On May 15, nine people were injured or killed by an 18-year-old male armed with an AR-17 style rifle in a mass shooting in Farmington, New Mexico.  Three woman  over the age of 70 were killed  and 2 police officers injured. The 3 fatal shooting victims have been identified as 79-year-old Shirley Voita, 73-year-old Melody Ivie, and 97-year-old Gwendolyn Schofield. Schofield and Ivie were mother and daughter. Police have identified the suspect as 18-year-old Beau Wilson who was shot and killed by police. Wilson was a student at Farmington High School.

The active shooting unfolded around 11 a.m. in a quiet middle-class neighborhood lined with houses and churches in the heart of Farmington and involving up to a quarter of a mile length of the neighborhood street. Wilson  used  an AR-style rifle and used a 9mm handgun and a .22 caliber firearm  belonging  to a family member. Inside the house Wilson shared with his father were 10 other guns although there is no indication that he intended to use them. Police said there were more than 1,400 rounds of ammunition available between what was fired, what was still in the weapons used and what was in the home.

When 18-year-old Wilson stepped out of his father’s house police say he was wearing a bulletproof vest and he had a note in his pocket. The note in Wilson’s pocket was scrawled in green ink and said “If you’re reading this I’m the end of the chapter. … lay eyes or dear put a finger on my little sister.  I promise there will be regrets.”

Police say Wilson fired 141 rounds from his house on North Dustin with the assault-style rifle  before dropping the weapon in nearby bushes, taking off the vest and walking down the street continuing to fire one handgun and then a second.  The shooter fired on at least 6 houses and 3 cars in a “rampage.” The suspect was killed and 2 police officers were shot and wounded in the incident in an exchange of fire.  Both officers have been released from the hospital. Police say they are investigating how Wilson obtained the weapons but noted that the shooter purchased one of them legally in November of 2022.

Farmington Police Chief Steve Hebbe in briefings said this:

“It isn’t a nice contained scene where our officers are able to keep everything and count stuff pretty easily. … It’s spreading throughout the neighborhood. He’s firing at different people, he’s firing at different cars and buildings as he’s walking, and then he begins discarding stuff. … The suspect randomly fired at whatever entered his head to shoot at. … We are doing the best that we can to … look at the evidence to see if we can figure out what the motivation was. … Our initial report from the family of the suspect is that he was struggling with mental health issues. … We’ll wind up finding what medication if any he was taking, whether he was under a doctor’s care in some form or fashion. … This only goes to the why, or the details, it doesn’t go to the why something like this happened in the first place and how we are going to prevent this.”

“But at this point, it appears to be purely random. … At the end of it, when we had a suspect down,  we know we have civilian casualties, we have officers who have been hit and we have fire and EMS responding to the scene before it’s secure. …We still think there’s a possibility of a second shooter in the early stages, nonetheless fire came racing in with their medics to begin treatment on citizens right away. … … Those are the things that frankly keep me up and I agonize over every night as I’m going to bed …  to try to figure out how we’re going to keep our citizens safe in the world.  … .”

The links to quoted news sources are here:

https://www.koat.com/article/new-mexico-mass-shooting-farmington/43896131

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/i-didnt-know-what-was-going-on-neighbors-recall-farmington-shooting-that-killed-3-elderly-women/

https://www.krqe.com/news/new-mexico/farmington-police-to-update-mass-shooting-investigation-wednesday/

https://www.kob.com/new-mexico/community-gathers-to-remember-victims-of-deadly-farmington-shooting/

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599115/farmington-mass-shooting-4-killed-including-18-year-old-shooter-two-officers-among-10-shot.html

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599559/farmington-shooter-beau-wilson-had-bullet-proof-vest-note-in-his-pocket-police-say.html

GOVERNOR RENEWS CALLS FOR ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN

On May 17, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham, in response to the Farmington mass shooting, said she would again pursue an assault weapon ban and age restrictions for purchasing firearms.   Both proposals were introduced during the 2023 NM legislative session and failed to clear committees in the Senate and House and failed to reach her desk in this year’s 60-day legislative session.

According to Farmington Police,  the suspect in the  mass shooting purchased a gun legally after turning 18.  Police described one of the firearms used in the attack as an “AR-style rifle.” Authorities said they are also looking into indications the shooter had mental health issues.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham said she would keep pursuing ways to reduce gun violence in New Mexico.  She said the issue is complex and does not have a quick-fix solution. The Governor said this:

“Gun violence is an intolerable scourge. What happens to these families is unfair, unthinkable and unimaginable. And this entire community, like so many communities across the state and in America, are just grieving, thinking about what the next gun violence safety measure is.  Let your policymakers know what you think might have been missed in the work that we’re doing and know that increasing the age is back. An assault on a ban on assault weapons, which doesn’t have universal support in many states, including this one. I am putting it on the table. … I want to be able to go to Farmington and say this will never happen again. I don’t know of a tool that prevents all tragedies. … If there was one thing that would cure it, it would already be done.”

The governor said the state would announce a new initiative next week aimed at curbing gun trafficking.  She also said she did not plan to call a special legislative session that would result in partisan “finger-pointing.” However, the Governor left the door open to such action if lawmakers can reach a consensus on contentious crime and gun-related proposals.  The Governor said this:

“I would call a special session … if we could pass something that could be implemented in a timely manner.”

LEGISLATORS RESPOND

Proposals to ban assault weapons have faced strong opposition and skepticism in the Legislature, even among some Democrats. Much of the opposition has centered on how to define what would qualify as an assault weapon and whether a ban would withstand legal scrutiny. Despite reservations on assault weapons bans, leading Democratic legislators also said they are working on bills to establish a 14-day waiting period, expose the sellers of illegal gun modifications to lawsuits and create a registry of people who already own assault weapons.

Las Cruces Democrat State Senator Joseph Cervantes, who has expressed reservations about an assault weapons ban,  expressed optimism about  the prospects for imposing a 14-day waiting period on gun sales to allow authorities extra time to complete a background check on the buyer. Cervantes, a respected trial attorney, is the Chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee and said lawmakers must take care to craft gun laws that will withstand legal scrutiny. He said he is prepared to renew his push to amend the state Unfair Practices Act to target online sellers of illegal gun modifications. Cervantes said this:

“I’m hoping my colleagues won’t forget the events in Farmington this week when we meet again.  …  It’s not ever enough to pass a law that makes good press and allows us to pat one another on the back, but really has no meaningful impact. … It’s not ever enough to pass a law that makes good press and allows us to pat one another on the back, but really has no meaningful impact”

Santa Fe Democrat State Representative Andrea Romero said she  is working on waiting-period legislation. She is also revisiting a previous proposal to ban the sale and possession of assault weapons. According to Romero the new version of the bill would be modeled on the semiautomatic weapons ban passed in Illinois and establish a registry for people who already own such guns. Romero said this of Farmington’s mass shooting:

“It’s just heartbreaking. … As we heal from all of this, it’s ‘what can we do next?’… That’s where my mindset is.”

Las Cruces Democrat Senator Carrie Hamblen said the young age of the shooting suspect in Farmington underscores the need to raise the minimum age to 21 for the purchase of semiautomatic rifles.  Hamblen said this:

“We will continue to pursue legislation that is about responsible gun ownership.”

Many of this year’s gun safety bills encountered fierce resistance from Republican lawmakers and other opponents who said they would interfere with the rights of law-abiding citizens and do nothing to deter crime. Not at all surprising Republican lawmakers said Democrats lawmakers should focus on meaningful funding for mental health services, not “anti-gun rhetoric.” House Republican spokesman Matt Garcia-Sierra said this in a written statement:

“One of the root causes of the crime epidemic sweeping this progressive state is the fact that little has been done to address mental health access and delivery despite the billions in surplus tax revenue over the 5 years of Lujan Grisham’s tenure. … [New Mexicans] are seeking action that addresses the root causes, not just political spin that looks good on a postcard or newspaper headline.”

OTHERS REACT

The 2023 New Mexico 60-day legislative session had upwards of 40-gun control measures introduced, but only 10 were seriously considered and of those 10, only 2 made it through the session to become law.  Advocacy groups like New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence feels like more should have been done. Miranda Viscoli, the co-president of New Mexicans to Prevent Gun Violence said 3 things need to be done and said  this:

“It was an extremely disappointing session. … [First] we need to pass common-sense gun violence prevention laws. [Second] we need gun owners to lock up their guns. There are way too many stolen guns out there, and they’re getting into the hands of children. And three, we really need to come together as a state and as a country and say, this isn’t working.”

