Strawberry Poll

In this past Sunday's Albuquerque Journal,  the paper reported the results of a mayoral poll as conducted by Research & Polling, Inc.

The results of the the paper's poll were splashed all over the Sunday paper and they showed that their poll found of the 402 "likely voters" contacted by phone: 63% were for Berry, 18% for Dinelli, 2% for Heh, and 17% refusing to answer.

The paper promoted this poll as a scientific sampling of voters. But the paper obviously omits some serious facts. It does not reveal that the script used in the calls positions Berry as not just another candidate but the person to beat. And after seating Berry in a sitting-must-be-removed position, the poll then asks voters:

"If the election for mayor were held today, and the candidates were Richard J. Berry, Pete Dinelli, and Paul J. Heh, who would you vote for?”

With the seed already planted in the the respondent's mind, the poll then moves in with a questions to reinforce what it has already planted.

So we at the Eye are actually surprised that the paper's poll didn't show Berry at over 80% After all, if not for Berry, much of what we call as our paper would be gone.

You see, over the last few years, under the failed leadership of RJ Berry, the Albuquerque Journal, has reaped hundred's of thousands of dollars in ad revenue. Our Eyes tell us:

2010: $586,501.82
2011: $419,985.07
2012: $662,792.29

 

That's over $1.5 Million in ad revenue for a paper that, let's be honest, has died and is merely positioning itself to be bought. $1.5 Million in ad revenue makes the  City of Albuquerque one of the largest accounts held by Lang and Walz's dying paper. Would they do anything to upset what they already have? Obviously not.

So folks, the million dollar question is, would the Albuquerque Journal actually contract a poll taker to do an honest and objective poll knowing that the results are not in their interest?

Of course not.

That is why Berry's camp has been on the ultra offensive against Mr. Dinelli. If he were truly at 63%, the last thing he would do, is just what he's done for the last 3 1/2 years: Anything.

Our Eyes from within Berry's camp (yes you read that correctly) tell us that not only does a true poll show that Berry is below the required 50%, but that he is terrified of the upcoming debates.

So enjoy your local version of Pravada comrade RJ, you are going to feel the bitter stinging pill that only scrutiny delivers.

And Mr. Sanderoff, saying that the "Berry Administration has been free of any scandals" is like saying we've been living in prosperity here in Albuquerque.....

 

Bullshit

At a candidate forum, one where the incumbent RJ Berry actually reared his head  and hosted by Berry friendly commercial real estate and construction firms, candidate Paul Heh layed Berry on the mat.

In response to a statement RJ made when he alleged crime is down in Albuquerque, Mr. Heh said "I call bullshit!" Heh went on to detail how in his own experience as a cop and the very same FBI reports (which Berry can't seem to read) actually show there is more crime in Albuquerque now and for each successive year Berry has been in office.

In 2012 there were almost 4,000 additional felony victims in Albuquerque as compared to 2011. But RJ says crime is down.

Yesterday, the New Mexico Court of Appeals ruled on the police union's lawsuit against the city in a way that all of our Eyes have been telling us it would rule. Judge Garcia of the court said the district court was in error and reversed the decision of the lower court.

In essence, the Berry administration had a duty to contractual obligations first and before discretionary obligations and Berry violated that duty and violated the contracts. But RJ thinks this is a politically decided decision and vows to appeal the ruling to the NM Supreme Court. Where city's across the country have been ordered to honor raises, only here in New Mexico does Albuquerque get to kick the can down the road for the next administration.

Yesterday the APOA also released a well crafted video detailing and documenting many of the personnel shortage emergencies in APD. But because the facts are true, RJ labels the video as a "waste of time and resources" which Rj is an expert in this area. 

(See the video here: http://nmapoa.com/apoa-gang-video/)

Berry then goes on to blame the APOA for the 3 1/2 years of stalled negotiations when in fact the APOA has been at the table everytime and all the time it was Berry's negotiator, John Martinez, of (yep you guessed it...a third party contractor) Management Associates blocking the negotiations. By the way, Management Associates has been paid close to $200,000 taxpayer dollars since being hired by RJ to represent the city.

Then of course there was yesterday's debate where Berry failed to respect his public safety employees and again hid.

