The Straw that Broke the Mayor's Back?

Was last night's embarassing and unprofessional behavior of Chief Ray Schultz, finally the straw that broke the camel's back? There was a City Council meeting last night. The usual "frequent flyers" were there, some to speak, others to observe. Prior to the meeting beginning, as it happens every meeting, many people (including Chief Schultz), meander about before taking to their seats. Kenneth Ellis, the father of one of those killed by APD, contacted us after last night's meeting. Mr. Ellis told us that at the meeting, he walked up to Chief Schultz and told the Chief that he was "praying for him". Mr. Ellis admits he ended with "you'll need it". The meeting started and was filled with many citizens giving their comments and stating their opinions. One subject was a student that talked for over 7 minutes about his inability to attend school without a free bus pass. Other people talked about the conservation of energy. Then former APD Sergeant, Paul Heh, approached the podium. Three people had vowed to relinguish their talk time in order to allow Paul Heh to fully talk to the City Council and citizens of Albuquerque. This has been a long standing past practice of the City Council; allowing those people that have a somewhat complicated matter to be able to adequately and fairly voice their concerns and comments. Right away Council President, Don Harris, announced he would not let anyone relinguish their time and demanded Paul Heh keep to a two minute time constraint. Council Member Ken Sanchez made a motion to override President Harris and allow the time for Paul Heh. He wanted to hear what Paul Heh had to say. The Motion was given a second nomination and of course when set to a council vote, the result was 4-5. This forced Paul Heh to stop midstream and NOT speak any further. It was clearly no coincidence that it was the Republican council members that voted AGAINST hearing Paul Heh speak. It was obvious by the actions of the Council that this was a premediated vote on behalf of the Republicans. Despite the crowd's pleas to continue, Paul Heh was forced to walk back to his seat. What were they afraid of hearing? What were they afraid of the public hearing? Paul Heh walked back to his seat and at intermission, Mr. Ellis approached him. This is where it gets even more exciting, as Mr. Ellis and Paul Heh were talking, Chief Schultz walked up to them and shook his finger at Mr. Ellis. Chief Schultz stated "Don't you ever approach me at a meeting again and say what you said to me". Mr. Ellis told the Eye that he felt threatened and was even afraid to walk to his car. Why would Chief Schultz be so angry that someone has offerred their prayers to him? In fact, doesn't the APD chaplain unit advocate daily prayers to the officers of APD? Our Eyes wonder what the Chief would have done if an officer had acted in the same manner. Our bet is that the officer would be shoveling papers in Report Review or answering phones at a substation. This is the definition of "Conducting Unbecoming" if ever there has been one. Does the Chief need remedial C.I.T. training? IF one comment like "Im going to pray for you", sets him off like that, what else will set him off? Chief Schultz, where is your higher standard? You know, the higher standard you demand your officers live up to or face immediate discipline. To you Mayor Berry, when will you see the liability that Chief Schultz is causing you? He is a time bomb and he is ready to explode, are you Mayor Berry prepared to write the check for the violations that he continues to exhibit?

See the City Council Video here.

Is UNM Police Inviting More Problems and Liability?

UNM raised hell with the Albuquerque City Council when the Council refused to clear UNM to proceed with a liquor license. UNM through legal and political maneuvering gained approval to sell alcohol at the UNM football events. Realizing some of the potential problems, UNMPD decided to implement a “Text Messaging Campaign.” This allows anyone to complain via text messaging. Here is the caveat; what if a bitter spouse wants to “get even” with their significant other? Or perhaps some other type of rivalry? What happens when the police have insufficient information because the disturbance was not called into a trained dispatcher? UNMPD has given some disgruntled individuals a tool to harass and/or intimidate another person. In addition, UNMPD may have invited more liability than what they can afford.

Channel 7’s Marissa Maez stated, “UNM Police say, they are also starting this new ‘Text Messaging Campaign’ to allow fans to text them when they see an intoxicated person misbehaving during the game.” According to UNM Lt. Robert Haarhues, “so, not only fans who had too much to drink, uh, whatever the issue maybe, uh, we want people who are afraid to say something… ” What happened to just call the police when someone disturbs the peace? This allows a trained dispatcher to evaluate, extract and gather facts from the caller. Does the text message say the offender is armed and with what? Does the text message say the offender just ran over two kids, gives a vehicles description or a license plate number? Any professional knows that face-to-face communication is the best; next is direct verbal communication with another person. There is a reason why professional law enforcement agencies require calls for service (complaints) to be called in.

UNMPD is inviting more problems and vicarious liability. Ultimately, this botched “campaign” is going to blow up in UNM’s face when a family sues for not following professional law enforcement standards.

One last opinion, if UNM’s desire is to make more money, they should fire their football coach for losing game after game. A proven and accompllished coach like Steve Alford packs the PIT! It would be the same result for the football team, if UNM had a good football coach. UNM is trying to solve a problem by treating a symptom. Fix the problem and pack the stadium; and skip the booze.

Berry Veto's DOJ Investigation

Our Eye's on the inside are telling us that Mayor Berry Just Vetoed the proposed DOJ investigation that the City Council approved. Berry actually does not have the authority and now has insulted the DOJ.

We figure that Berry did not read our last post carefully enough, "Get across the river before you insult the crocodiles." This signals to the DOJ that there is a real problem that APD is trying to hide from...

Stay tuned folks...

Money Hungry Redflex Opposes Public Vote on Scam-era’s

According to the Albuquerque Journal (read it Here), “Albuquerque city councilors want the fate of the red-light camera program to be decided at the polls Oct. 4.” This of course is a lie. Part of the Council wants it to go to the votes but the other half does not and is seeking a “legal opinion” in hopes that they do not have to abide by the voters wishes. It appears that half of the Council is trying to protect Reflex’s “Cash Cow.”

