The City Council District 6 runoff race between the two top vote getters of Progressive Democrat Nichole Rogers and Progressive Democrat Jeff Hoehn is scheduled for December 12.  District 6 includes Nob Hill, the International District, and other neighborhoods and is currently represented by Progressive Democrat City Councilor Pat Davis who did not seek a third term. Early voting started Tuesday, November 21 and runs until Saturday, December 9.  Election day is December 12.

This blog article is an in-depth vetting of Nichole Rogers that reveals a disturbing history of civil litigation involving debt collections and evictions and property liens. It also reveals 4 misdemeanor convictions not disclosed by the candidate to the Albuquerque Journal on its candidate  questionnaire. The article confirms Rogers failure to file state and federal documentation for the non-rofit she runs. The article explores Nichole Rogers residency in District 6 and the extent of involvement of Mayor Tim Keller and two other elected officials who have assisted her candidacy.

ADVERSE PUBLICITY

On November 2, a mere 5 days before the November 7 election and after extensive early voting, damaging news broke on this blog about District 6 candidate Nichole Rogers. The same news was reported 2 days later by the Albuquerque Journal and the on-line news agency the New Mexico Sun.

The damaging news about Nichole Rogers includes she failed to file required documents with the Internal Revenue Service, the New Mexico Attorney General and the New Mexico Secretary of State regarding her nonprofit Westland Foundation that she created and now manages. Among the allegations was that Rogers continued to fund raise while her nonprofit was not in “good standing” with the state and the corporation had lost its federal status as a 501 C 3 charitable organization. It was also reported that she failed to report income and account for monies she raised, including $15,000 in city funding she secured for her foundation and how the funding was spent.

The link to the Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/district-6-candidate-nichole-rogers-nonprofit-raised-money-despite-delinquent-submissions-with-ags-office-secretary/article_c3bbc350-7a66-11ee-8d56-ab4b462eb662.html

The link to the New Mexico Sun article is here:

https://newmexicosun.com/stories/651280268-city-council-candidate-fails-to-file-legal-documents-make-full-accounting-for-her-charity

THE VETTING OF PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT NICHOLE ROGERS

An extensive review of public records and court dockets reveals a disturbing history of civil litigation over debts and money due, failure to pay rent, evictions and property liens. It also reveals misdemeanor traffic offense convictions by Nicole L. Rogers that she did not disclose to the  Albuquerque Journal in its candidate questionnaire.

A review of court dockets was conducted to determine the extent of litigation Nichole Rogers has been involved with over the years. A listing of 7 specific civil court and 4 metro court misdemeanor cases was compiled which are believed to be cases Rogers has been named the defendant.

This blog article explores the allegation that Nichole Rogers has not lived in District 6 for the 6 years as she has claimed and as she told the Albuquerque Journal in its candidate questionnaire. It has been determined she has lived on the Westside in an apartment with others and is now using a District 6 residence that she owns but has rented to others in order to run for city council.

EDITOR’S NOTE: The postscript to this blog article contains a November 19 email to Nichole Rogers and her campaign treasurer from  www.petedinelli.com  with court docket information listing cases requesting a confirmation from Rogers that she is in fact the named defendant in the cases. On November 24, Nichole Rogers responded and declined to verify the cases. The postscript also contains commentary and analysis on the email exchange.   

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL CANDIDATE QUESTIONARE

District 6 City Council candidate Nichole Rogers has repeatedly touted her “unique blend of lived experience and professional experience” as a reason to vote for her.

Progressive Democrat Nichole Rogers in her responses to the Albuquerque Journal candidate questionnaire provided the following answers to questions asked of her:

Education: Human resources, continuous quality improvement, EMT Basic, Associate of Arts and Sciences integrated studies, Central NM Community College (2012)

Occupation: Business consultant and financial adviser

…

Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?

[ANSWER]: No.

How long have you lived in your district?

[ANSWER]: 6 years

Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?

[ANSWER]: No.

Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor, or any felony in New Mexico or any other state?

[ANSWER]: No.

The link to read the full Albuquerque Journal candidate questionnaire of Nichol Rogers is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/district-6-candidate-questionnaire-nichole-rogers/article_c891ab32-646e-11ee-8250-bb9887ac9743.html

PERSONAL FINANCE VETTING

Review of court docket records shows 7 civil litigation cases for nonpayment of rent, judgements and garnishments of a Nichole Rogers or of a Nichole L. Rogers who are believed to be one and the same person and believed to be City Council Candidate Nichole Rogers as the named defendant. Based upon dates of birth and other information provided in the court filings and confidential sources, the 7 cases were identified as involving City Council Candidate Nichole Rogers. Two cases were deleted from an original list of 9 civil cases because of inconsistencies or errors found.  In a November 24 email, City Council Candidate Nichole Rogers declined to verify that she is the named defendant in the list of the 9 civil cases that she was provided with at the time. (SEE POSTSCRIPT BELOW FOR EMAIL EXCHANGE.)

The below list of 7 cases are cases that are available and easily accessed for review at the below links after the list.  Only cases with the name “Nichole” spelled with an “h” and that may also include the middle initial L were included. The list does not include cases with people with different spellings and dates of birth such as Nicole or Rodgers or different middle initials such as M.  Following are the case listings:

1. Valle Grande Apartments vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2000-11157 11/16/2000. Civil suit filed for NONPAYMENT OF RENT.
2. Bank of America v. Nichole Rogers D-202-CV-2006-05105 6/30/2006 COMPLAINT ON OPEN ACCOUNT; Judgment  entered against Defendant Nichole Rogers for the sum of  $5,525.39
3. Investment Retrievers v. Nichole L. Rogers D-307-CV-2006-01960 11/13/2006 COMPLAINT FOR DEBT AND MONEY DUE; Default judgment was entered against Defendant Nichole L. Rogers for the sum of $11,428.17 plus interest;  Wages from employer Precision Mortgage were garnished to pay the judgment of $11,960.84.
4. Westlake Financial Services v. Nichole L. Rogers D-202-CV-2007-10481 12/3/2007 COMPLAINT FOR DEBT AND MONEY DUE; A court appointed arbitrator awarded $6,190.97 to Plaintiff Westlake Financial Services and against Defendant Nichole L. Rogers; Wages from employers Direct Buy of Albuquerque and CNM Foundation were garnished to pay the unpaid judgment, which was eventually satisfied as paid in full.
5. Huong Hanley vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-CV-2012-07146 6/18/2012 Civil cause of action for NONPAYMENT OF RENT.
6. Huong Hanley vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2014-000075 1/3/2014 Civil cause of action for NONPAYMENT OF RENT; Judgment set aside on 1/11/18.
7. T & C Management v. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2016-001438 1/25/2016, Civil cause of action  for NONPAYMENT OF RENT.

The links to look up the New Mexico court cases cited are as follows:

https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/

“Search NM”:

https://researchnm.tylerhost.net/CourtRecordsSearch/Home#!/home 

MISDEMEANOR TRAFFIC CITATATIONS

Nichole Rogers answered with a simple NO the Albuquerque Journal candidate questionnaire “Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor, or any felony in New Mexico or any other state?”  A review of court docket records revealed 4 misdemeanor cases of a one Nichole Rogers or of a Nichole L. Rogers who are believed to be one and the same person and believed to be City Council Candidate Nichole Rogers as the named defendant.

Based upon dates of birth and other information provided in the court filings as well as confidential sources, the 4 cases were identified as involving City Council Candidate Nichole Rogers.  A 5^th case was deleted from the listing because of inconsistencies. The misdemeanor convictions were not disclosed in the Albuquerque Journal questionnaire by City Council Candidate Nichole L. Rogers. In a November 24 email, Nichole Rogers declined to verify that she is the named defendant in any of the 5 cases. (SEE POSTSCRIPT BELOW FOR EMAIL EXCHANGE.)

Following is the listing of the misdemeanor citations and cause numbers:

1. State of New Mexico vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-TR-2012-038033 10/3/2012 traffic citation. The narration contained in the case search includes the following information: Vehicle was heading Southbound on Atrisco to Eastbound Quail. Plate was expired through MVD as of 4/12. Driver did not have registration, and has expired insurance. Gave warning on cracked windshield. Rogers was charged with “no proof of financial responsibility” and “failure to exhibit evidence of car registration upon demand” and “display of license plate or temporary permit” which are misdemeanors. On 10/26/12 she received the additional charge of “failure to appear in court” which was later quashed; Rogers paid fines and fees.
2. State of New Mexico vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-TR-2013-018910 6/11/2013 traffic citation: NOT CARRYING PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY.
3. City of Albuquerque vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-PR-2019-001023 3/19/2019 parking violations: EXPIRED METER and LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED IS EXPIRED. A BENCH WARRANT for arrest was issued on 5/3/19.  The warrant was mailed to Rogers’ General Somervell St. NE address but was returned to sender. Rogers plead no contest on 4/15/21 and paid $284 fines and fees
4. City of Albuquerque vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-PR-2023-006535 10/2/2023 parking violations: EXPIRED METER and LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED IS EXPIRED. Rogers plead no contest and paid $100 of the $284 assessed fines and fees on 11/16/23

Some would say that the 4 citations are simple misdemeanors and they are  “no big deal” and they do not matter. They do matter in that they reflect a failure to carry liability insurance and maintaining car registration. New Mexico has one of the highest uninsured motorist rates in the country. If a person cannot afford insurance, can not register their vehicle as required by law, then  they have no business owning a vehicle and driving it.

A failure to carry liability insurance in particular does have very serious financial consequences when no insurance coverage is available to victims who are seriously injured by the negligent conduct of another driver who does not carry liability insurance. Again, none of the 4 cases were disclosed by Rogers in her Albuquerque Journal questionnaire, including the fact that a bench warrant was issued for her arrest in one case and there was a failure to appear in a second.

The links to look up the New Mexico court cases cited are as follows:

https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/

“Search NM”

https://researchnm.tylerhost.net/CourtRecordsSearch/Home#!/home 

PROPERTY LIENS FILED

Review of Bernalillo County Clerk records reveals that two liens have been filed on a residence owned Nichole Rogers located at the General Somervell St. NE address she has given to the City Clerk as her residence.  The residence is located within District 6.  According to County clerk records, Rogers purchased the residence on January 4, 2018 from KLS Holdings LLC with a mortgage from Mers Van Dyke Mortgage on the same date.

According Bernalillo County Clerk records reviewed, on July 7, 2021 a lien was filed by the City of Albuquerque for delinquent water and/or sewer and/or solid waste charges of $591.75 on the residence.  The lien was released on July 29, 2022.

According to the Bernalillo County Clerk records, a second lien was file on the residence on August 1, 2022 by the City of Albuquerque again for delinquent water and/or sewer and/or solid waste charges for $1,457.52.  A release of the lien filed on August 11, 2022.

The link to the Bernalillo County Assessor’s office is here:

https://www.bernco.gov/assessor/

The link to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office is here:

https://www.berncoclerk.gov/

ROGERS PROPERTY WAS LIKELY RENTAL AND NOT PERSONAL RESIDENCE

Candidates running for City Council are required to live in the district they seek to represent. In her Albuquerque Journal questionnaire answers, Rogers told the Albuquerque Journal she has lived in in City Council District 6 for six years and she gives her home address to the City Clerk as a residence on General Somervell. Rogers 6-year claim of residency in District 6 does not coincide with county records in that she purchased the residence 5 years ago in 2018.

During public forums and debates, Rogers has claimed she has raised her two children at the residence during the past 6 years, a claim that appears to be  false.  Confidential sources are questioning whether Nichole Rogers has ever even lived in District 6 home continuously as she has claimed, or even recently or if it is in fact a rental that she is now attempting to move into.

Although County Assessor records reflect that Nichole Rogers purchased the General Somervell residence on January 4, 2018 with a mortgage loan, and that she is the record owner of the residence, confidential sources and neighbors who live in the area claim that a third party by the name of Sabin Garcia had been renting and living in the home for the past 5 years while Nichole Rogers was living at a West Side Atrisco Street address since her purchase of the home.

A real estate property description listing provided by a confidential source for the General Somerville address Nichole Rogers claims to be her home residence reflects that it is a 1,050 square foot home, with bedroom and bath, valued at $194,042. The owner of the property is listed as “Nichole L. Rogers”. The current residents of the property are listed as Sabin Garcia, Nevada Garcia, Wendy M. Garcia, and Amy Jo Garcia and ostensibly they are a family of 4 with husband and wife and 2 children.

A search of the online Yellowbook for Nichole Rogers reveals a phone number  listings for Nichole Rogers with 4 people residing at an Atrisco Drive NW, Albuquerque apartment.  Those living in the westside apartment are listed as  Nichole Rogers, Jenifer Baca, Bernard Rogers and Vanessa Rogers.

https://www/yellowbook.com/people/nichole-rogers/

Traffic citation issued to Rogers ostensibly confirms she was living on the Westside of Albuquerque and not in District 6. Those citations are State of New Mexico vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-TR-2012-038033 10/3/2012 traffic citation narrative: “Vehicle was heading Southbound on Atrisco to Eastbound Quail. Plate was expired through MVD as of 4/12. Driver did not have registration, and has expired insurance.”

