley as “Interim Superintendent of Police Reform” in addition to the position of Deputy Chief Administrative Officer (DCAO). Stanley’s extensive law enforcement background and experience, although impressive as it is, is void of any work or dealing with federal consent decrees and void of any background in constitutional policing practices which are the center piece of the DOJ reforms.

The Federal Monitors testimony in one status conference with the court are worth repeating:

“Our advice was to bring somebody in with a very good understanding nationally of how a department should be run related to uses of force, issues of mental health, those sorts of things. That was our recommendation. They chose not to implement it. That doesn’t mean it’s wrong. The proof is in the pudding, as they say. And we’ll continue to monitor and see if this bifurcated command system works.”

This testimony given to the Federal Court by the Federal Monitor totally discredits Keller’s assertion that the monitor is “straight-up dictating what’s up at APD.” In other words, the monitor can only make recommendations and not dictate to APD.

Two major shortcomings to the Stanly appointment is that he is “interim” meaning temporary and his background and experience is as traditional law enforcement as it gets. Lacking of experience with implementation of any Federal Court Approved Settlement Agreements dealing with excessive use of force and deadly force cases and police interaction with mental health issues is a cause of concern. Superintendent Stanley has also been given authority over disciplining police officers for violations of the DOJ reforms. The police union has objected to Stanley having any authority to discipline asserting that the union contract gives that authority exclusively to the Chief.

An Interim Superintendent of Police Reform with little or no background in police reforms is not likely going to make much of a difference and is setting Stanly up for failure and giving Keller and Median “plausible” deniability that they are no longer responsible for the reform failures. This “set up” by Keller is very much like what Keller did to former APD Chief Michael Geier when he terminated him and blaming him for failures to implement the reforms. The creation and the appointment of a “Superintendent of Police Reform” will not change the APD culture and union resistance to the reforms. Superintendent Stanley will likely be held ultimately accountable by Keller and Medina and will blame him for any and all failures of APD to reach 100% compliance of the reforms.

FINAL COMMENTARY

With the endorsement of the Albuquerque Journal and recent polls showing Mayor Tim Keller having a solid lead, the general consensus amongst city hall observers and political analysts is that Keller is on his way to being elected to a second 4-year term as Mayor. What Keller cannot take too much comfort in is he will NOT win because he has “done good” as he likes to say , but because his opposition is so weak and neither are qualified to be Mayor as pointed out by the Journal editorial endorsement.

The downside to winning a second term for Keller is that nothing is going to change much for him over the next four years. After 4 years in office, Mayor Tim Keller under his leadership still has a police department that is failing miserably to police itself and is in catastrophic failure. Keller has only himself to blame given the fact he personally selected those that have been in charge of APD and he went back on his campaign promise to hire a new Chief from outside the agency.

Second terms are usually worse than first terms for mayor if they get one. All the problems we have now will still exist, including skyrocketing violent crime rates, APD failing to come into compliance with the DOJ consent decree, and an ever-shirking APD, spiking homeless numbers, increasing poverty, no measurable economic development and a ghost of a downtown.

Federal Monitor’s 12th And 13th Reports Highlight Mayor Tim Keller’s “Catastrophic Failure” To Implement The DOJ Mandated Reforms

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: “Mayor Tim Keller Goes From Harvey Dent to Two-Face In 4 Years”

Posted on October 18, 2021 by

This is a guest column written by Rudolfo Carrillo in the form of an open letter to Mayor Tim Keller and submitted for publication on this blog.

Rudolfo Carrillo is a native New Mexican and was the news and music editor at Weekly Alibi from August 2015 until March 2020, where he used the pen name “August March” to write about Albuquerque culture, history and politics. He is a graduate of the University of New Mexico’s fine arts program. He is an artistic painter, sculptor and an award winning writer. His award-winning writings and analysis have been featured at international academic conferences and in notable literary journals as well as local media outlets like the Albuquerque Journal. His latest work can be read at Infinity Report with the link here:

http://infinityreport.blogspot.com

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this article are those of Rudolfo Carrillo and do not necessarily reflect those of the political blog www.petedinelli.com. Mr. Carrillo was not compensated for his guest column.

Dear Mayor Keller:

I wonder if you remember me. I was among the small group of journalists and well-wishers who came by your house on the evening of Nov. 30, 2017 when you were first inaugurated as the leader of this town.

I met Dennis Domrzalski, another old-timer, [former Alb. Tribune reporter, ABQ Free Press reporter and publisher of ABQReports] in front of your home. As we followed Martin Salazar, a journalist with the Albuquerque Journal, toward the door, a friendly young woman stopped us on the sidewalk and asked us to sign an agreement saying we agreed never to reveal hizzoner’s home address.

Inside the humbly appointed home near the river, a few family members fussed over flower arrangements; pets were corralled and your necktie was lovingly adjusted. When the time came, the small intimate gathering of friends, selected members of the press and your most trusted advisors sat in the living room—on comfortable couches and chairs—while a proper reverend swore you in as Albuquerque’s 30th mayor.

A big public inauguration and celebration followed the next day, but I didn’t go. I’m not one for large crowds and, besides, I was confident that I had already witnessed the heart and soul of a movement that I had faith would restore and advance our city.

THE BEFORE TIME

In the months leading up to the general election of Oct. 3, 2017, I admit I had a difficult time deciding which candidate the little newspaper I worked for would endorse. The general election featured some real characters, to put it mildly.

It took a mayoral forum I moderated at the Albuquerque Press Club to get me hep to the whole dealio, as my alter ego August March might say.

I recall the youthfully blind optimism of Gus Pedrotty, the stiff conservatism of Wayne Johnson, the perpetual electioneering of Brian Colon as well as Susan Wheeler-Deichsel’s quiet certitude. And, of course, I recall the deeply resonant yet coldly cavernous voice of Dan Lewis, the man you faced in the run-off election that followed on Nov. 14.

FOR THE RECORD

Then there was the guy who looked like District Attorney Harvey Dent in the Batman film The Dark Knight—the young blond guy with the chiseled, Robert Redford good looks, who spoke calmly above the din about cleaning up crime and police corruption in “Gotham City,” the man with a plan. That would be you, sir.

We talked a couple times on the phone. After you trounced Lewis in the run-off, we had a lengthy conversation as Thanksgiving approached. Here is one of the first things you told me:

“Glad to talk to you. I just appreciate it, man. When I needed inspiration, I would read your articles about the mayor’s race.”

You also told me, in regards to the Albuquerque Police Department, that “… we’ll start our APD reforms right away” following that up with, “I’ll try to build out some of the issue areas that are important to me. In particular, the social justice concerns …”

“Thanksgiving With Mr. Keller: New mayor reflects, looks forward”, by August March in Weekly Alibi, Volume 26, Number 47, November 23, 2017:

https://alibi.com/news/54671/Thanksgiving-with-Mr-Keller.html

In February of that winter, I ran into you at a heavy metal concert headlined by Anthrax. You were friendly and personable, eager to be part of the community and do some good for the city.

A REVEALING CHAT

The next time we spoke in an official sense was during the summer of 2018. There was some confusion among the press folks at your office, who had been expecting August March to call but were instead presented with an overweight, long-haired writer with a nearly-impossible-to-pronounce, traditional Hispanic name.

This telephonic encounter was plainly different from other times we had spoken. You seemed irritated that I would call you up to discuss things like leadership, empathy, Trump, and immigration. I explained that—as a progressive leader during what was surely becoming a difficult time for citizens—those people looked up to you and would be reassured by your thoughtful words on such formidable subjects.

I still haven’t decided whether you intended that as a sort of awkward flattery or you thought baring your teeth would serve as a grandly acceptable display of privilege, because after I attempted some friendly banter about the weather—hey, it seemed okay at the time, after all, we had chatted about things like Thanksgiving and rocked out at the same concert, for Chrissakes—you replied sharply, asking me:

“… what else do you want to talk about?”

I tell you, brother: I came this close to hanging up the phone upon hearing those words; my heart was so torn by your tone. At that moment, I realized you were just another politician. So I went full policy-wonk on you, asking hard questions about things that had nothing to do with any of your projects or ideas.

For the publication of the interview, I intentionally chose a press photo of you that appeared similar in tone and affect to the heroic propaganda doled out by any number of communist states during the mid-to-late 20th century.

Ironically, all that paid off and our readers wrote in to say that your words had inspired in them something called hope. You seemed like a hero to many then but, sadly, I had begun to feel otherwise. You went from resembling Gotham City D.A. Harvey Dent to more closely mirroring Two-Face.

“Keller Fights the Good Fight: Immigration policy an ethical lapse” by August March in Weekly Alibi, Volume 27, Number 26, June 28, 2018:

https://alibi.com/news/56283/Keller-Fights-the-Good-Fight.html

ELECTRIC GUITAR

At the end of that year, you stopped by for another formal interview. Beforehand, you mentioned a fancy electric guitar that a notable rock musician let you borrow. You intimated that you would stop by sometime so that I could check it out and play the thing for myself. Recalling our previous encounter, I had to excuse myself for a moment, stepping out into the hallway to stifle a hearty laugh.