The link to quoted news source materials are here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/2599366/farmington-shooting-renews-debate-over-new-mexico-gun-laws-would.html

https://www.koat.com/article/farmington-shooting-michelle-lujan-grisham/43910069

MASS SHOOTINGS ON THE RISE 

As of May 21, 2023, the year has seen more mass killings to date than any other year since data collection started in 2006. There have been 553 mass killings in the United States since 2006, and at least 2,880 people have died, according to a database maintained by The Associated Press and USA Today in partnership with Northeastern University. Those include killings where four or more died, not including the assailant, within a 24-hour period. So far in 2023, the nation has witnessed the highest number on record of mass killings and deaths to this point in a single year.

https://apnews.com/article/mass-shooting-anniversary-uvalde-buffalo-325b8649c7d34577051ed4118b8dbac4

https://apnews.com/article/mass-killings-record-pace-2023-d685a6cd67e0f449f3f9d1d8713d451c

NEW MEXICO’S ALARMING FIREARM FATALITY RATE

The backdrop to all the proposed gun control measures that were considered by the 2023 New Mexico legislature are New Mexico’s and Albuquerque’s high crime rates. Every year, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) compiles data from police agencies across the nation.  The data has showed New Mexico has the nation’s second highest rate of total crimes against persons.

NEW MEXICO CRIME RATES

New Mexico’s firearm fatality rate is among the nation’s highest despite the enactment in recent years of laws extending background check requirements for gun purchases and allowing firearms to be temporarily seized from individuals deemed a threat to themselves or others.

The FBI numbers show New Mexico’s per-population kidnapping and abduction rate was the highest in the nation. New Mexico’s firearm ownership and fatality rate is also among the nation’s highest. In 2016 over 37% of adults in the state lived in a household with a firearm which is 5% higher than the national average according to the think tank Rand Corp.

In 2021 New Mexico law enforcement reported over 28,000 crimes against persons. That includes crimes such as murder, rape, assault, and kidnapping.  Given New Mexico’s population, the state’s crime rate against persons per population is the second highest in the nation. FBI data shows for every 100,000 people in New Mexico, law enforcement reported 2,189 crimes against persons in 2021. The only state with a higher rate was Arkansas, which reported 2,276 crimes per 100,000 people.

New Mexico law enforcement agencies reported nearly 25,500 instances of assault in 2021. That’s 1,872 more than the state reported in 2020. New Mexico law enforcement also reported more homicides in 2021 than the year before. Across New Mexico, police reported 193 homicides to the FBI in 2021. That’s 67 more than in 2020.  Not at all surprising is that the majority of the state’s reported homicides were in Albuquerque.

New Mexico is not at the top of the list in all crime categories. While New Mexico law enforcement reported 1,663 instances of sex offenses in 2021, 6 other states had higher rates of sex offenses per population. That includes states like Alaska, Utah, and Montana.

New Mexico law enforcement reported 822 kidnappings and abductions to the FBI in 2021. That puts New Mexico at the top of the list regarding kidnappings and abductions per 100,000 people. Kansas, Colorado, and Utah also rank high on the list of kidnappings and abductions per population.

New Mexico’s firearm fatality rate is among the nation’s highest. According to the New Mexico Department of Health, there were a total of 562 state residents who died in 2021 due to firearm-related injuries.  This figure is up significantly from the 481 firearm-related deaths in 2020. Of the 562 state residents who died in 2021 due to firearms, 319 cases, were classified as suicides and 243 were classified as homicides. In New Mexico, the rate of 14.9 firearm-related deaths per every 100,000 residents in 2010 nearly doubled over the last decade and there were 23 such deaths for every 100,000 residents in 2020.

ALBUQUERQUE AT FOREFRONT OF CRIME WAVE

Albuquerque is at the forefront of New Mexico’s high violent crime rate.  According to legislative data released, the city had about half of the state’s violent crime in 2022 but has just 25% or so of its total population.  The Albuquerque Police Department reported that in November, 2022 gun law violations spiked 85%.

The last two years have also been two very violent years for Albuquerque.  The number of homicides in the city have broken all-time records.  In 2021, there were 117 homicides, with 3 declared self-defense reducing homicide number to 114.  In 2022, there were 120 homicides, a historical high.

On Thursday, March 16, 2023 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released the 2022 crime statistics along with crime statistics for 2022 for a comparison. During his March 16 press conference announcing the City’s 2022 crime statistics, APD Chief Harold Medina embellished that a  3% drop in  overall total of crime and a 4% decrease in Crimes Against Persons and the 2% decrease in Crimes Against Property was positive movement.

The slight 3% decrease in overall crime was over shadowed by the 24% spike in CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY which are largely made up of drug and gun offenses and a 71% increase in murders over the last 6 years.  Chief Medina presented a vertical bar graph that revealed that over the last 6 years, Albuquerque has had a dramatic 71% spike in homicides.  The number of homicides reported over the last 6 years is as follows:

2017: 70 homicides

2018: 69 homicides

2019: 80 homicides

2020: 78 homicides

2021:  110 homicides

2022:  120 homicides

On March 16, in addition to reporting that there has been a 71% spike in homicides, APD officials reported that over the past 6 years there has been a 28% increase in Aggravated Assaults which by definition includes the use of a firearms. Following are the Aggravated Assaults numbers:

2017: 4,213

2018: 5,156

2019: 5,337

2020: 5,592

2021: 5,669

2022: 5,399

Crime rates in Albuquerque are high across the board. According to the Albuquerque Police’s annual report on crime, there were 46,391 property crimes and 15,765 violent crimes recorded in 2021.  These numbers place Albuquerque among America’s most dangerous cities.

All residents are at increased risk of experiencing aggravated robbery, auto theft, and petty theft.  The chances of becoming a victim of property crime in Albuquerque are 1 in 20, an alarmingly high statistic. Simple assault, aggravated assault, auto theft, and larceny are just some of the most common criminal offenses in Albuquerque. Burglary and sex offense rates In Albuquerque are also higher than the national average.

ALBUQUERQUE IS RANKED 17TH AMONG 70 OF THE LARGEST CITIES

On April 26, the Major Cities Chiefs Association released its Violent Crime Survey and national totals for the crimes of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults. According to the report, Albuquerque is ranked 17th among 70 of the largest cities in the nation looking at trends in the 4 categories. The single most troubling statistic is Albuquerque’s increase in homicides.

The statistics for Albuquerque reported by the Major Cities Chiefs Association for the last two years were as follows:

Homicide

2022: 120

2021: 110

Rape

2022: 194

2021: 286

Robbery

2022:  962

2021: 747

Aggravated Assault

2022: 2,291

2021: 2,373

The Major Cities Chiefs Association report shows in 2022, there was a 5% drop in homicides nationwide. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Albuquerque had one of the worst homicide rates in the nation and is one of 27 cities across the nation that saw an increase in homicides.

The report shows in 2021, there were 106 homicides. In 2022, there were 115, an 8% increase. Other nearby cities like Phoenix saw a 13% increase in homicides. Meanwhile, to the north, the Denver Police Department reported an 8% decrease in homicides. Just four hours south, the city of El Paso saw a 28% decrease in homicides, one of the highest drops in the report.

Click to access MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2022-and-2021-Midyear.pdf

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-homicide-rate-increase/43702586

THE BIGGER PICTURE

On Thursday, March 16, 2023 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released the 2022 crime statistics along with crime statistics for 2021 for a comparison.  APD Chief Harold Medina reported Albuquerque crime statistics as follows:

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS

EDITORS NOTE: Crimes Against Persons include murder, rape, and assault, and are those in which the victims are always individuals.

2021:  13,242

2022:  12,777 (4% DECREASE)

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

EDITOR’S NOTE: Crimes Against Property include robbery, bribery, and burglary, or to obtain money, property, or some other benefit.

2021:  44,822

2022: 43,824 (2% DECREASE)

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY

EDITOR’S NOTE: Crimes Against Society include gambling, prostitution, and drug violations, and represent society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity and are typically victimless crimes.

2021: 3,903

2022: 5,133 (24% INCREASE)

2023 LEGISLATIVE SESSION RECALLED

When the 2023 New Mexico 60 day legislative session began on January 17, Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham in her “State of the State” address announced her support of the following 4 gun control measures:

• Banning the sale of AR-15-style rifles.
• Allowing crime victims to sue gun manufacturers.
• Making it a crime to fail to properly secure a firearm that’s accessible to an unsupervised minor.
• Closing a loophole in state law to allow prosecution when a person buys a gun for a someone who isn’t legally able to make the purchase themselves, a transaction known as a straw purchase.