Metro Court records reveal that in May 2019 the Court mailed a warrant to Nichole Rogers General Somervell home address, but it was returned to sender.  In the case City of Albuquerque vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-PR-2019-001023 3/19/2019 parking violations: EXPIRED METER and LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED IS EXPIRED a BENCH WARRANT was issued on 5/3/19.  The warrant was mailed to Rogers’ General Somervell St. NE address but was returned to sender.  Rogers plead no contest on 4/15/21 and paid $284 fines and fees

A screen shot of a February 3, 2023  FACEBOOK post by Nichlole Rogers on her FACEBOOK page reveals that Rogers was not living at the General Sommervill residence and that it was in February she ostensibly moved to the residence and that others believed the property was “abandoned”.  The FACEBOOK page post is as follows:

“Nichole Rogers is feeling drained.

Feb. 3”

 “It has been the worst day … found out the cleaning company I commissioned before we moved back in our house assumed our home was “abandoned” and helped themselves to my belongings. They brought back some things but there is a whole lot more I can’t find. I do not recommend Rosa’s House Cleaning Services at all.  Well on a good note … we are back at our home.”

There is further reason to question if Rogers actually occupied the General Somervell residence  due to the history of a general state of disrepair and air of neglect of the house, including mattresses and trash in front of the residence.  It has been reported that only in the last few weeks has the front yard of the property been cleaned up. Neighbors in the area report they never see Rogers at the home and there is no activity at the address with the overall appearance that the property is vacant.  The liens on the property filed by the city include solid waste charges likely caused by zoning enforcement clean ups of the property.

WELSTAND FOUNDATION

Among Rogers professional experience claims is that she is involved with the nonprofit and charitable corporation known as Welstand Foundation. It is a one-person nonprofit  founded  in 20219 and managed by Rogers.  The corporation as a charitable organization over the years has received both public and private funding.

Charity Search on the New Mexico Secretary of State’s website lists Welstand Foundation’s purpose as “To enhance all aspects of well-being for under-served and under-represented youth in New Mexico.” Social media posts show that local breweries raised money for Welstand Foundation in 2022.  Welstand Foundation was awarded a $15,000 grant from the City of Albuquerque approved at the May 18, 2020 City Council meeting.

Nichole Rogers has never fully revealed publicly during her campaign nor been forthcoming that she has been seriously delinquent with filing mandatory legal documents to keep Welstand Foundation in good standing with the New Mexico Attorney General, the Secretary of State and failed to file mandatory documents with the Internal Revenue Service.

FAILURE TO FILE IRS DOCUMENTS

According to the IRS website, Welstand Foundation’s 501(c)3 federal tax exempt status was revoked on May 15, 2022.  Since its incorporation as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization in 2019, Nichol Rogers has not filed federal forms on income and expenses. A federal form is required to be filed annually by every 501(c)(3) and for private foundations. It is essentially a nonprofit’s income and expense report, allowing oversight of what revenue and donations were brought in, and how and where the money was spent. Not only does it provide financial oversight, but it ensures that a nonprofit’s spending is in accordance with its mission.

Rogers answered “NO” to the Albuquerque Journal in its candidate questionnaire “Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?”  with no further explanation. Her NO answer to the question can be characterized at the very least as misleading because it is understood the corporation failed to file required tax forms and its tax-exempt status was then revoked which would have prevented tax liens from being filed if anything was in fact owed.

To research the IRS documentation on the corporations revocation as tax exempt, go to https://apps.irs.gov/app/eos/details/.  Under the “search by field” scroll down to “organization name” and then in the organization name box type in “Welstand” and then click the blue search link. The revocation date listed by the IRS for the Welstand corporation is 5-15-2022 and the revocation posting date is 08-08-2022.

DELINQUENT NEW MEXICO ATTORNEY GENERAL REGISTRATION

According to the New Mexico Attorney General’s Charity Search website, Welstand Foundation registration submissions have been repeatedly delinquent. The website reveals as follows:

On January 1, 2021, the Welstand Foundation corporation’s Registration Submission for the 2019 Tax year was declared Delinquent.

On July 1, 2021, the Welstand Foundation corporation’s Registration Submission for the 2020 Tax year was declared Delinquent.

On July 1, 2022, the Welstand Foundation corporation’s Registration Submission for the 2021 Tax year was declared Delinquent.

On July 1, 2023, the Welstand Foundation corporation’s Registration Submission for the 2022 tax year was declared Delinquent.

The link to the New Mexico Attorney Generla website to confirm the  research is here:

https://secure.nmag.gov/CharitySearch/CharityDetail.aspx?FEIN=84-2064534

WELSTAND JUST RECENTLY BECAME IN GOOD STANDING WITH NEW MEXICO SECRETARY OF STATE

Review of public records revealed that the Welstand Foundation as of October 20, 2023 was “Not In Good Standing” as a nonprofit corporation with the New Mexico Secretary of State’s Office.  However, as of November 1, 2023, the corporation is listed as in Good Standing.

To research New Mexico Secretary of State records for Welstand Foundation, go to the below link and type Welstand Foundation and Business ID Number 5919649:

https://portal.sos.state.nm.us/BFS/online/CorporationBusinessSearch

FUNDRAISING ACTIVITIES REPORTED ON FACEBOOK

Facebook posts by local breweries Hollow Spirits, Nexus Brewery, Marble Brewery ,  Hollow Spirits reveals assistance  with fundraising  activities for Welstand Foundation after the IRS revoked the 501(c)3 status of the Corporation. What is questionable is that solicitations were made while not having filed a single 990-N, being delinquent with New Mexico Attorney General Registration submissions and not being in good standing with the New Mexico Secretary of State.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS ON ROGER’S WELSTAND FOUNDATION

The most troubling question that needs to be answered is exactly how much did Nichole Rogers raise for her foundation since its creation in 2019, where did the money go and was it used for her salary?  No one knows, except Nichole L. Rogers. The federal IRS forms required annually of every 501(c)(3) nonprofit were never filed for the WELSTAND FOUNDATION. The forms are essentially a nonprofit’s income and expense report, allowing oversight of what revenue and donations were brought in, and how and where the money was spent. Not only do they provide financial oversight, but it ensures that a nonprofit’s spending is in accordance with its mission. Welstand Foundation should have filed at least three IRS forms.

The IRS sends compliance letters, so pleading ignorance of the filing requirements is not a valid excuse. The IRS will not revoke a 501(c)(3) organization’s tax-exempt status unless the nonprofit has been out of compliance on filing a Form 990 for three consecutive years. This is what finally happened with the Welstand Foundation. Its tax-exempt nonprofit status was revoked on May 15, 2022. It was  also listed as “Not In Good Standing” by the NM Secretary of State website as of October 20, 2023, but that has now changed.

A simple search on the NM Attorney General’s charity registry reveals no 990s have been filed with the office.  Nichole Rogers posted Nextdoor.com social page in mid-October 2023 that she had closed the Foundation in 2020.  That statement appears to false because in a more recent post on Nextdoor.com she stated she closed the nonprofit down in 2021.

It is clear that the Welstand Foundation continued to seek donations after it was supposedly closed and did in fact bring in unreported revenue. Not only has the trust of private donors been violated, the public’s trust has been violated. The City of Albuquerque gave the Welstand Foundation at least $15,000, which has also never been fully accounted for by Rogers.

In the interest of full disclosure and transparency as a candidate for city council, Nichole Rogers should release her personal income tax returns as well as those of Welstand Foundation so that a comparison can be made and her sources of income can be disclosed as to what extent she has personally benefited from her fund-raising activities for the corporation.

Other questions that Nichole Rogers needs to answer as it relates to Welstand Foundation include:

Will Nichole Rogers seek more city funding to benefit Welstand Foundation or does she intend to step down from its management or dissolve the corporation if she is elected?

Will Nichole Rogers continue with fundraising efforts for Welstand Foundation if she is elected and to what extent?

Will Nichole Rogers engage in lobbying efforts on behalf of Welstand Foundation before the New Mexico legislature as a registered lobbyist if she is elected and to what extent will she lobby on behalf of the city?

GETTING MORE THAN A LITTLE HELP FROM FRIENDS IN HIGH PLACES

It’s no secret that Mayor Tim Keller and his supporters inserted themselves into the District 2, 4 and 6 City Council races.  Keller took an active roll in trying to elect 3 city councilors who will support his agenda over the final 2 years of his second term to set himself up to run for a third term in 2025. Keller has already made it known to top aides he intends to run for a third term.

Confidential sources have confirmed that Joaquin Baca, Abby Foster, and Nichole Rogers were indeed Keller’s anointed candidates to replace Progressive Democrat Isaac Benton in District 2, Republican Brook Bassan in District 4 and Progressive Democrat Pat Davis in District 6 respectively.

Progressive Politcal consultant Neri Holguin was Mayor Keller’s campaign manager for State Senate, she headed up the Measured Finance Committee that raised upwards of $1 million to get Keller elected the first time he ran in 2017 and she managed Keller’s successful 2021 reelection campaign for Mayor against Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales. Holguin has now become the go-to political consultant for progressive Democratic candidates.

Mayor Keller’s 2021 campaign manager Neri Holguin was the paid campaign consultant for Progressive Democrat Abby Foster who lost to incumbent Conservative Republican City Councilor Brook Bassan in District 4.  Holguin was also the paid campaign consultant for Progressive Democrat Joaquin Baca who was elected in District 2 without a runoff. Neri Holguin was involved with the Nichole Rogers campaign early on in assisting with collection of nominating signatures and the $5 qualifying donations for public finance, but because of a falling out with the Rogers campaign withdrew from assisting with the campaign.

Mayor Tim Keller has been involved with the campaign of Nichole Rogers from the get go.  His help is likely extending to the runoff. Rogers has gone so far as to tell Progressive Democrats privately in District 6 that she is Mayor Keller’s candidate to replace Progressive Democrat Pat Davis who is a Keller ally.

Sources have confirmed that a representative of Mayor Keller contacted candidate Jeff Hoehn even before he announced his candidacy. They told Hoehn in no uncertain terms that he could not win and not to run and that he would not be receiving the support of Mayor Tim Keller if he did run. In particular, Keller was said to want a “woman of color” to be elected and Nichole Rogers fit the profile.  Sources have also confirmed that the paid political consultant for another failed candidate contacted Hoehn and insisted that he not run because he is not a minority and he could not win. Hoehn decided to run after he was convinced to do so by neighborhood progressive activists.

In 2021, Mayor Tim Keller announced the appointment of Nichole Rogers as the new City of Albuquerque African American Community and Business Liaison with the Office of Equity and Inclusion.  In May, 2023 she supposedly left the city to run for City Council with no announcement if she resigned her city job or merely took a leave of absence to have a job to return to if she loses.  It has been reported that Nichole Rogers is in sales with Primerica Financial Services.

Confidential sources have confirmed that Rogers received significant help from at least 2 top aides of Mayor Tim Keller. Those Keller top aides assisted in collecting nominating petitions signatures and qualifying $5 donations Rogers needed to secure public financing of $40,000. It is unknown if the campaigning was done on city time.

Sources have confirmed Democrat Progressive County Commissioner Adriann Barboa went door to door and helped collect nominating petitions and $5 qualifying donations for Rogers using county voter registration lists.  Both Barboa and Rogers are kindred spirits and have much in common.  Barboa has a history of aggressively recruiting and supporting candidates she wants to fill elected official vacancies and who fit to her liking her own progressive mold. Such was the case with Barboa’s recruitment of District 25 State Representative Cristina Parajón, who moved into District 25  just  weeks before announcing she was running to replace retired State Representative Christine Trujillo and who Barboa then voted for as County Commissioner.

Sources have also confirmed that District 7 City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn actively campaigned door to door for Nichole Rogers as Fiebelkorn strolls the streets of District 6 with a vaping device in her mouth.  Fiebelkorn has an affinity for District 6 voters seeing as she and Progressive Democrat Pat Davis sponsored a redistricting map earlier this year that essentially gutted both their City Council Districts and “redistricting” the progressive Nob Hill area of District 6 into her District 7 to give Fiebelkorn an advantage for her reelection bid in 2025.  Fiebelkorn no doubt is helping Rogers in that she is highly ambitious and is doing so to ingratiate herself to Rogers for her support for City Council President or Vice President which is the very first vote that must be taken by the new city council once they are sworn in on January 1, 2024.

Barboa and Feiberkorn have no clue to just how disliked they have become by their own constituencies.  The District 6 City Council race is one race they should have kept their noses out of but simply could not resist.  Both should be more concerned about their own political futures. Talk is already emerging about people being recruited to run against both Barboa and Feiberkorn.

Keller on the other hand knows full well how disliked he has become with two polls already conducted showing he has low approval ratings in low 30% and with one of those polls listing potential candidates and showing Keller coming in 4^rd with 18%.  At least 3 current elected office holders are said to be running against Keller as he is making it known privately, he is running for a third term.

PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRAT JEFF HOEHN

Progressive Democrat Jeff Hoehn has a Master of Public Administration from the University of New Mexico, he is married to Charlotte Itoh, who is a private attorney and the couple have one child. Hoehn and his wife have lived in the district 21 years and have been actively involved with the community. Jeff Hoehn is the executive director of Cuidando Los Niños, a shelter and school for homeless children.  He has identified crime and homelessness as his top concerns for District 6.

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/district-6-candidate-questionnaire-jeff-hoehn/article_86040c9c-646e-11ee-8e6e-5f3f903f9fa5.html

Hoehn’s approach to the homeless would differ significantly from Mayor Keller’s large shelters at the Gateway Center and Westside Emergency Housing Center. To combat homelessness and the housing crisis in the city, he would fund smaller, population-specific shelters that are attractive and safe for those who want help. He agrees that the Albuquerque Community Safety Department should be a proactive force that is on the streets every day, all day actively encountering individuals who are homeless so that they accept help or choose to relocate.

Hoehn advocates short-term mobile APD command units in high crime areas. He advocates for a dedicated team of police officers that can embed with the community, build trust and make the area unfriendly to criminal activity.   His crime proposals lean heavily on police and policing technology to get that done. Hoehn told the League of Woman Voters this:

“I advocate instituting short-term APD mobile command units in high crime areas. …  We must be strategic so that officers can spend their time preventing and addressing crime. Technology such as speed cameras has a role to play also.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is very difficult to understand how a candidate for Albuquerque City Council can hold herself out as a successful “business consultant and financial advisor” given her history of litigation as a named defendant in debt collection matters and her failures to file in a timely manner mandatory documents with the IRS, the New Mexico Attorney General, and the Secretary of State for a charitable organization she created.

NICHOLE ROGERS FAILING FORWARD CANDIDACY

When the news reports first broke on Roger’s problems relating to her nonprofit, Rogers admitted that she mishandled her charitable non-profit, which benefited from both private contributions and COVID relief money from the city. Rogers claimed her conduct was not disqualifying.  Rogers said this:

“I am a person who has had successes and has had failures. But I really believe in failing forward. When you know better, you do better and I’m someone who can teach folks to watch out for these pitfalls.” 

 When confronted with her history of litigation and legal problems and asked to confirm she is the named defendant in the cases she said this:

 “I have discussed a lot of this openly during my campaign, I have TRUE lived experience with being unable to pay rent on time, with poverty, and with navigating systems.” 

The blunt truth is Nichole Rogers has not been forth coming.  Her credibility is in serious doubt because of falsehoods and failures to disclose. She has failed to be completely transparent when it comes to her litigation history and her residence.

She boldly proclaims that she “really believe[s] in failing forward” and that  she has “TRUE lived experience.” How about just not failing by following the law, knowing better, taking full responsibility for your mistakes and not repeating them and not deflecting the truth. How about paying your debts, securing mandatory car registrations and car insurance, and attending scheduled court hearings to avoid bench warrants being issued for your arrest,

FINAL COMMENTARY

In one candidate forum, Nichole Rogers said she was running because of the new salaries that will be paid to city councilors and that she felt she could live on that amount. City councilor pay is going from the present $33,600 to $62,843 a year and councilors can still have outside employment. The voters of District 6 need to know if Rogers is running for the right reasons which is to help and serve her constituents or is she really in it for herself to get paid a good salary and promote her nonprofit Welstand Foundation and do Mayor Tim Keller’s bidding on the City Council once she is elected.

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.

It is District 6 that has suffered the brunt of what plagues the city the most with the highest crime rates in the city, including property crime, violent crime and drug trafficking, distressed minority communities, the proliferation of the homeless and service providers and little or no economic development.

District 6 can no longer afford a city councilor who makes promises and offers only eternal hope for better times, better results and who is indebted to Mayor Tim Keller and who wants to make a living off of the taxpayer for herself and her nonprofit. Eight years of poor representation by the current city councilor has been more than enough.

What is needed is a City Councilor who is independent, actually knows 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 and who will not just do what Mayor Tim Keller wants them to do and who will just rubber stamp what Mayor Tim Keller wants. Hoehn represents now the type of leadership needed by District 6.

District 6 is entitled to a City Councilor who is ethical, who is above reproach, who knows how to manage finances both privately and in their private business dealings, who actually knows the problems of the District by actually living in the District for more than a few years, something that cannot be said of Nichole Rogers.

Given what has been reveal about Nichole Rogers and what is at stake, voters of District 6 should have no reservations voting for Jeff Hoehn for City Council.

_________________________________

POSTSCRIPT

On November 19, Nichole Rogers and her Campaign Treasurer were sent an email by Pete Dinelli www.PeteDinelli,com with the court docket information listing 14 cases requesting a confirmation from her that she is in fact the named Defendant in the cases. The email was sent to give Rogers and opportunity to confirm or deny that she is the named defendant and provide an explanation.

The November 19 email is as follows:

November 19, 2023

To: Nichole Rogers, Candidate For City Council District 6  

From: Pete Dinelli, www.PeteDinelli.com

CC:  Clarence Smith, Treasurer for Candidate Nichole Rogers

Re: Request for confirmation of identity in court cases; Offer to provide explanation

“As you are aware I write and publish the blog www.PeteDinelli.com.  I have reported on the City Council races, attended debates and have sent you my articles written. I am currently doing research on an article for publication.  I am sending this email to you at the email address you have given the city clerk as well as your campaign treasurer.

A review of court dockets shows multiple instances of litigation involving 4 different spellings of your name raising the possibility of others with the same name. The 4 different name spellings are Nichole L. Rogers, Nichole Rogers, Nicole Rogers, Nicole L.  Rogers. Note the two different spellings of the name as Nichole or Nicole or the addition of the middle initial “L”.  

The purpose of this email is to request that you confirm that it is you who is the named defendant in the specific court cases that I have identified as you being the probable defendant. The link to the New Mexico Courts case look up system for the individual court cases so you can look them up yourself and confirm what I have found is as follows:

 https://caselookup.nmcourts.gov/

Please confirm with a YES or NO if you are the named defendant in the following cases:   

1. Valle Grande Apartments vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2000-11157 11/16/2000.  Civil suit filed for “NONPAYMENT OF RENT”. 
2. Tyson Properties vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-CV-2002-1771 2/15/2002 Civil suit filed for EVICTION from residence. [EDITOR’S NOTE: DELETED IN ABOVE PUBLISHED ARTICLE BECAUSE OF IDENTIFIED ERRORS.]
3. Bank of America v. Nichole Rogers D-202-CV-2006-05105 6/30/2006 COMPLAINT ON OPEN ACCOUNT;  Judgment  entered against Defendant Nichole Rogers for the sum of  $5,525.39
4. Investment Retrievers v. Nichole L. Rogers D-307-CV-2006-01960 11/13/2006 COMPLAINT FOR DEBT AND MONEY DUE; Default judgment was entered against Defendant Nichole Rogers for the sum of $11,428.17 plus interest;  Wages from employer Precision Mortgage were garnished to pay the judgment of $11,960.84.
5. Westlake Financial Services v. Nichole L. Rogers D-202-CV-2007-10481 12/3/2007 COMPLAINT FOR DEBT AND MONEY DUE; A court appointed arbitrator awarded $6,190.97 to Plaintiff Westlake Financial Services against Defendat Nichole Rogers; Wages from employers  DirectBuy of Albuquerque and CNM Foundation  were garnished to pay the unpaid judgment, which was eventually satisfied as paid in full.
6. Huong Hanley vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-CV-2012-07146 6/18/2012 Civil cause of action for NONPAYMENT OF RENT.
7. Huong Hanley vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2014-000075 1/3/2014 Civil cause of action for NONPAYMENT OF RENT;  Judgment set aside on 1/11/18. 
8. Khanh Erikson vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-CV-2015-04046 4/2/2015 Civil cause of action for NONPAYMENT OF RENT. [EDITOR’S NOTE: DELETED IN ABOVE PUBLISHED ARTICLE BECAUSE OF IDENTIFIED ERRORS.]
9. T & C Management v. Nichole Rogers T-4-CV-2016-001438 1/25/2016, Civil cause of action  for NONPAYMENT OF RENT. 

MISDEMEANOR TRAFFIC CASES

I have also found five cases involving traffic violations. Please confirm if you are in fact the named defendant in each of the following cases:

1. State of New Mexico vs. Nichole L. Rogers M-14-TR-2006-05542 6/14/2006 traffic citation in Las Cruces: VEHICLES SUBJECT TO REGISTRATION Order to show cause for failure to appearwas issued on 7/11/2006; Rogers plead guilty/no contest and paid fines and fees. [EDITOR’S NOTE: DELETED IN ABOVE PUBLISHED ARTICLE BECAUSE OF IDENTIFIED ERRORS.]
2.  State of New Mexico vs. Nichole Rogers T-4-TR-2012-038033 10/3/2012 traffic citation: Vehicle was heading Southbound on Atrisco to Eastbound Quail. Plate was expired through MVD as of 4/12. Driver did not have registration, and has expired insurance. Gave warning on cracked windshield. Rogers was charged with NO PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY and FAILURE TO EXHIBIT EVIDENCE OF CAR REGISTRATION UPON DEMAND and DISPLAY OF LICENSE PLATE OR TEMPORARY PERMIT. On 10/26/12 the additional charge of FAILURE TO APPEAR IN COURT which was later quashed; Rogers paid fines and fees.
3. State of New Mexico vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-TR-2013-018910 6/11/2013 traffic citation: NOT CARRYING PROOF OF FINANCIAL RESPONSIBILITY. Prosecution was unwilling to proceed.
4. City of Albuquerque vs. Nichole L. Rogers T-4-PR-2019-001023 3/19/2019 parking violations: EXPIRED METER and LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED IS EXPIRED. A BENCH WARRANT was issued on 5/3/19; the warrant was mailed to Rogers’ 217 General Somervell St. NE address but was returned to sender; Rogers plead no contest on 4/15/21 and paid $284 fines and fees
5.  City of Albuquerque vs.Nichole L. Rogers T-4-PR-2023-006535   10/2/2023 parking violations: EXPIRED METER and LICENSE PLATE DISPLAYED IS EXPIRED. Rogers plead no contest and paid $100 of the $284 assessed fines and fees on 11/16/23

PROPERTY LIENS FILED

Review of Bernalillo County Assessor Records reveals that you are the registered title owner of the residence located at …[number deleted to protect privacy]… General Somervell St. NE. Review of Bernalillo County Clerk records reveals you purchased the residence on January 4, 2018 from KLS Holdings LLC with a mortgage from Mers Van Dyke Mortgage on the same date.

Review of Bernalillo County Clerk records reveals that two liens have been filed on what is believed to be your home address at … [number deleted to protect privacy]  …  General Somervell St. NE.  According to the Bernalillo County Clerk records, on July 7, 2021 a lien was filed on the residence by the City of Albuquerque and then the lien was released on July 29, 2022.  According to the Bernalillo County Clerk  records, a second lien was file on the residence on August 1, 2022 by the City of Albuquerque and then a release of lien was filed on August 1, 2022.

Please confirm if you in fact still own the residence and if you reside there or are renting it to another and for how long. Please also state how much the liens were for and specifically for what (ie: water or tax assessments).

DEADLINE

It is respectfully requested that you respond to this email by email to me  with your answers and any explanation you want to offer as soon as possible, but no later than November 24, 2023 at 12:00 noon.

Respectfully yours

Pete Dinelli

CANDIDATE NICHOLE ROGERS RESPONDS TO EMAIL

On November 24, at 11:36, A.M, just 24 minutes before the deadline, Nichole Rogers sent the following email response:

Hello,

 I have discussed a lot of this openly during my campaign, I have TRUE lived experience with being unable to pay rent on time, with poverty, and with navigating systems.   

I would love to talk about how my own experience with poverty has led me to be where I am today.  As a victim of identity theft, I do not share personal information via email or over the phone.

 If you report on this, please be sure you have taken the time to research which are mine and which are not. 

 Again, I am open to having an honest conversation with you about your request.

Blessings,

 Nichole Rogers

 [PHONE NUMBER DELETED FOR PRIVACY]

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The November 24 response by Nichole Rogers is as evasive as it gets by a public figure and politician who is running for office. The email response was a total failure by a candidate for office to be forth coming and transparent by refusing to answer with specificity with a YES or NO as requested if she is in fact the named defendant in the cases identified and listed.

In her email Rogers says “If you report on this, please be sure you have taken the time to research which are mine and which are not”.  The purpose of the November 19 email to Rogers and her Treasurer was to do just that, research what cases are hers and what cases are not. The email to Rogers makes it clear that an article was being written and she was being given an opportunity to provide an explanation and to specifically identify what cases she was a named Defendant.

Considerable amount of time and effort was undertaken to research the cases, identify those she is to believe to be the Defendant and then and only then was she contacted to verify the information and given sufficient time to respond.  Further, she simply ignores the inquiry as to the property liens filed and the ownership of the property she is using as her home address to run for city council. She does not disclose if she has ever rented the property to another.