 

Calling the Public Safety Forum a "sham" and a place where he "only heard them tear down the police department and the city" Berry stayed in comfortable quarters with his contractor friends at the Paseo/I-25 project which is largely federally funded and of course almost two years delayed because of Berry's ineptitude.

But on Wednesday night there was a forum dealing the RJ's ABQthePlan idea for destroying much of what keeps the Bosque great. Over 500 citizens attended at the city's own library and facilitated by the mayor's staff.

The forum was organized by RJ's office, not unions. It was hosted at a city facility, not a union hall. It was attended by Albuquerque citizens, not city employees. It concerned an issues affecting all citizens of Albuquerque, not AFD, APD, or other city employees.

Yet RJ hid from this forum also and did not attend.

Under RJ's bizarre and weird view of the world, unless you are in agreement with him, his failed policies, horrible leadership, and unlawful conduct, you are the one simply wrong.

To that, we at the Eye call bullshit on you RJ. It is YOU that has torn down the police department and the city. Dinelli and Heh want to restore and build it up.

But please, let us know how you did all of this fiscal belt tightening (aka tearing the city down) without a reduction in services, please, pretty please, say that again....

Suppression of Democracy

The Albuquerque media refuses to report to following list of strange incidents and criminal offenses that have befallen both Paul Heh's and Pete Dinelli's campaigns.

1.  Approximately the first half of March: APD Deputy Chief Banks personally called a female campaign worker of Paul Heh’s campaign. Mr. Banks spoke directly with the woman, a private citizen and NOT an employee of the city, and told her he needed to send an APD officer to take her personal computer to look for data relating to Mr. Heh’s campaign activity.

2.  Approximately the first week of May, City of Albuquerque Internal Review Office investigator Paul Skotchdopole and an unidentified person went to a Paul Heh campaign member's home wearing APD identification. They entered her home representing themselves as APD officers and made no actions to disavow themselves as non-law enforcement. Initially stating they were there in follow up to a citizen’s complaint, once inside the residence they quickly began asking about Paul Heh and his bid for mayor. They asked who was running the Heh campaign; they asked her if she had made the campaign’s bumper sticker, they also asked who ran the Eye On Albuquerque. This visit scared this Paul Heh campaign member severely enough that she stopped working for the campaign. In an unpublished interview with Jeff Proctor of the Albuquerque Journal, she stated she felt intimidated and frightened by these two men. And given that she and her family had moved into the residence days before she said that she did not know how they knew where she lived. This person has now moved to another home due to the fear that was instilled upon her. (Mr.  Skotchdopole; we know all about the ticket you got downtown and had the City "administratively" dismiss it.)

3. Approximately the first week of May, a female Paul Heh campaign member had Direct TV installed in her new home. A couple of days after Direct TV installed the dish, a man claiming to be a Direct TV employee knocked on her door and said he needed to get on her roof to take pictures of her dish. She was uncomfortable with this man and called Direct TV. Direct TV told her the man was not a Direct TV employee and to confront him and call the police. She heard the man on her roof while she was on the phone with Direct TV. By the time she went outside to confront the man he had gotten into his truck and left. There has been an APD report filed on this incident. This incident and police report number has been given to every Albuquerque media outlet.

4.  Approximately mid-May: A long time Albuquerque attorney joined the core team of one of the two campaign’s running against Mayor Berry. Less than a week after his first meeting with the core group of the campaign at his office, this attorney’s home was broken into and vandalized. Nothing of value was stolen despite the presence of many portable electronic devices and other valuables. A report has been filed with APD about this incident. At this time, this attorney does not feel safe about letting this incident become public knowledge, as he is concerned about the safety of his family, his person and his practice. This attorney has reported this incident and the rest of the incidents detailed here to the Albuquerque FBI.