Only 2 of the 4 measure’s the Governor endorsed were enacted by the legislature. The 2 measures enacted and signed into law were:

House Bill  9.   This bill is referred to as the  Bennie Hargrove Gun Safety Act also known as “Bennies Bill” and makes it a misdemeanor to negligently allow a child access to a firearm and would make it a felony if that negligence resulted in someone dying or suffering great bodily harm.

House Bill 306. This bill  is directed at “straw purchases” of firearms and making it illegal to buy a firearm on behalf of someone who’s not allowed to have it or intends to use in a crime.

GUN CONTROL MEASURES THAT FAILED

There were 10 major gun-control measure bills introduced and seriously considered in the New Mexico House or Senate.  Eight of those bills were:

House Bill 50 would have prohibited magazines with more than 10 rounds.

House Bill 72 would have prohibited the possession of semiautomatic firearm converter that allows the weapon to fire more rapidly.

House Bill 100 would have established a 14-day waiting period for the purchase of any firearm and requires a prospective seller who doesn’t already hold a valid federal firearms license to arrange for someone who does to conduct a federal background check prior to selling a firearm.

House Bill 101  would have made it a fourth-degree felony to purchase, possess, manufacture, import, sell or transfer assault weapons in the state.  It would restrict the sale, manufacture and possession of AR-15-style rifles along with semiautomatic firearms.

Senate Bill 44 would have made it a misdemeanor to carry a firearm within 100 feet of a polling location on election day or during early voting. On-duty law enforcement officers and security personnel would be exempt.

Senate Bill 116 would have established a minimum age of 21 for anyone seeking to purchase or possess an automatic firearm, semiautomatic firearm or firearm capable of accepting a large-capacity magazine. The bill would have effectively raised the minimum age for buying an AR-15-style rifle from 18 to 21.

Senate Bill 171 sought to ban the manufacture, sale, trade, gift, transfer or acquisition of semiautomatic pistols that have two or more defined characteristics.

Senate Bill 428 would have revised the state’s Unfair Practices Act to target the sale of illegal firearms and parts, allowing the filing of lawsuits to enforce the act.

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Violent crime and gun violence  is simply out of control. The Farmington mass shooting combined with New Mexico’s and the City of Albuquerque’s violent crime and murder rates clearly establish that there are in fact “dramatic circumstances” that exist right now that justify a special session and not wait until the 2024 legislative session.

Governor Michelle Lujan  should call a special session to deal with crime and punishment as well as gun control. Crime and punishment must be balanced with reasonable gun control to be effective in bringing down crime and to stop mass shootings.

If Governor Lujan Grisham is indeed sincere about calling a special session, a much different approach needs to be taken because the State’s crime crisis is very real and will remain until something is done.  All the gun control legislation in the 2023 legislative session taken separately was piecemeal at best.  The legislation failed to strike a balance between gun control and enhanced penalties for the commission of crime with guns.

Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham should seek the enactment of an “Omnibus Gun Violence And Sentencing Violent Act” that could be enacted  by a special session. The “Omnibus Gun Violence And Sentencing  Act”  would include the following gun regulation measures:

• Outlaw possession and sale assault weapon style weapons such as AR-15-style rifles and pistols with magazines of 10 rounds or more making it a third degree felony with a 6 year mandatory sentence.
• Outlaw the sale of “ghost guns” parts.
• Outlaw possession of semiautomatic firearm converters.
• Limit all retail gun purchases of all types of guns per person to one gun per month.
• Institute mandatory extended waiting period to a full month for gun purchases.
• Outlaw the sale in New Mexico of “bump-fire stocks” and other accessories.
• Allow crime victims to sue gun manufacturers for actual and punitive damages.
• Require the mandatory purchase of “liability insurance” with each gun sold.
• Implement in New Mexico mandatory handgun licensing, permitting, training, and registration requirements.
• Expand gun ownership age limitation to age 19 for rifles and shotguns.
• Expand the prohibition of deadly weapons from a school campus to school zones making it a third-degree felony.
• Call for a constitutional amendment to repeal the New Mexico Constitutional provision that allows the “open carry” of firearms. This would require a statewide vote and would ensure a healthy debate.

There must be a zero tolerance of crimes commited with firearms. The following crime and sentencing provisions should be included in the “Omnibus Gun Violence And Sentencing  Act”:

• Making possession of a handgun by someone who commits a crime an aggravated third-degree felony mandating a 6-year minimum sentence.
• Increase the firearm enhancement penalties provided for the brandishing a firearm in the commission of a felony from 3 years to 10 years for a first offense and for a second or subsequent felony in which a firearm is brandished 12 years.
• Create a new category of enhanced sentencing for use of a lethal weapon or deadly weapon other than a firearm where there is blandishment of a deadly weapon in the commission of a felony with enhanced sentences of 5 years for a first offense and for second or subsequent felony in which a lethal weapon other than a firearm is brandished 8 years
• Increase the penalty of shooting randomly into a crowded area a second-degree felony mandating a 9-year sentence.
• Allow firearm offenses used in a drug crime to be charged separately.
• Change bail bond to statutorily empower judges with far more discretionary authority to hold and jail those pending trial who have prior violent crime reported incidents without shifting the burden of proof from the prosecution to the defense.
• Mandate public school systems and higher education institutions to “harden” their facilities with more security doors, security windows, security measures, including metal detectors at single entrances designated and alarm systems and security cameras tied directly to law enforcement 911 emergency operations centers.
• Cases of juveniles arrested in possession of a weapon are to be referred the District Attorney for automatic prosecution as an adult for sentencing.

The “Omnibus Gun Violence And Sentencing  Act” must include funding for the criminal justice system. This would include funding District Attorney’s Offices, the Public Defender’s Office, the Courts and the Corrections Department.

The failure of the 2023 New Mexico legislature to enact reasonable and responsible gun control legislation is very difficult to accept.  Democrats hold a 45-25 majority in the House and a 27-15 in the Senate. It’s a damn shame more was not done and Democrats do look foolish on the issue of failing to enact reasonable and responsible gun control measure that will bring down crime and save lives. Until the New Mexico Legislature, especially Democrats, get serious and aggressive about responsible gun control and crime and punishment, the State will continue to suffer high violent crime rates as well as more mass shootings.

 

On May 16, 2023, the online news agency New Mexico Sun published the below 750 word Dinelli opinion guest column on the proposed Charter Amendment to establish a City Council/City Manager form of Government:

HEADLINE: “ABQ councilors’ move to diminish mayor’s authority sparks debate”

“On April 27, first term City Councilors Democrat Louie Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout announced legislation proposing a City Charter amendment for a public vote that will make the Mayor of Albuquerque a member of the City Council. They want to transfer all the mayor’s executive and city management duties to a city manager chosen by the city council. According to the proposed legislation, the mayor would “be recognized as the head of the City government for all ceremonial purposes.”  It turns out the legislation has never been vetted, researched or recommended for approval by the City Charter Review Task Force responsible for making recommendations for charter amendments.

Under the proposed legislation, a “professional” city manager would be selected by the City Council to oversee and manage all 27 city departments and directors. The city’s existing Chief Administrative Officer (CAO) already serves this function and presumably would be abolished. The city manager would administer the city’s personnel rules and regulations for the over 7,000 city employees.  The City manager would be responsible to prepare and formulate the city’s annual operating budget for city council review and adoption.  This year’s 2023-2024 proposed budget is $1.4 Billion.

The mayor would preside over council meetings, but would only be allowed to vote in case of a tie vote. The mayor would have no administrative duties, nor hiring authority, and be allowed to vote at council meetings only in the event of a tie. The mayor would have no veto power over enacted legislation and would have less power than a city councilor on pending and enacted legislation.

On September 28, 1998 the Albuquerque City Council enacted city ordinance § 2-1-7 creating the Charter Review Task Force. The charge of the Charter Review Task Force is to examine any and all articles, sections, and provisions of the City Charter for the purpose of recommending any amendments to the Charter deemed appropriate.  The Task Force is required to hold one or more public hearings at which the citizens of the city shall be encouraged to give their views on the Charter. The Task Force is required to present its recommendations to the Mayor and the Council in the form of a final report.

Democrat City Councilor Louis Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout have pretty much made fools of themselves by proposing a City Charter amendment for a public vote that will make the Mayor of Albuquerque a member of the City Council and creating a city council appointed city manager without it being vetted by the Charter Review Task Force. What they have done smacks of pure political hackery motivated by frustration on their part and caused by sure ignorance of the process used and relied upon for decades to evaluate the city’s form of government.

Both Democrat City Councilor Louis Sanchez and Republican Renee Grout were elected on November 2, 2021 having never been elected nor served before in any other elective office. They have served a mere 16 months as city councilor having been sworn into office on January 1, 2022.  Both now proclaim the city needs a complete and dramatic restructuring of city government with a 50 year throwback to the past city commission-city manager form of government without offering any substantive evidence that the current Mayor-Council form of government is failing or not working.  All they offer is political rhetoric. They both prefer to sponsor legislation amending the Charter without the convening of the Charter Review Task Force which was created in part to prevent this sort of nefarious conduct by city councilors.