The November 19 email to her asks her to verify the cases found believed to be cases she is the named defendant.  She was given the opportunity to identify those cases that are in her words “hers and those cases which are not.” She should know the cases she was a named Defendant, but simply refused to verify them, simply refused to do her own due diligence and simply refused to cooperate by giving an evasive answer. She failed to answer the question if she still owns the residence,  if she  resides  there and for how long or if  she renting it to another and for how long.

Rogers states in her email she does not share personal information “via email or over the phone”,  yet she gave her phone number that has been deleted for privacy.  She does not state exactly how and in what manner or in what context, public or private, she is willing to have an “honest conversation” that can be quoted. By failing to verify the cases on her own which are “hers and those cases which are not” she essentially refuses to take any and all responsibility for her conduct and deflects disclosing the truth.

The link to a related blog article is here:

ABQ City Council District 6 Runoff Scheduled December 12; Early Voting starts November 21; Nichole Rogers “Failing Forward” Candidacy; Endorsements By Other Candidates Announced; Voter Turn Out Will Be Biggest Challenge For Two Candidates

On October 28, 2023, it was reported that the he Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to terminate large portions of its settlement agreement that lays out reforms within the Albuquerque Police Department due to APD having been in full compliance with those sections for at least 2 years.

The  joint motion filed by  the Department of Justice and the City of  Albuquerque has as its goal  to have parts of the Federal Court Approve Settlement completely removed from oversight by the Federal Monitor. This comes after the city cites sustained operation compliance with the federal agreement made with the Albuquerque Police Department. U.S. District Judge James Browning approved for the motion-filed parts to have no monitoring in 2022. After achieving an over 90% compliance, Independent Federal Monitor James Ginger agreed to a significant pay deduction for monitoring APD. Once the agreed order sought by the joint motion is approved, upwards of 25%  of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement would be completed.

In the announcement U.S. Attorney Alexander Uballez said it was “a second major milestone” for the department’s reform efforts so far this year with the federal judge overseeing the case having already suspended the monitoring of those sections in 2022. Uballez said this:

“This move to partial termination is yet more evidence of the City of Albuquerque’s dogged pursuit of progress … Much remains to be done, and the challenges facing us as a community are ever-evolving. While we continue to work together to confront those challenges, we applaud the steady and unrelenting drive towards the type of policing that the people of Albuquerque deserve.”

On November 8, 2023, the Federal Monitor Court filed his 18th report that covers the time period of February 1, 2023 through July 1, 2023.  The monitor found APD is only ONE percentage point from full compliance with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) in “Operational Compliance”, one of 3 compliance areas.  Under the terms and conditions of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA), once APD achieves a 95% compliance rate in all the 3 identified compliance levels and maintains it for 2 consecutive years, the case can be dismissed. Originally, APD was to have come into compliance within 4 years and the case was to be dismissed in 2018.

The 18^th Federal monitors states compliance levels are as follows:

• Primary Compliance 100%
• Secondary Compliance 99%
• Operational Compliance 94% (95% is needed to be achieved and sustained for 2 years)

The 3 compliance levels are explained as follows:

PRIMARY COMPLIANCE

Primary compliance is the “policy” part of compliance. To attain primary compliance, APD must have in place operational policies and procedures designed to guide officers, supervisors and managers in the performance of the tasks outlined in the CASA. As a matter of course, the policies must be reflective of the requirements of the CASA; must comply with national standards for effective policing policy; and must demonstrate trainable and evaluable policy components.

SECONDARY COMPLIANCE

Secondary compliance is attained by implementing supervisory, managerial and executive practices designed to and be effective in implementing the policy as written, e.g., sergeants routinely enforce the policies among field personnel and are held accountable by managerial and executive levels of the department for doing so. By definition, there should be operational artifacts such as reports, disciplinary records, remands to retraining, follow-up, and even revisions to policies if necessary, indicating that the policies developed in the first stage of compliance are known to, followed by, and important to supervisory and managerial levels of the department.

 OPERATIONAL COMPLIANCE

Operational compliance is attained at the point that the adherence to policies is apparent in the day-to-day operation of the agency e.g., line personnel are routinely held accountable for compliance, not by the monitoring staff, but by their sergeants, and sergeants are routinely held accountable for compliance by their lieutenants and command staff. In other words, the APD “owns” and enforces its policies.

Operational Compliance is considered the most difficult to implement and achieve. The 15^th and 16^th  reports released in 2022 saw significant gains in Operational Compliance but the 17^th  has brought APD  the closest it has ever been to full compliance with 92% reported and with 95% needed to be achieved and sustained for 2 years in all 3 compliance levels.

PROVISIONS AGREED TO FOR TERMINATION

The terminations agreed to between the DOJ and the city include  the Multi-Agency Task Force, which investigates police shootings; policies and training for specialized tactical and investigative units; and the public’s knowledge of how to file complaints, among other portions of the CASA.

If the joint motion filed by DOJ and city of Albuquerque is approved by U.S. District Judge James Browning who is overseeing the case the monitoring and oversight of those sections will fall squarely  to APD.

REACTIONS TO AGREEMENT

APD Chief Harold Medina had this to say about the agreement:

“The fact is we have now been in compliance with these sections for years, and I’m glad to see them finally taken out of the consent decree. … It shouldn’t take years to acknowledge we are in compliance with the rest of the agreement. We are committed to reform and we have shown we can self-monitor.”

Mayor Tim Keller had this to say:

“This should put to rest concerns about APD’s ability to self-monitor and continue the reform process past federal oversight. … APD is proving the department is ready to institutionalize constitutional policing and ongoing reform on its own. Going forward, we need to push past the piecemeal approval process and focus on the future beyond the CASA.”

Paul Killebrew, Deputy Chief over the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division cautioned that even if  APD  reaches  full compliance with all paragraphs of the CASA and all 3 of the compliance levels, APD will still  have to sustain that compliance for full  two years delaying the dismissal. Killebrew estimated that could happen by 2026, which would be 12 years into the department’s reform effort.

The links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/doj-city-of-albuquerque-agree-to-terminate-portions-of-police-reform-settlement-agreement/article_6e3b1a30-75d8-11ee-b0cb-e3894d6df740.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-motion-terminate-parts-doj-settlement/45669584

AGREEMENT TO SUSPEND 25% OF CASA MONITOTING

It was on July 27, 2022, the Albuquerque Police Department and the U.S. Department of Justice announce  agreed to suspend several paragraphs of the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA.) According to APD, the agreement “essentially removes about a quarter of oversight requirements.” The city reached an agreement with the DOJ to suspend the monitoring of upwards of 25% of the paragraphs in the CASA. Those paragraphs have all been in operational compliance for more than 5 years.  Under the stipulated agreement between the City and the DOJ, the city is now self-monitor 62 paragraphs of the CASA.  APD and DOJ representatives solidified the partial oversight requirement suspension during a virtual hearing on July 26. The changes went into effect on August 1 of this year.

Under the stipulated agreement between the City and the DOJ, the city will now self-monitor 62 paragraphs of the CASA. According to a news release, APD said the following areas have maintained operation compliance:

• Establishing and participating in the Multi-Agency Task Force, which investigates shootings and other critical incidents by law enforcement
  • Developing policies, training and ways to track deployments for specialized units, including the SWAT team, canine unit and bomb squad, and specialized investigative units
  • Providing behavioral health training for cadets, officers and telecommunicators
  • Revising the field training program for new officers
  • Publishing information on how people can make complaints to the Civilian Police Oversight Agency
  • Developing recruitment plans, an objective system for hiring practices and fair practice for promotions
  • Offering officer assistance and support, especially for mental health

REFORMS ACHIEVED UNDER THE CASA

On November 16 , 2023, it was  a full 9 years that has expired since the city entered into the CASA with the DOJ. It was originally agreed that implementation of all the settlement terms would be completed within 4 years, but because of previous delay and obstruction tactics found by the Federal Monitor by APD management and the police officers’ union as well as APD backsliding in implementing the reforms, it has taken another  5 years to get the job done. Now after almost 9 full years, the federal oversight and the CASA have produced results.

Reforms achieved under the CASA can be identified and are 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, funded, fully staffed and a director was hired.
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 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.
18. APD has attained a 100% Primary Compliance rate, a 99% Secondary Compliance rate and a 92% Operational Compliance rate.

CITY NAMES NEW POLICE REFORM TEAM

On November 17,  Mayor Tim Keller announce he has hired a 3 member monitoring team that will oversee the APD Police Reforms and continue to do so once the city reaches full compliance in the Court Approved Settlement Agreement. The three hires announced are:

• Former Metropolitan Court Judge Sharon Walton, who served for almost two decades, will be the monitor of police training;
• Former Metro Judge Victor Valdez, who was previously superintendent of police reform, will serve as monitor of discipline and misconduct; and
• Retired Las Vegas, Nevada, police undersheriff Christopher Darcy will be monitor of Use of Force.

It was also announced Eric Garcia, who had served as Deputy Chief of Police and Interim Superintendent of Police reform, will now permanently fill the position of Superintendent of Police reform.

The 3 will be contract employees and the total of the 3 contracts will be $288,000 with the contracts to run  provided the contracts for through June 30,  2024 and subject to possible renewal.

Christopher Darcy will be paid $98,000 for “training and consulting services for de-escalation of officer-involved shootings.” Former Metro Judges Victor  Valdez and Sharon Walton will be paid $95,000 each for “development of policies and procedures.”  According to Mayor Tim Keller, the team’s contracts for the team, which he and his administration chose, are “narrowly tailored” to avoid conflicts of interest.

Keller said he chose two the former Metro Court judges due to their decades of experience in local criminal justice and a use of force expert in Darcy for “an external perspective.” Garcia, as a sworn officer in the role of superintendent, will be responsible for training, policy and discipline.

The 3 member monitoring team does not replace nor work in conjunction with the federal monitoring team, headed by Independent Monitor James Ginger, which is overseeing the city’s reform effort in its Court-Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA) with the DOJ. Mayor Tim Keller said this about the newly appointed monitoring team:

“One of the reasons why we got into the CASA in the first place was because the department was not doing internal reform and monitoring. And so in a way, it’s like preventing a CASA down the road. … And so had we had this set up, I think everyone agrees, we would have never needed the CASA in the first place. So for us, this is really for the future, at least decades, hopefully, of our Albuquerque police department so that we can learn from our mistakes and hold ourselves accountable.”

Daniel Williams, policing policy analyst with the American Civil Liberties Union of New Mexico, said the CASA had brought about “real advancements toward constitutional policing.” Williams added this:

“But the lived experience of many in our community shows that the much-needed work of reform is far from over. …We welcome any meaningful steps the city and APD are taking toward long-term, sustained reform and hope that this internal monitoring will provide objective, rigorous oversight that our community can rely on.”

The monitoring team’s appointment comes as the city anticipates an end to the CASA after reaching 94% operational compliance in Ginger’s latest report, which was released this month. Once 95% operational compliance is reached, a threshold set from the beginning, the city will then be required to sustain compliance for two years to end the CASA.

The city and Albuquerque Police Department have made sizable progress in checking off CASA requirements since late 2021, after a period of backsliding and turmoil, and more recently are self-monitoring many of the requirements.

May0r Keller said the monitoring team’s duties and responsibilities are modeled after the Federal Court Appointed monitoring team that has overseen the reform process over the last 9 years. Keller said that in appointing the monitor team, “we decided to own it for ourselves, our way,” but noted it couldn’t have happened without the CASA.

“This now sets us up going forward to not have the consent decree, and to not have a monitor, and to still demonstrate a commitment to real reform.”

Links to the quoted news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/city-unveils-new-monitoring-team-over-albuquerque-police-reforms/article_102b6df4-8597-11ee-9d44-b7622f9fc1e4.html

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-creates-monitoring-team-for-police-reform/45879728

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/civilian-oversight-team-to-monitor-apd-going-forward/

CONCLUSION

Given the extent of the compliance levels, the work of the Federal Monitor can be said to be winding down and coming to an end.  The city should seek to negotiate a stipulated dismissal of the case with the Department of Justice (DOJ) sooner rather than later.  Should the DOJ refuse, the City Attorney should move to immediately to dismiss the case under the termination and suspension provisions of the CASA by filing a Motion to Dismiss the case and force the issue with an evidentiary hearing and let the assigned federal judge decide the issue of dismissal.

Links to related blog articles are here:

APD Projected To Be In Full Compliance With DOJ Consent Decree By Year’s End; Compliance Reached In 215 Of 238 CASA Terms And Reforms; Over 9 Years ABQ Has Become More Violent City Resulting  In More Officer Involved Shootings; Negotiate Dismissal Of CASA By Year’s End

City Proclaims “End in Sight” For Court Approve Settlement Agreement; City And DOJ Agree To Suspend Monitoring 25% Of Settlement; Sergeants and Lieutenants Remain Weak Leak In CASA Enforcement

On Monday, November 20, the Albuquerque City Council voted 7-2 in favor of a 30 year lease of city own land at Balloon Fiesta Park to build a $30 Million privately funded multi-use stadium for New Mexico United Soccer Team. Voting YES were Democrat City Councilors Pat Davis, Isaac Benton, Tammy Feibelkorn, Klarisa Pena, Louis Sanchez and Republican City Councilors Dan Lewis and Trudy Jones.  Voting NO were Republican City Councilors Renée Grout and Brooke Bassan.