5.  Approximately mid-May: Another Paul Heh campaign member became aware that his residence had been trespassed upon. He was aware of the incidents at the female campaign member's home and the campaign attorney’s home. Concerned about the security of his own home, he took what measures he could to determine if his home was approached. This campaign member lives in a gated high-end community with controlled access and no through traffic. The entire back yard of this home is walled and is landscaped with finely packed gravel and is similar to a “Zen” style rock garden. This individual came home and found a side gate left open and found obvious footprints where someone had jumped the front portion of the wall on the North side of the home leaving a trail in the fine gravel from the wall to the house. This campaign worker did follow through and talked to the utility companies, neighbors and the home owners association; who all stated they had not entered his property. A report was filed with APD about this incident.
6. Late May: Shortly after the Heh campaign member discovered that someone had trespassed on his property a member of Pete Dinelli’s campaign received a call from someone claiming to be from Comcast. This caller stated that there was a problem with the cable service at the Dinelli campaign member's home and that Comcast needed access to the home. The Dinelli campaign member was immediately suspicious, as there was nothing wrong with his cable service and he was aware of the aforementioned incidents. He denied the person claiming to be calling from Comcast access to his home. The number that was used claiming to be from Comcast was reverse traced and while it came back as a Comcast number, Comcast corporate personnel confirmed that 505-271-3722 is not a Comcast number and has been “retired.” Calls placed to this number to a voicemail box which has a woman’s voice saying her name is Cindy Solonamis (sp?).

The Dinelli campaign member filed a report about this incident with BCSO Deputy Brian Felmee #13-640109. Again, the entire Albuquerque media has this information and refuses to investigate and report on it!

7. During the same time line as the incidents listed above: A private Albuquerque business owner, who helped the Heh campaign get signatures to get on the ballot, was harassed multiple times by the City of Albuquerque. This private businessman, his wife, and many of his tenants signed Paul Heh’s petition. This gentleman owns several multi-unit apartment complexes in the Southeast part of town. He is the on-site maintenance man for these properties. These properties are immaculate in condition, have many multi-year tenants and this businessman is able to secure much higher than average rents because of the care and condition of his units. Over the last six-months there have been zero police related calls for service from his 20-units despite being located in a very high crime area. On about May 3, this property owner found notices posted on all the doors of his units but no other adjacent units. The notices solicited information about complaints they may have about their landlord. The property owner contacted the number provided on the flyers which led to the city’s Office of Community Development. He spoke with a manager of the department who then came out to meet with him the following week. This person, Thea Guerin, told the property owner that his apartments and the immediate area were going to be the target of activity meant to improve the area. As the property owner's apartments are superior to neighboring apartments in terms of condition and care the owner asked Guerin to elaborate. She told him she doesn’t want the apartments to become “like the ones on Ross.” Guerin then advised him that they want to have a “neighborhood get together.” On Wednesday, June 5, after posting flyers about an ice cream get together, Guerin, an assistant, 3 uniformed APD officers, an APD detective, a person from city solid waste, Laura Keougn from the SE area command and an assistant, personnel from the NM Landlord-Tenant Hotline arrived to give out ice cream sandwiches. The property owner remained on scene but did not take any sandwiches. Two tenants arrived and took some ice cream despite the event being held from 3:30-5:30pm. While city personnel hung out, Guerin and lawyers from NM Landlord/Tenant hotline canvassed the property owner's apartments soliciting information from tenants about him as a landlord and whether they had any complaints and provided them with information about other housing opportunities. The following day several tenants approached the property owner and asked him why he was in trouble because they thought he was a great property manager. Documents and notices from the city sent to the property owner are available.

8. June 6th, 2013: A Pete Dinelli’s Campaign Manager's car was brutally vandalized. It is our understanding that his windshield was smashed and again nothing was stolen from his vehicle. The campaign manager filed a report with APD, # T 13002147.

9. In the first week of July: The woman who was harassed by the Paul Skotchdopole and had been called by DCOP Allen Banks had her home computer hacked into then print 40 pages of key strokes.

10. Also in the first week of July: Another member of the Paul Heh campaign had his home burglarized. The residence had the front door kicked in with additional vandalism done inside the property. However, despite the presence of portable electronics and other valuable items, nothing was stolen. A police report was also filed on this felony.

That makes 7 separate people who are in or closely associated with the Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli campaigns who have been harassed or had violent crimes committed against them, 10 separate times! All of these crimes have been directly reported to law enforcement and the Albuquerque media. The incidents have also been directly and repeatedly reported to the Albuquerque media. 