Then, the interview commenced. We spoke about your accomplishments and your vision for the future of Albuquerque. Among the things you told me—and thousands of readers, voters and citizens—was this gem regarding the evolution of the Albuquerque Police Department:

“Our administration is fully on board with the reforms and so is the leadership over at APD.”

We also touched on the city’s homelessness problem and agreed that it was a complex issue driven by endemic poverty, addiction and the ill-considered dismantling of the state behavioral health system during the administration of La Tejana Susana Martinez. Speaking about your plans for a long-term solution, including new shelters and services, you said this:

“I don’t want another year to go by with no place for folks to go.”

Your final comments from this encounter were telling, comrade. They began with this statement:

“We’ve got a sort of sober optimism. We believe the road is long ahead and there will be challenges. But we are going to address them in all their complexity.”

That road has certainly been long and arduous, but I don’t believe that you and your administration have addressed those issues in all their complexity. Instead, you seem more focused on getting a new soccer stadium built.

“Year One: Keller on the long road to Burque” by August March in Weekly Alibi, Volume 27, Number 50, December 13, 2018:

https://alibi.com/news/57567/Year-One.html

COUNTDOWN TO PANDEMIC

At the end of 2019, right before winter came calling and just three months before a global pandemic plunged us all into chaos, I walked over to City Hall to meet with you. I was amazed to see a huge painting by my dear old professor John Wenger hanging in your office reception area. When you pointed out a framed clipping of one of my columns in your work area, I was pleased—not because you hung it up, but because it was presented alongside a painting created by a man whose art continues to deeply influence my own artistic output.

Anyway, this time the focus was once again on crime and homelessness. And you seemed relaxed, too, telling me that:

“We’re really working and are coordinating with all local agencies to get chronically violent criminals off the street.”

You closed with this comment about the city police and your administration’s reform efforts:

“You can feel the change [in culture] when you meet officers. They are now more confident and comfortable because they know the rules and understand our community a lot better.”

“Metal Mayor Makes Progress: Accomplishments, challenges and advances”, by August March in Weekly Alibi, Volume 28, Number 51, December 19, 2019:

https://alibi.com/news/60123/Metal-Mayor-Makes-Progress.html

Folks who read the resulting article commented that I had gone too easy on you. And I had—perhaps it was the proximity of that dang painting by Wenger, which had me imagining the city and all its people as magical entities, brightly colored and moving forward with gestural grandeur. My bad.

After that, the pandemic came, washing much away. Crime and homelessness became more pronounced as a consequence. But, rather than addressing these complex issues in a comprehensive manner, you have advocated for a new sports stadium, fired the police chief you hand-picked to bring reform to APD, and advanced the careers of a multitude of millennials at the expense of older, more experienced workers and job seekers here in the city.

TREAT THOSE THE WAY YOU WANT TO BE TREATED

Mayor Keller, here’s a personal anecdote, presented near the close of this open letter. We haven’t spoken for almost two years now. As a mayor who touts concern for his constituents’ wellness, I am sure you’d like to know what I’ve been up to since we last talked, at least that is what I hope.

The pandemic came and the newspaper that I spent years working on—that you apparently read at some point with marked enthusiasm—disappeared forever from the local media landscape. My wife and I struggled profoundly in the interim but have so far survived the pandemic.

When the skies began to clear, back in spring 2021, I sought employment at the City of Albuquerque and a number of other local organizations. I applied for more than a few jobs with the city and landed exactly two interviews for positions in city departments. Although I still had the personal contact numbers for you and your handlers, I never considered attempting to contact you to ask for help getting a job with the city. I figured my resume would speak for itself and felt that contacting you for help would be inappropriate. Besides, I have always gained employment based on my professional experience and qualifications—without pulling any strings—so why would I start now?

I went through the same formal application and interview processes that any citizen would, never expecting any special treatment or recognition. Both times, I was treated like a dunsel by your staff and administration.

At the first interview, for a Public Information Officer (PIO) position in your office, your communications director came to the Zoom interview dressed for hiking or fishing, complete with hat, Columbia-brand vest and utility shorts. He only asked a couple basic questions before turning the interview over to an administrator who rambled on and on for half an hour before I realized that I would need to end the interview, which was very awkward.

Two days later, your scheduler called to tell me that you wanted to talk to me. I thought I had gotten the job, but that call was followed by an official notification from the city personnel office, telling me that I had not gotten the job. Baffled, I reached out to your administration to find out what was going on. No one that I spoke with knew why you had wanted to chat with me.

I didn’t get the job, after all. The people at the city’s Human Resources department told me that you have to do things your way. Someone else in your office believed you wanted to discuss “other opportunities” with me. I never found out what those opportunities were. I felt that your administrators and staffers were overstepping the bounds of accepted human resources best practices, so I canceled that meeting with you.

The second interview, at the city’s Aviation Department, went even worse. I felt I was being laughed at by two of your public relations people. They treated me in a condescending, disrespectful way. I sensed that their treatment of me had a lot to do with my age. It became clear to me they did not take me at my word about my experience. I have no doubt that my work experience far exceeded theirs, not simply because of their own ages but based on their painfully obvious immaturity.

My concerns about age discrimination and a lack of traditional Human Resources Department boundaries were strengthened when I read an article about a “whistleblower lawsuit” filed against you and your top administrators by a terminated Deputy Human Resources Director. That lawsuit maintains that this former HR director was repeatedly directed to hire “preselected people,” to “fabricate reasons for reassigning others” and to give preferential treatment to “millennial” job candidates and “friends and allies” of yourself and your executive management team. The lawsuit charges that your top managers manipulated city hiring and personnel processes, using that former deputy director to do their bidding, then firing her for raising concerns. She also claims she was fired for reporting these concerns to various parties in our city government, including the Office of the Inspector General and the city attorney.

The link to the full Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2353571/past-city-official-files-whistleblower-suit.html

MAKING IT CLEAR

Mayor Keller, I want to make something absolutely clear to you. I do not expect—nor do I want—any favors from you. This is not about sour grapes. It’s about the way you treat others and your sense of entitlement to the job of mayor that is bothersome. The purpose of this open letter is to remind you of what you said to me about decency, transparency, and ethics.

Over the past few years, I certainly expected better from you, your Human Resources Department and the people who work directly for you. If you are re-elected, I sincerely hope that you and your administration learn to treat the working class of this burg with the dignity and respect that we deserve.

“Labor Day Guest Column by Rudolfo Carrillo: Something To Be: A Labor Day Reminiscence” by Rudolfo Carrillo at PeteDinelli.com, September 6, 2021:

https://www.petedinelli.com/2021/09/06/labor-day-guest-column-by-rudolfo-carrillo-something-to-be-a-labor-day-reminiscence/

CHANGES IN ATTITUDE, CHANGES IN JOBS

Today, I am working as a cook. It’s a job that I really like. Who knows, it may even become a management position for me. I’m making food that nourishes people. It’s hard but good work. After a couple months, I have regained the physical strength and endurance that allowed me to navigate the Annapurna Circuit without a guide in the fall of 1996. I also cut my hair. The people who I work with wonder if I’m in a witness protection program because I’m burly now, wear aviator frames and, according to them, I’m not like anyone else that they’ve ever met while working in a kitchen.

Now, I’m in almost as good shape as I was when I was a Boy Scout—I made it to Life Scout, Tim, and I still take that stuff about being prepared, kind, and civically engaged very seriously. When I mentioned my new occupation to one of my former colleagues, she nearly jumped out of her chair, amazed and asking what the heck happened to me. She said I ought to apply for some writing or communications positions or even a job at City Hall! Been there, done that. I told her that I gladly accepted my fate and laughed the same laugh I held back when you told me about the fancy guitar.

I have considered the totality of my experience with you, from your humble and precious private inauguration to the laughably indecent treatment I later received from your handlers. Finally, I recall that another colleague once told me you said you wanted to be mayor because it would be “really neat to be Mayor of my hometown” and that you’ve said you wanted to be mayor since you were in sixth grade. It is cool to get a job you’ve always wanted; I’ve always wanted to work as a cook, which is what I am now, and I enjoy it immensely.

What is not cool is your sense of entitlement to the job of mayor; that bothers me the most and my concerns are shared by more than a few of your constituents. For someone who was born and raised here, you’ve shown very little empathy or understanding of the major issues currently facing this city, perhaps thinking that your public relations acumen is an adequate substitute for all those broken promises.

Come Nov. 2, I will settle down to vote and will then, and only then, decide whether you actually deserve to be reelected to a second term as this city’s leader. After that, I will probably make at least 50 pizzas while listening to Bleach by Nirvana. I always dug that album’s final track, “Big Cheese”—hey, it may not be metal, Mr. Mayor, but sometimes proletariat punk is better.