The 30 year lease was negotiated by the Mayor Tim  Keller Administration.  The lease was introduced to the city council on Monday, Oct. 2, 2023 and on October 16, the lease was to be voted upon by the Albuquerque City Council.  The Council deferred the vote for a full month because it was “uncomfortable” with the one-week rush job by Mayor Tim Keller to get it approved. The Council considered deferring the vote until after the new City Council is sworn in on January 1 with 3 new councilors, but opted to defer the vote one month until a ruling by the Environmental Planning Commission (EPC).

On Thursday, November 16, the Albuquerque Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) held  a hearing regarding making zoning changes to the master plan and site plan so that City Council could approve, deny or defer the lease and it voted to approve the zone changes on  8 to 1 vote. The EPC  considered the environmental impacts of the stadium to surrounding area taking into account such factors as lighting, noise, traffic and parking and found that the stadium would not have a detrimental impact.

The city of Albuquerque intends to lease a mere 7  of 365 acres of Balloon Fiesta Park to New Mexico United. Early renderings of the facility considered by the City Council and the EPC are of  a 185,000 square foot facility that could house up to 11,000 people, which is slightly smaller than Isotopes Park where the team currently plays. New Mexico United is expected to host 17 games a year, but not during the Balloon Fiesta. City leaders say the stadium would be used for other events as well.

Upwards of 100 people sign up to speak at the November 20 city council meeting, mostly those in favor of the lease and building the Stadium with many attendees being soccer players dress in their United uniforms. Although some neighbors to the park came out to support the stadium, others said they were concerned about light and noise pollution from the construction and building, They expressed frustration  with a lack of communication about the proposed project.

SUPPORT EXPRESSED

Carlos Tenorio II, the president of the Curse, an official support group of New Mexico United,  spoke in favor of the lease and said this:

“It would mean a lot to the team, but it would mean a lot to the community. Look at it more as a communal ground. Isotopes Park is a great example, it’s a family friendly entertainment, a good time at the ballpark. You’ll see the same at the New Mexico United match.”

Sean Sheehan, the owner of Sheehan Winery, also spoke in favor of the lease and said this:

“I think that New Mexico United is going to allow us to move forward as a state and city. It’s a collaboration between soccer and local businesses and I think that the more that we can bring those two things together, the more we can be more successful as a community.”

OPPOSTION EMERGES

Notwithstanding all the support expressed, there were those that did express major concern if not outright opposition to the stadium.

Some hot air balloon pilots spoke to the media in opposition to the stadium.  Scott Appelman, president & CEO of Rainbow Ryders, Albuquerque’s largest balloon ride operator during the Balloon Fiesta suspects adding a stadium into the mix will only bring new problems. Appelman said this:

“I am highly skeptical, exceptionally concerned and protective of the future of Balloon Fiesta. … I think you need to pump the brakes and get the details out. … I’m really concerned with how fast all of this is coming about. I just don’t understand the wisdom. I don’t trust how this is all coming about in the last six months. You’re taking 7 acres out of an area, that has about 16 parking spots, and it will decrease the number of parking spots by several hundred. … I don’t feel, until there is a firm plan and understanding of what exactly is going on, that this should be approved. … I haven’t seen where any real agreements have been made with like, what is Balloon Fiesta Park gonna get? …  I personally believe that this will be one more nail in the coffin for what Fiesta looks like, compared to what it used to look like.” 

The Keller Administration made it clear the proposed stadium will be located behind a set of power lines that already restrict balloon traffic, and there are plans to add more parking.

Barbara Bloomingfield, who spoke to the council during the meeting, spoke against the stadium and said this:

“A no vote is not a vote against United, but simply a vote against a poorly drafted lease and it’s terms. … The city, if it’s determined to enter into this action, can rethink and redo this deal and return with something that does not have the effect of this lease.”

REACTION TO CITY COUNCIL LEASE APPROVAL

Mayor Tim Keller after the voted said in a statement:

“Scoring a pro soccer stadium in Albuquerque is a big win for families. … We listened to voters, worked together, and now the ultimate goal is one step closer to being realized.”

United owner and President Peter Trevisani said this in a statement after the vote:

“We are excited that the Council has approved a lease that allows New Mexico United to move forward with the construction of a privately funded stadium that will be for all New Mexicans. … We still have a lot of work to do, and are honored to represent our incredible state. Somos Unidos.”

New Mexico United Chief Business Officer Ron Patel had this to say:

“… [The lease is]  a step in the right direction. We truly believe it is a win-win for the city of Albuquerque, for its residents, and for New Mexico United. We want to be very sensitive to the people who live around Balloon Fiesta Park, knowing that any kind of facility is going to affect the people that live around there. … While this is a privately funded project, it’s not being paid for by the taxpayers. It’s being paid for by private owners. We do look at this as a community asset. This should belong to the community even though the community doesn’t have to pay for it.”

Links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/city-council-to-vote-on-new-mexico-united-stadium-proposal-during-monday-meeting/

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-united-stadium-balloon-fiesta-park/45898158

https://www.krqe.com/sports/local-sports/with-lease-agreement-for-new-mexico-united-stadium-approved-whats-next/

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/new-mexico-united-scores-balloon-fiesta-park-lease-agreement-at-city-council/article_d1be0df4-8831-11ee-b1de-0b33e8cf0ea4.html

TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF LEASE

The New Mexico United lease approved by the city council  was negotiated by the Keller Administration.  It is a take it or leave it approval without negotiation of terms the City Council may want.  Now that the lease has been approved by the City Council, construction for the new stadium can begin within 90 days.

The lease term will be for an initial period of 30 years with the option to renew and extensions for two 15-year terms which means the lease could be for a full 60 years. Ron Patel, chief business officer at New Mexico United, said the team plans to build an 8,000- to 10,000-seat stadium.

The lease agreement contains the following terms and conditions:

• Seven acres of land, which is currently for parking at the park, will be leased by United New Mexico for $35,000 a year with a 2% rent increase each year.
• United will pay the city 10% of revenue from parking fees it charges.
• United New Mexico must initially invest at least $30 million of private funds to design and build the stadium.
• The city is obligated under the lease to build certain features that remain open to the public during Balloon Fiesta, including shade areas and public restrooms.
• United will not be allowed to host games during the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
• The planned stadium will not interfere with ballooning in the area.
• The city will be able to use the stadium 10 days a year for free.
• United would retain all other revenues generated from the stadium, and from naming rights, sponsorships, advertising, tickets, merchandise, games and other events, while taking on all costs to operate the stadium and parking at all times. United would pay its own utility costs. The city would get its own box or cabana or a specialized seating area.
• At the end of the lease, New Mexico United is obligated to sell the stadium for $1 to the city of Albuquerque, unless the lease is extended by mutual agreement.

Last month, a spokesperson for New Mexico United said details about the design, size or cost are yet to be determined. The city will not be involved with the stadium design.  The approved lease outlines construction to begin  around the end of September 2024. The ultimate goal is to have the stadium ready by kickoff for their 2026 season.  New Mexico United owner Peter Trevisani said this:

“We have done some renderings, we needed to see what a site could look like to make sure it fit in with everyone’s plans: our plans, the city’s plans, Balloon Fiesta’s plans. It’s something that actually was symbiotic with the neighborhoods so putting it in a place that kept light to a minimum, reduced noise, kept it as low level as possible. … Our season generally starts off in March, and our goal is in March of 2026 to have our first game be at this facility.”

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Voters and the citizens of Albuquerque can take some comfort with the fact that the lease was approved on a 7 to 2 bi-partisan vote.  In approving the lease on a 7 to 2 vote, the council set aside the hostility the conservative majority has towards Mayor Tim Keller and his attempted rush job to have the council approve the lease within one week of its introduction.

It was Mayor Tim Keller who called a press conference on Friday, September 29, to announce that the City of Albuquerque was going  to enter into the lease and he wanted the City council to approve it within days.  The blunt truth is that the press conference was so typical of Keller’s publicity seeking ways.  It came as a surprise to United New Mexico, the Albuquerque City Council and the Balloon Fiesta Board of Directors for the reason that Keller made the announcement all by his lonesome self, even clean shaven and wearing a suit and tie for a change, in order to take full credit for the lease.

After Keller’s  photo, solo press conference, City Councilor Pat Davis was interviewed by video conference call, soccer team owner Peter Trevisani was tracked down by one station for an interview and the Balloon Fiesta public relations spokesperson  was relegated to issuing a statement. Keller also made it a point to say at his press conference  “it’s mostly out of my hands” to peremptorily lay any and all blame on the City Counsel when United soccer fans become enraged if the lease was not approved all the while Keller took  credit for the lease.

The problem is that we have a mayor who always feels he has to be the absolute center of attention. Keller has a very bad habit of jumping the gun on projects he considers are his legacy projects that will benefit him politically. He refuses to confer with stakeholders to build a consensus to get things done, especially with the city council who he has alienated repeatedly.

Least anyone forget, it was Mayor Tim Keller who made a major mistake when he tried to get a soccer stadium built when he first asked voters to approve $60 million in bonds to pay for downtown stadium. It was embarrassingly rejected by voters with a landslide vote. United Soccer Team owners for their part spent $1 Million on an ad campaign promoting the bonds. Soccer team owners learned their lesson with the election loss and came with an alternative plan for private financing and listened intently rather than trying to shove a plan for a  taxpayer funded stadium down  people’s throats.

WORK STILL REMAINS TO BE DONE ON LEASE TERMS

The Albuquerque City Council approving the  lease was  absolutely crucial for the continued existence of the New Mexico United Soccer team in Albuquerque. The USL Championship, the league in which United competes, has mandated that its franchises have permanent soccer-only stadium arrangements in place by 2026. Franchises unable to secure stadium deals will likely be relocated or forced to fold, as USLC member San Diego Loyal did at the end of the 2023 season. The soccer team currently plays home matches at Isotopes Park under a sub-lease arrangement. That agreement runs through next season but will not serve as a long-term solution.

The proposed lease is a classic public/private partnership that is often used and that can be a big win-win proposition and go along ways to build a facility the city actually needs that will enhance the city’s quality of life. The best example that already exists of such a facility is the Isotopes Park, a city owned facility rented to a professional sports team.

Notwithstanding the City Council approval, there a few concerns that still need to be addressed in the lease by the Keller Administration because the lease was  presented to the city council as a take it or leave it proposition.  Those concerns that can be addressed with and addendum to the lease include the following:

United will retain all revenues generated from use of the stadium for other types of events without clarification what those events would include, which presumably will include using it as an entertainment venue for concerts and entertainment events. There is no mention of securing city approval of other type of events or of other uses nor the stadium being allowed be “sub leased” to other tenants requiring city approval to generate income with the city sharing in the income from other events.

Although Mayor Keller claims the City will not fund the stadium’s construction, the City website states that “the State has provided capital to the City of Albuquerque for infrastructure improvements that will provide needed upgrades at Balloon Fiesta Park.”  The stadium is not an upgrade to the park and the question that needs to be answered is can the funding be diverted to an unrelated construction project or facility lease should contain specific provisions that the Soccer Team will assume any and all costs for future improvements or remodeling to the facility without any city funding.

The lease should make it clear that in any event New Mexico United Soccer becomes dissatisfied with the location and seeks to move on to another community or state, it cannot simply sublease the stadium usage to another team or franchise for the remaining lease term and the original 30 year lease between the city and United becomes null and void with stadium ownership reverting to the city in full.

With any luck, Mayor Tim Keller will get motivated and ask for the additional terms so that way he can call another press conference and take all the credit.

On Thursday, November 16, the Albuquerque Environmental Planning Commission (EPC) approved the proposal for a privately funded multi-use stadium at Balloon Fiesta Park which is City owned land. The vote was 8 to 1 for approval.  The EPC is required to consider the environmental impacts to surrounding areas of such major construction projects and must take in  such factors as lighting, noise, traffic and parking.

On November 20,  the Albuquerque City Council is scheduled to vote on the lease agreement at its regularly scheduled meeting which will be held at City Hall council chambers beginning  at 5 p.m. The Council orginally scheduled final approval of the lease last month but decided to defer the to deliberate futher and allow the EPC to take action and make its recommendations.

United officials said the EPC  vote was a step toward gaining final Albuquerque City Council approval for the stadium project. Councilors last month deferred a decision in order to get questions answered and “feel more comfortable” with the proposed lease agreement. United Director of Communications David Wiese-Carl said this:

“Hopefully the EPC review answers some of those questions. … We feel like this was a big, big step. …

Wiese-Carl also said meetings with neighborhood residents and Balloon Fiesta officials will continue if the project is approved and said this once the leas is approved:

“That’s when the fun part begins in terms of designing the stadium and making it something everyone can be proud of. … Even if the City Council passes the proposal, our work with the neighborhoods and community members is not done. It’s just getting started.”

