On June 7, the District 7 Coalition of Neighborhood Association held its monthly meeting.  The District 7 Coalition of Neighborhood Associations is one of the largest and most active of all neighborhood association coalitions in the city.   It boasts membership of at least the following 11 neighborhood associations:

The Altura Park Neighborhood Association

The Mile High Neighborhood Association

The Mark Twain Neighborhood Association

The Quigly Park Neighborhood Association

The North East Area Resident Neighborhood Association (N.E.A.R,)

The Indian Moon Neighborhood Association

The Sandia High Neighborhood Association

The Alvarado Park Neighborhood Association

The Mc Kinnley Neighborhood Association

The Bel Aire Neighborhood Association

The Hodgin Neighborhood Association

The June 7 agenda included presentations from a representative of the Albuquerque Police Department crime prevention unit, a report from District 7 City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn and a report from the Office of Neighborhood Coordination. Also in attendance was Bernalillo County Commissioner Eric Olivas.  Pete Dinelli was invited to attend the meeting and asked to make a presentation on the history of Neighborhood Associations, the Neighborhood Association Registration Ordinance and the former Safe City Strike Force

EDITOR’S DISCLOSURE: In the interest of full disclosure and transparency, political blogger Pete Dinelli endorsed Tammy Fiebelkorn for City Council when she ran in 2021, an endorsement now regretted.

CONTENTIOUS LINE OF QUESTIONING

Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn’s June 7 report lasted approximately 15 minutes where she reported on the various projects  being completed in District 7.  She reported on soft ball field renovations at Los Altos Park and  listed capital outlay projects in District 7 that have received state funding including Quigley Park renovations, Girard streetscaping,  Lomas and Comanche median improvements and the  Cutler Park exercise equipment and pollinator garden installations. Fiebelkorn took credit for securing the state funding when the funding was part of the city’s legislative package wish list for the 2023 legislative session.

WHAT’S NAIOP UP TO

What was very revealing is that Fiebelkorn boasted and  said the local chapter of the National Association of Industrial and Office Park (NAIOP) personnel would be taking  a bus tour of District 7 on June 8 to look at possible “investment sites and projects.”  Fiebelkorn disclosed that she would be giving  NAIOP personnel the bus tour.  A source has confirmed that only NAIOP membership were allowed on the tour and that it intends to take tours of all 9 city council districts.   District 7 is the Mid-heights City Council District, it is one of the most stable districts with built out neighborhoods, apartments and retail shops with very little next to nothing in open space and lots available for development.   District 7 includes Coronado Shopping Center, the Commons Uptown Shopping area and Winrock and surrounding established  residential  areas and parts of the near northeast heights. A 200 unit, high rise apartment complex is  currently being constructed across from 2 Park Square and apartments and luxury condos are under construction at Winrock.

It does not take a mental genius to figure out what NAIOP is up to when it takes a bus tour of  District 7 for “investment sites and projects.” It is looking for residential properties to target for casitas and duplex development. NAIOP has endorsed allowing casita and duplex development on all residential property in the city.  NAIOP is considered the most influential business and political organizations in the city. It boasts membership of over 300 of developers, contractors and investors. It has its own Political Action Committee for lobbying and supports candidates for office. NAIOP membership consistently bids on city construction contracts and contributes to races for city council and mayor usually Republican candidates. In 2013, NAIOP made the enactment of the Integrated Development Ordinance a major priority which repealed many sector development plans enacted over 50 years that protected neighborhoods and historical areas of the city.

FIEBELKORN DISCLOSES HOW SHE WILL VOTE

There are two controversial issues and ordinances that are currently pending enactment by the Albuquerque City Council. The first are amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which would allow for the construction of casitas and duplexes in all neighborhoods of the city to increase population density. The amendments are part of Mayor Tim Keller’s Housing Forward ABQ Plan to increase density and affordable housing. The second is a City Charter Amendment that that would replace the current “strong Mayor” form of Government with a city council appointed city manager with the mayor becoming a member of the city council.

EDITOR’S NOTE:  The amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance that will  allow for Casita’s and Duplex additions to existing homes will be voted upon by the City Council on Wednesday, June 21 (which has been scheduled for after a holiday.)The council has already decided to limit public comment to one minute per person. The email addresses to each city councilor are listed below.

Immediately after concluding her report, Fiebelkorn was asked point blank how she intended to vote on allowing changes to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO)  that will  allow for the construction of  casitas and duplexes in all existing neighborhoods of the city.  She was also asked how she intended to vote on the Charter Amendment calling for a city manager form of government.   Fiebelkorn  said  she will vote YES for Mayor Tim Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan”  which includes allowing  casitas and duplex development. She said she will vote NO on the charter amendment calling for a change in the city’s form of government with a City Council – City Manager.

Pete Dinelli and other neighborhood representatives voiced their objections that voting “YES” to allowing casitas and duplexes was a wrong for District 7.  A  N.E.A.R. resident suggested delaying the Housing Forward proposal until the recently-appointed  Governor’s state commission on affordable housing had made its recommendations. Councilor Fiebelkorn said the city council would not hold off on its housing plan and she refused to change her mind.

Fiebelkorn concluded her report by asking the coalition not to believe everything reported on her by the press and on social media outlets. She said there have been false reports and quotations attributed to her regarding her position on issues.   The comment was taken to include politcal blogs such as www.PeteDinelli.com which has been critical of her actions and votes. She said if anyone had any questions, they could can call her and she would answer the questions. She also said she would always attend the coalition meetings to report, but she is known to simply leave the meetings after her reports showing absolutely no interest in the business of the coalition.

After her presentation, a coalition board member challenged Fiebelkorn objecting to her voting to allowing casita and duplex developments in all neighborhoods to increase density. The board member argued forcefully that casitas and duplexes will destroy established neighborhoods, they will be too costly and will only benefit developers and that they will not solve the city’s affordable housing and rental shortage and only make it worse.  Fiebelkorn disagreed without elaborating.  She ignored the arguments made and said her mind was made up and she would vote YES despite any objections.

Former District 7 City Councilor and current District 7 Coalition of Neighborhoods President Janice Arnold-Jones asked Councilor Fiebelkorn to support an amendment to the Housing Forward proposal that would make construction of casitas  and duplexes in R-1 neighborhoods a conditional use requiring notification to surrounding property owners and affording appeal rights to them  rather than a permissive use giving the city planning department exclusive authority to approve them. Arnold-Jones expressed the opinion that this was a reasonable compromise. Fiebelkorn tersely responded NO, said the planning department appeal process delayed too many projects and said her mind was made up and there was nothing to discuss.

A coalition board member noted that not a single person present at the coalition meeting were in support of casita and duplex developments.  Fiebenkorn  responded saying she did not care. She said the proposal to allow casitas and duplexes has city wide support from civic and charitable organizations, homeless advocacy groups and providers and the development and business community, such as NAIOP.

Fiebelkorn ignored that she was speaking to a room full of her own constituents who were opposed.  Her subsequent comments were down right offensive. She said it was her responsibility to represent all voters of the district and that her constituents she has talked to have told her they are in favor of casitas and duplex development.  She did not disclose who she had been talking to in the District.  What was downright offensive was when she  said the District 7 Coalition was not a large enough group to be reflective of the district concerns and needs.

FIEBELKORN FABRICATS ELECTION PLATFORM

Fiebelkorn became very dismissive and condescending to a board member who challenged her veracity over what she claimed to have campaigned on when she ran for city council.  She said the subject of increasing density and low-income housing was an issue in her city council race and at debates and forums she participated in while running for city council in 2021.

The most troubling comments made by Fiebelkorn were that she said she ran and was elected on the platform of increasing housing density.  City Councilor Fiebelkorn become visibly upset and angry when she was confronted by Pete Dinelli  with a copy of a November 18, 2021 letter she wrote that outlined in no uncertain terms her 4 priorities she would concentrate on if elected city councilor.  She refused to accept a copy of the letter.  She made the ludicrous argument that she campaigned on environmental issues and that increasing housing density was part of protecting the environment.

Fiebelkorn’s November 18, 2021 letter was a letter to the Albuquerque Journal which was also posted on the political blog www.PeteDinelli.com as part of an endorsement.  The Fiebelkorn letter contains no language and no platform advocating for increasing housing density and low income housing development in District 7.

The letter outlines her 4 priorities for District 7  and states in part as follows:

“The priorities I’ve heard from District 7 residents:

Safe streets with more programs to address substance abuse and behavioral health, with equal rights and protections for all residents, regardless of race, religion, ability, or identity.

Relief from the COVID pandemic for working families and small businesses.

 A transition to a clean energy economy, with reduced utility costs, cheaper and cleaner transportation options, and healthier air and water.”

City policies that protect and respect all animals.”

The full text of the November 18, 2021 Fiebelkorn letter can be read in the postscript to this blog article.