Respectfully yours,

Rudolfo Carrillo

Links to other guest columns by Rudolfo Carrillo are here:

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: A Lighter Side To A Career March; Something Fishy In 2021 Mayor’s Race

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: “The Sporting Life: Bread, Circuses And Plenty of Pork”; Tim Keller’s Soccer Stadium Object That May Hastened Our Failure; City Answers Frequently Asked Questions

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: “Media Reports Keller’s Propaganda As News In Mayor’s Race”

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: “Media Reports Keller’s Propaganda As News In Mayor’s Race”

Marching to the Beat of a Different Drummer: Homelessness, the Candidates and Augie’s Ideas

Only In ABQ: A Violent Cop With Nefarious Past Becomes “Progressive” City Councilor And “The Paper” Publisher

Posted in Opinions

MFC’s And Mayor Candidates File 7th Campaign Finance Reports; Sheriff Manny Gonzales Raises Over $330,000 In 3 Weeks; ACLU Raises $100,000 To Oppose Gonzales And Aragon

Posted on October 14, 2021 by

The City of Albuquerque municipal election is scheduled for Tuesday, November 2. On the ballot will be the office for Mayor, the 5 odd numbered City Council Districts 1,3,5,7, and 9 seats and a voter bond approval request for $50 million dollars to build a soccer stadium.

As of October 11, along with the 3 candidates for Mayor , there were 13 Measured Finance Committees (MFCs) that filed their 7th Financial fundraising reports covering the reporting period of September 7 to October 4 reporting what they have raised, listing donors and expenditures. The 13 Measured Finance Committees are:

2021 Albuquerque Sierra Club, MFC
“Save Our City” organized to raise money and to promote Sherriff Manny Gonzales
“Retired Law Enforcement for a Better Albuquerque”
“Build Back ‘Burque” is raising money to promote and spend money on behalf of Mayor Tim Keller.
“Abq Firepac” promoting the local fire fighter union interests.
“Albuquerque Ahead” to promote Republican party City Council Candidates
“No Corporate Council” to promote progressive Democrat party City Council Candidates.
“ABQ Workers First” to promote organized labor interests and candidates.
“New Mexico United For All” to promote the $50 million soccer stadium bond issue.
MFC formed by the New Mexico American Civil Liberties Union.
MFC formed by “Planned Parenthood” of New Mexico.
MFC formed by a progressive neighborhood group called “Indivisible Nob Hill”.
MFC called “Healthy Economies Lead to Progress” with the stated purpose as “Independent Expenditure”.

This blog article reports on the funds raised and spent by the MFC’s, the 3 candidates for Mayor and an analysis of what can be expected over the remaining few weeks of the election.

SEVENTH CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORTS FILED

1. 2021 ALBUQUERQUE SIERRA CLUB MFC

Purpose: SUPPORT THE ELECTION OF MAYORAL AND CITY

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $-0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $5,200
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $5,200

Editor’s Analysis: Ray Shortridge is listed as the Treasurer and Richard D. Barish is listed as the Chairperson. It is well know that the Sierra Club the most enduring and influential grassroots environmental organization in the United States and is a highly progressive organization. There was only one donation in the amount of $5,200 from the Rio Grande Sierra Club with purpose of the donation to go to support Mayor Tim Keller and city Council candidates Tammy Fiebelkorn, Lan Sena, Rob Grilley, Jr and Cynthia Borrego. Its not clear from review on how the meager amount will be spent to help the 4 candidates for city council.

2. ABQ FIREPAC

PURPOSE: Support candidates who support public safety & fire fighter issues.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $800
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD $-0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $800.00

MAJOR DONORS: ABQ Area PAC Local $1,000.00
MAJOR EXPENDITURE: $350 paid to “Just Yard Signs” (Reported in 6th report.)

Editor’s Analysis: This is the local firefighters MFC. In the past, the firefighter’s union has expended significant amounts of money supporting Mayor and City Council candidates and have been very involved with the campaigns providing volunteers and spending thousands on TV commercials produced on their own. The local firefighter’s union has significantly pared down their involvement in this year’s Mayor and City Council races to the point of only distributing yard signs in support of candidates.

3. ABQ WORKERS FIRST

PURPOSE:To advocate for or against candidates running for mayor and city council.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $30,000
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $27,525
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $57,525

MAJOR DONORS:

New Mexico Federation of Labor ( $30,000, as reported in 6th report)
Central New Mexico Labor Council ($5,000)
IBEW PAC (Electrician’s Union, $5,000)
Sheetmetal Workers (5,000)
New Mexico Building and Construction Trades Council ($10,000)
Teamsters Local Union ($2,500)

Editor’s Analysis: It is clear from the various large donations organized labor in the city have decided to go it alone with raising and spending donations. All 6 of the listed labor union organizations are known to make donations to other measured finance committees or individual candidate campaigns. ABQ WORKERS FIRST fundraising will be used to support Mayor Tim Keller and to defeat Manny Gonzales and Eddy Aragon and to Albuquerque City Council candidates Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Louie Sanchez. $57,525 can go along ways in buying media time to air commercials and as the Mayor’s race heats up, expect it to be spent on helping Mayor Tim Keller.

An interesting side note is that the $57,525 raised by ABQ Workers would likely have more of an impact on city council raises because of public finance. Dan Lewis, Renee Grout and Louie Sanchez have all qualified for public finance, as have their opponents, and have been given varying amounts in public financing based upon the population of their city council district. The $57,525 raised is considerably more than what individual city council candidates have been given. In District 1, both Louie Sanchez and incumbent Democrat Lan Sena have been given $41,027 in public finance. In District 5, both Republican Dan Lewis and Democrat incumbent Cynthia Borrgego have been given $50,489 in public finance. In District 9, Republican Renee Grout and Rob Grilly Jr. have been given $41,791 in public finance.

4. ALBUQUERQUE AHEAD (City Council MFC)

PURPOSE: To support those candidates for city council who will move Albuquerque ahead and oppose those who will not.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $14,223.47
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $10,520
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $17, 152
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $7,591

Editors Analysis: This is a measured finance committee established by the Bernalillo County Republican Party to promote 2 Republican candidates for City Council. The 5th finance report filed by Albuquerque Ahead reflects that on July 7, 2021, the Bernalillo County Republican Party donated $9,000 to this MFC. The two Republican candidates being supported are former Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis who is running in District 5 against incumbent Democrat Cynthia Borrego. Republican Renee Grout is running for the City Council District 9 seat being vacated by long time serving, unknown, ineffective and unaccomplished Republican Don Harris. The one major expenditure of $5,184.00 is to Majority Strategies, a Republican leaning political consulting firm.

Albuquerque Ahead raised $10,250 in the reporting period to support of Dan Lewis and Renee Grout, including $2,000 from Arizona-based GDC and from James Baird and Karen Espinosa, each donating $1,000.

Republican Dan Lewis has qualified for public finance and has been given $50,489 and Republican Renee Grout has qualified for public finance and been given $41,791 in public finance.

5. AMERICAN CIVIL LIBERTIES UNION, INC NEW MEXICO VOTES

PURPOSE: To educate New Mexico voters about the upcoming Albuquerque mayoral race and the various civil liberties issues at stake.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: -$0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $100,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -.01-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $99,999.99

Editors Analysis: Normally, you do not see the American Civil Liberties union get involved in local elections. During the past few years, the ACLU has initiated at least 3 lawsuits against the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office for excessive use of force and racial profiling regarding African Americans. According to the 7th Finance Report, the ACLU states it “OPPOSES MANUEL GONZALES III and it “OPPOSES EDDY ARAGON” .

Note that the ACLU has yet to spend money on the race but $100,000 spent over the remaining few weeks can buy a lot of air time to run negative ads on Gonzales and Aragon to support Keller. Given the fact that Gonzales is more of a threat to Keller, and his history with litigation, expect the $100,000 to go to run negative ads on Gonzales.

6. BUILD BACK ‘BURQUE

PURPOSE: Support Mayor Tim Keller’s re-election to a second term for the City of Albuquerque

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $51,770.44
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $60,847
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $23,591.33
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $89,026

Build Back ‘Burque raised $60,847 last month and has $89,026 available going forward.

Editors Analysis:

The Chairperson for “Build Back ‘Burque” is Michelle Mayorga. According to the American Association of Political Consultants “Michelle Mayorga has spent nearly 2 decades working on campaigns, progressive issues, and in local and national administrations. She previously served as Western Field Director at the AFL-CIO, Western Political Director at the DCCC, and Coordinated Director for the Democratic Party of New Mexico in 2012.” The Treasurer for “Build Back ‘Burque” is Robert Lara. Mr. Lara is a licensed New Mexico attorney and is the former State Treasurer of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.

Major donors listed to the Keller MFC “Build Back ‘Burque” in the 7th finance report include:

$5,000 DONORS

New Mexico Federation of Labor, AFL-CIO
LOBO Pac
Jim Long (Hotel Owner)
Ted Martinez

$3,000 DONORS

110 Sunport LLC

$2,500 DONORS

Albuquerque Teachers Federation
James Griffin
Imesh Vaidya
Tabas Bhakta
Amish Bhakta
Kal Bhakta ($2,000)

OTHER NOTEABLE DONATIONS

NEW MEXICO DEALER SUPPORT SERVICES, INC; $1,500
Former District Court Judge Ann Kass: $1,000
Timothy Aison-Hatch: $750
NM State Senator Bill O’Niel: $500
People for Mimi Stewart: $500
Joseph Spiegel: $500
Rhonda Gilland: $500
NM Representative Gail Chasey: $250

Major expenditures for “Build Back ‘Burque” was $20,000 to Colorado-based The Majority Institute on campaign consulting.