United Owner/President/CEO Peter Trevisani for his part  said the club has been meeting with neighbors, Balloon Fiesta and city officials to build consensus on the project and minimize potential environmental and neighborhood issues. He said the EPC’s vote is a reflection of those meetings. Trevisani said this in a statement:

“The Commission’s recognition of that hard work is an indication that this project truly serves all of New Mexico.”

The link to quoted news source material  is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/united-soccer-stadium-proposal-clears-hurdle-goes-to-city-council-for-monday-vote/article_942635c2-84e2-11ee-b1c1-d3915aaf4cae.html

TERMS AND CONDTIONS OF LEASE

The Unites New Mexico lease was negotiated by the Keller Administration It’s a take it or leave it approval without negotiation of terms the City Council may want.  If the lease is approved by the City Council, construction for the new stadium can  begin within 90 days.

The lease term will be for an initial period of 30 years with the option to renew and extensions for two 15-year terms which means the lease could be for a full 60 years.

The lease agreement contains the following terms and conditions:

• Seven acres of land, which is currently for parking at the park, will be leased by United New Mexico for $35,000 a year with a 2% rent increase each year.
• United will pay the city 10% of revenue from parking fees it charges.
• United New Mexico must initially invest at least $30 million of private funds to design and build the stadium.
• The city is obligated under the lease to build certain features that remain open to the public during Balloon Fiesta, including shade areas and public restrooms.
• United will not be allowed to host games during the annual Albuquerque International Balloon Fiesta
• The planned stadium  will not interfere with ballooning in the area.
• The city will be able to use the stadium 10 days a year for free.
• United would retain all other revenues generated from the stadium, and from naming rights, sponsorships, advertising, tickets, merchandise, games and other events, while taking on all costs to operate the stadium and parking at all times. United would pay its own utility costs. The city would get its own box or cabana or a specialized seating area.
• At the end of the lease, New Mexico United is obligated to sell the stadium for $1 to the city of Albuquerque, unless the lease is extended by mutual agreement.

Last month, a spokesperson for New Mexico United said details about the design, size or cost are yet to be determined. The city will not be involved with the stadium design.

At the September 29  press conference announcing the lease, Mayor Tim Keller said this:

“We’re using state money, federal money, and existing money that we had to do the utilities, the earthwork, the electrical work that it takes to put in the stadium. … We mostly had to do that anyway because we want to do those improvements at the Balloon Fiesta that have to do with Vendors Row. … Now it’s real. And, now, it’s also mostly out of my hands. …

This is going to be a private stadium, and so what we have allowed for in the lease agreement is roughly ten days where the city can use it for city events. … We have also built into this lease agreement, by request, that it be used and available for soccer championships.  … [The lease] also means bathrooms. …We might actually have permanent bathrooms at Balloon Fiesta Park.”

On October 2, in an interview with the Albuquerque Journal, Trevisani said United has not finalized plans for a potential Balloon Fiesta Park stadium, including its initial size and even whether the playing surface would be grass or artificial turf.  Trevisani said this:

“I think the City Council has been great along the way. … I’m not a politician, but I truly believe they want to make Albuquerque the best version of itself possible. This is not a red-blue issue — it’s not even a red-green issue. This is about building a stadium with private funding that makes the city better. I think it’s a win-win.”

On other issues in an Albuquerque Journal interview relating to the stadium, Trevisani said this:

HIGH SCHOOL SOCCER GAMES AT THE STADIUM:

“We want to have high school games. There are things in (the lease agreement) that call for that, things that benefit United and things that benefit the city and Balloon Fiesta Park, including us not playing games during Balloon Fiesta and hosting high school games at the stadium.”

HOW A STADIUM WOULD FIT INTO THE BALLOON FIESTA PARK AREA:

“Working with Balloon Fiesta has been amazing. We’ve found that working together can be collaborative. They’re lacking things like bathrooms and water hookups, which this will address. … We want the stadium to help the area develop in a way that’s respectful to the neighbors and businesses who are there now.”’

NATURAL GRASS VERSUS ARTIFICIAL TURF:

“My heart says grass, my wallet says turf. Everyone likes playing on grass, but there’s a balance to consider because we want to have women’s games and high school games and you can’t play on grass every day. There’s also the expense of watering to consider. We’ll probably make that decision as late in the process as possible.”

BRINGING A WOMEN’S PROFESSIONAL SOCCER TEAM TO ALBUQUERQUE:

“We have to bring forward a women’s team. Exactly what level that will be initially, we’ll see. But I know in my heart of hearts we will have a women’s team with New Mexico on its jerseys. We can’t have that now because of space and scheduling at Isotopes Park. A new stadium makes it possible.”

The link to the quoted news source is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/now-its-real-lease-agreement-puts-united-soccer-stadium-at-balloon-fiesta-park-a-step/article_483d36e2-5f17-11ee-8af8-6bf74e6e6b79.html#tncms-source=home-featured-7-block

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

The Albuquerque City Council approving the lease is absolutely crucial for the continued existence of the New Mexico United Soccer team in Albuquerque.  The soccer team currently plays home matches at Isotopes Park under a sub-lease arrangement. That agreement runs through next season but will not serve as a long-term solution.

The USL Championship, the league in which United competes, has mandated that its franchises have permanent soccer-only stadium arrangements in place by 2026. Franchises unable to secure stadium deals will likely be relocated or forced to fold, as USLC member San Diego Loyal did at the end of the 2023 season.

The proposed lease is a classic public/private partnership that is often used and that can be a big win-win proposition and go along ways to build a facility the city actually needs that will enhance the city’s quality of life. The best example that already exists of such a facility is the Isotopes Park, a city owned facility rented to a professional sports team.

Ultimately, the City Council should approve the lease, but the question raised is should it be the current city council with 3 outgoing city councilors or the new council that will be sworn in on January 1 with 3 new  city councilors?  The regular 2023 municipal election to elect City Councilors for City Council Districts 2, 4, 6, and 8 was  held on November 7, 2023. A runoff is now scheduled for December 12 between Progressive Democrat Nichole Rogers  and Progressive Democrat Jeff Hoehn is scheduled for December 12. Three new city councilors will assume office on January 1, 2024. The current city council could once again defer the final vote on the lease until the new council is sworn in. Deferral until the new city council is sworn in would allow time to negotiate more additions and the needed changes to the lease.  It is the new City Council that will have to deal with any problems associated with the lease, so it would be reasonable to let the new City Council vote on it.

The reason for further deferral is that there a few concerns that still need to be addressed in the lease by the City Council:

The lease is being presented to the city council as a take it or leave it proposition without allowing negotiation of additional terms the council may want under the lease as written.  United will retain all revenues generated from use of the stadium for other types of events without clarification what those events would include, which presumably will include using it as an entertainment venue for concerts and entertainment events. There is no mention of securing city approval of other type of events or of other uses nor the stadium being allowed be “sub leased” to other tenants requiring city approval to generate income with the city sharing in the income from other events.

Although Mayor Keller claims the City will not fund the stadium’s construction, the City website states that “the State has provided capital to the City of Albuquerque for infrastructure improvements that will provide needed upgrades at Balloon Fiesta Park.”  The stadium is not an upgrade to the park and the question that needs to be answered is can the funding be diverted to an unrelated construction project or facility? The lease should also contain specific provisions that the Soccer Team will assume any and all costs for future improvements or remodeling to the facility without any city funding.

The Keller Administration has yet to explain why Balloon Fiesta Park for the new Soccer Stadium. There are other city owned lands that could just as easily be used for the new soccer stadium. Good examples include the decommissioned south runway at the Sunport or an underutilized golf course.

Links to related blog articles are here:

On October 16 Lame Duck City Council Scheduled To Vote To Approve 30 To 60 Year Lease Of 7 Acres of Balloon Fiesta Park To New Mexico United Soccer Team To Build Privately Funded $30 Million Soccer Stadium; Concerns That Should Be Addressed By Council Before Approval

 

Mayor Keller Seeks City Council Approval Of 30 To 60 Year Lease Of 7 Acres of Balloon Fiesta Park To New Mexico United Soccer Team To Build Privately Funded $30 Million Soccer Stadium; Keller’s Rush Job For City Council Approval By A Lame Duck City Council; It’s Always About Keller’s Legacy Projects     

 

Isaac and Sharon Eastvold are long time community activists and the founders or Fair Heights Neighborhood Association which they help found on October 11, 1993.  Both have been residents of City Council District 7 since its inception and residents of City Council District 5 which became District 7 because of redistricting. They have also been members of the Neighborhood Stormwater Drainage Management Team since May 31,  2021.  Isaac and Sharon Eastvold were the founding members of the Friends of the Albuquerque Petroglyphs (FOTAP) which was instrumental in securing city council and community support for the establishment of the Petroglyph National Monument on June 27, 1990.  Isaac and Sharon Eastvold submitted the following guest column for publication on www.PeteDinelli.com

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER: The opinions expressed in this guest column by Isaac and Sharon Eastvold  are those of the Eastvolds  and do not necessarily reflect those of the www.petedinelli.com blog. The Eastvolds have  not paid for and has not been paid any compensation to publish their  guest column and they  have  given their consent to publish on www.PeteDinelli.com as a public service announcement especially to the residents and voters of District 7 to enlighten them on what is going on in District 7.

 “Many people don’t know that the older neighborhoods in the northeast heights were built out without the storm drains people are used to seeing along curbs. Instead, the City directed stormwater flows to be carried by gravity on streets which eventually lead to very large stormwater main drains buried under arterials. Because of the toxic, chemical and biological contents, these stormwaters needed to be taken out of the human environment and treated elsewhere. Until recently, the City website referred to these stormwaters as “sewerage.” This essay will serve as an alarm to alert older neighborhoods of how their outdated stormwater needs may be manipulated to their detriment.

 As a case in point, here is a sad template of how this manipulation can occur. Historically, the neighborhoods on both sides of San Pedro north of Lomas, the much larger Mark Twain neighborhood on the east and Fair Heights on the west (name later changed to Mile Hi) used Summer to convey their stormwater to main drains: the 4-foot diameter San Pedro drain, and the 8-foot diameter San Mateo drain.

 Mark Twain’s stormwater, which originates at Louisiana, drains through their neighborhood streets to join with Summer and flows westward to its junction with San Pedro. Past City planning had mistakenly allowed the stormwater to flow across San Pedro, causing hydroplaning and the inevitable vehicle accidents. Then it entered Fair Heights on Summer, exacerbating existing stormwater flows in that neighborhood which had not been analyzed by the City.

 In 2007, leaders in Fair Heights asked the City for help. Their hydrology specialists did careful calculations of the stormwater flows coming from Louisiana through Mark Twain to San Pedro. Then they used those calculations to engineer a stormwater drain which would splice Mark Twain’s stormwater where it belonged, into the San Pedro 4-foot main drain. This intercepted the large amount of stormwater coming from Louisiana and fixed the original Mark Twain neighborhood problem which dated back to the 1950s. The cost to the City for the project was only $44,000.00.

This was a perfect example of how these “older on-street drainage systems” can be fixed economically with good work using the same common sense approach that was used to fix Mark Twain. We think you will agree, after reading the sad chronicle of complications below, and ballooning of costs, that really the best solution at this time, would be the original approach.

ACTIONS BY DISTRICT 7 CITY COUNCILORS DIANE GIBSON AND HER SUCCESSOR TAMMY FIEBELCORN

SPOILER ALERT: now things begin to get really complicated.

Instead of using this common sense approach, City Councilors Gibson and Fiebelcorn, together with their policy analysts turned our problem over to the City on-call engineering firm Bohannan Houston, Inc. (BHI)

First, Council Special Projects Manager, Diane Dolan, added another contractor we had never heard of, GroundWorkStudio, in an initial $40,000 subcontract through BHI. Many of our residents are elderly or retired and are not used to following complicated issues on line. GroundWorkStudio has become the on-line publishing arm of BHI. BHI recently published some of their arguments for this project on the GroundWorkStudio website; six pages when printed. This was added to an already large volume on the “Green Stormwater Infrastructure” (GSI) project.

 https://gws.mysocialpinpoint.com/pueblo-alto-mile-hi

Factual evidence, and even petitions submitted by residents have been stubbornly ignored or summarily dismissed. It seems we can not get Councilor Fiebelcorn into a rational dialog. She does not return phone calls from leaders working on the stormwater issue.

Second, as another complication, Councilors Gibson, Fiebelcorn, and Ms. Dolan, decided to splice Mile Hi neighborhood into a $1.5 Million GO bond. This was left over from the City and AMAFCA’s (Albuquerque Metropolitan Flood Control Authority) failure to inflict a huge stormwater drainage pit into the beautiful Twin Parks, west of San Mateo. Volunteers in that area, particularly the McDuffy and Pueblo Alto neighborhoods, took three actions to counter the City and AMAFCA to save their park:

1) they formed the “Friends of Twin Parks,”

2) identified engineering expertise as well as,

3) legal council.

With all this organized opposition, the City pulled back their assault on Twin Parks, leaving $1.5 million unspent.