ISSUES IN CITY COUNCIL 2021 ELECTION RECALLED

District 7 Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn was elected to city council in a runoff  on November 2, 2021. District 7 is the Mid-heights city council district and includes Coronado Shopping Center and Uptown surrounding areas and parts of the near northeast heights.  She has been a resident of the district for 20 years. It was the very first time she has sought public office.  She prides herself in being an unabashed highly progressive Democrat and animal rights advocate. She is an avowed  vegetarian and goes so far as to encourage others to become vegetarians.  On November 18, 2022 Fiebelkorn sent out a Thanksgiving email best wishes to her constituents that said in part:

“I encourage everyone to consider making your Thanksgiving celebration cruelty-free this year.”

The 2021 municipal election included the City Council races in the 5  odd number city council districts of  Districts 1,3,5,7 and 9 as well as the Office of Mayor. The issues in the 2021 municipal election were as clear as day.  The hot button issues were the city’s skyrocketing property crime rates, violent crime and murder rates, the APD sworn personnel levels,  the DOJ consent decree reforms, the economy, the homeless proliferating  city neighborhoods and parks unabated and  the city’s response to the  COVID pandemic.   The city council issues did not include on any level the lack of affordable housing and rentals to the general public.

EXAMINING THE FAILED  RECORD OF TAMMY FIEBELKORN

Since being sworn into office on January 1, 2022, City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn has sponsored and opposed enactment of city ordinances that reflect that she has her own personal agenda. The following actions and votes  are worth noting:

1. City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn supported the amendment to the city’s zoning laws to allow for Safe Outdoor Spaces as well as opposed efforts to override vetoes by Mayor Tim Keller. Safe Outdoor Spaces are city sanctioned homeless encampments located in open space areas that  allow for  upwards of 50 homeless people to camp, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6-foot fencing and provide for social services.

The council voted to allow 18 Safe Outdoor Spaces, 2 in each city council district. The issue became one of the most divisive issues in the city with property owners, neighborhoods and neighborhood associations demanding repeal.  Three attempts were made to repeal or fund safe outdoor spaces that passed on a 5-4 vote, but were vetoed by Mayor Keller but  the council failed to override the veto with the mandatory 6 votes.  Fiebelkorn refused to vote to override Keller’s veto.

2.  Last year during the city councils redistricting efforts of all 9 City Council Districts to conform with the United State Census, Democrat City Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn and Pat Davis teamed up and sponsored a redistricting map that was the most radical of all the maps voted upon. The Davis/Fiebelkorn District 6 and District 7 maps reflected a dramatic departure changing the borders of both districts. Their concept map essentially gutted both Districts and carved them up to the benefit of Tammy Fiebelkorn to give advantage to Fiebelkorn for reelection.

Under the Davis/Fiebelkorn concept map, District 7 would have kept part of its existing Northeast Heights area, but then would have sweep west of District 6 and taken up the Nob Hill area and the Mesa del Sol development area. Both the International District and the Nob Hill areas are considered highly progressive and are currently in City Council District 6 represented by Pat Davis. The Nob Hill area along Central under the Davis/Fiebelkorn redistricting concept map would have  been  shifted to District 7 and be represented by City Councilor Fiebelkorn and would have jettison south to include the Mesa Del Sol development.  The International District  in the Southeast Heights would have remain in the newly aligned District 6 but the State Fairgrounds area and the Uptown area including Coronado Shopping Center and Winrock would have been shifted from District 7 to District 6. The Davis/Fiebelkorn District 6 and District 7 maps were rejected by the city council and came in last on the voting.

3.  City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn advocated for inclusion of rent control measures in the 2023 City of Albuquerque New Mexico legislative package. The 2023 New Mexico legislature overwhelmingly rejected rent control.

4.  Fiebelkorn sponsored the Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance. It failed on a 4-5 vote. The ordinance was a form of rent control and an attempt to regulate any and all fees that are a part of the application process and interfered with private contract rights.  The ordinance required landlords to disclose to potential applicants all application and other fees provided for in the lease agreement. The ordinance mandated that each time a property owner imposes a fee, they would  be required to supply documentation proving their costs to the tenant. The ordinance would have dictated  elements of the application process and mandated how many applications could  be processed at a time.  Fiebelkorn herself said this about her Residential Tenant Protections Ordinance:

“Most of the landlords in our city are fair, transparent, very clear with what folks are going to get. It’s the few that are making it really hard.”

What Fiebelkorn essentially said with her sponsorship is she wanted to make the entire apartment rental  industry miserable with city fees and bureaucratic mandates because “It’s the few that are making it really hard.” 

https://www.krqe.com/news/albuquerque-metro/albuquerque-city-council-to-vote-on-renter-protection-ordinance/

5. Fiebelkorn sponsored the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” and it failed to be enacted by the city council. “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” provided that  “No person shall operate any residential rental property without a Residential Rental Property Permit (RRPP) from the City of Albuquerque.”  This would have included owners of one single rental home. The ordinance would have created a  new permitting process for all rental units which would include various annual fees for landlords and property owners. The permit ordinance also imposed daunting disclosure requirements that are a repetition of information contained in documents  already on file and easily accessible or in the possession of the city, county and state government.

6. The city council voted 7-2 to enact the amended  “Pedestrian Safety Ordinance” which  specifically bars individuals from standing in or entering street and highway travel lanes unless they are “legally crossing.”  The original ordinance was challenged in court by the ACLU as being too broad violating first amendment rights and it was declared unconstitutional.  The ordinance was amended so as not to violate the constitution and was  again enacted by the city out of public safety concerns for drivers and panhandles. It  has no provision prohibiting drivers from giving handouts.

The new  ordinance specifically bars individuals from standing in or entering street and highway travel lanes unless they are “legally crossing.” It also prohibits using or occupying medians on 30 mph or faster roads where there is not a flat surface of at least 4 feet wide having no greater than 8% grade.  A city council legislative  analysis determined that the ordinance will  affect just over 17% of the linear feet of higher-speed arterial roadway medians across Albuquerque. Nonetheless, these are the medians on  roadways with the highest traffic flows  and highly visible to the driving public.  In other words 83% of medians in the city will be available for constitutionally protected free speech activities.

 In voting NO, Fiebelkorn said this:

 “I’ve been an activist for 44 years. … When I’m protesting something or holding up a political sign, it matters where you are. I don’t want to have a political sign three blocks from where I wanted to have it.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn is the epitome of what is so very wrong with the Albuquerque City Council today. She is an elected official who will do and say anything to win an election.  Once elected, she ignores her constituents needs and concerns and advocates her own hidden, personal politcal agenda over the objections of her own constituents. She simply does not listen and does what she damn well feels like doing. Her reputation is one of being highly abrasive, engages in personal insults and is condescending and dismissive with anyone who disagrees with her. She is known to only met with a select few of her progressive supporters. It has gotten to the point that many within her city council district are so angry with her that they are actively seeking others to run against her in 2025 to make her a one term city councilor. Lets hope she is replaced in that she has been a disappointment and does not represent the best interests of District 7.

KELLER’S “HOUSING FORWARD ABQ PLAN”

It was on  October 18, 2022, that  Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ Plan.” It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Keller has set the goal of adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year.  According to Keller, the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city needs between 13,000 and 30,000 new housing use. To add the 5,000 new housing units, Keller is proposing that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low-income housing.  The strategy includes “motel conversions” where the city buys existing motels or commercial office space and converts them into low-income housing.   It includes allowing both “casitas” and duplex additions on existing residential properties.  City officials have said that 68% of the city’s existing housing is single-family detached homes with 120,000 existing residential lots with already built residences.  The amendment will allow one “casita” and one “accessory dwelling” unit on all built out lots which could double density to 240,000  housing units  or triple density to 360,000 housing units.’

City Councilor Fiebelkorn did not attend a single one of the 5 public meetings sponsored by the Keller Administration on Mayor Keller’s Housing Forward ABQ Plan.  Therefore she is not aware of the strong hostility and opposition expressed by hundreds who attended those meetings.

It was a  full year after Mayor Keller won a second term and after Fiebelkorn  was elected to city council that Mayor Keller proposed his Housing Forward ABQ Plan which includes amendments to the city zoning laws to allow for casitas and duplex development. Yet Fiebelkorn claims that housing density and low-income housing was an issue in her city council race and was part of her platform for city council that got her elected. The obvious explanation for Fiebelkorn fabrication  is so she can  say  she is voting they way her constituents want her to vote and she was elected on the issue.  One board member of the District 7 Coalition of Neighborhood Association went so far as to say he attended the forums and debates where Fiebelkorn appeared and he claimed Fiebelkorn is lying that she campaigned on the issue.

KELLER’S PLAN FOR CASITAS AND DUPLEXES NEEDS TO BE REJECTED

The housing shortage is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans.  The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. Keller is using the short-term housing “crunch” to declare a “housing crisis” to shove his Housing Forward ABQ Plan down the throats of city property owners.  Keller’s Albuquerque Forward Plan is advocating zoning changes to increase density by severely relaxing zoning restrictions to favor investors and the developers that will destroy entire neighborhoods.