The largest notable donors to the Keller MFC “Build Back ‘Burque” in the last 6th finance report include Ace Metals and Kimberly Rael, the wife of current City Chief Operating Officer (COO) Lawrence Rael, who each gave $5,000. The PAC spent the most money this period.

Although $89,026 is available going forward and is a good amount of money the total amount raised is well below the donations that were expected to be made to help Mayor Tim Keller. Four years ago Keller was the only candidate to qualify for $340,000 in public fiancé and a measured fiancé committee then raised upwards of $660,000 to spend and promote Keller. Additionally, “Build Back ‘Burque” is headed up by 2 seasoned political fund raisers. The total amount raised is well below expectations of many political observers. The low amount raised by Build Back Burque to promote Tim Keller is a clear indication that he does not command same level of enthusiasm for people to donate to get him elected that he had 4 years ago. On the other hand, Sheriff Manny Gonzales himself having raised over $330,000 in a few weeks as well as the 2 measured finance committees supporting him raising a combined $100,000 have far exceeded expectations.

7. HEALTHY ECONOMIES LEAD TO PROGRESS

PURPOSE: Independent Expenditure

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: -$0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $49,639.22
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $49,639.22

The Chairperson is identified as SIMON (SCOOTER) T. HAYNES and the Treasurer is identified as JULIA L MACCINI. Both Simon T. “Scooter” Haynes and Julia Maccini are conservative Republicans who ran and lost in June, 2021 for the Board of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District (MRGCD). Haynes is a developer who owns a real estate and construction business based in Albuquerque. Julia L Maccini is believed to be an attorney and believed to be the Development Coordinator at SCM Partners, LLC a limited liability corporation.

According to the 7th campaign finance report, major donors and amounts to HEALTHY ECONOMIES LEAD TO PROGRESS are:

NEW MEXICO RESTAURANT ASSOCIATION (Carol Wight): $20,000
COMMERCIAL ASSOCIATION OF REALTORS NM: $18,639.22
JOHNSON COMMERCIAL REAL ESTATE, LLC: $4,000
ABRAZO HOMES, LLC: $2,500
JEAN F BERNSTEIN: $1,000
DAVE HILL INC: $1,000
BRUCE J STIDWORTHY: $1,000
WILLIAM T ROBERTSON: $1,000

Editor’s Analysis: According to the 7th Financial Report, the purpose of the donations made, depending on the donor, are to support City Council candidates in District 1 LOUIE SANCHEZ, running against incumbent Democrat City Councilor Lan Sena, District 5 candidate Republican DAN LEWIS running against Democrat incumbent City Councilor Cynthia Borrego, and District 9 Republican candidate RENEE GROUT running against Democrats Rob Grilley Jr and Byron Powdrell. LORI LEE ROBERTSON is reported as also being supported by the donations, but she is not identified as being a candidate on the city clerk’s web page.

As noted above, Republican Dan Lewis has qualified for public finance and has been given $50,489, Republican Renee Grout has qualified for public finance and been given $41,791 in public finance and Louie Sanchez has been given $41,027 in public finance.

8. INDIVISIBLE NOB HILL

PURPOSE: Support and or oppose city council, school board and mayoral candidates

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT -$0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $2,176.17
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $2,129.55
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $46.62

Major donors and amounts:

RAYELLEN SMITH: $755 ($505 and $250)
CORNELIA LANGE: $500
PAUL SZAUTER: $200.00

Major expenses listed:

LAMAR ADVERTISING SOUTHWEST INC: $2,000.00

Editor’s Analysis: The Indivisible Nob Hill is a very well organized and respected progressive organization that has emerged over the last few years as being very much involved with local community issues. It has a well-read FACEBOOK page “Indivisible Nob Hill – Rants and Discussion Forum” that recently has begun posting “Crooks for Manny” along with photographs of well know mobsters, such as Al Capone, John Gotti, mafia hitman Whitey Bulgar and Carlo Gambino to mention a few. The phrase “I’m a crook, and I’m for Manny!” is next to the gangster photos along with a photo of Sherriff Manny Gonzales. Nasty but effective.

9. NEW MEXICO UNITED FOR ALL

PURPOSE: Support bond issue

Designated Chairperson: David M Carl
Designated Treasurer: Desiree Kim

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $35,000
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $525,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $422,664
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $137,335

MAJOR DONOR: New Mexico United total donation of $525,000

MAJOR IN-KIND CONTRIBUTIONS: New Mexico United Total In Kind donation of $17,600

Editor’s Analysis:

This measured finance committee changed its name to “New Mexico United for All”. This measured finance committee has been formed to raise donations to promote the $50 Million bond issue for a multipurpose sports stadium with the New Mexico United Professional Soccer team to be the primary tenant of the city owned facility.

Note the measured finance committee MFC is funded exclusively by New Mexico United, the professional soccer team that will become the proposed stadium’s anchor tenant. During the last month, United donated $525,000 and has spent $422,665.

According to the 7th finance report, the MFC spent $336,813 on television production and media buys with Pennsylvania-based Win Company and spent $33,780 on direct mail and $28,900 on polling.

It has been reported that according to terms of a “letter of intent to lease”, New Mexico United would contribute $10 million to help construct the proposed multiuse soccer stadium and pay $800,000 annually in base rent to be the venue’s primary tenant. The team would also have to pay the city another $100,000 per year but otherwise get to keep all revenue generated by the stadium outside of specific city-organized events. Voter approval is not technically required for this type of bond and is backed by the city’s gross receipts tax revenue. However, Mayor Tim Keller, a big promoter of the stadium, has said he would not pursue the stadium if the bond fails.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2432115/united-outlines-planned-stadium-investment.html

10. NO CORPORATE COUNCIL MFC

PURPOSE: To support progressive candidates for mayor and city council.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT -$0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: – $0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-

There have been no major donors nor expenditures reported and this measured finance committee at this point is a no starter and will likely not play any role in the election.

Editor’s Analysis: The name of this MFC tips the public off to the intent and purpose of this MFC in that it is a takeoff of the popular slogan “No Corporate Democrats”, a slogan used by progressive democrats to defeat conservative Democrats in primaries. The chair person of No Corporate Council MFC is listed as Melanie Aranda and the Treasurer is listed as Michaela Gallegos who has a “Working Families Party” email address and is believed to work for New Mexico Political Reports. Melanie Aranda is the Chief Operating Officer and Founding Member of the Center for Civic Policy (CCP), a progressive political strategy group, and the Co-Director of the NM Civic Engagement Table. Michaela Gallegos is believed to work for New Mexico Political Reports. The “No Corporate Council” MFC was likely formed to offset the fund-raising activities and efforts of Albuquerque Ahead, the City Council MFC organized and raising donations for Republican City Council candidates Dan Lewis and Renee Grout.

https://civicpolicy.com/staff/

11. PLANNED PARENTHOOD VOTES ALBUQUERQUE

Purpose: Support candidates that support women’s reproductive healthcare and oppose those that don’t.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT -$0-
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: – $0-
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-

There have been no major donors nor expenditures reported and this measured finance committee at this point is a no starter and will likely not play any role in the election.

Editors Analysis: In 2013, Planned Parenthood became actively involved in the municipal election to oppose the “late term abortion” initiative that was successfully place on the ballot by a voter petition initiative. Then Incumbent Mayor Richard Berry supported the initiative and the banning of all late term abortions in the city. Sensing that the issue could derail his re election efforts, the Republican controlled city council declined to place it on the municipal election ballot with the mayor’s race and instead funded a “special election” so as not to interfere with the 2013 mayor’s race. Planned Parenthood is a considered by many as a one issue organization dedicated to preserving a woman’s right to choose. It is more likely than not Planned Parenthood have registered a MFC for over concern that a new Mayor or the City Council will again attempt to ban late term abortions in the city.

12. RETIRED LAW ENFORCEMENT FOR A BETTER ALBUQUERQUE

PURPOSE: Support Albuquerque mayoral candidate who will improve the quality of life for its citizens as well as oppose candidates that are detrimental to the future growth and safety of Albuquerque.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $11,120.00
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $12,000
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD $10,000
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $13,120
TOTAL IN KIND CONTRIBTIONS: $3,248

MAJOR DONORS:

MIKE SISNEROS: $10,000
APRYL SAVAINSTON: $2,000

IN KIND DONATIONS:

In kind Contribution from Patrick J. Rogers, LLC in the amount of $2,248 for legal services rendered. The 6th finance report reported one in kind contribution from Patrick J. Rogers in the amount of $2,678.00 for legal services rendered.

MAJOR EXPENDITURE: One major expenditure in the amount of $10,000 was reported as a contribution to “SAVE OUR CITY”, the measured finance committed promoting Sheriff Manny Gonzales.