Third, Ms. Dolan insisted that stormwater from Mile Hi neighborhood was somehow contributing to Pueblo Alto neighborhood’s flooding, which it definitely is not. Mile Hi stormwater is collected from our on-street drainage system in 8 storm drains at Madeira and El Encanto, just east of San Mateo. From there it flows under the San Mateo noise wall and is spliced into the 8-foot diameter San Mateo main drain. Also, there is a raised median on San Mateo which prevents surface flows from crossing to Pueblo Alto.

On May 31, 2021, because of the City’s persistent failure to clean out the eight drain intake, our first “monsoon” rain of only one inch of rain, backed up against the San Mateo Noise/Art Wall and then surged underneath into the northbound lane of San Mateo causing one vehicle to hydroplane. To her credit, Policy Analyst for Councilor Gibson, Abby Styles, summoned the Streets and Stormdrain Division of the City Metropolitan Development Department MDD. They came out and unplugged the drains.

During the next two one-inch monsoon rains in July and September of 2021, also of one-inch, the Mile Hi on-street drainage system worked fine. Despite the obvious intervention of City Staff in fixing the May 31st problem, Ms. Dolan and GroundWorkStudio continue to make false statements alleging that the hydroplaning was due to an overflow of the 8-foot San Mateo Main Drain.

 It should be noted that our series of thee one-inch rains in 2021 constituted a relatively mild monsoon season. Since that time, nothing comparable has occurred, mainly because we have entered a new phase of New Mexico climate called climate change. Central New Mexico, including all the Albuquerque metropolitan area, has been classified by meteorological science as having entered drought or severe drought conditions. Although it is very difficult to predict monsoons, as well as “non-soons,” it would be a safe bet to predict continuation of these trends. Obviously, this throws Councilor Fiebelkorn’s hugely expensive GSI project into serious question.

GREEN STORMWATER SCHEME

FIRST, it consists of a series of 9-foot wide pits, of varying lengths, on the sides of neighborhood streets, which many residents would call detention ponds, or mosquito breeding pits. Besides interfering with repairs to water, sewer and fiber optic lines, these pits may remain dry during this new weather paradigm.

SECOND, the GSI swales and bump outs consume a significant part of the standard 32-foot right-of-way for all neighborhood streets. When matched with required residential on-street parking, which also needs 9 feet, this only leaves, a usable street width of 14 feet. Imagine first responders, delivery trucks, home healthcare, Meals on Wheels or normal cars trying to pass in such a restricted right-of-way! This constriction of the right-of-way also endangers bicyclists, dog walkers, handicapped individuals and other pedestrians forced to use the streets for walking due to many driveway cuts on the sidewalks.

ANOTHER COMPLICATION

We must apologize for yet another layer of complication that, unfortunately, continues to be used by the City. AMAFCA had done a study of northeast heights stormwater flows from the southeast at Gibson and Moon, northwest across the Heights to San Mateo. They prognosticated that the drainage system would be over capacity making the main drains inadequate. These conclusions were challenged by engineering expertise within the Pueblo Alto neighborhood.

A report was submitted to the City’s MDD. They never responded. AMAFCA had never done actual measurements to test this northeast heights drainage system during monsoon events that might be similar to their projections. Also, for AMAFCA’s conclusions to be correct, a series of successive, overlapping monsoon storms would need to closely follow each other, like a parade of trained ponies, from the southeast to the northwest across the northeast Heights. This extremely rare event could only be predicted for a 1,000 or even a 5,000 year series of storm events. Computer modeling for such highly unusual cumulative storm events would be unreliable and therefore useless for planning.

 Finally, long-term residents adjoining San Pedro and San Mateo have never, according to our knowledge, reported observing overflow of the main drains. Our Mile Hi on-street drainage system has been working for over 50 years and, like Mark Twain, needed some fixing.

MONEY SPONGE IS DISGUISED AS “SOLUTION”

The City has come up with a hugely expensive, two-part plan that unnecessarily creates more new impacts. Our Mile Hi neighborhood has been arbitrarily classified as a “pilot project” to test this GSI scheme.

 PART ONE: another mind-blowing part of the proposed GSI pilot project for Mile Hi is a shortening, or complete elimination, of a quiet residential street, La Veta NE, between Summer and El Encanto. The original plan to destroy Twin Parks seems to have been reincarnated in this “pilot project.”  Now, it would be to construct a very large detention pit excavated into La Veta NE. They  euphemistically call this a “pocket park.” It seems this plan is replete with euphemisms to mask what’s really going on.

The addition of this detention pit on La Veta has been justified by the City because the AMAFCA study warns against adding any additional stormwater to the main drains. We have seen above how unsubstantiated that claim is.

PART TWO: The costs are ballooning. The first street in Mile Hi to be targeted for funding by the City’s on-call engineering firm, BHI, was Cardenas. They wanted $1.7 million from Federal, State and City sources, for a street that rarely, if ever, sees stormwater over the curb. It was glaringly obvious that our neighborhood, street by street, was intended to become a money sponge.

Special Project Manager, Diane Dolan, sent out grant applications to FEMA and the State Legislature for stormwater funds. FEMA denied the application especially since they were so involved with legitimate disaster relief in Northern NM for floods and fire. The State House Finance Committee denied a Capitol Outlay Request from Representative Christine Trujillo for $1.7 million, giving her instead, a token $100,000. Like FEMA, they also had far more important Statewide needs to address.

Rep. Trujillo has since retired. She told us she had received over 30 messages in support of her $1.7 Million Capital Outlay request, mostly from west of San Mateo. Among those were some that inclined toward personal smears. After submitting a public records request, we were denied copies of these messages. However, we have found this campaign turning toward personal attacks in other documents, including a defamatory statement in the public records of the City Council.

 Around Halloween, we received a creepy visitor. An unfamiliar woman entered our front porch, and without knocking or ringing the doorbell, left an unsigned, unstamped letter in our mailbox. The letter presumably was to request a copy of our most recent informational flyer. In leaving our porch, the woman peered in through our living room window and stared briefly at us. The address on her letter was from the Pueblo Alto neighborhood area.

Our work has been on behalf of the Mile Hi area and has never presumed to speak for any other neighborhoods, including Pueblo Alto or McDuffy. Their stormwater needs are different, and in some parts, more severe than ours. Putting Mile Hi together with Pueblo Alto in the $1.5 Million GO bond and alleging that our stormwater contributed to their problems was a clever way of opening the door to creating a false impression that we might become in conflict with those neighborhoods. We are not.

We did 9 highly targeted public record requests (IPRAs) in order to find out what was really going on. These could have been answered in short responses within statutory time limits. Instead, we were deluged with over 10,000 pieces of information over a period of about three months, thereby violating the State Inspection of Public Records Act mandatory timelines . The requests tried to discover if the City had analyzed any alternatives for the few areas that needed fine tuning in the Mile Hi on-street drainage system. They had not done anything worthy of the name. BHI’s one standard alternative was permeable pavement which is notoriously expensive both in purchase and maintenance.

We also issued our first Action Alert, including some of the above information, and got it distributed to every resident and business within our boundaries.

Since that time, the Mile Hi Neighborhood board has kept their newsletters muted or completely silent on the stormwater issue. Not surprisingly, petitions we circulated to residents living on streets directly affected showed they did not know what was going on, had not been informed, and were alarmed. Everyone supported a full Environmental Analysis with viable alternatives, in an honest review similar to the Federal NEPA process.

Even with these petitions in hand from her own constituents, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn did not change course. It seems as if she may have decided to make this one of her legacy projects. Failing to secure Federal or State monies, she has turned to other options. Plowing ahead, Councilor Fiebelkorn set up a special tour to the so called “pocket park” on La Veta. Those attending were mainly from Bernalillo County and City Parks and Recreation.

Another tedious round of record requests, at a minimum, would be necessary to uncover where Councilor Fiebelkorn and Special Project Manager Diane Dolan are planning to take all this. It is well beyond the time and patience of any neighbor.

EASY MONEY: CITY MUNICIPAL BONDS

Residents in Albuquerque are used to voting on municipal bonds. These are like motherhood and apple pie, and are almost always approved by a majority of voters. Very few voters ever have the patience and time to open the cupboard to see what is inside. Unlike earlier attempts to secure Federal and State funds, which were examined by Congressional and State Legislative committees, these funds simply take the Mayor’s approval together with the Council. City leaders like Ms. Fiebelkorn and Ms. Dolan know that this is a politically safe place to get money, whether justified or not.

This year’s bonds included an unusually large amount for Stormwater/Sewer: $14,310,000.00. Of that, we are informed $2 million will be available this year for Councilor Fiebelkorn to begin her GSI scheme. The on-call consultants BHI and GroundWorkStudio are already working with the Planning Department to prepare a design for the first 30% of the entire project. There will be a public meeting this fall to invite comments and discussion, although there has been no environmental analysis or consideration of viable alternatives. When announced, mark your calendars and please attend!

 DINELLI COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

All voters and residents of District 7 need to pay special attention to how City Councilor Tammy Feibelkorn has treated Isaac and Sharon Eastvold. Having known the couple 38 years, I can say without reservation they truly understand the needs and concerns of District 7.  They have done far more for our community than Fiebelkorn will ever hope to accomplish.

During the two years she has been an Albuquerque City Councilor, Tammy Fiebelkorn has exhibited a pattern of downright hostility towards constituents who oppose or who disagrees with her votes on policy and legislation.  Although known for attending the District 7 Neighborhood Coalition meetings to give updates on what is happening in her district, she repeatedly takes issue with those who disagree with her at the meetings and who ask her to reconsider positions.  She simply refuses to change her mind and then  goes out of her way to offend.  She has told the officers of the District 7 Neighborhood Coalition, which boasts membership of 10 neighborhood associations, that the coalition is not reflective of District 7 needs and concerns.

What is the most troubling is that City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn, in addition to what she is promoting for District 7’s storm drainage system as describe by the Easvold’s, she promotes her own personal agenda with little or no concern and many times no  input for what her constituents really want.

There are 5  major examples of City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkcorn promoting her own personal agenda over the objections of many of her constituents and with little or no input from them:

1. Progressive Democrat Fiebelkorn teamed up with Progressive District 6 City Councilor Pat Davis  to sponsor a City Council Redistricting map that would have gutted both her own District 7 and Davis’s District 6. The redistricting map carved out a large portion of District 7 that was clearly more  conservative in order to add the more progressive Nob Hill area in District 6 to Fiebelkorn’s District 7 in order to enhance her own re election chances. It was classic gerrymandering but the City Council rejected the redistricting.

 

2. Fiebelcorn is a staunch supporter of Safe Outdoor Spaces which are city sponsored managed homeless encampments with 40 designated spaces for tents that allows for upwards of 50 people, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6 foot fencing and social services offered.  She voted for the changes to the city zoning laws that now allow Safe Outdoor Spaces in all 9 City Council Districts. Fiebelkorn  sponsored legislation that failed that would have empowered the City Planning Department to unilaterally approve all Safe Outdoor Space Applications and totally eliminate the public’s right to challenge and appeal the applications and eliminated City Council intervention.

 

3. Fiebelkorn supported and voted for major amendments to the city’s zoning laws that would have allowed the development of both “casitas” and “duplexes” in all existing residential developments and areas of town as permissive uses eliminating historic appeal rights of adjoining property owners in order to double or triple the city’s density. All the amendments to the city zoning laws Fiebelcorn voted for favored developers at the expense of homeowners and especially historical areas of the city.

 

4. Fiebelkorn sponsored the “Residential Protection Ordinance” which was voted down by the city council. The ordinance was nothing more than an attempt at rent control which has been rejected by the New Mexico legislature and which Fiebelcorn unsuccessfully promoted.

 

5. Fiebelkorn sponsored the “Residential Rental Permit Ordinance” which was voted down by the city council. The resolution was an attempt to limit and place caps on ownership of short term rentals and enact regulations of  the “bed and breakfast” rental  industry in the city.

It is more likely than not that Tammy Fiebelkcorn will be seeking a second term to the Albuquerque  City Council in 2025. Informed sources are now saying that dissatisfaction with her has become so great by many of  her District 7 constituents that they are actively seeking a candidate to run against her.

Let’s hope a strong candidate is found. Tammy Fiebelkcorn needs to become a one term city councilor.

 

On October 30, the Albuquerque Office of the Inspector General (OIG) released a scathing 27 page report that found the Mayor Tim Keller Administration had misused taxpayer money to the tune of more than $97,000 to write, edit, print and publish 598 copies of a book entitled  “City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque”.   The book became controversial when released as critics charged that it was nothing more than political propaganda paid for by taxpayers  to promote Mayor Tim Keller and his administration. The book includes a chapter dedicated to Keller called “the Metal Mayor”,  several dozen photos of Keller, and an introduction written by Mayor Keller and a foreword written by his wife Elizabeth J. Kistin Keller as first lady of the city.