The Keller Administration has never discussed the actual cost of construction of 750 square foot casitas and duplex remodeling. They simply presume property owners will be able to afford to do it themselves which is not likely given the high cost of construction and materials.  Home builders serving the Albuquerque area estimate the cost to build residents in Albuquerque is between $175 to $275 per square foot. It’s a cost that equally applies to casitas and duplex development.  To build and construct a 750 foot casita or duplex at the $175 foot construction cost would be $131,425 (750 sq ft X 175 = $131,421) and to build both $262,848.  These are just actual construction costs.  The addition of plumbing, sewer, electrical and gas hook ups and permits will likely add an additional $30,000 to $50,000 to the final construction costs.

Not once has the Keller Administration ever discussed the actual cost of construction of 750 square foot casitas and duplex remodeling nor who will be able to afford such remodeling and construction.  They simply presume property owners will be able to afford to do it themselves which is not at all likely given the high cost of construction and materials. The truth is very few people have the financial ability to invest another $130,000 to $250,000 in homes they already own. The casitas and duplexes will be used predominantly by developers and investors as rental units, either for housing or business use and do not expect that rents will come down nor that there will be more low income housing.

Very few people have the financial ability to invest another $130,000 to $250,000 in homes they already own. The casitas and duplexes will be used predominantly by outside investors and developers as rental units. More outside investors are buying multifamily properties around the city. According to New Mexico Apartment Advisors CEO Todd Clarke,there are currently 1,999 investors looking in the Albuquerque multifamily market, a number that has increased sixfold since before the pandemic.

Supporters of casita and duplex development argue it is needed to increase density, create affordable housing and to get away from “urban sprawl”.  They repeatedly make the misleading representation that many within the community want additional housing for extended families making reference to “mother-in-law quarters”.  Calling casitas “mother-in-law quarters” is nothing more than a ploy to make the proposal palatable to the general public.

TELL THE CITY COUNCIL TO VOTE NO TO ALLOW CASITA’S AND DUPLEX DEVELOPMENT

On Wednesday, June 21, 2023, the city council should vote NO on Mayor Keller’s casita and duplex amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance. The email addresses and phone numbers to contact each City Councilor and the Director of Counsel services to voice your opinion are as follows:

CITY COUNCIL PHONE: (505) 768-3100

EMAIL ADDRESSES

lesanchez@cabq.gov
louiesanchez@allstate.com
ibenton@cabq.gov
kpena@cabq.gov
bbassan@cabq.gov
danlewis@cabq.gov
LEWISABQ@GMAIL.COM
patdavis@cabq.gov
tfiebelkorn@cabq.gov
trudyjones@cabq.gov
rgrout@cabq.gov
cmelendrez@cabq.gov

_____________________________

POSTSCRIPT

TAMMY FIEBELKORN’S PLATFORM IN HER OWN WORDS

NOVEMBER 18, 2021

“I’m Tammy Fiebelkorn, and I’m running for Albuquerque City Council because I care. I care about the environment, I care [about] women’s rights, equality, unions, workers, public safety and community health. I believe in social justice and want to make sure every decision made by City Council is looked at through an equity lens.

I love living in District 7. It’s been my home for two decades. My partner, Paul, and I reside here with our furry and feathered kids: Frida (17-year-old mutt), Frijolito (12-year-old mutt), Cinderella (9-year-old mutt), and Mr. T (69-year-old paralyzed parrot). We love this district because it has the best of all worlds—great parks, vibrant small businesses, an incredibly diverse population, and lots of entertainment options for people young and old.

Just like other parts of Albuquerque – and cities nationwide, we have our share of challenges. I know this firsthand, from walking door-to-door daily for the past six months. During that time, I’ve heard stories of incredible compassion, courage, and heartbreak. I’ve met people struggling to pay their bills, coping with increased crime, living with the negative impacts of climate change on a daily basis, and working together to make our community stronger and better. Here’s what I’ve learned: Albuquerque is still a place where we take care of one another.

The priorities I’ve heard from District 7 residents:

 Safe streets with more programs to address substance abuse and behavioral health, with equal rights and protections for all residents, regardless of race, religion, ability, or identity

 Relief from the COVID pandemic for working families and small businesses

 A transition to a clean energy economy, with reduced utility costs, cheaper and cleaner transportation options, and healthier air and water

City policies that protect and respect all animals

I was born in Grants and raised by a divorced single mother. We were poor. My mother struggled to keep us housed and fed. I was the first in my mother’s family to go to college. Now I am a small business owner and an environmental economist, having earned degrees in economics and finance from Northeast Louisiana University and a master’s in natural resource economics from Colorado State University. I have advocated for over thirty years to reduce energy use, environmental impacts, and energy burdens on working families, including helping to pass the landmark Energy Transition Act and the Efficient Use of Energy Act.

I am passionate about animals and ensuring that everyone is safe from family violence, including children, animals, adults, and seniors. I founded Positive Links, a nonprofit organization dedicated to training law enforcement officers and social workers about this issue. As someone who had breast cancer, I know that our health—as individuals and as a community—is more important than anything.

I know what it’s like to struggle and have to decide whether to pay the rent or the utility bill. I believe we all need to take care of one another. My Republican opponent has already attacked me in a mail piece and has the backing of an enormous PAC, funded by real estate development and big oil interests. I hope I can count on your support because we have a lot to do, District 7.

 I invite you to find out more at www.tammyforalbuquerque.com and I ask for your support.”

 

On Friday, June 9, 2023, Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith held a press conference without taking questions and delivered the following statement on the federal indictment of former President Donald Trump:

“Good afternoon. Today, an indictment was unsealed charging Donald J. Trump with felony violations of our national security laws as well as participating in a conspiracy to obstruct justice.

This indictment was voted by a grand jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida, and I invite everyone to read it in full to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.

The men and women of the United States intelligence community and our armed forces dedicate their lives to protecting our nation and its people. Our laws that protect national defense information are critical to the safety and security of the United States and they must be enforced. Violations of those laws put our country at risk.

Adherence to the rule of law is a bedrock principle of the Department of Justice. And our nation’s commitment to the rule of law sets an example for the world. We have one set of laws in this country, and they apply to everyone. Applying those laws. Collecting facts. That’s what determines the outcome of an investigation. Nothing more. Nothing less.

The prosecutors in my office are among the most talented and experienced in the Department of Justice. They have investigated this case hewing to the highest ethical standards. And they will continue to do so as this case proceeds.

It’s very important for me to note that the defendants in this case must be presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter. Consistent with the public interest and the rights of the accused. We very much look forward to presenting our case to a jury of citizens in the Southern District of Florida.

In conclusion. I would like to thank the dedicated public servants of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, with whom my office is conducting this investigation and who worked tirelessly every day upholding the rule of law in our country. I’m deeply proud to stand shoulder to shoulder with them. Thank you very much.”   

https://www.justice.gov/opa/speech/special-counsel-jack-smith-delivers-statement

On Friday, June 9 the Department of Justice released the unsealed federal indictment of former President Donald Trump.  It it is 37 felony count indictment alleging in no uncertain terms and presents evidence of Trumps mishandling of classified, sensitive  documents relating to the country’s nuclear defense, obstructing justice and making false statements.  Former Trump aide Walt Nauta is also  charged  in the indictment. He was seen removing boxes at Mar-a-Lago on a surveillance camera.

The link to read the entire indictment is here:

https://d3i6fh83elv35t.cloudfront.net/static/2023/06/trump-indictment.pdf

 COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Anyone who has any concern for our democracy, needs to read the indictment “to understand the scope and the gravity of the crimes charged.” What is  truly shocking is the breath taking and overwhelming amount  of the evidence presented against Trump in the indictment itself, including photo graphs and Trump’s own words saying he knew he had classified documents and he knew that he could not declassify them now that he was not President but he shared them with others who did not have clearance. Trump went so far as to tell his own lawyers to lie and conceal the documents.   What is truly disgusting is the extent the Republican Party and its leadership continues to support Trump refusing to accept t he is a danger to our national security.  Republicans went to his defense even before the indictment was released. He is  a traitor to this country and our democracy.

Department of Justice Special Counsel Jack Smith was right to say that Trump is “presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond a reasonable doubt in a court of law. To that end, my office will seek a speedy trial in this matter.”  Its not an issue of being guilty beyond a reasonable doubt which must happen at trial. What the indictment represents is is guilt by “clear and convincing evidence” that  fascist Trump is a danger to our national security and should never be president again.

Trump was arraigned on the charges on Tuesday, June 13.  Under the constitution he is entitled to a speedy trial. Special Counsel Jack Smith should ask the judge to schedule his  trial on the merits within 4 to 6 months.  The sooner Trump is tried, convicted and sentence to jail for the crimes he has committed, the better.  It will show that no one is above the law and Trump will finally be brought to justice.

 

On May 31, 2023, the online news agency New Mexico Sun published the below 750-word Dinelli opinion guest column on dismissing the Department Justice Court Approved Settlement Agreement against the City of Albuquerque and the Albuquerque Police Department:

HEADLINE: Nine years of reform; time to close the case on Albuquerque’s police department

On November 14, 2014, the City, APD and Department of Justice (DOJ) entered into a stipulated Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA). The settlement was the result of an 18-month long investigation that found APD had engaged in an pattern of “excessive use of force” and “deadly force”, and  found a “culture of aggression” existed within the APD.   The settlement mandates 271 police reforms, the appointment of a Federal Monitor and the filing of Independent Audit reports (IMRs) on the reforms.  Over 9 years, 17 audit reports have been filed. 