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

Their solution is get rid of Keller’s power as Mayor in case he runs again, which is likely, for another term, and wins, which is highly questionable. The council should vote NO rejecting the Charter Amendment.”

MAYOR KELLER REACTS

On May 15, a spokesperson for Mayor Tim Keller issued the following statement:

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

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

___________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO SUN

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

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

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

https://newmexicosun.com/

 

On April 26, the Major Cities Chiefs Association released its Violent Crime Survey and national totals for the crimes of homicides, rapes, robberies and aggravated assaults. According to the report, Albuquerque is ranked 17th among 70 of the largest cities in the nation looking at trends in the 4 categories. The single most troubling statistic is Albuquerque’s increase in homicides.

The Major Cities Chiefs Association uses the Federal Bureau of Investigation Uniform Crime report definitions of Homicide, Rape, Robbery and Aggravated Assault.  The definitions used and the national statistics are as follows:

HOMICIDE

Homicide is divided into the two major categories of murder and nonnegligent manslaughter. Murder is defined as the willful (nonnegligent) killing of one human being by another. Deaths caused by negligence, attempts to kill, assaults to kill, suicides, and accidental deaths are excluded.   Justifiable homicides are classified separately and the definition is limited to: (1) the killing of a felon by a law enforcement officer in the line of duty; or (2) the killing of a felon, during the commission of a felony, by a private citizen.  The second category is Manslaughter by Negligence and is defined as the killing of another person through gross negligence. Deaths of persons due to their own negligence, accidental deaths not resulting from gross negligence, and traffic fatalities are not included in the category Manslaughter by Negligence.  The total number of murders for the last two years in the United States were:

2022: 4,511

2021: 4,624

RAPE

Forcible rape is defined as the carnal knowledge of a female forcibly and against her will. Rapes by force and attempts or assaults to rape, regardless of the age of the victim, are included. Statutory offenses (no force used— victim under age of consent) are excluded. The total number rapes for the last two years in the United State were:

2022: 15,541

2021: 16,371

ROBBERY

Robbery is defined as the taking or attempting to take anything of value from the care, custody, or control of a person or persons by force or threat of force or violence and/or by putting the victim in fear. The total number robberies for the last two years in the United States were:

2022:  60,175

2021:  53,212

AGGRAVATED ASSAULT

Aggravated assault is defined as an unlawful attack by one person upon another for the purpose of inflicting severe or aggravated bodily injury. This type of assault usually is accompanied by the use of a weapon or by means likely to produce death or great bodily harm. The total number of aggravated assaults in the United States  for the last two years were:

2022:  156,735

2021:  152,760

The statistics for Albuquerque reported by the Major Cities Chiefs Association for the last two years were as follows:

Homicide

2022: 115

2021: 106

Rape

2022: 194

2021: 286

Robbery

2022:  962

2021: 747

Aggravated Assault

2022: 2,291

2021: 2,373

The Major Cities Chiefs Association report shows in 2022, there was a 5% drop in homicides nationwide. According to the Major Cities Chiefs Association, Albuquerque had one of the worst homicide rates in the nation and is one of 27 cities across the nation that saw an increase in homicides. The report shows in 2021, there were 106 homicides. In 2022, there were 115, an 8% increase. Other nearby cities like Phoenix saw a 13% increase in homicides. Meanwhile, to the north, the Denver Police Department reported an 8% decrease in homicides. Just four hours south, the city of El Paso saw a 28% decrease in homicides, one of the highest drops in the report.

Click to access MCCA-Violent-Crime-Report-2022-and-2021-Midyear.pdf

https://www.koat.com/article/albuquerque-homicide-rate-increase/43702586

THE BIGGER PICTURE IS MUCH WORSE

The Major Cities Chiefs Association report was only for the two years of 2021 and 2022. What the report did not reveal is that Albuquerque’ homicides have spiked the last 6 years and the city has in fact had a 71% spike in homicides.

 On Thursday, March 16, 2023 the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) released the 2022 crime statistics along with crime statistics for 2021 for a comparison.  APD Chief Harold Medina reported Albuquerque crime statistics as follows:

CRIMES AGAINST PERSONS

EDITORS NOTE: Crimes Against Persons include murder, rape, and assault, and are those in which the victims are always individuals.

2021:  13,242

2022:  12,777 (4% DECREASE)

CRIMES AGAINST PROPERTY

 EDITOR’S NOTE: Crimes Against Property include robbery, bribery, and burglary, or to obtain money, property, or some other benefit.

2021:  44,822

2022: 43,824 (2% DECREASE)

CRIMES AGAINST SOCIETY

EDITOR’S NOTE: Crimes Against Society include gambling, prostitution, and drug violations, and represent society’s prohibition against engaging in certain types of activity and are typically victimless crimes.

2021: 3,903

2022:  5,133 (24% INCREASE)

Chief Medina also presented a vertical bar graph that revealed that over the last 6 years, Albuquerque has had a dramatic 71% spike in homicides.  The number of homicides reported over the last 6 years is as follows:

2017: 70 homicides

2018: 69 homicides

2019: 80 homicides

2020: 78 homicides

2021:  110 homicides

2022:  120 homicides.

KELLER’S FAILED VIOLENT CRIME REDUCTION PROGRAMS

In 2019, Mayor Tim Keller reacting to the spiking violent crime rates, announced 4 programs in 9 months to deal with and bring down the city’s high violent crime rates. Keller also launched his “Community Safety Department” and his “Metro Crime Initiative” which he claimed will fix the “broken criminal justice” system.

All 5 initiatives involve early intervention and partnership with other agencies and are summarized as follows:

1. THE SHIELD UNIT

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

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

2. DECLARING VIOLENT CRIME A PUBLIC HEALTH CRISIS

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

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

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

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

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

4. THE METRO 15 OPERATION PROGRAM

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

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

5. METRO CRIME INITIATIVE

On September 23, 2021 Mayor Keller concluded a conference he dubbed he the “Metro Crime Initiative”. Participants included APD, the DA’s Office, the Courts and many other stakeholders to address what all participants labelled the “broken criminal justice” system.

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

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

When you examine the “check list” of the 40 different proposals that were the result of the Metro Crime Initiative, the proposals are essentially what all the participants have been working on over the past 3 years and include many programs already announced. The list contains nothing new. The items listed are ones that the participants should have been doing in the first place. A detail “check list” pamphlet was produces containing details of each action plan and can be found here:

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

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

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

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

Fast forward to October 4, 2021 when Keller was running for a second term and confronted by the Albuquerque Journal about the city’s spiking crime rates during his first term.  Keller said this:

 “I think we have honored the commitment to fight crime in a real way. That’s not just about talking tough or doing roundups or something like that, we’re actually trying to address crime from all sides. … And we have done that. Had we not done that our city would be in a much, much worse place. … It’s either naive or disingenuous for anyone to think that our crime and drug problems are so surface level that they can just be fixed by being tougher, or by arresting people. … I don’t think it’s fair to say that there’s something we could have done that would have prevented an increase in homicide … I think all around the country, it’s just shown that that’s just not true right now. … I think I’ve provided the right kind leadership at the right time and in a difficult time …”

Mayor Tim Keller reacting to the April 26, 2023 Major Cities Chiefs Association report had this to say:

“We have two challenges working against us. One is national trends that are all getting worse so we have to do what we can in our city, but when there’s a tidal wave of crime across America, it’s going to affect us.”

It’s not an issue of being fair to Mayor Keller, not an issue of leadership, nor a “tidal wave across America”  but one of being held accountable for failing to do what you promise to do as an elected official. Keller’s comments about homicide prevention was and still is a pathetic attempt to avoid admitting his programs to prevent violent crime have failed.

Keller wants the public to forget the promises he made and his failures and APD’s ability to reduce crime. The Major Cities Chiefs Association report shows in 2022, there was a 5% drop in homicides nationwide, but not in Albuquerque where we had another spike in murders going from 78 murders in 2020 to 110 murders in 2021 and 120 murders in 2022. The “tidal wave across America” Keller referred to did not hit the northern shores of Denver, Colorado where the Denver Police Department reported an 8% decrease in homicides nor the southern shores of the city of El Paso, Texas which saw a 28% decrease in homicides.