The Albuquerque media refuses to investigate or report on any of this. It is the strong opinion of both the Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli campaigns that the main stream Albuquerque refuses to report on these incidents because they fear retaliation from the GOP, the Berry Administration and Jay McCleskey's political machine. If any of these things had happened to members of the Berry Campaign they would have been reported on the same day, let alone this long sting of incidents! 
 
With such a spike in targeting it is only clear that these actions are committed either by, or people directly supporting, the Berry campaign. Is there no greater un-American action than the commission of crimes meant to intimidate the very process of the democratic process?
 
One final note. While many of the members of the two challenging campaigns have been targeted for harassment and criminal activity there is one very glaring exception: Personnel who are helping the campaign who were prior law enforcement have not so much even been touched….

Acts of Desperation or just plain Stupidity?

This is not a long or belabored story.  Berry's number "two guy," Rob Perry released a video in an effort to try and taint Pete Dinelli. Meanwhile  the APOA Vice-President has been busy trying to help Berry too.

Politics is politics but the video released by Rob Perry was under a federal court seal order.  Perry being a good liar; we mean lawyer, and having an in-depth knowledge about the law and court orders decided to defy the courts order. Now two questions remain concerning Perry.

1)  Why is the city's CAO, Rob Perry, violating a federal court order by releasing a video that was supposed to be sealed?

2)  Why is the city's CAO releasing a video that current interim Chief Banks knew about and failed to act on (doesn't this make Banks look bad again?)? 

Click on the Picture to watch the video by Albuquerque Journal:

 

Another pawn is Shawn Willoughby who is the Vice-President of the APOA.  Willoughby has told several of our Eyes that he has been in contact with Berry's people.

 On a side note: Berry did not fare well in last night forum at the Sheraton Up-Town.  Berry was flustered and  made a desperate appeal to the crowd. Berry asked for the crowds support and vote for his family to continue being mayor...Yeah, we thought it was a oddball statement too...

 

But then again, when your desperate; some will say anything.

Berry’s has imposed a “Death March” on Albuquerque

Last night in-front of a fairly large crowd of Tea Party folks, both Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli spoke.  This forum had invited ALL the mayoral candidates including Berry.  Guess who was not there and why he was not there?
 

It is interesting how Heh and Dinelli have attended over 100 different forums and community meetings and Berry never shows up but still wants your vote. Most recently, Berry has started his lying and negative ads campaign.  Berry states in his commercial, “…the economy is moving forward…” is that moving ‘forward’ like the “Death March?” Albuquerque lost more jobs last year than ANY OTHER PLACE IN THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA to the tune of 3,900 lost jobs.  Even with Berry’s “Paseo Welfare Plan” he claims will create 2,500 jobs but that still leaves a minimum deficit of 1,400 jobs lost.  We call it Welfare because the Government is footing the vast majority of the bill.

In Berry’s commercial he shows some APD detective who worked for Pete Dinelli acting like fools. Here is the funny part of all this; guess who was the Chief of Police? Ray Schultz.  Guess who kept Ray Schultz as Chief? RJ Berry. Guess who was the Internal Affairs Lieutenant when this occurred? Allen Banks.  Guess who appointed Allen Banks as Interim Chief? Richard Berry.

Corruption breeds corruption. Berry is corrupt and he has and continues to appoint corrupt people like Schultz and Banks.  If we are going to look at facts; the facts clearly state Berry has been a terrible mayor and has ruined the city. Berry’s “At the speed of business” is synonymous with a “”Death March.”

If Berry was such an outstanding man and mayor how come his commercials do not showcase his accomplishments? It is because he has NONE! Why doesn’t Berry put on his big boy panties? Oh, that’s right; he left his big boy panties in his girlfriend’s suitcase. So Berry does the cheap political thing; he goes on the offensive and attacks his opposition. Someone needs to tell McCleskey and Little Missie they missed the mark on advising Berry.  People are TIRED of politicians. On a positive note; keep up the good work Berry showing your real colors, you are giving the none-politician Heh a bump up in the polls…

On a side note, we are being told that APOA Vice-President Shawn Willoughby has been actively in contact and cooperating with the Berry campaign and doing his best to support Berry against APD and APOA members. Does Benedict Arnold come to mind. He was a back-stabber and a traitor too...