Under the terms of the CASA, once APD achieves a 95% compliance rate in 3 identified compliance levels and maintains it for 2 consecutive years, the case can be dismissed. APD was to have come into compliance within 4 years and the case was to be dismissed in 2018, but because of delay tactics from APD and the Police Union, the case has dragged on for 5 more years.

On May 10, 2023 the 17th audit report was filed and reported APD’s compliance levels were as follows:

Primary Compliance 100%

Secondary Compliance 100% 

Operational Compliance 92% 

Now after almost 9 full years of federal court oversight, the settlement has produced results. Reforms achieved under the settlement can be identified as follows:

1.  New “use of force” and “use of deadly force” policies have been written, implemented and all APD sworn have received training on the policies.
2. All sworn police officers have received crisis management intervention training.
3. APD has created a “Use of Force Review Board” that oversees all internal affairs investigations of use of force and deadly force.
4. The Internal Affairs Unit has been divided into two sections, one dealing with general complaints and the other dealing with use of force incidents.
5. Sweeping changes ranging from APD’s SWAT team protocols, to banning choke-holds, to auditing the use of every Taser carried by officers and re-writing and implementation of new use of force and deadly force policies have been completed.
6. “Constitutional policing” practices and methods, and mandatory crisis intervention techniques an de-escalation tactics with the mentally ill have been implemented at the APD police academy with all sworn police also receiving the training.
7. APD has adopted a new system to hold officers and supervisors accountable for all use of force incidents with personnel procedures implemented detailing how use of force cases are investigated.
8. APD has revised and updated its policies on the mandatory use of lapel cameras by all sworn police officers.
9. The Repeat Offenders Project, known as ROP, has been abolished.
10. Civilian Police Oversight Agency has been created and  funded and is in the process of being fully staffed.
11. The Community Policing Counsels (CPCs) have been created in all area commands.
12. The Mental Health Advisory Committee has been implemented.
13.  The External Force Investigation Team (EFIT) was created and is training the Internal Affairs Force Division on how to investigate use-of-force cases, making sure they meet deadlines and follow standard operating procedures.
14. Millions have been spent each year on new programs and training of  new cadets and police officers on constitutional policing practices.
15. APD officers are routinely found using less force than they were before and well documented use of force investigations are now being produced in a timely manner.
16. APD has assumed the self-monitoring of at least 25% of the CASA reforms and is likely capable of assuming more.
17. The APD Compliance Bureau has been fully operational and staffed with many positions created dealing directly with all the reform efforts and all the duties and responsibilities that come with self-assessment.  

APD has fulfilled the spirit and intent of the settlement.  The city can argue “full and effective compliance” with all material requirements of the CASA and with its continuing improvement in constitutional policing as demonstrated by the agreement’s outcome measures reported in the 17th Federal Monitor’s Report. The two years of 95% compliance should be deemed as accomplished given the fact that the settlement has now gone on for over 5 years than what was originally agreed to. 

The work of the Federal Monitor can be declared a success and the case closed within the next 6 months by year’s end. The city should negotiate a stipulated dismissal of the case with DOJ by the end of the year or alternatively move to immediately to dismiss the case under the termination and suspension provisions of the CASA and force the issue with an evidentiary hearing.  

___________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO SUN

The New Mexico Sun is part of the Sun Publishing group which is a nonprofit. The New Mexico Sun “mission statement” states in part:

“The New Mexico Sun was established to bring fresh light to issues that matter most to New Mexicans. It will cover the people, events, and wonders of our state. … The New Mexico Sun is non-partisan and fact-based, and we don’t maintain paywalls that lead to uneven information sharing. We don’t publish quotes from anonymous sources that lead to skepticism about our intentions, and we don’t bother our readers with annoying ads about products and services from non-locals that they will never buy. … Many New Mexico media outlets minimize or justify problematic issues based on the individuals involved or the power of their positions. Often reporters fail to ask hard questions, avoid making public officials uncomfortable, and then include only one side of a story. This approach doesn’t provide everything readers need to fully understand what is happening, why it matters, and how it will impact them or their families.”

The home page link to the New Mexico Sun is here:

https://newmexicosun.com/

 

On June 6, the Albuquerque City Council at its regularly scheduled meeting and before a remarkable turn out of voters, decided to defer action on 2 of the most controversial issues pending before it.

COUNCIL DEFERS CHANGES TO INTEGRATED DEVELOPMENT ORDINANCE

Well over 100 people signed up to testify for and against the proposed amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) which is the city’s comprehensive zoning laws.  The annual update of the IDO has been pending since November of last year when Mayor Tim Keller announced that he wants “transformative changes” to the city’s zoning laws and declaring a housing crisis in affordable housing.

There have been at least 3 city council committee hearings on the changes and 5 public presentations by the Keller Administration where hundreds have attended to voice opposition.  The proposed legislation is sponsored by City Councilors Isaac Benton and Trudy Jones and is part of Mayor Tim Keller’s Housing Forward initiative. Both Benton and Jones have already announced that they are not seeking re-election to the council with the municipal election scheduled for November 7 when 4 city council positions will be on the ballot.

The most controversial amendments to the IDO  would allow for the construction of casitas and duplexes and they are part of Keller’s Housing Forward ABQ Plan. It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Keller has set the goal of adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year.    The zoning code amendments would make both casitas and duplex additions “permissive uses” and not “conditional uses” as they are now and have always been historically.

According to city officials, there are 120,000 residential lots that have existing homes. With the construction of “casitas” and “two family home” additions, also known as duplexes, density could double to 240,000 with casita structures alone or triple to 360,000 with both casitas and duplex home additions.

 A “conditional use” requires an application process with the city Planning Department, notice to surrounding property owners and affected neighborhood associations and provides for appeal rights.   A “permissive use” would give the Planning Department exclusive authority to issue permits for construction without notices and hearings and with no appeal process. Objecting property owners and neighborhood associations to the permissive casita and duplex uses would be relegated to filing lawsuits to enforce covenants and restrictions.

Should the proposed changes to the Integrated Development Ordinance pass without amendment, large swaths of the city zoned for single-family houses would be opened to casita and duplex development.  Other proposed changes include eliminating building height limits for multifamily and mixed-use buildings, and reducing parking requirements for multifamily housing.

The city council decided to delay voting on the bill and the amendments until July 19.

The link to the news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2604484/proposal-zoning-overhaul-brings-out-crowds-to-albuquerque-city-council-meeting.html

 COUNCIL DEFERS CHARTER AMENDMENT CREATING CITY COUNCIL-CITY MANAGER

First term City Councilors Republican Renee Grout and Democrat Louie Sanchez are co-sponsoring a proposed City Charter amendment that that would require voter approval and that would end the “strong mayor” form of government Albuquerque adopted in 1974. The charter amendment would transfer all the mayor’s executive and city management duties to a city manager chosen by the city council.

This is what is referred to as a “weak mayor” form of government. The mayor would preside over city council meetings and vote at council meetings only in the event of a tie. The appointed city manager would assume many of the powers now held by the mayor, including the authority to appoint the police chief and other department directors. According to the proposed legislation, the council would appoint the city manager, who would “organize the executive branch of the city,” and the mayor would “be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes.”

During the June 6 meeting, the City Council voted 5-4 to amend the measure to make the mayor a voting member of the council and the City Council would have 10 voting members which could result in tie votes.

In the original proposal, the mayor would only have cast a vote to break a tie and would “have no administrative duties.”

In order for it to pass, it must pass with a super majority of 6 votes. The city must file the measure with Bernalillo County no later than August 29 to get it on the November 7 election ballot. The measure as proposed and if passed by voters would not take effect until after the next mayoral election which will occur in 2025.Bottom of Form

The city council voted to deferred the charter amendment until June 21.

The link to the news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2604310/weak-mayor-proposal-sets-up-possible-10-member-city-council.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The deferral of both the annual amendments to the Integrated Development Ordinance as well as the charter amendment that could dramatically change the city’s form of government is what is referred to as “political kick the can”. It’s a politcal game that is downright dangerous especially as it relates to changing dramatically our form of government and real property rights.

It’s more likely than not all 9 city councilors have already made up their mind how they intend to vote on both measures, but they continue to act coy, saying as little as possible, or nothing at all, so as not to offend. It’s a pathetic little game played by politicians with weak backs with hidden personal agendas to avoid controversy and accountability and to avoid taking votes before hostile audiences of voters. They do it in the hopes that time will provide a cooling off period hoping that the controversy will subside, the public will forget and go away and perhaps pressure will change a final vote.  It is deferrals such as these that has given politicians such as this city council such a bad reputation.

Voters need to show up in droves on June 6 to voice their opinion if the city’s form of government should change giving more power to the city council.  Voters need to show up on July 19 to voice their opinion of the zoning amendments that will have a dramatic impact and reduce real property rights.

