On the November 5 general election ballot for voter approval will be two proposed City Charter Amendments placed on the ballot by the Albuquerque City Council back in June.
The first charter amendment would give the City Council the power to remove the fire chief and police chief, without cause, by a 7-2 vote and would require an employment contract for both positions. The current charter requires no employment contracts and requires cause to remove the police and fire chiefs with a 6 vote majority and the positions are considered at will employees serving at the pleasure of the Mayor but requiring majority approval of the city council.
The second charter amendment creates a process to fill vacancies on a city committee intended to resolve separation of powers issues between the Mayor and City Council. The Intragovernmental Conference Committee is made of three members: the appointee from the mayor’s office, an appointee from City Council and a chairperson, who is selected by the council and mayor’s appointees. The charter amendment forces the mayor to appoint a member to the Intragovernmental Conference Committee within 60 days of any vacancy. There is no such requirement imposed on the City Council. As it stands, both the Mayor and City Council have total discretion as to when and who to appoint.
A third charter amendment was also passed by the City Council in June to be placed on the November 5 ballot, but it was vetoed by Mayor Tim Keller and it will not be on the ballot. The third charter amendment would have eliminated all run off elections between the two top vote getters for Mayor and City Council. Whoever secured the most votes of all the candidates running would have won the election out right. If there is a tie between the two top vote getters, then and only then would there be a runoff.
Links to relied upon and quoted news sources are here:
https://www.yahoo.com/news/checks-balances-heres-abq-voters-140100151.html
https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-city-council-votes-on-amendments-to-city-charter/
ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY
Simply put, the two Charter amendments placed on the November 5 ballot amount to nothing more than a power grab by the Albuquerque City Council to dilute the authority of the Mayor and gain more control over the Mayor’s appointees of Chief of Police and the Chief of the Albuquerque Fire and Rescue Department. City Councilors are motivated by their desire to remove APD Chief Harold Medina. As it stands now, both Chiefs are appointed by the Mayor subject to approval of the City council, both are at will employees who serve at the pleasure of the Mayor and can be terminated by the Mayor at any time and without cause.
Harold Medina was appointed chief of Albuquerque Police Department by Keller in 2021. During the last year, city councilor’s have been highly critical of APD Chief Harold Medina with more than a few expressing that the Mayor remove him as Chief. In 2024 Chief Medina generated a lot of headlines. In February, Medina crashed a department truck into a vintage Mustang while fleeing gunfire near the International District and was reprimanded by the Internal Affairs Division for his handling of the crash, notably for not turning on his lapel camera and violating APD policies and procedures. APD is also under an ongoing investigation by the FBI for alleged corruption related to APD officers’ dismissing DWIs for briberies.
The relations between Mayor Tim Keller and the more conservative majority city council have deteriorated because of the sure frustration the conservatives on the council have experienced in not being able to stop the Keller progressive agenda with overriding vetoes. The conservative leaning city council has shown significant resistance to Mayor Keller’s progressive agenda as going too far.
A few city councilors have attempted to force the termination or resignation of Chief Medina. Councilor and former APD officer Dan Champine said he believes the frequency at which Medina has been in the news drove the proposed charter amendment giving the Council more power. Champine said this:
“If you had a police chief that was doing his job and was showing improvement within the department and with the public and with crime and safety within our city, I don’t think it would have raised this question or shown this issue.”
Repeatedly the conservative city council has attempted to repeal ordinances and resolutions enacted by the previous more progressive city council and to limit the authority of Mayor Tim Keller. Prime examples include the following:
- A resolution to repeal or limit mayoral authority during a public health emergency.
- A resolution baring the city from mandating covid-19 vaccines for the municipal government workforce.
- Resolution directing the city administration to consider and “push to renegotiate the terms of the federal court approved settlement agreement.”
- Repeal of a quarter cent tax increase in gross receipts tax enacted a few years ago.
- Repealing or attempting to amend the City’s “Immigrant Friendly” policy calling it a “Sanctuary City” policy and requiring APD to assist and cooperate with the federal immigration authorities.
The two charter amendments are not the first time that the conservative city council has attempted to reduce the authority of Mayor Tim Keller by City Charter Amendments. The relations between Mayor Tim Keller and the more conservative majority city council deteriorated so significantly that on April 27, 2023 first term City Councilors Democrat Louie Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout announced legislation proposing a City Charter amendment for a public vote that would have made the Mayor of Albuquerque a member of the City Council. They wanted to transfer all the mayor’s executive and city management duties to a city manager chosen by the city council. According to the proposed legislation, the mayor would have been “recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes”.
The city council is trying to get city voters to change in a very dramatic way how the Mayor appoints at will employees in order to carry out a personal vendetta against a Mayor and a Chief they do not like and who they perceive are ineffective and unpopular.
Voters are encouraged to Vote No on both charter amendments.