Editor’s Analysis: The chairperson of the “Retired Law Enforcement for a Better Albuquerque is Jason Katz and the Treasurer is listed as Sistine Jaramillo. Upon information and belief, Jason Katz is a former and retired Chief Deputy of the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office and is a longtime supporter and has worked for Gonzales. No background information could be located on Sistine Jaramillo. Pat Rogers is a private attorney and is considered by many as a conservative Republican Party-political operative who works on promoting and assisting conservative causes. Mr. Rodgers is a former National Committeeman of the Republican Party and 4 years ago filed ethics complaints against the candidate for Mayor Tim Keller.

13. SAVE OUR CITY

PURPOSE: To address the serious crime and leadership problem in Albuquerque

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $92,002.69
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $45,955
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $81,128.91
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $56,828.78

TOTAL IN KIND DONATIONS: -$0-

In the 7th finance report, Save Our City raised $45,955 and has $56,829 still on hand.

MAJOR DONORS

DASKALOS INVESTMENTS: $10,000
CLIFFORD BARBIERI: $5,000
LORI HENZ: $5,000
DAVID AND CHARLOTTE CAUWEL: $5,000
PAUL AND LYN CAUWELS: $5,000
ADMIRAL BEVERAGE CORPORATION: $4,000
JARED VANDER DUSSEN: $1,000
GREG BROWN: $1,000

Major expenditures for save our city during the reporting period were:

SUNNY DAY STRATEGIES for DIGITAL ADs: $27,093.00
PATRIOT CONTACT, DIRECT MAIL SERVICES: $20,641.16
JAMES HALLINAN CAMPAIGN MANAGER: $20,226.56
MARK FLEISHER: $3,775.63 (Mr. Fleisher is a well known and respected political consultant and was the campaign manager for former Mayor Martin Chavez.)
BRANDON MACEACHEN: $4,000.00 (Two $2,000 payments)
FULL COMPLIANCE And CONSULTING, LLC: $3,294.90
JOE MONAHAN INTERNET BLOG, Monahan Marketing: $755.13

Editor’s Analysis: The Chairperson of this MFC is Sam Vigil, the widower of Jackie Vigil who was shot and killed in her driveway in the early morning hours as she was going to the gym. Sam Vigil has been highly critical of Mayor Keller and known to support Manny Gonzales for Mayor.

In the 6th Campaign finance report, it was reported “Save Our City” received its largest contributions from Don Bassard, Robyn Hendrexson and Richard Luna, each donating $2,000. The “Save Our City” spent $17,850 on media production and ad buys through Three Point Media.

Its largest expenditures were for $27,093 for digital advertisements through Washington, D.C.-based Sunny Day Strategies and $20,641.16 PATRIOT CONTACT, DIRECT MAIL SERVICES.

Paying Joe Monahan $755.13 to advertise on his political blog New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan likely reached only political junkies interested in gossip with little or no impact on the average voters but it likely kept Manny Gonzales on Monahan’s good side as he reports on election gossup.

The city clerk link to the listing of all 13 measured finance committees and the finance reports is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

MAYOR CANDIDATES’ FINANCIAL REPORTS

Both Mayor Tim Keller and Sheriff Manny Gonzales have filed their 7th Campaign finance reports.

TIM KELLER 7TH CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT

Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller is the only candidate for Mayor that qualified for Public Finance and given $634,179.05 by the city. On August 9, the Keller Campaign filed the 6th Campaign Finance report:

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $524,709.62
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: -$0-
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $210,834.90
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $313,874.71

TOTAL IN KIND CONTRIBUTIONS: $16,940.87

Upon qualifying for Public Finance, the City of Albuquerque advance a single lump sum of $634,179.05 for the campaign.
Editor’s Analysis:

The Keller campaign spent $210,835 between September 7 and October 4 on media services and advertising buys and the Keller campaign has a balance of $313,875.
According to the 7th Keller campaign finance report, the Keller campaign received $5,000 in “in-kind” office rental contributions for Ed Garcia of the Garcia Auto dealership organization. Ed Garcia is also a co owner of the NM United soccer team that is backing the $50 million bond to build a downtown soccer stadium supported by Mayor Tim Keller.

In kind donations also included $1,000 from the Bruce Thompson Law firm for private investigator fees and $8,115 from the Keefe Law Firm for legal services.

Major expenditures listed by the Keller campaign include:

PUTNAM PARTNERS, LLC of Arlington Virginia for “film shoot”: $35,955.00
PUTNAM PARTNERS, LLC of Arlington Virginia for “media”: $25,250.00
BUYING TIME, LLC, WASHINGTON, DC for media buys: $56,904.00
BUYING TIME, LLC, WASHINGTON, DC for media buys: $56,904.00 (Second Payment)
NERI HOLGUIN CAMPAIGN CONSULTING AND COMMUNICATION: $32,362.50

The Keller campaign reported in the 7th finance report as paying Keller campaign manager Neri Holguin’s consulting firm $32,000. In the 6th campaign finance report it was reported $59,331 was paid to the Keller campaign manager Neri Holguin’s consulting firm. The 5th campaign finance report revealed that Neri Holguin Campaign Consulting was paid $23,732.50.

In the 6th campaign finance report, the Keller campaign reported $35,470 worth of in-kind services, including $2,500 in private investigator services, $17,970 from lawyer Lauren Keefe and $15,000 worth of rent from Ed Garcia who is a principal in the Garcia Automotive Group and also a principal in the company that purchased the historical Rosenwald Building in downtown Albuquerque for $300,000 in the form a of “lease back” arrangement to the city for a police substation in the Rosenwald Building once it is remodeled into luxury condominiums.

MANNY GONZALES 7th CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT

On September 14, a District Court Judge upheld the City Clerk’s decision to deny Gonzales $634,000 in public finance for violating campaign finance rules during the qualifying process finding impropriety in the collection of his qualifying $5 donations. Gonzales was forced to become a privately finance candidate. In his first 3 weeks as a privately funded mayoral candidate, Sheriff Manny Gonzales raised over $330,000. The Gonzales campaign is reporting more money on hand than incumbent Mayor Tim Keller.

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $20,829.63
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $338,201.25
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $26,260.89
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $332,769.00

Total In Kind Contributions: $11,286.76

Editor’s Analysis:

Gonzales has $332,770 in cash available for the final month of the campaign, while Mayor Tim Keller has less at $313,874.71

According to the 7th Campaign Finance report there were 20 donations to Gonzales’ campaign between $6,000 and the $6,250 limit for individual contributors. Those contributions are the following:

DAVID. C CHAVEZ, Los Lunas attorney
F & R TAFOYA PAINTING
RODGERS PLUMBING & HEATIG CO INC
RAYMOND & ROBERTA ZAMORA
DOUBLE AA PROPERTIES LLC
DENISE MONTOYA-MORA
RUDY MORA
JAMES TAFOYA
ARGUS PRIVATE SECURITY FORCE
NICK DIMAS
FUTURE ENDEAVORS SIX
LAPIERRE INSURANCE AGENCY INC
TRAN PHAM
ADMIRAL BEVERAGE CORPORATIONRU DAWG LLC
JASON NASH
ALEJANDRO LARA
CORTAZAR LABORATORIES LLC
PAYAM GHOREISHI
LEE BLAUGRUND ($6,000)
RICHARD LUNA($6,000)

OTHER NOTE WORTHY DONATIONS TO THE GONZALES CAMPAIGN INCLUDE:

SABRINA CHASTAIN, $4,000
JAMES HIGDON, $2,500
M & M BODY LLC (David Gonzales), $2,000
PATRICK MELLOY, $2,000
2G CONSTRUCTION LLC, $2,000
NATHAN KORN, $2,000
PRISCILLA GONZALES, $1,800
K-RAM INC (Gilbert Lovato), $1,500
FRANK BESERRA, $1,000
DARIN WADE, $1,000
SCOTT HAUQUITZ, $1,000
5401 VENICE NE LLC, $1,000
XTREME MOBILE SHRINK WRAP LLC, $1,000

MAJOR IN-KIND DONATIONS INCLUDE

DOUGLAS H. PETERSON PROPERTY MANAGEMENT: $5,475.00
SHOPS AT TAYLOR RANCH: $2,500.00

MAJOR EXENDITURES

SHANNAN CALLAND, of MONTEBELLO, CA, for Media/Public Relation: $6,666.66
SHANNAN CALLAND, Media/Public Relation: $6,666.66 (second payment.)

JAY MCCLESKEY, Media strategies: $6,797.11

In the 6th Campaign finance report, the Gonzales campaign reported that its largest expense then was $12,277 paid to Republican political operative and political media strategist Jay McClesky.

EDDY ARAGON’S 7th CAMPAIGN FINANCE REPORT

CASH BALANCE FROM LAST REPORT: $13,360
TOTAL MONETARY CONTRIBUTION THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $63,814
TOTAL EXPENDITURES THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $51,718
CLOSING BALANCE THIS REPORTING PERIOD: $25,455

According to all reports filed, Aragon reports raising a total of $96,000 since his campaign started in mid-Aug.