A 71% spike in homicides during Keller’s tenure as Mayor is an obscene reflection that the city has become one of the most violent cities in the country under his tenure.  This is our new norm as Keller blames it on national trends.  Keller’s promised 1,200 sworn police during his 5 years as Mayor never materialized. The  city and APD never once in his 5 years as Mayor even had 1,000 sworn police.  Keller’s community base policing has yet to fully materialize and APD is still struggling to fully implement the Department of Justice reforms and come into compliance with the Court Approved Settlement Agreement (CASA).

Keller’s “One Albuquerque” has become Keller’s “One Albuquerque’s Crime Scene”.

On May 10, 2023, the online news agency published the below 750 word opinion guest column that includes the cost estimates for construction of casitas and duplexes on the 120,000 residential lots with existing homes to increase densty.

Headline: “Tim Keller’s shanty town of casitas, duplexes and homeless encampments”

“A shanty town is loosely defined as an area of improvised buildings known as shanties or shacks of poor construction that lack adequate infrastructure including proper sanitation, safe water supply, electricity and street drainage and parking. Mayor Tim Keller wants enactment by the City Council of two major amendments to the zoning laws that will transform the city into a shanty town. The amendments will allow the construction of 750 square-foot “casitas” and “duplex” additions in the backyards of all 120,000 residential lots that have existing homes. The City Council has voted to allow 18 city-sanctioned Safe Outdoor Space tent encampments for the homeless to help with the “shanty town ambiance.”

The casita and duplex amendments are part of Keller’s Housing Forward ABQ Plan. It is a “multifaceted initiative” where Keller has set the goal of adding 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year. Keller has proclaimed the city is in a major “housing crisis” and the city immediately needs 13,000 to 28,000 more housing units.

 The zoning code amendments would make both casitas and duplex additions “permissive uses” and not “conditional uses” as they are now and have always been historically. A “conditional use” requires an application process with the city Planning Department, notice to surrounding property owners and affected neighborhood associations and provides for appeal rights. A “permissive use” would give the Planning Department exclusive authority to issue permits for construction without notices and hearings and with no appeal process. Objecting property owners and neighborhood associations to the permissive casita and duplex uses would be relegated to filing lawsuits to enforce covenants and restrictions.

Reclassification zoning of all single-family lots to allow residential duplex development and casita development will encourage large private investors and real estate developers, including out-of-state corporate entities, to buy up distressed properties to lease and convert whole blocks into rental duplexes with substandard rental casitas. This will dramatically degrade the character of neighborhoods and the city as a whole.

 To put the argument in perspective, an individual investor will be able to purchase single-family homes to rent, add a 750-square-foot two-family home addition and build a separate 750-square-foot free-standing casita. The result is a one-home rental being converted into three separate rental units. Such development will increase an area’s property values and property taxes. It will also decrease the availability of affordable homes and raise rental prices even higher. It will increase gentrification in the more historical areas of the city as generational residents will be squeezed out by the developers and increases in property taxes.

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

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

The housing shortage is related to economics, the development community’s inability to keep up with supply and demand and the public’s inability to purchase housing or qualify for housing mortgage loans.  The shortage of rental properties has resulted in dramatic increases in rents. Keller is using the short-term housing “crunch” to declare a “housing crisis” to shove his Housing Forward ABQ Plan down the throats of city property owners.  Keller is advocating zoning changes to increase density by severely relaxing zoning restrictions to favor investors and the developers that will destroy entire neighborhoods.  Tell City Council to vote NO on Keller’s plan.”

 BIOGRAPHY

 Pete Dinelli is a native of Albuquerque. He is a licensed New Mexico attorney with 27 years of municipal and state government service including as an assistant attorney general, assistant district attorney prosecuting violent crimes, city of Albuquerque deputy city attorney and chief public safety officer, Albuquerque city councilor, and several years in private practice. Dinelli publishes a blog covering politics in New Mexico: www.PeteDinelli.com.

___________________________

POSTSCRIPT

ABOUT THE NEW MEXICO SUN

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

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

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

https://newmexicosun.com/

 

The white peonies flower was my mother’s favorite flower, but I will get to that later.

Rose Fresques Dinelli was born on August 30, 1921 and she passed away on September 6, 1997 at the age of 76 after a five-year battle with breast cancer. Rose Fresques Dinelli left a legacy of love, family, character, compassion for others, and true courage in the face of adversity, struggles and even death. This is a son’s tribute to her.

On August 30, 1921 Rose Fresques was born in Chacon, New Mexico, and raised with 4 sisters and 3 brothers. Spanish was their first language. The family was “dirt poor” with the father Max Fresques being a “carpenter” by trade and a field laborer when he needed to support his family. When the depression hit, Rose remembered that her family would say “What depression, we’re already poor!”

During World War II, Rose saw her older brothers Fred and Alex Fresques go off to war and where they both saw action. During the war, Rose took off to California and worked on an airplane assembly line to help build US war planes. She worked as a “riveter” on the planed assembly line and she said she would laugh when people called her “Rosie the Riveter”.

“Harvey Girl’s” were trained at the Alvarado with dormitory facilities provided to young woman in need of work. A very young Rose Fresques Dinelli lived in the dormitory and was trained to be a Harvey Girl. Many years later, she would meet Paul Dinelli at the Alvarado Hotel. Rose and Paul were married and had 4 children, Vernon, Gail, Pete and Pauline. Paul went to a barber school in Denver, Colorado and returned to Albuquerque and built and opened a barber shop on 3rd Street north of Lomas in Albuquerque.

Rose returned to work as a waitress after Paul became seriously ill from a World War II service-connected disability. Rose was forced to close the barbershop in order to return to work. Rose initially supported the family of 5 on the minimum wage. Paul and Rose were married for 27 years before Paul passed. She never remarried. Rose Dinelli was a waitress for some 30+ years before she passed away on September 6, 1997 at age 76. Rose Dinelli passed away in the very same Mossman-Gladden home she had purchased with her husband Paul around 1962.

My mother Rose Fresques Dinelli supported a family of 5 and kept us together when my dad became 100% disabled from a WWII service-connected disability when I was around 12. Mother returned to work as a waitress working for minimum wage and tips to support the family. For a number of years, she had to work “split shits” from 11:00 am to 2 pm to work lunches and then working from 5:00 pm to 12:00 pm to work dinner hours.

My mother loved being a waitress for over 39+ years. Mother loved people and the restaurant industry! She was one of the most independent, hardworking, determined people I have ever known. Her family was everything to her. Sure, there was love, but just as important there was immeasurable respect for someone who sacrificed so much for her family. I have no doubt she lived the meaning of “woman’s liberation” many years before the term was ever coined. She was part of “America’s Greatest Generation” who lived through the Great Depression and World War II.

Mother worked at some of the best places in Albuquerque, including the Four Hills Country Club Restaurant, the Sundowner on Central West of San Pedro, Diamond Jim’s Restaurant in Winrock, the 4 Seasons Crystal Room located in the 4 Season Hotel. The last restaurant she worked at was Maria Teressa restaurant north of Old Town on Rio Grande. She helped open and then close Maria Teressa after working there for so many years. She often told me the restaurant business was one of the few places to work where you would always see people at their very best behavior and their very worst behavior in the manner of a few hours. She also said that a measure of a person is reflected on how they treat people who work with them and for them in the service industry.

It was not until many years later when I was an adult and after she had passed that I came to really appreciate how many young woman’s lives she had touched and influenced over the years and who she worked with at the restaurants. After she passed, many would approach me and tell me what she meant to them and had done for them. One woman in particular has opened a very successful restaurant in Albuquerque with her husband and she has told me of the many fond memories she had of “Rose”. What I found is that there were many times young, struggling woman would turn to mother for guidance and help who were struggling to make a living, some single moms, needing help handling a crisis in their personal lives and struggles. She treated many as she would her own daughters and looked out for them.

I remember Winrock Shopping Center growing up as a kid. My family lived on San Pedro north of Menaul in a red brick Mossman Gladden home across from Quigley Park. My mother worked as a waitress at Diamond Jim’s Restaurant at Winrock until the day it was closed. A branch of First National Bank was in the North area outside the mall with a Safeway Grocery store and a Value House Jewelry Store.

Many years later, when I was an adult and running for Mayor in 1989, I ran into a teller who retired from the bank and who was working at a retail store. She asked me in an affectionate tone of voice if I was the son of the “ones” lady. I looked at the woman very puzzled. She knew I did not understand. She then told me she knew my mother simply as Rose. They had become friends when she was a bank teller at First National Bank. She said my mom would deposit her tips daily from her job as a waitress at Diamond Jim’s when she worked “split shifts”, the lunch and dinner shifts. All of her tips were always in one-dollar bills. Bank tellers who did not know my mother by name would call her the “ones” lady.