You can read the entire 27 page OIG report at this link:

https://www.cabq.gov/inspectorgeneral/documents/22-0189-c-report-of-investigation.pdf/view

The book is  230 pages long and is listed on AMAZON for $19.99 with Joline Gutierrez Krueger identified as the author and a 2.5 star rating out of 5 stars with the following content description:

“As COVID-19 jammed Albuquerque’s famous Route 66, businesses adapted or closed; as case numbers rose, public health needs changed and tensions flared. Add to the long haul of COVID-19 a summer of political unrest, the murder of George Floyd, and protests about historic statues and memorials, and 2020 was one for the books. City at the Crossroads helps preserve the history of pandemic year one in Albuquerque, as journalist Joline Gutierrez Krueger reports on how the city’s government and citizens came together to weather change.”

The Office of inspector General went to far as to label the book “a waste” of taxpayer funds and said this:

“The OIG considered whether it is reasonable to believe, that in the event of another pandemic, someone would seek out and read a book of anecdotal stories as a guide of how to navigate such a crisis. …  Obligating the taxpayer’s monies to fund a book that promoted the administrative achievements during the pandemic and where a calculated value may never be known appears to be a waste.”

The OIG report relies on and quotes and interviews with someone who worked closely on the project. They reportedly told OIG  inspectors:

“The Mayor wanted to document the unprecedented time as City leaders were scrambling to adapt to the pandemic. The idea was to chronicle this event in case another pandemic happens again. People can go back and look at it as a resource, what was useful, and what wasn’t.”

The report did not find enough evidence supporting claims the city violated its purchasing ordinance or the state’s anti-donation clause producing the book.  However, the OIG report suggested evidence of possible favoritism and conflict of interest.

Although a total of 598 copies of the 230 page book were published, as of June 9, almost 500 remained unsold, with some stored in the office of a contractor associated with the book, a few held at city libraries and others still available for purchase at a museum shop. Taking into account the total project costs, the price per book purchased totaled $141.17 each.

Just 91 copies, priced at $19.99 per book on Amazon, were sold directly to consumers. Ten books were sold to the museum for $10 each and at a loss in that the OIG calculated that each book cost $10.25 to print.  According to the OIG report anyone who asked for a copy was given one for free.

Mayor Tim Keller’s name is largely absent from the OIG report, with just 3 mentions of the mayor. The OIG report focused primarily on the costs associated with the project, a lack of documentation of how contractors were chosen and errors in official documentation.

The contractor was identified only as “Employee 1” or E1, in the OIG  report. But in 2022, the Albquerquerqu Journal reported that it was Amanda Sutton who was contracted by the city to work as a project manager for the book and later began working for the city in a permanent capacity. According to her LinkedIn, she started as a “Special Projects Manager” for the city of Albuquerque in July 2022.

Presuming “Employee 1” or “E1” is Amanda Sutton, she was paid $44,190, or $90 per hour, for work on the book, and $5,760 from other projects with the city. “E1” described the writing process as “chaotic,” adding that it was sometimes “unclear on who was directing.”

Besides the misuse of funds, the OIG report found that One Albuquerque Fund’s  in printing and publishing the books was overstated in the memorandum of understanding between the nonprofit and the city. The One Albuquerque Fund is a city endowment fund set up by Keller himself who solicited donations from the private sector to pay for city projects above what is already paid for by the city.

ALBQUERQUE JOUNRAL SUFFERES EMBARASSMENT

The Albuquerque Journal took special interest in the story and suffered an embarrassment when it was revealed that the book was written by none other than longtime Albuquerque Journal columnist Joline Gutierrez Krueger.  It turns out Gutierrez Krueger was paid $44,700, or $60 per hour, by the city of Albuquerque to write the book without her informing the Journal editors nor getting the papers permission. Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Albuquerque Journal which was a violation of the papers policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest. The Journal issued the following statement:

“Gutierrez Krueger contracted with the city while still employed by the Journal, a violation of company policy that prohibits moonlighting for government entities to avoid conflicts of interest.”

But for the fact that Gutierrez Krueger was about to retire, her authorship of the book could have likely been used as grounds for termination by the paper.

Former Journal Editor Karen Moses wrote in a column that the 2018 freelance policy prohibits writing for “any organization or person related to a political party, candidate, or government agency.” Gutierrez Krueger said she was already planning to retire at the time and knew the book would be published after her departure from the Journal. It is more likely than not it was planned that the book would be published after she retired. She said there was a “clear  red line” between her Journal column and the work on the book, which she said was completed on her own time, and she was not in contact with the Mayor’s Office besides interviews.

Gutierrez Krueger said she didn’t think there was a conflict of interest during her time at the Albuquerque Journal. She said she was honored to be selected as the author and bring to light the work public officials took to “keep the city afloat” during the pandemic. Gutierrez Krueger said  she wasn’t interviewed by the OIG, and said the original call for an investigation came from people with “political agendas” which is a not so  suttle reference to Conservative Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis who made a big stink about the book when it first came out and who ran and lost to Keller in a landslide in 2013.

Gutierrez Krueger was is very critical of the OIG report and said she  stands behind the book saying the book was not about Tim Keller. She says it’s instead about people who struggled, like store owners and nurses, during the pandemic.  Gutierrez Krueger said this:

“The OIG report does a disservice to those people. … I think that’s what makes me the saddest, is these are stories, I think, and these are people that should be known by their community. And with this negativity, I worry that, you know, people are going to get the wrong idea of what the book was.  … I never worked directly with the mayor on any of this. He was never… I never, like, sat down with him to discuss what he was envisioning. …  I had to interview him, obviously, for the book because you can’t write a story about the city and not write about the mayor. That’s as far as it went for me. The joy of writing it, for me, was writing these stories. …  I think one of the reasons the book struggled is people made criticisms of the book without reading it.”

Links to quoted and relied upon news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-pandemic-book/45804404

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/city-spent-97k-on-book-about-itself-report-calls-that-a-waste-of-taxpayer-money/article_4fe6b7a6-79b6-11ee-8e2b-9347ec7bcbb6.html

KELLER ADMINISTRATION RESPONDS TO OIG REPORT

Keller Administration officials said the book was not intended to promote the Keller  administration, but to promote “the voices of Albuquerque.” Arts and Culture Director Shelle Sanchez said the department stands by the book, the author and the effort behind it.  Sanchez in a statement about the report said this:

“The Department of Arts & Culture stands behind and supports this book project, the author, and the exceptional effort that went into the book’s creation. Books like this one are important and lasting resources. Arts & Culture regularly publishes or co-publishes books centered on arts, culture, and exceptional times in our city’s history, and we will continue to do so. We strongly object to the Office of Inspector General equating “misuse or waste” with “profit,” as it is inaccurate and misleading.

The OIG does not provide clear or objective evidence to substantiate the allegation of misuse or waste of public funds. The OIG has demonstrated biased behavior, overreach of authority, and failure to adhere to established auditing protocols, raising serious concerns about their impartiality. A recent change to the OIG ordinance has created a structural lack of independence, violates national standards, and has further politicized the office.“

The link to the quoted and relied upon news source is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/report-albuquerque-pandemic-book-wasted-taxpayer-money/

CONSERVATIVE REPUBLICAN CITY COUNCILOR DAN LEWIS REACTS

It was a year ago that Conservative Republican City Councilor Dan  Lewis publicly asked for an investigation into the book to identify if the purchase violated city purchasing rules and regulations and had any public purpose. When the book was released, Lewis said there was evidence of misuse that warranted asking the OIG to investigate.

Lewis issued the following statement about the OIG report:

“The Office of the Inspector General substantiated serious allegations that the Mayor misused and wasted public funds. Among other findings of misuse and waste, the report specifies the City spent more than $97,000 to create a book and sold only 91 copies to the public. The administration does not appear to take the findings seriously when they dismiss this damaging report as “sharing their short book report.”  Unfortunately, the Mayor ignored and ridiculed the investigation. The Inspector General should forward findings to the appropriate law enforcement partner such as the FBI and U.S. Attorneys office.”

The link to the quoted and relied upon news source is here:

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/report-albuquerque-pandemic-book-wasted-taxpayer-money/

Lewis disputed  that his call for an investigation was politically motivated and said it is routine for councilors to refer potential issues to the OIG. Lewis cited the department response characterizing part of the OIG report as a “short book review” as evidence the administration was “mocking” the office.  Lewis said this:

“Maybe this administration would take it seriously [if the FBI or AG investigated]. … I’m just doing my job. … I’m not running for anything.”

LEWIS NOT THE ONLY CRITIC

The Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis  is not the only critic who  noticed how frequently the Mayor Tim Keller  is mentioned in the book. Paul Gessing with  the conservative taxpayer watch dog group Rio Grande Foundation said this:

“I saw a chapter, ‘The Metal Mayor” said Gessing as he flipped  through the book and he said  “There’s the mayor. Yeah. I mean, we’re less than halfway through the book, and he’s already in there about ten or so times… It is a way to promote the mayor. And that’s where we really have a big problem with it.”

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-pandemic-book/45804404

The links to all cited and quoted materials and news sources are here:

https://www.cabq.gov/inspectorgeneral/documents/22-0189-c-report-of-investigation.pdf/view

https://www.abqjournal.com/news/city-spent-97k-on-book-about-itself-report-calls-that-a-waste-of-taxpayer-money/article_4fe6b7a6-79b6-11ee-8e2b-9347ec7bcbb6.html

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/report-albuquerque-pandemic-book-wasted-taxpayer-money/

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-pandemic-book/45804404

https://www.krqe.com/news/politics-government/book-published-by-city-of-albuquerque-is-causing-controversy/

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

It is downright laughable that Conservative Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis says with a straight face “I’m just doing my job. … I’m not running for anything.”  It’s laughable because Lewis, within days after being elected in 2021 to return to the city council, said privately to supporters he is running for Mayor again in 2025. He wants a repeat of his 2013 race against Keller who is likely running for a third term.

Although the Office of Inspector General raised and answered the legitimate question if taxpayer funds were spent appropriately and found it to be a waste of taxpayer money, the OIG still did not find anything illegal ignoring the extent Keller benefited from it personally as politcal promotion. The OIG  went only so far as to make made recommendations to the city on how to tighten up its controls on the city’s purchasing ordinance.

The city’s personnel rules and regulations make it clear that City property may not be used for personal gain nor profit.  If a full-time city employee, not an elected official such as Keller, had used city resources for personal usage or gain, it would have been a violation of the city’s personnel rules and regulations and it would be grounds for termination.  But Keller is the elected Mayor and he is not governed by the city’s personnel rules and regulations like all the other 6,000 city employees and so he gets away with it.

The blunt reality is nothing further is going to happen with the OIG report and no one will be held accountable.   The Keller Administration arrogantly responded that the OIG report “findings were inaccurate, misleading, oversimplification of this investigation”  and further said “We stand behind the book, and we know the IG doesn’t like the book.”

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-city-pandemic-book/45804404

WHITE KNIGHT AGAINST WASTE, FRAUD, AND ABUSE

When Mayor Tim Keller assumed office on December 1, 2017, he instantly began to take photo ops and press conferences to an all-new level by attending protest rallies to speak at, attending marches, attending heavy metal concerts to introduce the band, running in track meets and suiting up as the quarterback to participate in exhibition football games and enjoying reliving his high school glory days, and posting pictures and videos on his FACEBOOK page. He even posts his press conferences on FACEBOOK.

Then in 2021, the pandemic hit the city and hit it hard.  The pandemic turned out to be just another opportunity for Keller to promote himself. During the pandemic, Keller  held weekly press conferences promoting what the city was doing akin to what Governor Lujan Grisham did with the state.  Keller also held “town hall” meetings by phone calling thousands using the 311 frequent citizens contact list orchestrated by his long time pollical consultant  who Keller hired to work for the city 311 citizen contact center paying him $80,000 a year and who reported directly to Keller. Keller  secured funding from the city council to hand out $50,000 in grant checks to small businesses and did so by use of a “drive up service” to give out the checks personally as the TV cameras were rolling.

Ostensibly, Keller was the only elected official interviewed with his own chapter in the book and there is little mention of the Albuquerque City Council.  So much for Keller’s ONE ALBUQUERQUE slogan.  The book “City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque” is  Keller promoting what he did during the pandemic proclaiming it to be leadership. Absent from the book is any substantive discussion of the vital role of the Albuquerque City Council and it expanding the emergency powers of the Mayor and allocating funding to the various departments to deal with the crisis’s and allocating funding for grants to help the business community.

In 2017 when then State Auditor Tim Keller was running for Mayor, he was swept into office riding on a wave of popularity he orchestrated as State Auditor for a mere 1 year and six months of his 4-year term in office. He proclaimed he combated “waste, fraud and abuse” in government and promising “transparency”. He took advantage whenever he could to call out government officials wasting taxpayer funds.

Now that he is Mayor, Tim Keller has had no problem with “waste, fraud and abuse” within his own office as long as it has his name on it,  promotes his career and his accomplishments.  “City at the Crossroads: The Pandemic, Protests, and Public Service in Albuquerque” is nothing more than a book that chronicles Mayor Tim Keller’s self-centered, self-absorbed governing style during the pandemic where public relations was proclaimed public service.