The Journal stated City Councilor Dan Lewis sponsored the ballot measure. He said politicians have made all the camera decisions so far, and it’s time the public weighs in directly. “It’s time that we hear the citizens of Albuquerque speak,” said Lewis, who’s been critical of the cameras.

In the story by the Journal, “opponents of the measure raised legal questions about whether it’s appropriate for the council to delegate a public-safety decision to voters. The election results won’t be legally binding on the council – just advisory – and that fact may be lost on voters, critics said.” The people speak their will and the dictators on the council want to consider it as “advisory.”

According to Tutti-Frutti Trudy (Jones), “This is a representative government,” Councilor Trudy Jones said. “We were elected to make decisions.” This statement by Tutti-Frutti Trudy shows her ignorance. Yes, City councilors are elected to represent but their elected purpose is to voice the “will” of the people they serve. If the people vote the Scam-era’s out; that is the will of the people. City Council has absolutely no right to challenge the will of the people. This is a flagrant ethics violation and shows a complete contempt for the public they swore to serve.

Here is a surprise, Reflex’s’ big dollar attorney, Dick Minzner, “also questioned whether the issue is proper for the ballot.” Is anyone wondering why Reflex is getting involved? Anyone remember Dick telling the City Council last month that he hoped that Redflex would issue enough citations to keep Redflex profitable? Anybody see a problem here?

Dick went on to give the City “free legal advice” stating, “The proposal to put this on the ballot runs close to violating the City Charter,” he said. “The council cannot delegate its legislative power to the voters.” The Eye is guessing that Dick plays a lot of Horseshoes. His statement is more of a comedy show, the statement that “it runs close to violating the City Charter” is compatible to almost being pregnant; either you are or you’re not. City Attorney Perry better be careful, Dick may be after his job.

Making the correct decision to send the Scam-era’s to voters were Don Harris, Ken Sanchez, Brad Winter, Michael Cook and Lewis. The “I want to play GOD over the Citizen’s of Albuquerque” who opposed the measure were Jones, Rey Garduño, Debbie O’Malley and Isaac Benton.

Council Sanchez stated, “It’s time the voters have their voices heard once and for all.” You can see why Sanchez is re-elected time after time. What a concept; allowing the publics’ voices to be heard.
O’Malley was quoted in the Journal as saying; it doesn’t make sense to put the question before voters. “It essentially asks … ‘should we fine you if you violate the law?’ They don’t really have any authority to say ‘yes’ or ‘no,’ ” O’Malley Negated to state that the fines are civil and not criminal and she negated to state that this scam is making Redflex extremely wealthy.

Of interest, according to the Journal, “Monday’s meeting grew especially testy at one point, when Lewis questioned Minzner, who had identified himself as an attorney for Redflex. ‘I wonder why you’re here,’ Lewis said. ‘I question the motive.’ Lewis repeatedly mentioned that Redflex makes money from the program. Other councilors said Redflex had every right to have a representative argue on its behalf, just as anyone else can. Jones apologized to Dick. ‘I don’t believe it’s our place to tell someone they shouldn’t be here,’ she said.”

Councilor Dan Lewis is completely correct for asking the public how they wish to be policed. It is also completely appropriate for Lewis to question the motives of Dick Minzner who represents money hungry Redflex. Cutting through the chase, Redflex knows that the Scam-era’s are a “Cash Cow” and will fight “tooth and nail” against anyone who threatens that cash flow. Redflex is becoming like the Mexican Drug Cartel…Money, Money, Money…

Tutti-Frutti Trudy and the rest of the “Napoleons,” need to remember this; we the people, by the people and for the people. Take stock in these words. You know what happened to Napoleon.

One last thought; if the public votes in favor of the Scam-era’s, would the dictators still want to seek a legal opinion? The answer is no, the tyrants would have gotten their way and they would not need to use your tax dollars against you, to fight you.

Who’s Zooming Who?

The Albuquerque City Council voted and approved a one-year extension for the Redflex Camera “money maker machine.” Only two City councilors voted “no” on the Scam-era’s fleecing operation. Bravo to councilors Dan Lewis and Michael Cook for standing up to the money hungry councilors. Now the question is who is zooming who?

The morons on the city council and others; such as, the Albuquerque Journal Editorial Board pound their hands on the poppet and proclaim that this is all in the name of “safety!” The Eye begs to differ. We all know this is in the name of money. The City of Rio Rancho did not lie to their constituents’; they clearly stated that the Scam-era’s are to generate revenue. And, oh yeah, they might help out with that safety issue too… The City of Albuquerque lied and continues to lie.

All the local media who are played by the Berry Administration, report on the Scam-era’s and make unsubstantiated claims based on the City’s secret monitoring system that the City claims show red light violations increased over 200%. That’s strange; shouldn’t accidents at these intersections have increased by 200% accordingly? Someone is zooming someone else here and numbers do not match up. That basically means someone is lying and fudging the numbers.

Here is a thought for our City leaders; “We the people, for the people, by people.” The people of Albuquerque voted you into office to voice the will of the people. If you cannot do that, then send the Red Flex Scam-era’s to polling booths and let the people vote. This seems like a simple concept but our City leaders refuse to submit to the will of the people. Why would the City leaders and administrators like Chief Schultz be so reluctant to permanently shutting down the Scam-era’s? Do these people have some other type of interest in keeping the Scam-era’s proceeds flowing? Who has investment from the City in Red Flex? Does the City of Albuquerque’s have any investments in Red Flex? Any of these scenarios would clearly be inappropriate and a clear conflict of interest.