Mayoral Candidate Paul J. Heh supports the “Unborn Child Protection” Ballot Initiative

You have to stand for something or you will fall for anything…

Mayoral Candidate Paul Heh stated, “I support the democracy of the ‘Unborn Child Protection’ ballot initiative. This initiative does not violate a woman’s right to decide or choose; however, it does limit the time to twenty weeks. An abortion after twenty weeks is simply barbaric.” Heh also stated the difference between this proposal and the current laws is four weeks.  This initiative is a win-win for all.

Mayoral Candidate Pete Dinelli says he opposes the initiative.

Mayor Berry was out of town (again; as usual) and had one of his flunky's make some type of rhetoric statement on his behalf.

Heh's approach appears reasonable and balanced in a three prong approach:

1)  The measure DOES NOT prevent the mother from making the choice/decision to have an abortion.

2)  The measure limits the decision to FIVE MONTHS to abort.

3)   The measure stop the barbaric death of the unborn child.

We agree with Heh that this initiative is a true win-win for all.

Dorothy and Toto Make Rare Appearance

Last Thursday, all three Albuquerque Mayoral candidates attended a non-confrontational forum hosted by the New Mexico Business Coalition. The NMBC is a non-profit organization that has a very Libertarian approach to government operations and is very pro-business. The NMBC is also run by former APD captain Larry Sontag. In a packed conference room at the Albuquerque Country Club, all three candidates, Heh, Dinelli, and Berry were asked the same series of questions concerning the current state of Albuquerque's affairs and how to get out of the mess we are currently in.

And let’s be clear about that, because the questions were specific in confirming Albuquerque is in a fiscal and institutional mess.

Having come from prevailing in the preliminary ethics complaint hearing against incumbent Berry (notice once again, little if any media coverage concerning that juicy tidbit), candidate Dinelli was quick and deliberate in his answers showing his confidence is well deserved in handling questions tossed his way.

Candidate Heh's approach was, while just as informed but less formal. This isn't surprising because he is not a politician. Heh is a veteran of the armed services and veteran police sergeant. He engaged the audience and reminded folks he is not a politician.

Incumbent Berry's approach was, well, bizarre. When asked about Chief Schultz and APD, Berry remarked he was "proud of Ray Schultz." That drew a collective gasp from the audience. When asked the same questions as the others, Berry provided answers to things not asked. In other words, he avoided the questions and remained noncommittal on the important topics covered. Interestingly, incumbent Berry hid amongst his handler Tito and stayed away from Mr. Heh and Mr. Dinelli.  Berry acted like a scared child out on the playground.  There was no threat to Berry other than being thrown out of office; besides Berry has plain clothed officers in the audience to “protect him.”  What a coward…

On Saturday, there was another candidate forum at Albuquerque's Center for Peace and Justice. While Mr. Dinelli and Mr. Heh were there to a packed hall taking questions from folks on the other end of the political spectrum than the folks at the NMBC, once again the two challengers stood out in their commitment to engage voters while Berry once again...hid.

Our Eyes tell us there is friction between the McCleskey special people known as Darren White and Susan Martinez and Berry's people. It seems, tossing Darren to the curb during his fiasco has left a bitter taste in certain people's mouths and Berry may be on the outside of the circle that put him in place as the mayor. But we'll see.

In the meantime, little attack dogs have arrived and are pestering candidate Heh on his Twitter page: www.twitter.com/pauljheh.  There is some very funny and woefully uninformed banter going on there. Some are accusing Mr. Heh of being a hardcore liberal, while others are accusing him of using fake Twitter accounts to defend himself.  One of Berry’s main attack dogs name is “politix…” this little lady is so backwards, she can’t even spell the word “politics" correctly.

If anybody knows anything about Paul Heh, it's that he goes to the fight himself and puts his name on the ticket. Whether it's at city council about misconduct by Darren White, the APOA about misconduct by then-president Joey Sigala, or ineptitude and corruption by Mayor Berry and Chief Schultz, we at the Eye have never seen Mr. Heh not personally and directly confront issues.

This will prove to be a monumental week for the city of Albuquerque and APD. Our Eyes are flooding us with emails about some major changes that have happened and will be happening....stay tuned.