MAJOR DONORS AND AMOUNTS

Edward J. Aragon (candidate’s father): $6,250
Ann Cherry: $6,000
Randall J. Schimille: $6,000 (donating $2,000 3 times)

Roxane Baltz, individualy, (AZGARD LLC, Info Technology): $5,000
AZGARD LLC: $5,000

Chris Youngblood: $2,500

Sid Johnson: $1,500
James Gianelli: $1,030
Mark Caruso: $1,000
Gerald Hubbart: $1,000
Louie Sanchez: $1,000 (NOT DISTRICT 1 CITY COUNCIL CANDIDATE)
Tego Venturi: $1,000

Patricia Harmon: $505
Dean Ford: $500
Christopher Conlon: $500
Jeffry Posa: $500
Peggy C. Bonometti: $500

MAJOR EXPENSES REPORTED

Clear Channel Outdoor Advertising: $26,194.28
ALEXANDER MEDIA: $6,471 (3 payments of $2,157)
FISHBONE MARKETING INC, Florida, Political Consulting: $2,628.13
MINUTEMAN PRESS, for printing: $3,748.65
DON HEWATT for security services: $3,000.00
MICHAEL EUSTICE, campaign consultant: $1,000
REBECCA ALLEN, campaign consultant: $1,000
ABQ APPAREL GRAPHICS: $6,900.00
NIKKI WILBUR, public relations, $2,000
JOE MONAHAN POLITICAL BLOG: $1,107.95 Paying Monahan to advertise on his political blog New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan likely reached only political junkies interested in gossip with little or no impact on the average voters but it likely keep Aragon on Monahan’s good side as he reports on election gossip.

Aragon has spent 14,000 for T-shirts, hats and other campaign paraphernalia.

Links to quoted source material are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2021-candidates

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

On October 5, the on-line news agency “The Paper” published a report on an opinion poll it commissioned with Public Policy Polling (PPP) . The poll was then reported upon by KOAT-TV. The public opinion poll was of 793 likely voters with a margin of error 3.5%, plus or minus. The results of the PPP poll as reported by the Paper and KOAT TV are as follows:

Tim Keller: 47%,
Manny Gonzales: 21%,
Eddy Aragon: 11%
NOT SURE: 21%,”

It is now a major sprint for Keller, Gonzales and Aragon to the November 2 finish line. If no candidate secures 50% plus one of the vote, a run off will be held between the two top vote getters. We can all brace ourselves for an onslaught of negative advertising against Gonzales and Aragon by the Keller campaign in order to secure the lion’s share of the un decided voters in order to avoid a run off. Likewise, Gonzales and Aragon’s biggest challenge is to keep Keller below the 50% vote and force a run off.

Links to the most recent blog articles on the candidates are here:

Keller Lives In “Fantasyland” Looking For “Unicorns” To Combat Violent Crime; Keller In His Own Words; Examination Of Keller’s Record On Crime

Law Enforcement Relic Manny Gonzalez Talks Crime; An Analysis Of The Gonzales Record As Sheriff; He Will Do For The City What He Has Done For The County: Not Much

Mayor Candidate Eddy Aragon Reveals He Is “QAnon” Conspiracy Candidate; Aragon In His Own Words; Does Aragon Think 2020 Election Stolen From Trump? Analysis And Commentary

Posted in Opinions

Keller Lives In “Fantasyland” Looking For “Unicorns” To Combat Violent Crime; Keller In His Own Words; Examination Of Keller’s Record On Crime

Posted on October 13, 2021 by

The election for Albuquerque Mayor is on November 2. On the ballot for Mayor is Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller, Sheriff Manny Gonzales and Republican Trump radio talk show host Eddy Aragon. Because the City’s crime is considered the number one issue facing the city, the Albuquerque Journal published 3 separate front-page articles on crime in Albuquerque and what the announced candidates intend to do about it.

On October 5, the Albquerquerqu Journal published a front-page article with the headline “Keller says his initiatives ‘fight crime in a real way’ and was written by Journal Staff writer Matthew Reisen. The link to the full article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2435272/keller-says-his-initiatives-fight-crime-in-a-real-way.html

This blog article is an in-depth review Mayor Keller’s record on combating violent crime with a a fact check on what he has said and done during his 4 years in office.

MAJOR HIGHLIGHTS OF JOURNAL ARTICLE

The major highlights of the October 6 Journal article worth noting for purposes of this blog article are as follows:

“Critics of Mayor Tim Keller point to skyrocketing homicides, jumps in shootings and low police morale as proof of his failure to fight crime. Keller pushes back, noting that violent crime has shot up throughout the country during the pandemic, not just in Albuquerque. He points to drops in Albuquerque’s property crime as a measure of his success. And he says the initiatives launched under his tenure will make the community safer in the long run.
…
[According to Keller] the Community Safety Department [created by Keller] will take thousands of calls off the shoulders of police, the Gateway Center will be a stand-in for jail cells and hospital beds for those experiencing homelessness and the Metro Crime Initiative will fix the “broken” criminal justice system.” …
…
The ACS was proposed in 2020 as an option for having social workers and trained professionals, rather than armed officers, respond to 911 calls related to homelessness, behavioral health and addiction. …

Proposed in 2020, the Gateway Center will be housed at the former Lovelace hospital on Gibson. The city has said it plans to use the 572,000-square-foot facility to shelter up to 100 individuals and 25 families.
…
Keller acknowledge missteps on the part of his administration, which include releasing faulty crime stats early in his tenure and more recently, backslides in police federally mandated reform efforts. As for the recent record spike in homicides and shootings, Keller and APD repeatedly attribute those to national trends.”

Previously, Keller has said he has learned much since taking office, including not to make promises such as his 2017 commitment not to raise taxes without voter approval. With four years of new insight, he says promises make sense only in “fantasyland.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433925/keller-highlighting-experience-as-he-seeks-second-term.html

MAYOR TIM KELLER IN HIS OWN WORDS

The Journal article quotes Keller directly as saying:

“I think we have honored the commitment to fight crime in a real way. That’s not just about talking tough or doing roundups or something like that, we’re actually trying to address crime from all sides. … And we have done that. Had we not done that our city would be in a much, much worse place. … It’s either naive or disingenuous for anyone to think that our crime and drug problems are so surface level that they can just be fixed by being tougher, or by arresting people.”

“ … If it was that easy. I guarantee you, every chief that we’ve ever had, would have already done that. … I know we’re going to be in a much better position if I’m mayor than if there’s another mayor because of what I’ve learned through the process … I think making predictions or guesstimating … it’s hurtful to the process and it’s naive to think anyone can actually have a say in that. … “

“I think I’ve provided the right kind leadership at the right time and in a difficult time. So that means that not everyone is going to be happy with you all the time. I think that says you’re doing something right … I think I have been balanced in that I make tough decisions when I have to, and I stand by them. But I also learned from my mistakes.”

The link to the full Journal article containing the quotes is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2435272/keller-says-his-initiatives-fight-crime-in-a-real-way.html

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

In 2017 when the New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller ran for Mayor, he ran on the platform of reducing the city’s high crime rates, implementing the Department of Justice (DOJ) consent decree reforms, increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department from the then 950 to 1,200 and returning to “community-based policing”. In August, 2017, Keller went so far as to say about the city’s high crime rates:

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

Mayor Tim Keller 4 years later now proclaims during his “real world experience” as Mayor he has learned much, including not to make promises such as his 2017 commitment not to raise taxes without voter approval, even if it was for public safety saying such promises make sense only in “fantasyland”.

Keller essentially admits his 6 years of service in the State Senate and his 18 months as New Mexico Auditor was not “real world” experience. This coming from someone who said he was “uniquely qualified” to be Mayor.

KELLER WONDERS FANTASY LAND LOOKING FOR UNICORNS

Keller now says promises make sense only in “fantasyland”. Mayor Keller has been living in “fantasy land” for the last 4 years when it comes to selecting APD leadership and dealing with crime.

On September 23, 2020 on the Bob Clark morning show, Clark while interviewing Keller noted that once Keller was elected he brought back as Chief and Deputy Chiefs personnel who had retired with APD and did not hire people from “outside” who could give “fresh eyes’ to the department.

Keller’s response was that “our town is unique when it comes to crime and being under a consent decree”. Keller actually said “you want a unicorn” who knows crime, knows the community, and who is committed the DOJ reforms.

Keller eventually appointed Harold Medina Chief despite his nefarious past of killing a 14 old child brandishing a BB gun and having a psychotic episode and years later authorizing APD sworn to use deadly force in the shooting and killing of 27-year-old Iraq Veteran James Ellis III suffering from post-traumatic syndrome threatening to kill himself.

Keller making promises while living in a fantasyland ostensibly includes:

1. His promise to have 1,200 sworn police by the end of his first term with APD now at 900 sworn police

2. His promise to implement the DOJ reforms and

3. His promise to conduct a “national search” for a new police chief only to settle on retired former APD brass who participated in, helped create, or did not stop the culture of aggression within APD that resulted in excessive use of force and deadly force.