The white peonies flower is my mother’s favorite flower of all time. The peonies has the sweet smell of a rose when it blooms only once a year. My mother had a very large group of peonies “bulbs” in her back yard she catered to for years at the very house where we grew up. In late October, 1997 after she passed, I remember one very rainy, muddy and cold night going to her home and digging up the cluster of bulbs. I took the cluster of bulbs and ball of dirt transplanting the bulbs in the front of our home. I had serious doubt the plants would live. To our delight, my mother’s flowers survived the winter transplant, grew and on Mother’s Day, May 12, 1998, the white peonies were in full bloom as they have done each year around Mother’s Day!

My mother instilled in me the importance of getting an education, honesty, integrity, hard work, the true meaning of family and the meaning of character and courage in the face of adversity and doing what is right in life. I talk to my mother every day and thank her for what she did for our family and for me over the years.

HAPPY MOTHERS DAY ONE AND ALL! GIVE YOUR MOMS A BIG HUG AND A KISS!

On April 8, CNN national news service outlet published a remarkable story written by  staff reporter Gabe Cohen entitled “A huge homeless camp will be cleared after neighbors sued.  What happens to its vulnerable residents is an open question.”  What made the story so remarkable is that what was reported as going on in Phoenix today is essentially identical to Mayor Tim Keller’s “all the above approach” to dealing with the homeless crisis except for the private lawsuit.

 Below is the CNN story in full followed by the link to the story that has photos:

The young widow watched as the helpers wended through the Zone at sunrise, offering what they could: water, a bus ticket or a shelter bed – if one was open.

Standing beside her tent, Rayann Denny sized up the sprawling camp of 900 or so people improvised along sidewalks in downtown Phoenix:

“It’s a whole nother world.”

The soft-spoken 37-year-old ended up homeless last year after her husband died and she couldn’t pay the bills alone. This camp, she said, can be “a lot of drama,” with flares of violence. But Denny won’t stay in a shelter, with its rules and a curfew, as she relies on drugs to get through her days.

“I just try to keep myself high,” she said, “so I don’t have to deal with the pain.”

Her home base here, though – however scant – soon will vanish.

In the latest chapter of America’s increasingly polarized approach to homelessness, Phoenix must permanently clear the area that’s become known as the Zone after a judge ruled in favor of neighbors who sued the city, calling the encampment – next to a non-profit social services hub and blocks from the state Capitol and the city’s Major League Baseball stadium – an illegal “public nuisance.”

Their lawsuit could be a model for those looking to force other US cities to clear similar encampments, a lawyer for the plaintiffs said. But the prospect worries advocates for the unhoused, who say it simply pushes a critical problem out of public view, especially as soaring home prices and expensive borrowing have pushed households to the brink.

As Phoenix officials prepare to start moving tents out of the Zone this week, they’re also scrambling to create safe options for the displaced: leasing more hotel rooms and vacant buildings to convert into shelters, and building an outdoor campground with security, restrooms and hand-washing stations, the city’s Office of Homeless Solutions director told CNN.

But those won’t be available right away.

So for now, the crew of helpers has stepped up its years-old effort to try to get residents off the streets.

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“We have to move fast,” team leader Nette Reed said. “We have to come up with a plan.”

THEY SUED THE CITY – AND WON

Debbie and Joe Faillace have owned Old Station Sub Shop, next to where the camp cropped up, for more than 30 years. They frequently discover property damage, drug paraphernalia and feces when they get to work, they said.

“There’s just a complete lawlessness, and it’s getting worse,” Debbie Faillace said. “We want our neighborhood back. We want to feel safe.”

While more states are passing controversial laws to ban public camping, Arizona’s Democratic Gov. Katie Hobbs this year vetoed one such bill, saying it only served to make homelessness “less visible.”

The Faillaces and others already had sued last year in state court over the Zone, an unofficial nickname that isn’t universally embraced. They claimed the city had allowed its public spaces to violate its own public nuisance laws, with unsanitary conditions, drug use, violence and property crimes, fire hazards and blocked rights of way, court documents show.

A judge in March ruled in their favor, giving the city a few months to eliminate the nuisance conditions, records show.

The legal strategy may offer a template to anyone who lives or works near large homeless encampments, said Ilan Wurman, a lawyer for the Phoenix plaintiffs and an associate law professor at Arizona State University.

“We basically showed a proof of concept to use the courts to force cities’ hands to actually do something about the humanitarian aspect of this crisis,” Wurman said. “We hope other businesses, property owners and homeowners take up this fight in other jurisdictions where there are massive homeless encampments.”

But using such a lawsuit to clear an encampment like the Zone is an oversimplified tactic that not only doesn’t end unsheltered homelessness – but also increases “invisible homelessness,” National Alliance to End Homelessness CEO Ann Oliva said.

“Of course we’re worried that this is going to be picked up as a tactic by other communities,” she said. “I hope that it’s not a template for how other communities want to address this issue because we know that the only way to actually address this issue and homelessness is affordable housing and the services that people want and need in order to get housing.”

‘I DON’T WANT TO … WALK THE STREETS’

 The Phoenix area has roughly half as many shelter beds as people experiencing homelessness, a population that’s grown 46% since 2019 amid the affordable housing crisis and the Covid-19 pandemic, according to annual counts coordinated by the Maricopa Association of Governments.

Many who live in the Zone have jobs or get government assistance – but say they still can’t afford rent. By setting up camp outside the non-profit Human Services Campus, they guaranteed quick access to a secure center with roughly 900 shelter beds – full on most nights – plus aid including food, water and health care, all critical during Arizona’s scorching summers.

As the Zone is cleared, “the farther people get removed, … the harder it will be for them to access services,” Human Services Campus CEO Amy Schwabenlender said.

 “People will be more likely to die,” she said, “or be sick and go to the emergency room.” More than 700 people experiencing homelessness died last year in Phoenix’s Maricopa County – a 23% increase over 2020 that reflects the bump in unhoused people over that period, county officials confirmed to CNN.

The Zone clearing, due to start Wednesday, will be piecemeal and dovetail with city efforts to come up with alternatives for its residents, said Rachel Milne, director of Phoenix’s Office of Homeless Solutions.

 “The city’s approach will be to take it one step at a time, one block at a time, one group of people at a time, making sure that we are able to offer those 50 or so people in that block a variety of different solutions, a variety of different places to go, all of which have the services that they will need to keep them safe and healthy,” she said. “It’s safer certainly than where they are now.”

But without a confirmed opening date for the city-structured campground, advocates for unhoused people expect encampments like the Zone to pop up in other Phoenix neighborhoods, they said.

“It moves people into other spaces where they’re most likely also not going to be welcomed in,” Schwabenlender said. “And if they think a safe outdoor space is going to end homelessness, it’s not. It just shuffles people from one place to another.”

Indeed, many see efforts now in the works in Phoenix as a Band-Aid on the larger crisis facing cities across the country. “We’ve got to work on other solutions: preventing more inflow, preventing people from experiencing homelessness, helping them exit the system quickly so that those shelter beds that we do have can be used more efficiently,” Milne said.

“I think we have a lot of work to do.”

Stefanie Powell doesn’t know where she’ll go when cleanup begins at the Zone, where she lives in a tent with her boyfriend, she said.

“I don’t want to wind up having to walk the streets again,” Powell said about finding a new place to stay. She can’t work, she added, because of medical issues like neuropathy and fibromyalgia.

“It’s hard because nobody wants to see the problem. Nobody wants to acknowledge the problem,” she said.

“They just want it to go away.”

The link to the full CNN report with photos is here:

https://www.cnn.com/2023/05/08/us/phoenix-homeless-encampment-the-zone/index.html

 ALBUQUERQUE’S CORONADO PARK CLOSURE

On June 27, 2022 calling it “the most dangerous place in the state of New Mexico” Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference standing in front of Coronado Park to announce the park’s closure saying it was imperative even without a fully formed plan for how to do it and what happens next.

Keller said this:

“We’re not going to wait any longer. We have all the evidence we need that says that we have to do something different. … It is not going to be something where every question is answered, and every plan is thought out. … We do not have the luxury of a perfect plan. … At this point, if we don’t close the park now, it will never be a park again. … There was unanimous consensus that at a minimum, temporarily, this park has to close. … This is the first step. We welcome everyone to help us problem-solve, but someone has to step up and make a decision … And that’s what people elected me to do.”

City officials  said that upwards of 120 people camped nightly at the park.

In Albuquerque, Coronado Park was the City’s version of the Phoenix “Zone” but on a much smaller scale.  Instead of 900 homeless like the Zone in Phoenix, Coronado Park had between 75 and as many any 120 homeless camping and it was the largest concentration of city homeless. The big difference is that Coronado Park evolved over the first term of Mayor Tim Keller as Keller insisted it to become the city’s de facto city sanctioned homeless encampment over the objections of the neighborhoods and businesses who expressed anger and frustration as Keller and the city refused to enforce the city’s vagrancy laws  and city park prohibition’s on camping.