The regular 2023 municipal election to elect city councilors for City Council Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 will be held on November 7, 2023 along with $200 Million in bonds to be approved by city voters. The City Clerk has posted on its city  web page the election calendar and information for all candidates.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/candidate-calendar-for-the-2023-regular-local-election

The 2023 Regular Local Election Calendar for candidates began on April 30 with an “exploratory period” to allow candidates to organize and collect “seed money” donations  and ended on June 4.

THE PETITION SIGNATURE NOMINATING PROCESS AND THE $5 QUALIFYING CONTRIBUTION PERIOD FOR PUBLIC FINANXING BEGAN ON JUNE 5 AND ENDS ON JULY 10, 2023.

The November 7 municipal election will remake the council and perhaps there will be a shift from the current Democrat control to a Republican controlled city council. Three of the four incumbents whose seats are on the ballot are not running for reelection and they are District 2’s Democrat Isaac Benton, District 6’s Democrat  Pat Davis and District 8’s Republican Trudy Jones. The only sitting councilor running this year is District 4’s first term Republican Brook Bassan and thus far she is running unopposed.  The city  council’s five other seats will not be decided again until 2025 and will include the Mayor’s race. Mayor Tim Keller has told at least 2  of his closest aides in the Mayor’s office that he is running for a third term. There are no term limits for city councilor nor the Mayor.

The city is facing any number of problems that are bringing it to its knees. Those problems include exceptionally high violent crime and murder rates, the city’s  increasing homeless numbers, lack of mental health  care programs and little economic development. Mayor Tim Keller is also proclaiming that the city is suffering from a low income housing crisis with the city in need of 13,000 to 30,000 new housing units as he proposes  what he calls “transformative changes” to the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) to allow construction of casitas and duplexes on virtually all residential property within the city to increase density and motels conversions where the city buys existing motels and converts them to low income housing.

ANNOUNCED CANDIDATES

Known candidates listed on the City Clerks web page as of June 5 include the following candidates listed:

DISTRICT 2 (DOWNTOWN, OLD TOWN, PARTS OF THE NORTH VALLEY AND WEST SIDE)

• Joaquin Baca, Democrat, a hydrologist and elected member of the Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District who intends to seek public financing and he president of the ABQCore neighborhood association.
• Loretta Naranjo Lopez, Democrat, a retired city planner and current member of the New Mexico Public Employees Retirement Association Board who intends to seek public financing.
• Moises A. Gonzalez

DISTRICT 4 (NORTHEAST HEIGHTS)

• Brook Bassan, Republican, a stay-at-home mom and incumbent councilor who intends to seek public financing
• Abby Foster  (No other information available)

DISTRICT 6 (NOB HILL, INTERNATIONAL DISTRICT)        

• Jeff Hoehn, Democrat, a nonprofit executive director who intends to seek public financing.
• Abel Otero, Democrat, a barber who intends to seek public financing.
• Joseph Pitluck Aguirre, Independent, a dentist and software development. company owner who intends to run a privately financed campaign.
• Kristin Greene (No other information immediately available)
• Jonathan Ryker Juarez (No other information immediately available)
• Nichole Rogers (No other information immediately available)
• Kristin “Raven” Greene (https://raven4d6.com/)

DISTRICT 8 (NORTHEAST HEIGHTS AND FOOTHILLS)

• Dan Champine, Republican, a retired police officer and current mortgage lender who intends to seek public financing
• Idalia Lechuga-Tena, Democrat, a consultant and former state representative who intends to seek public financing

The link to the City clerk’s website listing candidates is here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2023-candidates-and-committees-1

QUESTIONS AND ISSUES

All too often, city council races are ignored by many voters and the campaigns do not really heat up until the very last month of the campaign. Most city council races are won with direct voter contact and candidates going “door to door” looking for support and votes.  Before signing any petitions or donating to candidates, voters should know where candidates stand on the major issues they care about and what they will do if elected.

A few questions and issues candidates for City Council  need to think about and disclose their positions on include the following:

SOCIAL ISSUES

 A.   ABORTION

BACKGROUND:  Two New Mexico County Commissions and 3 municipalities have pass ordinances restricting a woman’s right to choose by prohibiting the operation of abortion clinics. The ordinances are  based on the Comstock Act which is federal legislation from the 1870s that prohibits the mailing of “obscene material,” including medication or equipment used in abortions. The Attorney General has filed a New Mexico Supreme Court action to set aside the ordinances and declare such ordinances as unconstitutional with the litigation still pending.

1. Are you in favor of the City Council enacting similar legislation in the form of prohibiting the city from issuing licenses to do business in Albuquerque to any health care provider that provides abortion services?

2, During the last fiscal year, the city council  funded Planned Parenthood, which provides abortion services, $150,000. Do you feel the City should continue providing funding to Planned Parenthood?

 B.   GUN CONTROL

 BACKGROUND:   The exclusive authority on gun control is given to the New Mexico legislature and municipalities are barred by the New Mexico constitutions from enacting such legislation.   The 2023 New Mexico 60 day legislative began on January 17 and came to an end on March 18.  Upwards of 40 gun control measures were introduced, but only 10 were seriously considered and of those 10, only 2 made it through the session to become law. Among the laws that failed were banning the sale of AR-15-style rifles and prohibiting the sales magazines with more than 10 rounds.

CANIDADATE QUESTIONS

1. Do you feel the City should seek home rule authority to allow it to prohibit the city from issuing a yearly license to do business in Albuquerque by any retail business that sells AR-15-style rifles and prohibiting the sales magazines with more than 10 rounds?

2. What gun control measures do you support and feel the city should support in its annual legislative priorities presented to the legislature?

 C. THE HOMELESS

BACKGROUND:  Each year the “Point in Time” (PIT) survey is conducted to determine how many people experience homelessness on a given night in Albuquerque, and to learn more about their specific needs. The PIT count is the official number of homeless reported by communities to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to help understand the extent of homelessness at the city, state, regional and national levels.

In August, the 2022 the Point In Time (PIT) homeless survey reported that the number total homeless in Albuquerque was 1,311 with 940 in emergency shelters, 197 unsheltered and 174 in transitional housing. On May 22, the New Mexico Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) released a  report on the state’s homeless and the affordable housing shortage.  The LFC report included the preliminary estimates yet to be  finalized 2023 Point In Time (PIT) annual homeless count.

The 2023 PIT preliminary data revealed  a significant 48% uptick in the state’s homeless population going from upwards of 2,600 people to nearly 4,000 people. The increase was reportedly driven primarily by an increase in the unsheltered count with 780 more people in Albuquerque and 232 more in the rest of the state. According to the LFC report, the 2023 Albuquerque unsheltered count increase by 780 more people. In otherwards Albuquerque homeless went from 1,311 in 2022 as reported by PIT  to 2,091 as reported by the LFC.

Over the past two fiscal  years, the City Council has approved and budgeted $33,854,536 for homeless emergency shelters, support, mental health and substance abuse programs and $60,790,321 for affordable housing programs for the low-income, near homeless.  It has also approved funding for  two 24/7 homeless shelters, including purchasing the Gibson Medical Center for $15 million to convert it into a homeless shelter. The Family and Community Services approved 2023-2024 budget lists forty five (45) separate affordable housing contracts totaling $39,580,738, fifteen (15) separate emergency shelter contracts totaling $5,575,690, and twenty seven (27) separate homeless support service contracts totaling $5,104,938 for a total of $50,261,366

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS 

1. Do you feel that the city homeless numbers have reached a crisis level and do you feel the Keller Administration has been effective in handling or managing the crisis?
2. 2. Should the City continue to fund city services to the homeless or near homeless at the current levels?
3. Do you feel more or less should be spent on dealing with the homeless?
4. What more do you feel can and should be done to reduce the homeless population in Albuquerque?
5. What services should the City provide to the homeless and poor if any?
6. Should the city be more involved with the county in providing mental health care facilities and programs?
7. Would you be in favor of the City Attorney’s office participation in a mental health “civil commitment” program of the homeless suffering from mental illness and drug addiction where they would not be criminally charged or prosecuted and jailed but committed to a behavioral health and drug addiction facility or hospital  after a court of law finds that they represent a danger to themselves and/or the general public as found by a court of law relying on existing state laws for such commitment hearings where due process of law is followed and representation is required by law?

D.  SANCTUARY CITY VERSUS IMMIGRANT FRIENDLY CITY

BACKGROUND: On May 9, Title 10 referred to as the Covid-era restrictions that allowed immigration officials to quickly turn away migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border expired at ushering in tougher policies for asylum-seekers. Republican controlled state governors such as Florida and Texas are busing migrants seeking asylum to major cities such as New York and Washington DC.

CANDIDATE QUESTION

1. Should the city of Albuquerque provide housing or services to migrants seeking asylum and to what extent?

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS 

BACKGROUND: The City of Albuquerque has never been a “sanctuary city” where law enforcement is prohibited from enforcing federal laws and local government provides services to migrants seeking asylum. In 2001, the Albuquerque City Council enacted a resolution that declared Albuquerque an “immigrant-friendly” city and 10 years later the city council voted to affirm the policy. An “immigrant-friendly” city implements “welcoming city” policies and does not provide for city enforcement of federal immigration laws, and addresses only city services, including licensing and housing.

