Poor Resolution

Nationalized Health Care... the apple of Obama's eye and the last element required to give the government control over just about every aspect of our lives - from the food we eat to the medications we take. There are a lot of good arguments against this bad idea not the least of which being that it will bankrupt the country while simultaneously endangering lives.

Last Tuesday, the Bernalillo County Commission passed a resolution urging the "immediate passage of comprehensive federal health Care reform legislation." The issue came to our attention because of several posts made by readers claiming that Commissioner Brasher had voted in favor of nationalized health care.

Brasher a fiscal hawk, has consistently voted to hold the line on spending often ending up on the lonely end of 4-1 votes. The whole thing sounded a little strange to us so we had our Eyes do a little digging.

Sure enough, the posters claiming that Brasher had voted for the health care resolution were wrong. But, we can't really blame it on them. The county's Public Information Officer Liz Hamm issued a press release stating that the vote on AR 44-2009 was unanimous when in actuality it was 2-1 with Commissioners Hart-Stebbins and De La Cruz voting for the misguided policy and Commissioner Brasher voting against (read the corrected press release here).

Oddly enough, Commissioner Armijo was nowhere to be found despite chairing the meeting. We wouldn't be surprised if too much tea or perhaps currently running for city council had something to do with missing what could be considered a controversial vote.

Health care may be a problem that we have to tackle, but it won't be made better by forcing everyone onto a Medicare style government run program. If you think private insurance companies are hard to deal with, just wait until you are forced to deal with some D.C. bureaucrat whose bosses have the power to make law.

Whispers in the City Halls

Just when you thought it was safe to go back into the electoral waters... it's time to start ramping up for not one but TWO elections in 2009. February features the little noticed (except by teachers unions) APS School Board election and coming in October is the first publicly financed mayoral fiasco.

It may be early but our Eyes downtown have ears and they're starting to hear the whispers of ambition echoing through the halls of city power. There will be five council seats on the ballot and The Almighty Alcalde will either have to defend his 11th floor office or ride into the green sunset.

Our Eyes have it that The Almighty Alcalde is hoping to land a high paid gig with the Greens in Washington. Apparently the Greens on the national tree haven't heard about Marty's flirtations (some might say collusion) with the development community - a partnership that came to a screeching halt once Marty decided to run for Governor... uh, Senat... aw hell mayor looks good.

Marty's leftward lurch was no doubt an effort to appease his more liberal detractors. The move doesn't appear to have worked as that's the very group that damn near dragged Tom Udall out of his northern Congressional district to make him New Mexico's next Senator.

Never one to be out of options, Marty made sure that he wouldn't have to rely on the Greens for employment by suing the city that he runs to overturn the City Charter's prohibition on third terms. In one of the most bizarre displays of court room unity the plaintiff (Marty), the City (defense attorneys hired by the city run by Marty) and the Judge all agreed that term limits were unconstitutional under the State Constitution. So... The Almighty Alcade has the option of becoming His Honor for life.

Our Eyes tell us that Marty has been heard to say that if District 5 Councilor Michael Cadigan were to run then the Greens would have to find another Washington lobbyist. We think that the Green thing and the whole Candigan ploy is hhhhhhogwash. Marty's running because no one else wants him and the Greens have probably figured out by now that the "greening" of the Q is more about the gaining of political power for The Almighty Alcalde.

Which brings us to Councilor Cadigan... The District 5 two termer is looking to move up to the 11th Floor and probably figures that after three terms Marty fatigue has got to have set in. He's also no doubt banking on the recent rejections by Democrats of the current 11th floor occupant to give him a leg up with city Ds.

Meanwhile, there's another unlikely whisper careening through downtown halls - Councilor Sally Mayer. Councilor Mayer has been consistently supported by the development community and who knows... if the Ds are busy duking it out in the Duke City she might just pull an upset.

Meanwhile down in the council chambers there are the echoes of two past councilors who could be seeking a return to city hall. Interestingly, both are current County Commissioners whose terms would end in 2010. Our Eyes tell us that Alan Armijo and Michael Brasher may have designs on returning to their respective council districts.