Red Flex is a for profit company; not a public safety none-profit agency. According to the Journal (Read here) Redflex lobbyist Dick Minzner said Redflex will reimburse the City for any administrative cost and at the same time stated that “the company hopes that enough citations are issued to make the program a money maker for the company…” Does anybody in Albuquerque really think that Redflex is going to take a loss when they are a for profit company? The answer is NO, we will see the cycles of the lights change again to ensure that Redflex remains profitable.

Shame on you City Councilors for condoning Reflex’s ripping off the public and to Councilor Sanchez who stated in the Journal, “I’m very pleased with the contract the administration has put together.” Councilor Sanchez, you should never be “pleased” when our citizens are being swindled.

Take a look at some of the people on the council and the predicament that their primary employers are in due in part to their inabilities or abilities such as Brad Winter. APS is in shambles and it’s getting worse daily. Some of the councilors need to clean out their own closets before they even open another door. The main issue that plagues APS is fiscal irresponsibility.

The citizens of Albuquerque have the right to decide how they wish to be policed. If it is the will of the voters to keep the Scam-era’s, so be it. However, if the public decides they do not want to be fleeced any longer by the City’s and Redflex’s greed, the Scam-era’s need to go dark forever.

What are our City leaders so afraid of? Is it loss of revenue to the City? It is loss of other investments? Below are a few other problems that will find their way into the debacle that has been created by Chief Schultz and company. Schultz is the one who brought Redflex to Albuquerque when he came from Scottsdale, Arizona. Take a look…

“Minnesota Supreme Court Strikes Down Red Light Cameras.” (Read here)

“Houston voters reject red-light cameras by wide margin.” (Read here)

“Missouri: Judge Finds Red Light Camera Program Illegal” (Read here)

Councilor Sanchez Makes Right Choices

During Monday night’s City Council meeting, according to the Albuquerque Journal (see here), Councilor Brad Winter proposed to “shift approximately $3 million from the operating budget to capital programs.” This was contrary to a proposal by Councilor Sanchez. The proposal sponsored by Sanchez “would have left the $3 million in the operating budget to fill vacant jobs in understaffed departments and provide small pay raises to employees. Supporters said it would help city workers who endured pay cuts last summer.” Councilor O’Malley stated, "All these departments have been cut to the bone." The Journal stated that “O’Malley and other critics said the city doesn't have enough money to operate the capital projects it builds now, so constructing more projects doesn't make sense.”

"We have so many projects to do and very little money to do them," Winter said. Let’s look at the track record for APS where Brad Winter is the Operations Executive. APS is over $30 million dollars in the red. If Winter wants to run the City the way APS is run; he will need to pull out his pocketbook and write a check. APS appears to be grossly mismanaged and to bring this type of philosophy to the City is wrong and clearly a conflict of interest. Winter was accused of carrying out Berry’s marching orders. Berry wants to put a boardwalk by the Rio Grande. "We have to make sure we invest in our future," Councilor Harris said. "We have to make sure we keep Albuquerque special."

Mayor Berry, Councilor Winter and others need to realize a few simple facts. A “Board Walk” along the Rio Grande is foolish. If people cannot put gas in their cars, buy groceries, or diapers for their children, they will definitely not be able to afford to go to the “Board Walk” to help keep Albuquerque special.

Part of Councilor Ken Sanchez’s’ budget proposal was to eliminate the money that funds the Public Safety Director’s position. The position is currently held by Darren White. White has stained Albuquerque and has created one debacle after another. Barry made a campaign promise to eliminate the position stating that it was un-needed. No one from City hall can tell us exactly what White does other than pull down a huge salary.

If the City would require White to have an x-ray, the results would most likely look like the following:




The Eye is sure that Councilor Winter’s result would be the same.

All Joking aside (that was a joke, right?); our City leaders need to conduct themselves accordingly and do what is “right.” Save the politics for the leaders who have a personal agenda. Do what is right for City employees and for the City of Albuquerque itself

Kudos to Councilors; Sanchez, O’Malley, Garduño, and Benton for doing what is right. Shame on Councilors; Winter, Harris, Lewis, Cook and Jones for playing dirty.

Darren White, County and City to pay Big

Here we go again, Darren White at the center of huge money being lost again. Now between the City and the County, there is close to $4,000,000.00 in losses. The newest debacle has Darren White and the County of Bernalillo for 3,000,000.00 and the City of Albuquerque Police Department under the watchful of Chief Ray Schultz for an additional $882,900.00, as reported in the Albuquerque Journal.

Where does this end? Thanks to Schultz, the City paid $862,000.00 total to Sam Costales and his attorney, Darren White $1,100,000.00 potential liability with TruTouch, Bernalillo County $30,000.00 for Sam Costales during White’s watch, and now between the City and County under the watch of Chief Schultz and then Sheriff Darren White an additional $4,000,000.00. Don’t forget the Tera Chavez suit which the City just settled for $230,000.00. These are just a few cases that have been more publicized. When is the public, the Mayor, the City Council and the Bernalillo County Commission going to say, “Enough is enough?”

Both Schultz and White have vicarious liability following them around; why? Who is going to be the next big million dollar winner; Brad Arensfield? The cop who had an alcohol issue that Schultz made public, possibly violating several different rules and HIPAA?

Ironically, the card to the right may be the picture of the "Dragon Slayer hugging the Dragon."
The Honorable Governor Martinez’s new public corruption unit will have plenty of work to do. Clear your wall Governor; it will be covered with trophies in no time.

That is over $6,100,000.00. No wonder the City in a financial catastrophe. The Eye does realize that the County of Bernalillo will be picking up their tab. The problem is the City of Albuquerque now has Schultz and White continuing to cost the public liability. At what point is the Mayor or the City Council going to say enough? How many more millions is it going to cost us tax payers before our elected official do something; anything?