Over the period of about 5 years, Coronado Park became the “de facto” city sanctioned homeless encampment with the city repeatedly cleaning it up only for the homeless to return the next day. City officials  said it was costing the city $27,154 every two weeks or $54,308 a month to clean up the park only to allow the homeless encampment to return.

Residents and businesses located near the park and neighborhood associations complain to the city repeatedly about the city’s unwritten policy to allow the park to be used as homeless  encampment.  At any given time, Coronado Park had 70 to 80 tents crammed into the park with homeless wondering the area.

Criminal activity had spiked at Coronado Park over the previous three years with an extensive history of lawlessness including drug use, violence, murder, rape and mental health issues. In 2020, there were 3 homicides at Coronado Park. In 2019, a disabled woman was raped, and in 2018 there was a murder. APD reported that it was dispatched to the park 651 times in 2021 and 312 times  in 2022. There have been 16 stabbings at the park in the previous 2 years and when the park was closed APD had seized from the park 4,500 fentanyl pills, more than 5 pounds of methamphetamine, 24 grams of heroin and 29 grams of cocaine. APD also found $10,000 in cash.

PRIVATE NUISANCE ABATEMENT REMEDIES EXIST

The April 8 CNN report revealed that it was a private civil cause of action against the City of Phoenix that resulted in a Court order declaring the “Zone” a public nuisance and ordering the City of Phoenix to vacate the area and clean up the area. It could as easily happened here. The City of Albuquerque already has one of the strongest nuisance abatement ordinances in the country.  The State of New Mexico has one of the strongest nuisance abatement laws on the books.

Normally, a  nuisance is defined in terms of an “activity” that endangers the public health and safety and welfare. The New Mexico state legislature has enacted a statute that empowers all municipalities to define and abate a nuisance as they see fit.  Under the Albuquerque nuisance abatement ordinance, the City Council defines a nuisance in terms of real property, not an activity, both commercial or residential, that is used to assist, promote, facilitate or involved with criminal activity and the real property can be declared a nuisance by a court of law.

In 2004, the city’s Nuisance Abetment Ordinance was amended extensively to include all state  felony and misdemeanors as well as all city code violations (plumbing, electrical, gas and construction) in order to be included for consideration to determine that a property is  nuisance.  Reliance is made on the number of calls for service to APD to declare a property a nuisance.

Under state law, a nuisance is defined as a  single act or activities that endangers the public health, safety and welfare.  A public nuisance is a misdemeanor but a civil District Court  injunctive court action under the rules of civil procedure is used to abate such nuisances. Both the city and state laws are enforced through the State District Courts relying the Rules of Civil Procedure to secure injunctive relief in the form of Temporary, Preliminary or Permanent Injunctions.  Injunctive relief actions are fast tracked by the courts and a temporary restraining order can be secured  within 10 days at the outset.

What is generally unknown to the public is that the State’s nuisance abatement laws provide for private remedies. Private citizens, neighborhood associations and businesses can initiate nuisance abatement actions and secure injunctions and even collect attorneys fee if they are the prevailing party.

CITY’S NO ARREST POLICY

New Mexico Statutes and City Ordinances have been enacted to protect the general public health, safety, and welfare and to protect the public’s peaceful use and enjoyment of property rights. All the laws cited have been on the books for decades and are applicable and are enforced against all citizens and not just the unhoused.

The specific statutes and ordinances are:

1. NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-1 (1995), defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
2. NMSA 1978, Section 30-14-4 (1969), defining wrongful use of property used for a public purpose and owned by the state, its subdivisions, and any religious, charitable, educational, or recreational association.
3. Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-3, defining criminal trespass on public and private property.
4. Albuquerque City Ordinance 8-2-7-13, prohibiting the placement of items on a sidewalk so as to restrict its free use by pedestrians.
5. Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-10, prohibiting being in a park at nighttime when it is closed to public use.
6. Albuquerque City Ordinance 12-2-7, prohibiting hindering persons passing along any street, sidewalk, or public way.
7. Albuquerque City Ordinance 5-8-6, prohibiting camping on open space lands and regional preserves.
8. Albuquerque City Ordinance 10-1-1-3, prohibiting the erection of structures in city parks.

For the last 5 years, the city and APD have had a “no arrest” policy when it comes to nonviolent misdemeanor charges  and offenses that are committed by the homeless.  The “no arrest” policy is the result of a settlement reached in the 1995 federal case of McClendon v. City of Albuquerque that involved overcrowding and racial discrimination at the jail and was filed  to reduce  overcrowding at the jail.

In the period between August 15, 2022, just before Coronado Park was closed, and October 2, 2022, two-and-a-half months later, the City enforced these provisions over 220 times by citation and very few arrests.  Even when APD officers do not actually cite or arrest unhoused people for violations of these laws and ordinances, it enforces them by telling unhoused people that they must move on or they will be cited or arrested for their violation.

ALBUQUERQUE COMMUNITY SAFETY DEPARTMENT 

It was in 2021 that Mayor Tim Keller created the Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS). The department provides a non-police response to 911 calls associated with homelessness, intoxication and mental health. The Albuquerque Community Safety Department (ACS) dispatches first responders to 911 calls with or without other first responders from the police and fire departments.  According to the departments performance measures, in the 2022-2023, the department responded to 10,619 total calls for service with 6,062  calls diverted from police intervention.

Albuquerque Community Safety responders may have backgrounds as social workers, peer-to-peer support, clinicians, counselors, or similar fields. It is a first-of-its-kind cabinet-level department responding to calls on inebriation, homelessness, addiction, and mental health. It  works  alongside APD and AFR as a third option for 911 dispatch. It was created from a unique, Albuquerque idea based on programs the City developed and tested with the community.

KELLER’S ALL THE ABOVE APPROACH TO CITY’S HOMELESS CRISIS

Since day one of becoming Mayor on December 1, 2017, Tim Keller has made it a major priority to deal with the city’s homeless crisis.  It is the city’s Family and Community Services Department that administers the city’s programs to address the homeless, additional housing, and behavioral health services, including mental health services and counseling.

Mayor Keller has proclaimed an “all above approach” to deal with the unhouse and provide housing and services the homeless and near homeless to address the root causes such as substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, and youth opportunity.

For five years, Mayor Kellers “all the above approach” has cost the city millions. Keller has done the following over the last two fiscal years:

• Over two years, budgeted $33,854,536 for homeless emergency shelters, support, mental health and substance abuse programs and $60,790,321 for affordable housing programs for the low-income, near homeless.
• Established two 24/7 homeless shelters, including purchasing the Gibson Medical Center for $15 million to convert it into a homeless shelter.
• Established a “no arrest” policy for violations of the city’s camping, trespassing and vagrancy laws with an emphasis on citations.
• For five years, allowed Coronado Park to become a “de facto” city-sanctioned homeless encampment, which he was forced to close down because of drugs and violent crimes.
• Advocated and funded city-sanctioned safe outdoor space (SOS) homeless tent encampments.

The Family and Community Services proposed budget lists forty five (45) separate affordable housing contracts totaling $39,580,738, fifteen (15) separate emergency shelter contracts totaling $5,575,690, and twenty seven (27) separate homeless support service contracts totaling $5,104,938 for a total of $50,261,366.

The Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Family Community Services budget includes the following major line-item funding:

• $14 million in non-recurring funding for supportive housing programs in the City’s Housing First model.
• $1.5 million in recurring and $500,000 in non-recurring funding for a Medical Respite facility at Gibson Health Hub, which will provide acute and post-acute care for persons experiencing homelessness who are too ill or frail to recover from a physical illness or injury on the streets but are not sick enough to be in a hospital.
• $3 million in recurring funding to operate the first Gateway Center at the Gibson Health Hub, including revenue and expenses for emergency shelter and first responder drop-off, facility operation and program operations.
• $1.2 million for the Westside Emergency Housing Center, which has operated at close to full occupancy for much of the year.

SAFE OUT DOOR SPACES

Mayor Tim Keller’s “all the above approach” to deal with the homeless crisis  includes Safe Outdoor Spaces (SOS). It was Mayor Keller on April 1, 2022  in his 2022-2023 proposed budget where he first advocated for the land use known as “Safe Outdoor Spaces” to deal with the homeless crisis. Buried in the approved  2022-2023 budget was line-item funding that provided as follows: “$750,000 for proposed “safe outdoor spaces”. …  will enable ultra-low barrier encampments to set up in vacant dirt lots across the City. There is an additional $200,000 for developing other sanctioned encampment programs.”