2.   Albuquerque’s “immigrant-friendly” designation welcomes immigrants to the city and is mainly symbolic. Should the city remain an immigrant friendly city as defined by city ordinance?

CITY GOVERNMENT AND SERVICES

1. Should the current Mayor-City Council form of government where the Mayor is the Chief executive officer who appoints department directors to manage the city and the City Council is the legislative policy making body be replaced with a City Council – City Manager form of government where the Mayor would be a nonvoting member of the city council with no veto authority with all the Mayor’s executive functions vested in a council appointed city manager?

2. Do you feel the position of an elected City Councilor should be a part time paid position or a full-time paid position that should prohibit outside employment as is the case with Mayor?

3. On March 24, it was reported that the Citizens Independent Salary Commission responsible for making recommendations for compensating city elected officials voted to recommend increasing the pay of city councilors by 87%.  If approved, city councilor pay would go from the present $33,600 to $62,843 a year.  Are you in favor of the pay increase or should city councilor pay remain the same?

4. Are you in favor of a state “right to work statute” that would impact or eliminate city employee unions,

5. Should city unions be prohibited from endorsing candidates for municipal office?

6. As a candidate for city council will you seek and will you accept the endorsement of any city of Albuquerque union, including the endorsement of the Albuquerque Police Officers Association and the Fire Fighters local union?

7. Are you in favor of privatizing city services or work such as public safety, the 311 call center operations, the bus system or the maintenance and repair work done at city facilities such as the Bio Park?

8. Are you in favor of the city bus transit be free at charge to the general public?

CITY PLANNING AND DEVELOPMENT

BACKGROUND: On October 18, 2022 Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ” plan. It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller is hoping to add 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year. “Motel conversions” are a major component of Keller’s “Housing Forward Abq” plan and is where the City’s Family & Community Services Department  acquires and renovates existing motels to develop low-income affordable housing.  Mayor Keller wants to add as many as 1,000 housing units with motel conversions, with the city’s own estimated costs for remodeling being $100,000 per unit.

1.Are you in favor of motel conversions and if so to what extent should the city council be involved with approving the acquisitions?

BACKGROUND:  Amendments to the  Integrated Development Ordinance, which is the city’s zoning laws,  allows for the land use known as “Safe Outdoor Spaces” to deal with the homeless crisis. “Safe Outdoor Spaces” are city sanctioned homeless encampments located in open space areas that will allow upwards of 50 homeless people to camp, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6-foot fencing and provide for social services.  The city council has voted to allow 18 Safe Outdoor Spaces, 2 in each city council district. The City Council has attempted 3 times to repeal allowing Safe Outdoor Spaces and funding with Mayor Keller vetoing the attempts.

2.   What is your position on city sanction and funded Safe Outdoor Spaces and should they be allowed at all and if so to what extent?

3.   Are you in favor of amending the Integrated Development Ordinance toallow the construction of both 750 square-foot “casitas” and “duplex” additions in the backyards of all 120,000 residential lots that have existing homes in an attempt to increase density?

4.  Should “casitas” and “duplex” additions be a “conditional use” requiring an application process with the city Planning Department, notice to surrounding property owners and affected neighborhood associations and provides for appeal rights?  Should they be a “permissive use” that would give the Planning Department exclusive authority to issue permits for construction without notices and hearings and with no appeal process?

5.   The Integrated Development Ordinance enacted by the City Council in 2017 essentially repealed all sector development plans designed to protect neighborhoods and their character to favor the development community. Are you in favor of repealing the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) and reverting back to the comprehensive zoning code and enacted sector development plans?

6.  To what extent should adjoining property owners and neighborhood associations have the right to contest and appeal changes in zoning permissive and conditional uses?

7.  What do you feel the Albuquerque City Council can do to promote “infill development” and would it include the City acquiring property to be sold to developers and the formation of public/private partnerships?

8.  What do you feel the City Council can do to address vacant residential and commercial properties that have been declared “substandard” by city zoning and unfit for occupancy?

9.  Should the City of Albuquerque seek the repeal by the New Mexico legislature of laws that prohibit city annexation of property without county approval?

APD AND CRIME:

BACKGROUND:  Since 2014, the city and the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)  have been working under a federal court approved settlement agreement after the Department of Justice found a “culture of aggression” and   excessive use of force and of deadly force.  Under the terms of the settlement, APD is required to implement 271 reforms with oversight by a court approved Federal Independent Monitor.  When APD reaches 95% compliance in 3 compliance levels and maintains that compliance for 2 years, the case can be dismissed.  On May 10, 2023  Federal Court Appointed Independent Monitor James Ginger filed his 17th Report on the Compliance Levels of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) and the City of Albuquerque with Requirements of the Court-Approved Settlement Agreement. The Federal Monitor IMR-17 report which covers August 1, 2022, through January 31, 2023,  reported APD’s compliance levels were as follows:

Primary Compliance 100%

Secondary Compliance 100%

Operational Compliance 92% (95% needed to be achieved and sustained for 2 years)

CANDIDATE QUESTIONS 

1. Do you feel the city should seek immediate dismissal of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement or wait and additional 2 years after APD comes into complete compliance in all 3 of the compliance levels?

2.The Albuquerque City Council plays a crucial oversight role of the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) including approving its budget. What oversight role do you believe the Albuquerque City Council should play when it come to the Albuquerque Police Department (APD)?

3. Should the City seek to renegotiate or set aside the terms and conditions of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) and if so why?

4. What would you do to enhance civilian oversight of APD and the implementation of the Department of Justice mandated reforms?

5. Should the APD Chief, Assistant Chief, Deputy Chiefs and APD command staff be replaced with a national search and replaced by “outsiders” to  make changes at APD with new leadership and management?

6. Should the function of Internal Affairs be removed from APD and civilianized under the city Office of Inspector General, the Internal Audit Department and the City Human Resources Department?

7. APD currently has 980 sworn police. What are your plans for increasing APD staffing levels and what should those staffing levels be?

8.  What are your plans or solutions to bringing down high property and violent crime rates in Albuquerque or your district?

9.  Should APD personnel or APD resources be used in any manner to enforce federal immigration laws and assist federal immigration authorities?

10.  Should the City Council by ordinance create a Department of Public Safety with the appointment of a Chief Public Safety Officer to assume management and control of the Albuquerque Police Department, the Albuquerque Fire Department, the Emergency Operations Center and the 911 emergency operations call center?

11.  Should APD and the Bernalillo County Sherriff’s Office be abolished and consolidated to form one regional law enforcement agency, combining resources with the appointment of a governing civilian authority and the appointment of a Superintendent of Public Safety?

THE ECONOMY:

1.What strategy would you implement to bring new industries, corporations and jobs to Albuquerque?

2. Albuquerque’s major growth industries include health care, transportation, manufacturing, retail and tourism with an emerging film industry. What programs would you propose to help or enhance these industries?

3. To what extent should tax increment districts, industrial revenue bonds and income bonds be used to spur Albuquerque’s economy?

4.  What financial incentives do you feel the city can or should offer and provide to the private sector to attract new industry and jobs to Albuquerque, and should that include start-up grants or loans with “claw back” provisions?

5. What sort of private/public partnership agreements or programs should be implemented to spur economic development?

6.  What sort of programs or major projects or facilities, if any, should the city partner with the State or County to spur economic development?

7.  What programs can the city implement to better coordinate its economic development with the University of New Mexico and the Community College of New Mexico (CNM) to insure an adequately trained workforce for new employers locating to Albuquerque?

8.  Are you in favor of the enactment of a gross receipt tax or property tax dedicated strictly to economic development, programs or construction projects to revitalize Albuquerque that would be enacted by the City Council or be voter approved?

9.  What programs can Albuquerque implement to insure better cooperation with Sandia Labs and the transfer of technology information for economic development.

BACKGROUND:  The Economic Development Department provides services intended to bring long term economic vitality to the City. Included in the department are the economic development division, the film and music offices, the international trade division, the management of contracts for tourism and the program for economic development investments.  The mission of the department is to  develop a more diversified and equitable economy that works for everyone by growing and retaining local businesses and jobs; eliminating barriers to success in underserved communities; recruiting businesses in key industries; increasing Albuquerque’s competitiveness in the global market; and fostering a healthful built environment.  The proposed FY/24 General Fund budget for the Economic Development Department  is $3.8 million, a decrease of 62.1% or $6.2 million below the FY/23 original budget.

10.  Do you feel Economic Development Department department is adequately funded and if not what funding levels and personnel staff do you feel is needed?

EDUCATION:

1.Should the city continue to fund and provide full time APD police officers, known as school resource officers, to the Albuquerque Public School System or should the Albuquerque Public Schools expand and provide more funding to its own APS School Police and reassign APD Officers to patrol the city?