Look at the amount of money being lost and then evaluate the causes. Is there incompetence involved here? You be the judge.

The public is fed up. Our elected official need to act now or come election time; the public is going to act.

Mayor Berry, between White and Schultz, you have been given a pile of nails. Are you saving them for your own political coffin?

And the Answer is; Get rid of Em’!

The Eye On Albuquerque ran a poll. The Eye Poll asked, “Darren White has claimed the City is $66 million in the red. Berry made a promise to eliminate the un-needed Public Safety Director’s position. Do you think Berry should eliminate the Public Safety Director position and all Public Information Officers?” Recently White has recanted and now claims that the red ink is $40 million dollars. Maybe it was just a little “White’ lie” or maybe White misspoke again.

Although, our Eye Poll is unscientific, the results clearly show by a 90% margin that Mayor Berry should eliminate the position of public safety director and all public information officers positions throughout the City. Below are the results:

333 (90%) Yes, I agree

27 (7%) No, I disagree

7 (1%) I have no opinion

A total of 369 people participated in our poll.

Do the citizens of Albuquerque even have a City Council? By the way this city is being run by the fascism style; it does look like we do. Our elected City Council has forgotten that they were elected to represent the citizen and the citizens’ best interest, not just sit back and collect a check.

Unscientific or not, this is the voting public speaking. It may behoove Mayor Berry to heed to this public opinion. What the Eye means by “heed” is eliminate the positions. Do not try and fool the public and transfer them to positions such as “Special Projects Coordinators.”

Impact Tax - Tonight

The much deferred debate over Impact Taxes is once again on the city council agenda tonight. In short, the proposed ordinance O-09-69 would temporarily drop impact taxes on so called "green path" development and reduce them by 50% for all other development.

The arguments against the moratorium generally take one or both of the following two paths:

1. Lowering impact fees would lead to a loss of tax revenue.
2. The cost of extending city services to undeveloped areas (i.e. Westside businesses and neighborhoods) should be borne by those who directly benefit from those services.

The first argument is really a non-issue. The reality is when there's no development, there's no revenue from the impact tax. Worse, there's no potential revenue generation from the taxes that would be paid if the empty lot had a commercial or residential revenue generator (development) in place.

More insidious is taking the point of view of government itself and viewing taxes as belonging to the government. Taxes and the government belong to the people not the bureaucrats and politicians that spend our hard-earned wealth. Remember, developers don't pay taxes - consumers do.

The second argument is a little harder to knock down. Not because it's in any way more substantial, but because it appeals a core value that individuals should pay their own way. If you build a home or a place for your business to operate, you should bear the brunt of the costs of the infrastructure required to develop that facility.

The problem is that developers and property owners were already paying for that infrastructure through utility expansion charges and unpredictable exactions. That's why groups like NAIOP supported the institution of impact fees. What they got was system of Impact Taxes in addition to all of the other fees and Impact Taxes were designed not to offset the cost of infrastructure extension but to achieve the infill objectives of New Urbanists.

Of course, the inequitable system of taxes known as "impact fees" only pushed those looking for their affordable piece of paradise out of the city and into surrounding communities creating more sprawl, more pollution, and less tax revenue for the City of Albuquerque. But impact fee proponents don't really care about the actual impact of their policies they simply want to control development with an iron fist - control that all of us pay for. Sounds a lot like the proposed government controlled health care scheme doesn't it?

* Main Entry: com·mu·ni·ty
* Pronunciation: \kə-ˈmyü-nə-tē\
* Function: noun
* Inflected Form(s): plural com·mu·ni·ties
* Usage: often attributive
* Etymology: Middle English comunete, from Anglo-French communité, from Latin communitat-, communitas, from communis
* Date: 14th century

1 : a unified body of individuals: as a : state, commonwealth b : the people with common interests living in a particular area; broadly : the area itself c : an interacting population of various kinds of individuals (as species) in a common location d : a group of people with a common characteristic or interest living together within a larger society e : a group linked by a common policy f : a body of persons or nations having a common history or common social, economic, and political interests g : a body of persons of common and especially professional interests scattered through a larger society

- Merriam-Webster Dictionary

You'll notice that community is a group of people with common interests living in a particular area. Those interests include things like security, fire protection, sanitation, roads, and basic infrastructure. To be a part of that community, its members agree to pay reasonable taxes to the community's governing body in order to pay for the infrastructure required to provide those services.

The idea that one part of the community should pay more for the same infrastructure provided to another part of the community is simply wrong - fiscally and morally. Moreover, it fractures the tax base. The "pay your own way" argument simply won't work as there's not a neighborhood in town that could afford to pay for its own infrastructure and maintenance.

The best kind of taxation is broad and shallow. Impact Taxes as implemented by the City of Albuquerque back in 2005 are neither. Reducing impact fees is a step in the right direction even if the reduction is less than equitable because of the "green path" provision.

In the long run, the City of Albuquerque needs to readdress its system of Impact Taxes, exactions and other fees in order to make them equitable and predictable. Fair, equitable, and low taxation leads to individual economic prosperity. Tonight, the council has an opportunity to take a step towards a stronger local economy. The question is whether or not they will have the courage to do so.

The Trolley that Won't Go Away

After almost 12 years of the Chavez administration, one thing we've all gotten used to is the Almighty Alcalde's increasing inability to get along with the council. He's also displayed a disturbing single-mindedness that reeks of ego.

There are countless examples of Marty's increasing desire to build a legacy on the backs of city taxpayers. Wading lagoons, downtown arenas, balloon museums, trolleys, even Pandas have all been on the mayor's personal agenda. Some have been realized while it took the Red Chinese to kill other.

Our point? No matter how many times the council or the public says no, The Almighty Alcalde will continue to pursue his agenda either overtly or covertly. "No" is simply a temporary inconvenience to be endured.