It was on June 6, 2022  that the City Council enacted a series of amendments updating the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). One of the amendments was the “Safe Outdoor Spaces.” The legislation passed on a 5 to 4 vote and as enacted allows for 18 city sanction safe out door spaces,  2 in each of the 9 city council districts. “Safe Outdoor Spaces” are city sanctioned homeless encampments located in open space areas that will allow upwards of 50 homeless people to camp, require hand washing stations, toilets and showers, require a management plan, 6-foot fencing and provide for social services.

For over a year Safe Outdoor Spaces became one of the most divisive issues between the Mayor, the city council and the general public and neighborhood associations.  City sanctioned homeless encampments are not just an issue of “not in my back yard,” but one of legitimate anger and mistrust by the public against city elected officials and department employees who mishandled the city’s homeless crisis and who were determined to allow them despite strong public opposition.  Six applications have been filed thus far with only 3 approved and one of those 3 approved was appealed. The one appeal involved a Safe Outdoor Space on Manual and the freeway on city owned property that was to house 50 women who were victims of sex trafficking.  The appeal was rendered moot when the city owned property was sold to the state for a new State Police facility.

“HOUSING FORWARD ABQ” PLAN

On October 18, 2022 Mayor Tim Keller announced his “Housing Forward ABQ” plan. It is a  “multifaceted initiative” where Mayor Keller is hoping to add 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025 above and beyond what private industry normally creates each year. As it stands now, the city issues private construction permits for 1,200 to 1,500 new housing units each year. According to Keller, the city is in a major housing crisis and studies show the city needs as many as 13,000 to 30,000 new housing units.

To add the 5,000 new housing units across the city by 2025, Keller  is proposing that the City of Albuquerque fund and be involved with the construction of new low income housing to deal with the homeless or near homeless.    The strategy includes “motel conversions” and  a zoning code “rebalance” to enhance density.  It includes allowing “casitas” which under the zoning code are formally known as “accessory dwelling” units.

Keller wants to allow “different forms of multi-unit housing types” on residential properties.   63% of the city’s housing  is single-family detached homes.

According to Keller, the city will also be pushing to convert commercial office space into to residential use. The Keller administration is proposing $5 million to offset developer costs with the aim of transitioning 10 properties and creating 1,000 new housing units.  The new plan also includes “motel conversations” which is the city purchasing and turning old and existing motels into housing.

“MOTEL CONVERSIONS”

“Motel conversions” are a major component of Keller’s “Housing Forward Abq” plan and  includes affordable housing where the City’s Family & Community Services Department  acquires and renovates motels to develop low-income affordable housing options. The existing layout of the motels makes it cost-prohibitive to renovate them into living units with full sized kitchens. An Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) amendment  provides  an exemption for affordable housing projects funded by the city, allowing kitchens to be small, without full-sized ovens and refrigerators. It will require city social services to regularly assist residents.  The homeless or the near homeless would be offered the housing.

On February 1, 2023 it was reported that the City of Albuquerque has executed a purchase agreement for the purchase of the Sure Stay Hotel located at 10330 Hotel NE for $5.7.  million for a motel conversion and to  convert the 104-room hotel into 100 efficiency units.  On April 17, Mayor Tim Keller held a press conference and announced the city had finalized purchase of the Sure Stay Hotel and the city intended  to renovate the building into 100 apartments for low and moderate-earning households. Keller said the new apartments will help address the housing shortage while providing a quality living situation. City officials said that $3-4 million has been earmarked for renovations. City officials said that converting and remodeling the property is much cheaper than building a new structure.

“POINT IN TIME” SURVEY

Each year the “Point in Time” (PIT) survey is conducted to determine how many people experience homelessness and to learn more about their specific needs. The PIT count is done in communities across the state. The PIT count is the official number of homeless reported by communities to the federal Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) to secure federal funding.

The PIT count requires the use of the HUD definition of “homelessness”.

The PIT count uses the HUD definitions of “Sheltered”, “Unsheltered” and “Transitional Housing”.  The Unsheltered are defined as those who encamp in neighborhood open space areas, alleys, parks, high-traffic areas and points of congregation, meal service sites, and general service sites. It is the “unsheltered” that Safe Outdoor Spaces are targeting and designed to help the most.

In August, the 2022 the Point In Time (PIT) homeless survey reported that the number total homeless in Albuquerque was 1,311 with 940 in emergency shelters, 197 unsheltered and 174 in transitional housing. Surprisingly, the survey found that there are 256 fewer homeless in 2022 than in 2021 which was 1,567.  In 2019, the PIT found 1,524 homeless.

The 2022 PIT report provides the odd number years of shelter and unsheltered homeless in Albuquerque for 8 years from 2009 to 2019 and including 2022.  During the last 12 years, PIT yearly surveys have counted between 1,300 to 2,000 homeless a year.  Those numbers are:  2011: 1,639, 2013: 1,171, 2015:1,287,  2017: 1,318, 2019: 1,524, 2021: 1,567 and 2022: 1,311.

The 1,311 figures in the 2022 PIT report is the lowest number of unsheltered reported for the last 5 years. According to the 2022 PIT report there were 256 fewer homeless in January 2022 than in January 2021, yet the public perception is that the city is overrun by the homeless likely because they have become far more aggressive, more assertive  and more visible.

The 2022 PIT data breakdown for the unsheltered for the years 2009 to 2022 in the city is as follows:

Chronic homeless:  67% (homeless 6 months to a year or more)

Veterans:  9%  

First-time homeless:  38%

Homeless due to domestic violence:  16%

Adults with a serious mental illness:  46%

Adults with substance use disorder:  44%

(2022 PIT Report, page 7)

Note that a whopping 90% combined of the unsheltered are suffering from mental illness or substance use disorder.

https://www.nmceh.org/_files/ugd/6737c5_4ecb9ab7114a45dcb25f648c6e0b0a30.pdf

https://www.abqjournal.com/2402560/homeless-numbers-see-little-change.htm

COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS

Albuquerque’s homeless crisis in no way approaches the Phoenix homeless crisis yet Mayor Tim Keller is using the identical approach which has a very steep financial cost when compared to the actual number of chronic homeless. The approach as CNN reported is one of “moving tents out of [homeless encampments] … and …  scrambling to create safe options for the displaced: leasing more hotel rooms and vacant buildings to convert into shelters, and building an outdoor campground with security, restrooms and hand-washing stations. … Many see efforts now in the works in Phoenix as a Band-Aid on the larger crisis facing cities across the country. “We’ve got to work on other solutions: preventing more inflow, preventing people from experiencing homelessness, helping them exit the system quickly so that those shelter beds that we do have can be used more efficiently.”

Albuquerque’s total chronic homeless numbers and those living on the streets is between 1,300 to 2,000 homeless with the actual number dropping this  last year according to the annual point in time survey.  Notwithstanding, the public perception is that the city is being overrun by the homeless. The likely reason for the public perception is that the homeless have become far more aggressive in going anywhere and  whenever they want, within the city, including neighborhoods and parks and camping  with less than adequate law enforcement action. The Keller Administration has adopted a “no arrest policy” when it comes to enforcing the city’s vagrancy laws.

Over the last two years alone, the Keller Administration has spent upwards of $100,000,000  to provide services and shelter to the homeless. It is now proposing to spend another $50 million in fiscal year 2023-2024.  There must come a point when it must be asked “when is enough is enough” to deal with the 1,300 to 2,000 chronic homeless in Albuquerque, especially those who do not want any kind of help?

Being homeless is not a crime. The city has a moral obligation to help the homeless, mentally ill and drug addicted. The city is meeting its moral obligation to the homeless  with the millions being spent each year for services, shelter and housing. But there comes a time when the public must demand and expect results.

The blunt truth is that Mayor Tim Keller, the City Council and the city will never solve homelessness crisis  and it’s not at all likely that the city will ever be free of the homeless.  All that can and must be done is to manage the homeless crisis but there must be limitations.  Adopting an “all the above approach” has been just plain foolish on a number of levels.

Spending millions on homeless services, shelters and housing and having no visible impact on homeless squatters who have no interest in city shelters, beds, motel vouchers and who want to live on the streets and camp in city parks, in alleys and trespass as they choose is at worst evidence of incompetent management and at best wasting city resources.

Keller and company need to do a better job dealing with the homeless and those who refuse services.  Mayor Keller needs to take a more measured approach which must include reliance on the city and state nuisance abatement laws, current laws and  law enforcement and perhaps the courts, such as civil mental health commitment hearings, to get those who refuse services and to get them off the streets in order to get them the mental health care and drug rehabilitation they desperately need.