And the Allegations Fly...

No, we're not talking about Udall - Chavez, Wilson - Pearce, White - Carraro... we're talking the Foolish Foursome. You'd think that this was an important election with the future of the nation at stake instead of yet another failed attempt to make Ken Sanchez president of a governing body.

The accusations from last night's dinner club debacle have had us laughing all day as last night's absent councilors tried to explain away their precipitous and foolish boycott.

Mayer said that for two months, Winter had said he would support her for the job. She said he later agreed to support Sanchez but changed his mind again just before Monday's meeting when he received a call from Allen Weh, chairman of the state Republican Party.

- ABQ Journal - Subscription

Sanchez said he had the support of Councilor Brad Winter, a much needed vote, but minutes before tonight's meeting Winter said he wouldn't support Sanchez.

"Politically to me you're only as good as your word," Sanchez said at a news conference. "This is an issue of integrity: this is an issue of honesty."

- KRQE.com

"He said that his wife would divorce him and his wife does serve on the Water Authority. And I would hope that would not be the case when we are making decisions as members of this council," said Sanchez.

- KOB-TV.com

That last one is a real gem... Divorce over a position that only about 9 people care about! Funny stuff! Besides, how many of you have told everyone that would listen that you were going to vote for one candidate only to press the opposing candidate's button? (John Kerry supporters you know who you are.)

What's even more entertaining is that our Eyes tell us that "moderate Democrat" (Ok, Martycrat) Sanchez has been dissed no less than 4 previous times by the Democrat controlled County Commission. Each year Commissioner (now Councilor) Sanchez would nominate himself for the president's post only to have his fellow Democrats pass on his presidential bid.

Perhaps the brain trust of Mayer and Harris should have done a little historical research before backing the Sanchez horse. Newly elected Councilor Trudy Jones might want to be careful who she takes political advice from. She gets a mulligan on this one but let's hope she's smart enough not to miss her second council meeting.

Tantrum! Council Disobedience

Four city councilors pitched a fit at tonight's council meeting and decided a dinner date at Capo's restaurant was more important than attending the meeting. Councilors Sanchez, Mayer, Harris, and newly elected Trudy Jones decided to show their displeasure with the vote to make Councilor Winter President of the Council by boycotting the meeting.

Of course the councilors made time after their main courses to drop by city hall long enough to look foolish for the media and make the 10 o'clock news, but they apparently didn't have time to do what they were elected to do - our business. The reason given by the foolish foursome - Councilor Winter decided to pull his support for Councilor Sanchez's bid for President in favor of... well, himself. Hey, who would you vote for?

Meanwhile issues like Tax Increment Funding Districts, Red Light Camera Moratoriums, and Neighborhood Recognition Ordinances were on the agenda with barely a quorum to hear them. What we're really torqued about is the fact that even though the Red Light Camera Moratorium passed 3 to 2 (Winter, Cadigan, & Garduno in favor, O'Malley & Benton against) it's not even close to veto proof. And if today's little tantrum is any indication, Winter will have a heck of a time trying to get three votes out of tonight's Capo's Dinner Club members should the Almighty Alcade decide to veto the bill.

We've got some news for the Foolish Foursome, NO ONE CARES! Most people would have a hard time naming the councilor they voted for much less which one ended up president of this "august" body. Tonight's little show of council disobedience only served to make you look foolish and petty. Not at all the best start for the new council.

Deficits and Deception

Since Marty announced his red light scam-era marketing, uh... "task force," the city's photo money makers have been almost constantly in the news. First we find out that of the $10.6 MILLION in total revenue, $5.8 MILLION was dumped straight into the city's general fund. The Almighty One characterized the bounty as "excess money," we'd call it a tidy profit for the city.

Last night KOAT Target 7 broke the story that despite promises that the PROFIT would be used for public safety, the PROFIT was instead used to balance the city budget. This morning the Journal carried the same story (Subscription). It seems that Councilors Mayer and Winter aren't too happy that the red light green has been used by the city to make ends meet.

As far as we know this money was always set to be dumped into the general fund. Frankly, it doesn't make a bit of difference which fund the money is headed for. All of the money is sent to the city and its use is ultimately their responsibility. That means the Almighty Mayor and the council.

The councilors go on to complain that they were deceived stating that administration has been "misleading from the beginning." We couldn't agree more. Chavez and his minions claimed that the program was about public safety - it wasn't. They claimed that accidents went down - they didn't. They said the money would be used for the program and public safety - it hasn't been. They say that they'll create a fund for the PROFIT - it won't matter.

We're also wondering just how it is that the city found itself needing to play games with scam-era money in order to balance the budget. We know that spending has gone through the roof since Marty took over, but how did we end up running a deficit that needed to be covered by scam-era revenue?