Marty's choo choo train has a long history of trying to slip past the public. Monday, November 6th 2006 - the day before the hotly contested 2006 election - the mayor tried to slip his trolley by the public with the aid of the council. Since that time we've been treated to task farces and propaganda designed to make a trolley with the capacity to serve a very small number of people at a price tag of $240 MILLION plus look cost effective and environmentally friendly.

At least it seems that the council has started to get the message. Last week the council sent up a resolution to the mayor directing him not to use Obama's spending, uh... stimulus money on a trolley (read it here). Unbelievably, the measure was sponsored by none other than our socialist in chief, Councilor Isaac Benton.

[Sidebar]
Obama and his accomplices insist on calling the $750 BILLION spending package ARRA - the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. In reality it's the American Repugnant Redistribution Act. It's bad enough when these yahoos in Washington wastefully spend our tax dollars but it's simply repugnant to be blowing tax dollars that haven't even been collected yet. In other words... borrowed.
[End Sidebar]

What The Almighty Alcalde actually did was to use his line item veto to take out language that modified the Transportation Improvement Plan so that a 19th Century Street Car - no matter where the money came from - would have to go to the voters before the city started railroading the public.

I have exercised my authority as Mayor of Albuquerque to line item veto the portion of R-09-229 that prohibits the use of federal monies to build a modem rail system in Albuquerque. I believe that Albuquerque should no longer remain one of only a handful of D.S. cities without a diverse transportation portfolio including modem rail. I have agreed that a city funded system should be a matter for the voters of Albuquerque. I disagree that either the Regional Transportation District or the federal government with their own funds should be similarly restricted.

- Mayor Martin Chavez Veto Message

There are a number of problems with Marty's logic here. First of all, nothing is free even if it comes from the federal government. Second, using that borrowed money to build a tiny trolley to serve a few people moving from downtown to the airport. A trolley that would make an already congested area worse by taking up space needed for vehicle traffic.

Third and worst of all, even if the trolley were free it creates a long term operational drain on the city's general fund. This is exactly the wrong kind of project to waste borrowed money on. If we're gonna spend Obama's money, we're far better off spending it on projects like the I-25 / Paseo Del Norte interchange - a project that serves tens of thousands of people daily. Something Marty's Tiny Trolley will never be able to do.

Meanwhile the council plans on sticking an extension of the Transportation Infrastructure Tax on the October ballot without funding for a trolley. Here's the problem... that 1/4 cent tax can be easily reprogrammed by the council at anytime. So what's sold to the taxpayers as roads, bike paths, and buses magically becomes a source of revenue for a 19th Century Streetcar.

It doesn't seem to matter who pays for it or how much it costs, Marty will have his trolley. Of course if voters decide to send him packing after 12 years, maybe, just maybe we can put a stake in the heart of the Trolley that Won't Go Away.

The Furr's Still Flying

We told you recently about the Chavez administration's continuing problems with fuzzy math (read it here and here). They seem to have problems with numbers in just about every department and frankly if the 11th floor claimed that there were 24 hours in a day, we'd ask to see a clock. Now they seem to be tailoring reports to specific councilor's sensibilities (or lack thereof).

Monday, the Albuquerque Journal reported that a four page report - meant to justify the mayor's shakeup over at Animal Control and convince the council to release some $4 MILLION in funding that had been frozen in response to the shakeup - had been tailored in an effort to please one councilor.

The administration's initial four-page report was cut in half at the request of Councilor Sally Mayer. The final document failed to include criticism of the old animal-care leadership team— information the administration had included to bolster its case for hiring a new director.

In an interview last week, Mayer, who supported the previous leadership, said the parts she objected to were misleading.

"I said, 'This is insulting,' '' Mayer said. "It was a big spin campaign."

-ABQ Journal Subscription

The Mayer didn't like the idea that the administration's report included information that was less than flattering to the previous manager and her staff. First of all, we don't know what the heck Ed Adams was doing having a councilor approve a report to council. Second, the thing was four whole pages?! If your average mid-schooler showed up with a book report of four pages they'd probably be spending more time in mid-school than they'd like (except at APS but that's another story).

Remember, this report was supposed to justify the major shakeup over at animal control and almost half of the original report was characterized by The Mayer as "spin." So... the council takes definitive action freezing $4 MILLION and demands an accounting of the administration's actions and Mayor Chavez's team comes up with four pages. That's $1 MILLION per page - $2 MILLION per page for the submitted report. Apparently, even the councilors noted the lack of report in the report.

City councilors seemed surprised recently when the administration presented a two-page report on plans to improve animal care.

"This is the report?" two councilors asked during a November meeting, sounding surprised and disappointed.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

We've been baffled by this whole shakeup thing and suspicious of the apparent rift between The Mayer and the mayor from the very beginning. It almost seemed to be a fight over who was going to take credit for making Albuquerque a live exit city.

From the numbers we saw the shelter was making substantial gains before the shakeup. After the shakeup the new director claims credit and follows up by inflating numbers at an adopt-a-thon that was by all accounts successful without the fuzzy fib.

There really doesn't seem to be any justification for what the mayor did when he sacked the previous management and even less justification for what The Mayer did afterwards. Why lead the charge to freeze money for Animal Control only to accept a substandard report as justification as long as it didn't speak ill of the people that it was supposed to justify replacing?

Yeah, we know... bizarre doesn't even begin to describe recent events.

Missing the Point... Keeping the Money

Late Friday the Almighty Alcalde vetoed Council President Brad Winter's bill to halt the Marty's red light scam-era program. The move cleared the way for the city to continue raking in MILLIONS of our dollars based on claims of increased safety. The mayor has decided that it is more important to keep them money than to assure our right to due process.