2. Should the City of Albuquerque have representation or be included on the Albuquerque School board, the University of New Mexico Board of Regents and the Community College of New Mexico Board?

3. What should the City do to help reduce high school dropout rates?

4.  What education resources should or can the City make available to the Albuquerque school system?

TAXATION AND PROJECT FINANCING:

1.Do you feel that all increases in gross receipts taxes should be voter approved or should tax increases  be the exclusive prerogative of the city council as it is now?

2. Are you in favor of constructing an outdoor soccer stadium at the Balloon Fiesta Park?

3.  Are you in favor of constructing a multipurpose arena funded by use of voter approved bonding and if so where should it be built?

MISCELANEOUS ISSUES

1. Do you feel Mayor Tim Keller has done a good job, do you support his agenda as Mayor and has he endorsed your candidacy?

2. If you qualify to be a public finance candidate, will you truly be a public finance candidate or do you intend to rely upon measured finance committee’s set up to promote your candidacy?

3. Should major capital improvement projects such as the Albuquerque Rapid Transit (ART) project or the building of a soccer stadium be placed on the ballot for voter approval or should major capital improvement projects be up to the city council?

CONCLUSION

The city cannot afford city councilors who makes promises and offers only eternal hope for better times that result in broken campaign promises. What is needed are city elected officials who actually know what they are doing, who will make the hard decisions without an eye on their next election, not make decisions only to placate their base and please only those who voted for them. What’s needed is a healthy debate on solutions and new ideas to solve our mutual problems, a debate that can happen only with a contested election. A highly contested races reveal solutions to our problems.

Voters are entitled to and should expect more from candidates than fake smiles, slick commercials, and no solutions and no ideas. Our city needs more than promises of better economic times and lower crime rates for Albuquerque and voters need to demand answers and hold elected officials accountable.

_________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

CANDIDATE INFORMATION

The City Clerk has already posted on its city web page the election calendar and information for all candidates. The 2023 Regular Local Election Calendar for candidates begins on April 30 with an “exploratory period” to allow candidates to organize and collect “seed money” donations and  ends on June 4. The petition for signatures  and qualifying contribution period begins on June 5 and ends on July 10, 2023.

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/candidate-calendar-for-the-2023-regular-local-election

ELIGIBILITY: In order to become a candidate, a person must be registered to vote in, and physically reside in, the district they seek to represent by August 9, 2023. Any changes to voter registration must be effective on August 9, 2023. How a name appears on ballots cannot be changed at the time of candidate filing.

NOMINATING PETTIONS: A candidate for City Council must collect 500 signatures from registered voters within the district the candidate wishes to represent. The City Clerk’s Office encourages candidates to collect more petitions signatures than required. Though signatures collected on the website will be validated as registered voters, signatures collected on paper forms will need to be verified as registered voters in the candidate’s district by the City Clerk’s Office once you submit them. Because individuals don’t always know their registration status, it’s possible that a number of the signatures you collect may not count towards the total required. A Council Candidate may collect petition signatures from 8:00am on June 5 through 5:00pm on July 10.

Candidates for City Council can be either publicly financed or privately financed.

PUBLIC FINANCING: Candidates can qualify city public financing by securing $5 qualifying donations from registered who live in the district. The public finance candidate must agree to a cap and agree that is all they can spend. Candidates are required to collect qualifying contributions from 1% of the registered voters in the district they wish to represent. The number changes based on the district a candidate is running in. City public financing can be between $40,000 to $50,000 depending on the 1% of registered voters in the District. City Council candidates may collect qualifying contributions from 8:00am on June 5 through 5:00pm on July 10.

PRIVATE FINANCING: There is no cap on what a privately finance candidate can spend on their campaigns.  A privately financed candidate may give themselves  an unlimited amount of money to spend on their campaigns. However, another individual may only donate up to a certain amount. For a City Council candidate, an individual may only donate up to $1,683.00.

MEASURE FINANCE COMMITTEE: A Measure Finance Committee is a political committee, person or group that supports or opposes a candidate or ballot measure within the City of Albuquerque.  Measure Finance Committees must register with the City Clerk, regardless of the group’s registration as a PAC with another governmental entity. Measure Finance Committees must also file financial statements at the same times that candidates report. Measure Finance Committees are not bound by the individual contribution limits and business bans like candidates. However, a Measure Finance Committee that supports or opposes a measure and receives aggregate contributions in excess of 30% of the Mayor’s salary from one individual or entity, must incorporate the donor’s name into the name of the committee. For 2023 Measure Finance Committees, that threshold number is: $39,750.00.

The links to the city clerk’s web pages are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/faqs

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

 

On June 5, the Albuquerque City Council is scheduled  to hear and perhaps vote  on a City Charter amendment that would integrate the Mayor into the City Council, and the Council would appoint a city manager. The measure would be placed on the November 7 municipal ballot for voter approval and is sponsored first term City Councilors Democrat Louie Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout.   The city’s existing Mayor-Council form of government has existed for over 50 years and was implemented by voters in 1972 by enacting a new city charter to replace the city commission/city manager form of government.

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/albuquerque-city-councilors-to-discuss-change-to-city-charter/

The charter amendment would transfer all the mayor’s executive and city management duties to a city manager chosen by the city council. The mayor would preside over city council meetings and vote at council meetings only in the event of a tie. The appointed city manager would assume many of the powers now held by the mayor, including the authority to appoint the police chief and other department directors. According to the proposed legislation, the mayor would “be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes.”

At least 6 of the 9 city councilors must agree to put the measure on the November 7 municipal election ballot where City Council Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8, and $200 million bond will be on the ballot. City Clerk Ethan Watson said that he must file the measure with Bernalillo County no later than August  29 to get it on the ballot. The Charter Amendment would then require a majority vote from city voters. If approved by voters, the changes would not take effect until after the next mayoral election in 2025. As such, the measure would not affect Mayor Tim Keller unless he seeks reelection.

COUNCILORS REACT

City Councilors Democrat Louie Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout and supporters say cities with a council/city manager form of government function more efficiently with a “council-manager” form of government. They say electing a new mayor every four-to-eight years disrupts progress in Albuquerque.  The much smaller cities of  Rio Rancho and Las Cruces have such governments.

Both Sanchez and Grout said this in a Journal guest opinion column:

“It’s time for Albuquerque residents to consider whether their city government is structurally capable of responding to their pressing challenges in the most effective, efficient and transparent way. We believe it’s time to consider an alternative to the mayor-council form of government, one that will give our city responsive leadership that balances diverse interests, rather than the interests of a select few, and prioritizes sound management over political power.” 

https://www.abqjournal.com/2596610/council-city-manager-structure.html

Democrat City Councilor Louie Sanchez blamed the strong-mayor form of government for Albuquerque’s lack of progress over the past half century. He  cited Phoenix as having  a council-manager system that makes the government more efficient and better able to attract business.  Sanchez said this:

“We’ve suffered because of this system for many, many years … If we look back to the late ’60s, early ’70s, Albuquerque was in a friendly competition with Phoenix to see which city was going to be the economic driver of the Southwest   … Albuquerque should have won that friendly competition …  And it’s time that we work together as a city and move our city forward. If the voters tell us that we need to change the government, we change it.”

Republican City Councilor Renee Grout had this to say:

“It’s not about politics for me — it’s about growing in the right direction. … When you look at the cities around us, they are thriving. … I want to take politics out of what we are doing.”

First term Democrat City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn signaled her support of the measure by saying this:

“This is not a referendum on the current mayor. … This is a referendum about what is the best form of government.”

City Council President Pat Davis said this:

“I personally bounce back and forth on this … I think it’s something that really needs to be considered, but I’m anxious that making a big structural change in the city, and with three weeks of notice, might have some unintended consequences.”

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599155/albuquerque-city-council-takes-up-weak-mayor-proposal.html

https://www.abqjournal.com/2603965/raucous-meeting-in-1973-may-have-been-tipping-point-to-create-albuquerq.html

MAYOR AND 3 FORMER MAYORS OPPOSE CHANGE

Mayor Tim Keller opposes the measure and Keller’s office issued the following statement:

“We are committed to working with Council and taking a hard look at how we can work more efficiently, but an extreme change to our form of government is not the answer.  This proposal would drastically alter Albuquerque’s local government, eliminating individual accountability and checks and balances, placing all city power into a committee and an unelected city manager.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599155/albuquerque-city-council-takes-up-weak-mayor-proposal.html

Former Mayor David Rusk (1977 to 1981), was the city’s second Mayor. Rusk gave a history of creating the existing Mayor/Council form of government and said essentially said the city had “outgrown” a weak-mayor form of government. Rusk said this:

“The city needed strong executive leadership, and yet the city manager was in effect a hired hand and couldn’t appropriately provide that kind of leadership in terms of helping shape public opinion.”

Former three-term Mayor Martin Chávez (1993 to 1997 and 2001 to 2009) said passage would result in an absence of leadership in the city and set off a power scramble among business groups, labor and other interest groups angling for position in the new government, Chavez said.