REFUSAL TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILTY

Mayor Keller says:

“I don’t think it’s fair to say that there’s something we could have done that would have prevented an increase in homicide … I think all around the country, it’s just shown that that’s just not true right now. … I think I’ve provided the right kind leadership at the right time and in a difficult time …”

It’s not an issue of being fair, not an issue of leadership, but one of being held accountable for failing to do what you promise to do as an elected official. Keller’s comments about homicides prevention are a pathetic attempt to avoid admitting his programs to prevent violent crime have failed. He wants the public to forget the promises he made 4 years ago.

The blunt truth is that the pandemic has had nothing to do with the city’s violent crime rates nor national trends. It was in January, 2020, that the Corona Virus was declared a worldwide pandemic and the country began to shut down and people began to quarantine and businesses began to close.

During his first full 3 years in office, in response to the city’s spiking violent crime rates, Mayor Keller initiated numerous crime-fighting initiatives. All were initiated before the pandemic hit the city hard in February, 2020.

ABQ’S VIOLENT CRIME STATISTICS IN A NUTSHELL UNDER KELLER

According to the 2020 FBI Unified Crime Reports:
Albuquerque has a crime rate of 194% higher than the national average.
Albuquerque’s Violent Crime Index for 2020 is 346% of the national average.
Albuquerque Property Crime Index for 2020 is 256% of the national average.

SOURCE:

https://crime-data-explorer.app.cloud.gov/pages/explorer/crime/crime-trend

HOMICIDES

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.
In 2020, there were 76 homicides in Albuquerque.
As of September 19, 2021 there have been 84 homicides in the city, a new all-time record high.

https://www.cabq.gov/police/crime-statistics

https://www.cabq.gov/police/documents/apd-homicide-list-for-web-site-as-of-20sep2021.pdf

VIOLENT CRIMES

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.

https://www.petedinelli.com/2019/11/21/city-matches-homicide-record-high-of-72-murders-mayor-keller-forced-to-defend-policies-makes-more-promises-asks-for-more-money/

In 2019, the category of “Violent Crimes” was replaced with the category of “Crimes Against Persons” and the category includes homicide, human trafficking, kidnapping and assault. In 2019 during Keller’s second full year in office, Crimes Against Persons increased from 14,845 to 14,971, or a 1% increase. The Crimes Against Person category had the biggest rises in Aggravated Assaults increasing from 5,179 to 5,397.

In 2020 during Keller’s third full year in office, Crimes Against Persons went from 14,971 in 2019 to 15,262 in 2020.

KELLER’S FAILED VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PROGRAMS

In 2019, Mayor Tim Keller reacting to the spiking violent crime rates, announced 4 programs in 9 months to deal with and bring down the city’s high violent crime rates. Keller recently launched his “Community Safety Department” and concluded his “Metro Crime Initiative” which he claimed will fix the “broken criminal justice” system.
All 6 initiatives involve early intervention and partnership with other agencies and summarized as follows:

1. THE SHIELD UNIT

In February 2018 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) created the “Shield Unit”. The Shield Unit assists APD Police Officers to prepare cases for trial and prosecution by the Bernalillo County District Attorney’s office.

https://www.abqjournal.com/1325167/apd-expands-unit-that-preps-cases-for-prosecution.html

2. DECLARING VIOLENT CRIME A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

On April 8, 2019, Mayor Keller and APD announced efforts that will deal with “violent crime” in the context of it being a “public health crisis” and dealing with crimes involving guns in an effort to bring down violent crime in Albuquerque.

3. THE “VIOLENCE INTERVENTION PLAN” The “Violence Intervention PLAN (VIP program)

On November 22, 2019 Mayor Tim Keller announced what he called a “new initiative” to target violent offenders called “Violence Intervention Plan” (VIP) . Mayor Keller proclaimed the VIP is a “partnership system” that includes law enforcement, prosecutors and social service and community provides to reduce violent crime. Mayor Keller stated:

“… This is about trying to get these people not to shoot each other. …This is about understanding who they are and why they are engaged in violent crime. … And so, this actually in some ways, in that respect, this is the opposite of data. This is action. This is actually doing something with people. …”

The “Violence Intervention Plan” can be described as a “fantasy land” experiment especially when there is little that can be done to prevent the violent crime of murder by “trying to get these people not to shoot each other” and “understanding who they are and why they are engaged in violent crime.”

4. THE METRO 15 OPERATION PROGRAM

On Tuesday, November 26, 2019 Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference to announce a 4th program within 9 months to deal with the city’s violent crime and murder rates. At the time of the press conference, the city’s homicide count was at 72, matching the city’s record in 2017.

Simply put, all 4 of Keller’s programs can be described as failures and not having any real statistical impact on reducing crime. The truth is that for a good 3 years before the COVID pandemic hit the city hard in 2020 under Keller’s watch, violent crime rates were spiking, so much so that 4 years ago then candidate for Mayor Tim Keller made reducing the city’s crime rates a cornerstone to his campaign.

Four years ago, Keller proclaimed himself to be uniquely qualified to be Mayor and went so far as to promise that he would hire 300 sworn police officers and grow the department to 1,200 sworn police offices by the end of his first term. Today, the department has 900 sworn police and the police academy cannot keep up with retirements.

5. METRO CRIME INITIATIVE

In the last few months, Mayor Keller has been mimicking District Attorney Raul Torres blaming our rising crime rates on “the broken criminal justice system”. Keller has gone so far as to say the criminal justice system is a “revolving door” in one of his election TV ads.

On September 23, Mayor Keller concluded a conference he dubbed he the “Metro Crime Initiative”. Participants included APD, the DA’s Office, the Courts and many other stakeholders to address what all participants labelled the “broken criminal justice” system.

The entire “Metro Crime Initiative” started with the phony proposition declared by Mayor Keller and all the participants that our criminal justice system is broken. During the September 23 concluding press conference, local leaders admitted they have not been providing enough protection and resources to keep people safe.

A list of 40 action items were revealed by Keller with the hope that once implemented they will lower Albuquerque’s crime efficiently and quickly. All the participants patted each other on the back for doing such a good job and asserting they have found the solution.

When you examine the “check list” of the 40 different proposals that were the result of the Metro Crime Initiative, the proposals are essentially what all the participants have been working on over the past 2 years and include many programs already announced. The list contains nothing new. The items listed are ones that the participants should have been doing in the first place.

A detail “check list” pamphlet was produces containing details of each action plan and can be found here:

https://www.cabq.gov/mayor/documents/mci.pdf

The 40 proposals are essentially an admission by many of the participants that they have not been doing their jobs effectively from the get go. There really is nothing new other than a public relations flyer and the checklist Mayor Tim Keller could hold up during his press conference, a few weeks before an election so he can say “ignore my failures of the past 4 years and see what I have done now to combat violent crime.”

It’s a lot simpler to come up with a bumper sticker slogan and say the criminal justice system is broken when you do not know how to explain your inability to do your own job and are contributing to the crisis.

As Mayor, Tim Keller has management and control over APD which is part of the criminal justice system that Keller proclaims to be broken. APD statistics for the budget years of 2019 and 2020 reflect that APD is not doing its job of investigating and arresting people. APD felony arrests went down from 2019 to 2020 by 39.51%, going down from 10,945 to 6,621. Misdemeanor arrests went down by 15% going down from 19,440 to 16,520. DWI arrests went down from 1,788 in 2019 to 1,230 in 2020, down 26%. The total number of all arrests went down from 32,173 in 2019 to 24,371 in 2020 or by 25%. Bookings at the jail have plummeted from 38,349 in 2010 to 17,734 in 2020. You can not have booking unless arrests are made. APD’s homicide unit has an anemic clearance rate of 36%.

When DA Raul Torrez ran for Bernalillo County District Attorney the first time, he said our criminal justice system was broken. After being elected the first time, Torrez had his office prepare a report on the statistics regarding the number of felony cases that were being dismissed by the District Court. Torrez accused the District Courts of being responsible for the rise in crime and releasing violent offenders pending trial. Mayor Tim Keller went along with DA Torres when they wrote a joint letter to the New Mexico Supreme Court demanding that the District Court abandon preliminary hearings and allow for more grand jury time.

Torrez accused defense attorneys of “gaming the system” to get cases dismissed against clients. A subsequent report to the Supreme Court prepared by the District Court revealed it is the DA’s office dismissing more felony cases for various reasons. The DA’s office currently has the highest voluntary dismissal rate in its history, and plea agreements with low penalties are the norm. Data given to the Supreme Court by the District court revealed overcharging and a failure to screen cases by the DA’s Office contributes to a combined 65% mistrial, acquittal and dismissal rate.

The courts are viewed as part of a broken criminal justice system. Mayor Tim Keller has now started to criticize the courts. Keller blamed the District Court when an accused felon was released without bond pending trial and was able to remove his court order ankle monitor. He was found and taken into custody. The District Court points to the New Mexico Supreme Court’s Case Management Order (CMO), as does the District Attorney, that much of the discretion they had before to hold those charged until trial has been taken away.

The criminal justice system in this country and this state has never been perfect, nor will it ever be, but it is not broken as Mayor Tim Keller and the “Metro Crime Initiative” participants would have everyone to believe, especially those that are running for office such as Tim Keller and who have been failures in dealing with the city’s high crime rates. Yes, the criminal justice system does have its flaws and a number of inequities, but to say that it is a broken system is just plain ignorance of the criminal justice system or political opportunism at its worst in an election year.