Chavez said suspending the program would be saying that violators have the right to run red lights and speed.

"I would be saying you're not going to get a ticket for running a red light and you're not going to get a ticket for speeding through a school zone," Chavez said.

-ABQ Tribune

Chavez's reasoning is as devoid of logic as it is justice. Last time we checked it was illegal to speed in a school zone, illegal to run a red light, and illegal to speed on the freeway. The Almighty One's veto doesn't make us safer it simply makes us less free (and millions of dollars poorer).

Before all of you scam-era supporters go off with your bumper-sticker logic saying anything to the effect of "if you don't want a citation don't speed or run a red light," consider the utter lack of thought required to take such a position and the dangers associated with simply accepting a quasi-law enforcement program built on inequity. It's the type of logic that somehow makes sense until you are wrongfully accused and you are denied the ability to defend yourself by a system that presumes your guilt.

No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation.

-Fifth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

The City of Albuquerque, the mayor, and the council have made a conscious decision not to enforce the State of New Mexico's traffic code in favor of a self-created and profit driven civil process in which the city has a direct financial interest. Due process cannot be present where one party holds the power of judgment and a financial interest in the outcome.

There's a reason that our judicial system is set up to include a third uninterested party - more commonly known as a judge. Their job is to both make findings of fact and to make sure that the rights of the parties involved are preserved. A judge's impartiality is required to make these decisions without prejudice. Marty's hearing officers have a direct link to the "prosecution" and cannot be considered impartial under any standard.

Folks the real issue here is freedom. Not the freedom to run red lights or to speed (both are rightfully illegal), but the freedom to defend yourself, the freedom not to be deprived of life, liberty, or property without due process of law. The absence of justice is the presence of tyranny.

From what the Journal (Subscription) is reporting, it looks like Councilors Sanchez and Mayer won't support a veto override. The jury (something you're guaranteed not to have in Marty-roo Court) is still out on Councilors Jones and Harris. Councilor Winter would need 6 votes to override the Almighty Alcalde's veto, which means he'd need at least 3 more than he got on Capo's night at the Council.

We'd suggest contacting your councilors... again. Perhaps they can be convinced to be more concerned about our liberty than their own power.

Eye Poll: Council Panned

In a recent Eye Poll the Almighty Alcalde was panned by a margin of 10 points. This time Eye readers decided to voice their dissatisfaction with the city council. We've suspected that folks generally didn't have a positive opinion of the council for sometime. This Council Eye Poll confirmed our suspicions with 66% disapproving; only 31% approving, 2% didn't know, and 1% didn't care. Remember, this is an unscientific poll but a margin of 35 points is hard to ignore.

We generally view the council as being simultaneously inept and overbearing. They love to overlook the mundane but most important issues like funding APD, AFD, building and repairing infrastructure, in favor of sexier or more narrowly focused ones like trolleys, big box ordinances, affordable housing, etc. The biggest problem with the council is that they feel like they need to do something, which in this case means create laws.

When you spend your time pandering to very narrow interest groups everyone else feels neglected. It's no surprise that almost 2/3rds of us don't think much of them.

On to other things like this week's Eye Poll. You knew this was coming after last week's Mighty Marty Mayoral mistake. Yep... immigration is the topic. Let us know what you think APDs policy towards known illegals should be.

One more thing...

A while back we started a segment called letters to the Eye. If you'd like to be featured, send us your best post. If we like it... up it goes! You don't have to agree with us but you can be sure that if you don't we'll have a comment or two about it. We promise not to edit it unless it contains particularly vile language, but we're also not going to run spell check on it either. (We've got enough trouble trying to keep our grammar semi-correct.) Send your letters to editor@eyeonalbuquerque.com.

In the Crosshairs - Councilor Harris Faces Recall?

We've been hearing the rumblings from District 9 for months now. A councilor with a seemingly unerring ability to alienate just about everyone has left some in District 9 longing for Tina Cummins and her bolero (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). Now at least a few of his constituents have decided they would like to see the back of him (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required).

Councilor Harris was elected in a run-off election against incumbent councilor Tina Cummins. One of the primary complaints about the former councilor was that she was too aligned with the main man on the 11th floor, Mayor Martin Chavez. Harris, after wracking up debts in two successive elections almost immediately jumped on Marty's money train allowing the mayor to host a $500 a plate fundraiser in early 2006 to help pay off the afore mentioned campaign debts.

It looked to our Eyes that Mayor Marty had just bought himself a councilor and no doubt his highness thought so too. His honor was disabused of that notion when Councilor Harris voted against Marty's trolley. Of course the Mayor still had the necessary 6 votes to pass the Transportation Infrastructure Tax extension and true or not, many suspected that Harris was allowed to vote against the trolley in order to placate his more conservative constituents.

Meanwhile Councilor Harris has been busy making a name for himself with legislation aimed at everything from public comment to cell phone towers. In addition, he's irritated almost every neighborhood association in the city with his plan to re-write the city's neighborhood association recognition ordinance. They all believe that he's out there with his ad hoc committee and is determined to stick his nose into their associations.

Most recently, the councilor that couldn't step straight was featured in an ad that condemned him for voting against Marty's January 1 tax cut in favor of a July 1st, 2008 tax cut.

In short, Councilor Harris has been so inconsistent in his voting and his legislation that no one seems to trust him. That's a real problem for an elected official who is supposed to represent any group of people. Harris has become the George Costanza of Albuquerque politics.

Complicating matters for George... uh, Don, is the relatively small number of signatures needed to force a run-off. Just 922 valid signatures is all it would take according to the Journal and if the recall effort is well funded and organized it wouldn't be all that hard to get the required signatures in 60 days. Remember, that's just a couple of hundred more than were required for Harris to qualify for the ballot in the first place and our Eyes tell us that some of the people involved in the recent radio ad campaign are from Harris's District 9, so funding is probably not an issue.