“A whole lot of dynamics will come into play that I don’t think [City Councilor] Louie Sanchez is thinking about. …  You’re going to have the City Council running the city. … You are going to have a city manager who is beholden to that council.  And there will be no unified, centralization of authority to do stuff.”

Former Mayor Jim Baca (1997 to 2001) said this:

“It was hard to get decisions made with a council-manager form of government  … Things just took forever because there was nobody actually in charge. The manager was always trying to second guess – would he get fired if he made this one small decision.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2603965/raucous-meeting-in-1973-may-have-been-tipping-point-to-create-albuquerq.html

REMBERING ALBUQUERQUE’S HISTORY

On Sunday, June 6, the Albuquerque Journal published a front-page story, below the fold story entitled “When ABQ went from a ‘weak’ to ‘strong’ mayor”  written by staff reporter Oliver Osterbrock.  The article featured former Mayor’s David Rusk, Jim Baca and Marty Chavez, with all 3 in opposition to going back and creating a City Council-City Manager form if government. The short history given in the article is worth noting:

“The beginning of the end of Albuquerque’s now-defunct City Commission came during a raucous meeting in December 1973, when commissioners voted 3-2 to fire the city manager.

Accusations flew back and forth for five hours at a packed Convention Center Auditorium with an estimated 500 in attendance.

“The City Commission has lost control,” then-Commissioner Bob Poole said. “Policy has gravitated to the city manager.”

…

At the Dec. 10, 1973, City Commission meeting, three of the five commissioners berated then-City Manager Herb Smith for hours, accusing him of involving himself in politics and assuming too much policy-making authority, the Albuquerque Journal reported.

Some speakers demanded a change in government, calling for a mayor and city councilors elected by district.

David Rusk, Albuquerque’s mayor from 1977 to 1981, said the city’s previous form of government “fell apart in very controversial circumstances” at that meeting.

A strong mayoral form of government had already been in the discussion stages for a few years, but the meeting appears to have been the tipping point.

The three commissioners who voted to fire Smith “expressed the view that perhaps Albuquerque had outgrown” the weak-mayor form of government, said Rusk, the city’s second mayor under the current system.

“The city needed strong executive leadership, and yet the city manager was in effect a hired hand and couldn’t appropriately provide that kind of leadership in terms of helping shape public opinion,” Rusk said.

Albuquerque was growing rapidly at the time, he said. Smith “was trying to establish an environment of more managed growth for the city, and that was at odds with some of the important interests” of the city, Rusk said.

A majority of commissioners found it inappropriate for Smith to exercise that kind of public leadership, he said.

Less than three months after that contentious meeting, Albuquerque voters approved a new form of government by a nearly 4-to-1 margin.

Voter approval of Proposition 3 on Feb. 27, 1974, gave Albuquerque a “strong mayor” with authority to “organize the executive branch of the city.”

The amendment to the city charter also gave the city a nine-member City Council elected by district, creating Albuquerque’s existing “strong mayor-council” system of government.

The change ended the five-member at-large city commission that had governed the city since 1917.

Once the results were tallied, then-Commissioner Ray Baca remarked that “the controversy over former City Manager Herb Smith pointed up the inadequacies of the commission-manager system” and created the impetus for the change of government.

But Proposition 3 emerged after years of discussion about the city’s appropriate form of government.

The strong-mayor system was first recommended in 1971 by a study group headed by the late Sen. Pete Domenici, who from 1967 to 1970s served as chairman of the City Commission – a post referred to as “mayor.” Domenici went on to serve as a U.S. senator from 1973 to 2009.

Additional details emerged from a working committee that met for 18 months following the initial recommendation  …  .

In adopting the strong-mayor system, Albuquerque followed a path taken by most large U.S. cities.”

https://www.abqjournal.com/2603965/raucous-meeting-in-1973-may-have-been-tipping-point-to-create-albuquerq.html

ABQ JOURNAL GUEST OPINION COLUMN

On May 18, the Albuquerque Journal published a guest opinion column by UNM Professor Timothy Krebs with the University of New Mexico Department of Political Science.  Below is the opinion column followed by the link: 

HEADLINE: “Council-manager system would weaken democracy in ABQ”

City Councilors Renée Grout and Louie Sanchez are proposing to change Albuquerque’s current strong mayor-council system to a council-manager system. This would be a mistake, mainly because it would harm our local democracy.

In council-manager systems, voters elect the city council and a mayor, who serves as a member of the council. The mayor is expected to provide policy leadership and preside at council meetings. And like all councilors, the mayor can introduce and vote on legislation.

The mayor in this system, however, lacks executive power, which is given to an unelected city manager appointed by the council. The manager administers the day-to-day affairs of city government, appoints department heads, prepares the budget, and hires and manages city employees. Managers can be fired if they lose favor with a council majority.

By contrast, Albuquerque’s strong-mayor council system is rooted in a separation of powers arrangement. The city council is the legislative branch, while the mayor is a strong executive with the power to appoint officials – including a chief administrative officer approved by the council, craft a budget, veto council ordinances, execute city policy, and run the government.

The original versions of both systems had their flaws. Because part-time, volunteer city councils often defer to professional managers, and because managers can be fired by councils, council-manager systems often experienced crises of leadership. At the same time, strong mayor-council systems envisioned mayors who would be both savvy political leaders and effective administrators, but this rarely worked out. Recognizing this, council-manager cities started to directly elect their mayors in citywide contests to raise expectations for political leadership, while strong mayor-council cities steadily added chief administrative officers to enhance managerial competence and allow mayors to focus on politics and policy

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599698/council-manager-system-strong-mayor-council-system.html

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Winston Churchill famously said:

“Those that fail to learn from history are doomed to repeat it.”

It appears that Democrat City Councilors Louis Sanchez and Tammy Fiebelkorn and Republican Renee Grout are hell bent and choose to ignore history and want to repeat it because of their own personal dislike of Mayor Tim Keller.

 When Democrat City Councilor Louie Sanchez said “If the voters tell us that we need to change the government, we change it”, he shows his ignorance not knowing that is exactly what happened over 50 years ago. From 1917 until 1974 (56 years), Albuquerque had a City Commission and City Manager  form of Government.  Albuquerque has had a mayor-council government since 1974 when on Feb. 26, 1974, voters in a landslide voted 19,458-to-5,246 to establish a full-time paid mayor as the city’s chief executive, and a part-time 9 member City Council as the city’s legislative body. The proposition, which passed in all 63 precincts, was endorsed by a wide range of organizations and community leaders.

https://www.abqjournal.com/2600440/albuquerque-mayoral-powers.html

 Democrat City Councilors Louis Sanchez and Tammy Fiebelkorn and Republican Renee Grout were elected on November 2, 2021 having never been elected nor served before in any other elective office. They have served a mere 16 months as city councilor having been sworn into office on January 1, 2022.

Sanchez,  Fiebelkorn and  Grout now proclaim the city needs a complete and dramatic restructuring of city government with a 50-year throwback to the past city commission-city manager form of government without offering any substantive evidence that the current Mayor-Council form of government is failing or not working.  All they offer is self-righteous political rhetoric. They  prefer legislation amending the Charter without the convening of the Charter Review Task Force which is a permeant standing task force  was created in part to prevent this sort of nefarious conduct by city councilors.

WHAT MOTVATES THE THROW BACK THREE

There is very little doubt what is motivating Sanchez, Fiebelkorn and Grout. It is their sure personal dislike for Mayor Tim Keller and many of  his policies. Keller has repeatedly out maneuvered the City Council with his veto.  In the last 16 months, Sanchez and Grout have tried and have failed to override at least 5 Keller vetoes.  Thus far they have failed to stop Keller’s “Housing Forward ABQ Plan” which will allow 750 square foot casitas and duplexes in all residential back yards.  They have failed to hold Mayor Keller accountable for impropriety, such as the violation of the anti-donation clause with the $236,622 purchase of artificial turf for the Rio Rancho Events Center for the benefit of the privately owned New Mexico Gladiators.

Fiebelkorn is especially disingenuous when she says “This is not a referendum on the current mayor. … This is a referendum about what is the best form of government.” If that were the case, why would she even bother to mention the Mayor. Informed city hall sources are saying Fiebelkorn and Mayor Keller are not on the best of terms and that the extreme progressive  councilor has felt snubbed by Keller on more than one occasion by not giving her support she has demanded and expected. Fiebelkorn knew what she was being elected to when she ran and now flippantly says “This is a referendum about what is the best form of government.”

Their solution is get rid of Keller’s power as Mayor in case he runs again, which is very likely in that he is privately making it known he is running, for another term, and wins, which is highly questionable.  Sanchez, Fiebelkorn and Grout knew exactly what they were getting into when they ran. If they do not like the existing form of government nor willing to work with Mayor Tim Keller, they should do us all a favor and just resign.  Instead, they promote a rues that they are searching for the best form of government and promoting  a 50 plus year failed throwback city council – city manager.

COUNCIL SHOULD VOTE NO

The city must file the measure with Bernalillo County no later than August  29 to place  it on the November  7 election ballot. The council should vote NO rejecting the Charter Amendment that is ill advised.