Thankfully, the 2009 election season is still a few months off. But, 2009 promises to be an intriguing year none the less even if it begins with a few whispers and not the thunderous explosion of Senator Domenici's cataclysmic retirement.

Scam-era Illegals

Commissioner Michael Brasher has decided to find out exactly how many illegals we've got running red lights at scam-era intersections. Citing the KVOA story that we told you about here, the Bernalillo County Commissioner has written a letter to City Attorney Bob White requesting information about the City of Albuquerque's procedures for handling scam-era citations issued to vehicles from foreign countries.

November 13, 2007

Bob White
City Attorney
City/County Building
4th Floor, Room 4015
One Civic Plaza NW
Albuquerque, New Mexico 87102

Re: Photo Ticket Program

Dear Mr. White:

I am writing to inquire about the City of Albuquerque’s process and procedure for handling citations issued to a vehicle with a license plate from a foreign country. In particular, please advise of the number of citations that have been issued, through the Photo Ticket Program, for vehicles bearing a license plate from a foreign country. I would also like to know how many of these citations have been paid. With respect to those citations that were not paid, please advise of the steps that the City of Albuquerque has taken to attempt to collect the fines for the citations.

I appreciate your prompt attention to this request.

Sincerely,

Michael Brasher

Attachment: “Red light camera complaints” by Erica Heartquist, KVOA Tucson, 11/8/2007

As you can see the letter asks some interesting questions. From our perspective the most interesting item will be to see how many "undocumented" vehicles are prowling our streets. We don't expect that the city even has a plan to collect on the scam-era citations. After all if APD won't notify ICE when a suspected illegal is nabbed by a police officer, why should we expect the city to try and collect on "undocumented" scam-era fines?

Red Light Cameras: Give Us a Break!

For the past year we've been hearing from Marty and company that the Red Light Camera profit centers are all about public safety. We've been treated to "statistics" that claim level one trauma cases are down at intersections where photo enforcement is in place. We've even been given a website run by the city, complete with a peep show, to convince us that the system is infallible.

Let's wander into the realm of Marty's reality for just a moment and assume that father Marty's only goal in life is to keep us safe, and that all of the statistics that have been thrown our way are 100% accurate. After pumping over $6 MILLION into the city coffers in the way of "fines," shouldn't we be getting a break on our car insurance?

After all according to the Mayor, the city is safer, driving habits have changed, and accidents are down, therefore we should be paying less to insure our vehicles. That's the question that Bernalillo County Commissioner Michael Brasher is asking state Superintendent of Insurance Morris J. Chavez, in his letter dated April 3, 2007. (The text of the letter is reprinted below.)

Dear Superintendent Chavez:

As you may know, the Governor recently vetoed Senate Bill 365 which addressed the issue of penalties and fess related to the City of Albuquerque's Phototicket Program, which is designed to issue civil citation for speeding and running red lights. Based on statements issued by the Mayor of the City of Albuquerque on of the intended consequences of the Phototicket Program is a reduction in the frequency and severity of traffic accidents in Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque.

Assuming that the statements from the City are accurate, in addition to improving the safety of our community, we expect that the Phototicket Program will also lead to reductions in automobile insurance premiums. I am writing to respectfully request whether your office intends to track reductions in vehicle collisions at traffic light intersections in Bernalillo County and the City of Albuquerque and/or whether insurance carriers submit such data to your office in determining the establishment of premiums for automobile insurance. Finally, I would like to suggest that your office make an inquiry of the City of Albuquerque for information related to vehicle collisions at traffic light intersections in order to maximize all available reductions in automobile insurance premiums for the taxpayers of Bernalillo County.

Thank you for your consideration.

Sincerely,
Michael Brasher, Bernalillo County Commissioner

The Commissioner is right on here. If we are now safer drivers because of the Red Light Districts, then it follows that our insurance rates should reflect that improvement. If however, Marty's Money Makers are more about money and really don't make us any safer, then the program is really the Cash Cow that we've said it is.