To our knowledge, there has never been a city councilor recalled. Councilor Cadigan faced a recall shortly after his first election and last year Councilor Mayer survived a challenge. Will Councilor Harris survive? Who knows... but this could be the most winnable recall that we've seen.

If recall proponents are successful in their efforts to oust Harris, they had better remember that they will definitely get a councilor who is a card carrying member of the Party of Marty as his honor will be selecting their next councilor. One way or the other, the next couple of years will be interesting for District 9.

Rearranging the Deck Chairs

Monday night the Albuquerque City Council convened to do what it so often does when faced with a controversial issue... nothing. Yep, our intrepid councilors couldn't figure a way to fix the red light camera problem even though the "fixes" amount to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.

As a result, the bucks continue to roll in and the council fiddles while Rome burns. (Yes, we're trying to use as many cliches as possible to sound as silly as the council often acts). KRQE Channel 13 is reporting that the city's take in 18 months is equal to over $3 MILLION. A Couple of months ago the city had collected a gross amount of over $6 MILLION. That's our money folks and here's the truth... not a single criminal was caught.

To make matters worse, those knuckleheads don't even care where the money is going! The only red light camera legislation to actually get to a vote was Councilor Harris' audit proposal and it was defeated 5-4 (ABQ Tribune) with Councilors Mayer, Sanchez, Benton, Winter, and Loy voting against passage.

What the council doesn't seem to get is that the public generally does not like the Almighty's Money Makers. As Councilor Winter said in his town hall announcement, "people have the right to determine how they are going to be policed." Not to mention the fact that the city has found a way to dispense with common concepts like proof beyond a reasonable doubt, innocent until proven guilty, due process, and making the punishment fit the crime - concepts that most reasonable people find appealing. Ah... What the heck? Who cares? The program is paying for itself!

Now Chief Schultz is counting on apathy and fatalism to make us accept being fleeced by the city (ABQ Tribune). Seems that after about 3 years we'll all get used to the red light toll system and even become fond of forking over our hard earned cash. He may even be right, after all when people are held captive against their will they eventually come to view their captors with affection. It's called the Stockholm Syndrome.

Stockholm syndrome is a psychological response sometimes seen in an abducted hostage, in which the hostage shows signs of loyalty to the hostage-taker, regardless of the danger (or at least risk) in which the hostage has been placed. Stockholm syndrome is also sometimes discussed in reference to other situations with similar tensions, such as battered person syndrome, rape cases, child abuse cases, and bride kidnapping. - from wikipedia.org

(Sidebar)
Bride kidnapping? Now that's funny! Now we understand what that APD recruiting poster is all about.
(End Sidebar)

Back to the deck chairs... Councilor Loy (who we almost wish was running so that we could hang these "photo enforced" intersections around his political neck) maintains "reduc[ing] these fines - that's outrageous" (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). What's "outrageous" is that he was ever elected. Wait a second... he wasn't. Four years ago he was the default choice of District 8 and has never run against an opponent. (Splains a lot don't it?)

Marty doesn't get it, the council doesn't get it, and Chief Schultz certainly doesn't get it. MOST PEOPLE DON'T WANT THIS SYSTEM! Even police officers are generally against it unless they are required by the 5th floor to attend meetings to support the red light scam-era program.

You can lower the fines. You can give an option of community service. You can even try to wait until we all suffer from a collective abducted bride syndrome. But you can't change the fact that the system is wrong and that it has struck the iceberg of public opinion.

Eye on Elections - 1 In, 2 Out, and 2 Up

Sounds like baseball but as of today, the race for the City of Albuquerque's even numbered council districts is more of a walk, or maybe a crawl. City Councilor Brad Winter has announced to the Journal that he will indeed seek re-election (Subscription Required). District 6's current councilor Martin Heinrich, has decided not to seek re-election in order to go for Albuquerque's brass ring (federally speaking), Congresswoman Heather Wilson's First Congressional District seat. (Read our take here.)

So... District 4 will be defended by a twice elected incumbent, and District 6 is an open seat. That's all we really know for sure.

Our Eyes are telling us that Joan Griffin will be seeking Heinrich's open seat. In fact her brother, Rich Rosley president of A-Tech Security has jumped on the fundraising trail for Joan sending out an email asking for donations to her fledgling candidacy. In the email he states that "Joanie just registered this past week [the week of April 23rd] as a candidate." In yesterday's Trib, Griffin is quoted as saying that she's "seriously interested" in running. In our estimation, if she's filed the paperwork she's in.

Joanie is a long time fixture in the advertising biz here in Albuquerque with an extensive client list to prove it. One of her more notable political clients was none other than the Almighty One, Martin Chavez. According to her website Griffin served as Mayor Chavez' Press Secretary for his 2005 campaign. If elected, she would be the second city councilor to come directly from Mayor Marty's '05 campaign. Councilor Ken Sanchez originally served as Marty's Treasurer before being lured (some say by the Almighty One himself) into running against former Councilor Miguel Gomez.

Moving on to District 8, where left of center blogger Joe Monahan is reporting that Trudy Jones will run for Councilor Loy's seat. Loy, according to both our Eyes and Monahan's "Alligators" is planning not to seek a second term. That's about as far as we're willing to agree with Mr. Monahan as he also claims in the same post that Councilor Loy is a "conservative."

Trudy has demonstrated her ability to swim in the shark infested waters of commercial real estate for close to 30 years; not to mention she's been successful in the process. She will make a formidable candidate for anyone to try and beat in her largely conservative district 8. Raising money will not be a problem and our Eyes tell us that she is putting together an experienced campaign staff.