The criminal justice system at all levels is only as good as those who are responsible to make it work and succeed. The participants in the city sponsored “Metro Crime Initiative” know what is wrong with the state’s criminal justice system. They know it is not a “broken system” but a “systems failure” caused by their own failures to act and to do their jobs effectively. It is way too easy to declare the system “broken” when problems identified within the criminal justice system would go away if the stakeholders would just do their own jobs and concentrate on doing their jobs in a competent manner.

6. COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT

On September 7, Keller’s new Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACSD) dispatched 3 two person teams, or 6 people total, of civilians trained as behavioral health responders to commence handling certain 911 calls in order to reduce the number of calls for service handled by Albuquerque police. The ACS program will operate 24/7 once fully staffed with upwards of 100 trained behavioral health responders. The Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) is a department that is a proposed solution to reduce APD’s calls for service involving mental health calls and to transfer such calls to another civilian department with mental health experts to deal with those in crisis. It is a department that must be equipped to respond to 911 calls related to addiction problems and behavioral health issues or it will fail and fail miserably and may even result in a social worker getting killed.

For the Fiscal Years of F/Y 14 to F/Y 20 the total number of 911 calls for service to APD were:

FY/14 # of Calls for service: 518,553
FY/15 # of Calls for service: 518,751
FY/16 # of Calls for service: 547,854
FY/17 # of Calls for service: 564,610
FY/18 # of Calls for service: 580,303
FY/19 # of Calls for service: 543,574
FY/20 # of Calls for service: 524,286

The new ACS department is not the panacea Keller wants it to be when it comes to reducing violent crime. Ostensibly, ACS will not have the authority to arrest and APD will have to be called. The goal is to have the ACS respond to 3,000 calls a month, but those calls will be to the lowest priority calls of priority 3,4 and 5 or none violent calls in general. There is no real breakdown as to how many of those calls are related to addiction problems and behavioral health issues. If the ACS responds to 3,000 calls a month, it will free up sworn police for other calls, but it will not have much of a direct impact on violent crime in that violent crimes will still have to be handled and solved by APD. As noted above, APD receives well over 500,000 calls for service a year. In 2020, APD received 524,286 calls for service or upwards of 40,000 calls for service a month of the year and the ACSD hopefully will handle 36,000 a year.

APD ARRESTS HAVE PLUMMETED

APD statistics for the budget years of 2019 and 2020 reflect the department is not doing its job of investigating and arresting people. APD felony arrests went down from 2019 to 2020 by 39.51% going down from 10,945 to 6,621. Misdemeanor arrests went down by 15% going down from 19,440 to 16,520. DWI arrests went down from 1,788 in 2019 to 1,230 in 2020, down 26%. The total number of all arrests went down from 32,173 in 2019 to 24,371 in 2020 or by 25%.

In 2019 APD had 924 full time police. In 2020, APD had 1,004 sworn police or 80 more sworn police in 2020 than in 2019, yet arrests went down during the first year of the pandemic. APD’s homicide unit has an anemic clearance rate of 36%. The police union falsely proclaims officer’s hands are tied by the DOJ reforms and are afraid of doing their jobs for fear of being disciplined.

HISTORICAL LOW HOMICIDE CLEARANCE RATES UNDER KELLER

For the past three years during Mayor Keller’s tenure, the homicide clearance percentage rate has been in the 50%-60% range. According to the proposed 2018-2019 APD City Budget, in 2016 the APD homicide clearance rate was 80%. In 2017, under Mayor Berry the clearance rate was 70%. In 2018, the first year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 56%. In 2019, the second year of Keller’s term, the homicide clearance rate was 52.5%, the lowest clearance rate in the last decade. In 2020 the clearance rate has dropped to 50%. Of the 75 homicides thus far in 2020, half remain unsolved. There are only a dozen homicide detectives each with caseloads high above the national average.

AUTO THEFTS STILL HIGH UNDER KELLER

On June 26, 2019 the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) released its annual list of cities with the most stolen vehicles reported. Despite a 28% reduction in auto thefts over a two-year period, Albuquerque ranked No. 1 in the nation for vehicle thefts per capita for the third year in a row. On July 30, 2020, the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) reports that Albuquerque is now ranked #2 in the nation for auto theft.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/jimgorzelany/2019/06/27/these-are-the-cities-with-the-highest-car-theft-rates/#7c42e7d35146

KELLER’S FALSE CLAIMS OF REDUCING CRIME

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

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

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

At an October 2019 meeting of the City Council, APD provided the revised statistics but failed to disclose to the council that the numbers had changed drastically. Mayor Keller also did not hold any kind of a press conference to correct nor announce the corrected statistics. The Keller Administration blamed the false numbers on antiquated software programs, but only after the Keller Administration had essentially been caught by the Albuquerque Journal. Mayor Keller for his part has never issued his own personal apology for misleading the public and trying to take credit for bringing down crime rates by using false statistics.

The corrected crime statistics from those announced by Keller are:

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

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

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

KELLER’S FAILURE TO GROW APD TO LEVEL PROMISED

Tim Keller campaigned to be elected mayor on the platform of increasing the size of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), returning to community-based policing and promising to bring down skyrocketing crime rates. To that end, the Keller Administration began implementing an $88 million-dollar APD police expansion program increasing the number of sworn police officers from 898 positions filled to 1,200, or by 302 sworn police officers, over a four-year period. The massive investment was ordered by Mayor Tim Keller to full fill his 2017 campaign promise to increase the size of APD and return to community-based policing as a means to reduce the city’s high crime rates. Keller promised to increase the number of sworn police in the department to 1,200 by the end of his first term.

The current city budget authorizes up to 1,140 sworn officers. APD Police Chief Harold Medina says the needs 1,200 sworn. As of late July, APD sworn police numbered 939, leaving about 200 positions vacant. Forty-eight cadets are expected to join the ranks by the end of October. The new cadet class will bring the number of vacancies down to 152 vacancies of sworn police. Recent reports say APD is down to 900 sworn police.

NORMALLY WOULD BE ONE TERM MAYOR

During the last 4 years under Mayor Tim Keller’s leadership, things have only gotten worse in the city. In normal times, Tim Keller would be a one term Mayor given his record of broken promises, failures and inability to deal with the city’s crime wave. The sweeping and dynamic change that Keller was perceived to represent in 2017 never materialized. APD continues to implode, violent crime is still out of control. All we got is a Mayor who likes to run around the city acting like a high school football jock who has been elected student body president and who likes to attend heavy metal concerts to introduce the band. An immature, middle age man who likes to act like he is some sort of celebrity and not the chief executive of a major United States city.

Normally, voters are a very fickle lot and unforgiving when politicians make promises they do not or cannot keep. Sooner rather than later people demand and want results. But not in the age of the Corona Virus. Campaign promises made in 2017 and promises not kept by 2021 really do not matter from a political standpoint.

The reality is that no one really cares about a politician’s poor job performance when they are struggling to make a living, make ends meet and struggling to keep themselves and their family’s healthy and safe from the Corona Virus as bills add up. In the age of the Covid 19 pandemic, none of Keller’s failures nor broken promises will likely make much of a difference to the voting public given the image he has carefully crafted with his relentless public relations and the lack of viable candidate to oppose him.

On November 2, 2021 Voters will decide if Keller has “done a good” job of leadership and if he deserves a second 4-year term.

Links to related news articles are here:

‘I’ve learned’: Keller touts real-world experience

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433925/keller-highlighting-experience-as-he-seeks-second-term.html

Q&A mayoral candidate Tim Keller

https://www.abqjournal.com/2433190/qa-mayoral-candidate-tim-keller-2.html

The link to a related blog article is here:

Mayor Tim Keller’s Promises Made, Promises Broken As He Seeks Second Term; Voters Will Decide If Keller “Has Done A Good Job”

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Monthly Archives: October 2021

Mayor Debate Aftermath: “Verbal Altercation” Between Keller and Gonzales Reported ; The Likely Source Of DWI Coverup Charge; Journal Poll Anticipated; Expect Editorial; Gonzales Should Withdraw From Race

Sheriff Gonzales Makes Salacious Accusations Against Mayor Keller In The Form Of A Question; Gonzales Needs To Name APD High Ranking Officials With Direct Knowledge Of Domestic Incident Or Apologize And Withdraw From Race

ABQ Journal Endorses Mayor Keller Not Because He Has Done Great Job, But Because Opponents Not Qualified; Fact Checking The Endorsement

Rudolfo Carrillo Guest Column: “Mayor Tim Keller Goes From Harvey Dent to Two-Face In 4 Years”

MFC’s And Mayor Candidates File 7th Campaign Finance Reports; Sheriff Manny Gonzales Raises Over $330,000 In 3 Weeks; ACLU Raises $100,000 To Oppose Gonzales And Aragon

Keller Lives In “Fantasyland” Looking For “Unicorns” To Combat Violent Crime; Keller In His Own Words; Examination Of Keller’s Record On Crime