Last week APD spokesman John Walsh told KRQE News 13 that Marty's scam-eras had caught APS bus drivers running red lights at intersections. The implication was that without the program we wouldn't know that APS bus drivers were endangering our children by running red lights.

We'd like you to think about this a bit... As you know, no one on a school bus (except for the bus driver) is wearing a seat belt. We're pretty sure that a school bus weighs substantially more than your average Prius making it more than a little difficult to stop one on a dime. Do you really want bus drivers stopping short? We can just picture APS students learning to fly - over the seats, their classmates, past the bus driver, and through the front windshield - just so APS and a bus driver avoid a scam-era citation.

We've talked about this before, but we still believe that there are times when it's safer for everyone if a vehicle "runs" a red; particularly when stopping short would endanger lives. These are times when a driver must use their judgment and when it's absolutely imperative that a police officer is present to use their judgment in determining whether or not the driver was correct. Scam-eras will never be able to judge a situation and Marty's Kangaroo Courts are designed to make money not hear cases.

Our Eyes tell us that the 11th floor is putting pressure on Chief Schultz and APD to make the case that the cameras are necessary and blames them for the current situation. We'd think that if Marty and crew were really serious about a "task force" he wouldn't be pressuring Ray, and Ray wouldn't be using John Walsh to bash APS bus driver in the name of our children's safety.

(Sidebar)
Our B.S. meter always goes off when politicians start using children to prove a tangential point. It's usually a distraction and a deception.
(End Sidebar)

Look... if the esteemed councilors want to fix the problem with the scam-era system they have the power to do so. All they have to do is convince four other councilor's that Marty's scam has gone on long enough. To date all they've done is hold town halls and make minor reductions in fines. We've compared it to rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic and so it is.

The Mayer (Councilor Mayer) claims that she supports the system but would like lower fines. When thieves break into your house and steal everything but your brand new TV - you're happy they missed the TV but still pissed that they got the rest of your stuff. Mayer's typical idiocy fails to recognize that the whole system is based on deceit and has been an utter failure.

Meanwhile, Councilor Winter has held his town hall and heard the vehement complaints of constituents and the general public, but has failed to act. We generally like the councilor, but this is a time for action not compromise.

The Mayor and his CEO Bruce Perlman have created a corrupt system designed to bring in revenue. Remember, these are the guys that brought us ABQ PAC, a political action committee created to fill Marty's political coffers and his pockets too. If there was ever any doubt that this whole thing is about money (which there shouldn't have been considering Marty's track record), even the most naive, deaf, dumb, and blind supporter of the Almighty Mayor should be having second thoughts.

Guilty Until Proven Innocent

Decriminalization and What's Behind It

It will be busy over at the city's hearing office if The Mayer (Councilor Mayer) gets her way. The Mayer is leading the charge to decriminalize some 72 misdemeanor offenses. Things like violations of the noise ordinance, failure to obey a police officer, purchasing ephedrine (which is used to make meth), illegal wood burning, and of course The Mayer's very own HEART (not head) ordinance, just to mention a few.

We're sure that the reason for decriminalization of these dastardly deeds will be to take the burden off the court system. In fact, at first glance it seems like a pretty good idea. However, when you look deeper you'll find a few facts that are very disturbing.

The ordinance O-06-25 (scheduled to be heard Monday, April 16) if enacted, will make all of these criminal offenses civil offenses. If this sounds familiar to you it should. It's the exact theory that Albuquerque's photo enforcement program runs under. Running a red light in one of these intersections is a civil offense (apparently committed by your vehicle because the driver is unknown). The same will become true of the 70 plus offenses that are currently petty misdemeanors.

Like the red light camera program, you will be issued a civil citation that will require you to pay up or request an administrative hearing. The fine structure should also sound familiar, $100 for the first offense, $250 for the second, and $500 for the 3rd and all subsequent offenses for the rest of your life (and that of your children if they could get away with it).

This is where we really start to have problems, the first of which is that of due process. As we've already established, the complainant and the hearing officers both work for the administrative branch of government, in this case King Mighty Marty I. The opportunity for a fair and impartial hearing is immediately diminished by the very fact that the mayor is the hearing officer's boss.

In addition, by changing a criminal offense to a civil offense you also change the standard of judgment from beyond a reasonable doubt, to a preponderance of the evidence. In other words, a lower standard that leans towards guilt rather than innocence. A standard that favors the accuser. A standard that favors the city in these cases, even if they were heard before a judge, which they're not.

Finally, when you pay your fine (not if you pay), the money is then collected by the city. Let's see... control the accusing agencies, control the hearing officers, cut out the court system, and collect the money; motive and profit opportunity. Sounds like the perfect system for a banana republic or a tyrannical dictatorship; certainly a system where you are guilty until proven innocent.