So... 1 in - Brad Winter, 2 out - Martin Heinrich and Craig Loy, 2 up - Joanie Griffin and Trudy Jones. Let the 2007 games begin!

Taking Another Train

"Streetcar Tax Is Repealed!"
(Exclamation Point Added)

So declares the headline in today's Yellow Pages (Albuquerque Journal - Subscription Required). Finally, the Council has listened to us... or so it seems.

What really happened last night is the council co-opted Councilor Winter's repeal and stuck it into Councilor Benton's "study." Yes, the Transportation Infrastructure Tax is repealed, but it will be back because the "study" proposed by trolley proponent Benton is really a 19th Century Streetcar marketing group co-chaired by none other than the less than neutral councilor himself.

Understand that government generally studies things that it doesn't want to do or things that it's trying to sell you. Such is the case with Councilor Benton's "task force." It's make up is heavily weighted towards supporters of mass transit in general and 19th Century Streetcars in particular.

The "task force" (a.k.a. Marketing Group) includes Council District representatives, Business and Community Development representatives, and Support Organization representatives. Council District representatives will be chosen to support the views of the councilor doing the choosing (At least 6 for and 3 against). The Businesses and Community Development Groups listed are not just directly impacted; they see themselves as beneficiaries of a $300 MILLION trolley. The Support Organizations which includes Rails, Inc. (Gee we wonder if they support a rail system?), all lean heavily and often publicly toward mass transit by rail.

Councilor Winter wisely voted against this "repeal" recognizing it for what it really is... a sham. Proving that politics makes strange bedfellows, joining Councilor Winter in opposition were Councilors Mayer, O'Malley, and Loy.

The simple truth is this... proponents of the 19th Century Streetcar including Almighty Marty himself, have not given up, they've simply taken another train.

Trolley Still On-Track: Tax Extension Still In Place

About a month and a half ago we were told by City Councilor Martin Heinrich and Mayor Martin Chavez that they would seek to repeal the extension of the Transportation Infrastructure Tax (O-06-49) that had been passed in order to fund Albuquerque's trolley. (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required) Councilor Brad Winter introduced a bill to do just that and to force any extension of the tax to go before the voters. The problem... Councilor Winter's bill was tabled in the Finance Committee last night by Councilor Mayer a supporter of the tax extension and founding member of the Chavez 3.

It's common knowledge that the mayor has set his sites on a shiny new trolley and is determined to get one at any cost (to us). His first step was to hire a slick snake oil salesman to promote his dream in the form of Transportation Director Greg Payne. His second was to try and railroad the voters by slipping a tax extension (tax hike actually) through the City Council the day before the November election (ABQ Journal - Subscription Required). Now, despite promises of repealing the tax extension, task forces, and placing the issue before the voters, the bill that does exactly that, is tabled.

So as of right now, the passed and signed extension of the Transportation Infrastructure Tax is the law of the land with no change in sight. And the light you see at the end of the tunnel is really a trolley on the fast track... again.

Eye On Your Money - The Reasoning of a Child

"A baby is an alimentary canal with a loud voice at one end and no responsibility at the other. " - Ronald Reagan

There's no better description of what Albuquerque's city government has become. On one end we have the loud voice of the mayor and the council telling us that we need, need, need. On the other we are constantly dumped on by having to pay for the consequences of that insatiable desire.

Trolleys, arenas, even decorative pots... We are told that we need these things. We as voters often approve the shiny new toy because like an envious teenager, we are told that all the other kids our size have them. Today we have a perfect example of both ends of the governmental baby. Amazingly enough the justification for the need and the consequences are both the same.

Mayor Chavez made his State of the City address yesterday at the NAIOP luncheon. In it he reportedly referred to the recent defeat of his Desire Named Streetcar and noted that he lost by just one vote. Well the mayor is back on track pushing to get this thing out of the station. (We apologize for the overuse of the ridiculous railroad metaphors, but they're no more ridiculous than the project itself.) The justification used... other cities our size have one and if we want to be like everyone else we should have one too!

The other end of the governmental baby made its presence known earlier in the morning. According to the Albuquerque Journal we will all be paying more for parking at the airport if city officials have their way. Read the Journal report here. (Subscription Required) The move would raise an estimated $1.7 million according to airport spokesman Daniel Jiron. Surprise, surprise the justification given for increasing parking fees... other cities our size charge more than we do! Blogger Mario Burgos nails this one when he notes:

"Mr. Jiron is not saying we need additional revenue to cover costs. Instead, he is saying that he just wants to bump up the costs because other municipalities charge more. Would somebody please explain to the goofballs what it means to have a competitive advantage?"

At first glance there doesn't seem to be any real justification for the additional revenue. But once you start taking a look at both ends of the baby you'll find that the city needs all the money it can get if it is to continue to spend like teenagers set loose with their parents no limit credit card. $270 million for a train, $10 million just for the land for an arena, and budget shortfalls, all require cash. Unfortunately, we're the ones they send the bill to. $3.5 million from red light cameras, $1.7 million from increased parking rates, alarm permit fees, extensions of taxes that are set to expire, are all indications that the city is doing all it can to increase the flow of money into its coffers and out of our pockets.

There's no doubt that the city baby is active and dumping on us with no sense of responsibility whatsoever.

----- UPDATE -----

Last night we were a bit bleary eyed and were unable to find the recent journal article that announces the city's budget shortfall. In the bright light of the morning, The Eye spotted the remembered journal article about the predicted $22 million budget shortfall for 2008. The article points out that the city's spending is $125 million ahead of inflation since Mayor Chavez took office. You can read about it here. (Subscription Required). Is it really any wonder that the city is squeezing revenue from every possible source?