First Quasi Debate for Mayoral Race

The New Mexico Business Coalition has set the stage for the first "quasi" mayoral debate.  The reason we call it "quasi" is because all three candidate's will be INTERVIEWED and QUESTIONED separately at separate times.  We all know the reason for this; Berry knows Dinelli and Heh would rip him apart on his (Berry's') terrible record. Does the word coward come to mind?

The Choice is simple; you decide...

 

 

 

Thick as Thieves

As we reported yesterday here on the Eye On Albuquerque there is clearly a conspiracy between Republican City Councilor Don Harris and Albuquerque’s Mayor Berry.  Here is the deal, Berry knows there will be a run-off election and he will not win, so he is doing what every sneaky and conniving thief does; cheat!

Berry has decided to bed with fellow Republican Don Harris.  As you recall Harris proposed a $20,000 study by a paid city employee to find the reason why APD has a shortage of officers or why they cannot recruit.  Yes folk, he wants to pay PAID employees to do their job.  The entire purpose of this charade was to mask all of Berry’s blunders.  Now Harris has made a new proposal to save Berry in a run-off election.

On Monday night Harris proposed to change the City election to give Berry an unfair and undue advantage.  According to Channel 4 News (READ IT HERE) Harris’s proposal in his legislation will change the voting period leading up to the run-off election from 20 days to just 7 days.  This would clearly give an advantage to the incumbent candidate.

Our Eyes tell us the public, whom were in attendance, were outraged! Harris ended up eating crow and withdrew his proposal to give Berry an unfair and undue advantage over the other candidates.  It makes us wonder why Harris would "sell his soul to the devil."  It appears, Harris has been promised something in return for kiss the A-finger ring on King Berry's hand.

Mayoral candidate Paul Heh stated, “Why would he want to change it from 20 days to 7 days?”  Heh also stated, “I smell politics all over this thing, I think it would absolutely benefit the mayor in some way or another.”

Candidate Dinelli stated, “It’s changing the rules in the middle of an election cycle” Dinelli continued and stated, “This is clearly an effort by the Republicans to have voter suppression and it will favor the incumbents.  I think it is ill-advised and I would hope that the mayor would quickly denounce it.”

In response Berry’s office sent out an email.  The statement in the email claimed Berry “Strongly supports early voting and will evaluate the bill on its merits once it is further through the legislative process.”

Berry’s office plays a smooth game starting off the email with “strongly support” and then ends it with the; we will do anything to win statement (will evaluate the bill on its merits).  Game over Berry, even cheating Berry will still lose because of Berry’s bad leadership.  Harris is working hard to ruin what little credibility he once had.

DOES AN INCOMPETENT “LEADER” ALWAYS TAKE THE PATH OF AVOIDANCE?

Now all three mayoral candidates have further separated themselves from each other.  Two of the candidates have vision and fortitude while Mr. Berry hides.  Paul Heh and Pete Dinelli offered positive change in the correct direction while Berry; well, let’s just say he stayed in the restroom till everyone left the building…

Here is some of the data given in a story (READ IT HERE) by Channel 4 News (Bravo to 4; it was an accurate and great report.)  APD is authorized 1,100 police officers.  APD currently has 958 officers.  This includes over 100 retirees who are re-hires.

A city the size of Albuquerque should have in the neighborhood of 1,400 police officers to adequately protect the city. As the 100 plus retirees who are re-hires start to age and attrition continues this valuable resource will slowly disappear.  The new PERA laws are very strict and prohibit police departments hiring back retirees.  Realistically this places APD and Albuquerque in a huge quandary.  This does not include the 50 to 100 officers who will become eligible for retirement this year.  At this point APD can shrink down to as low as 758 sworn officers.  This is more of a worst case scenario but nevertheless, it is a factual reality that should be discussed.

According to the story on Channel 4, Republican Don Harris who sits on the City Council is deep in Berry’s pocket looking for excuses to bail Berry out of the mess that Berry has created.  Harris wants the tax payers to shell out $20,000 to conduct a study.  This study would analyze such things as salaries, retirement, benefits and quality of life and compare them to other police departments in other cities.   The results would not be released till 2014.  Does this sound wonderful to you?

Don’t fall for Don ‘Ho’ Harris’s song and dance.  Yes, tiny bubbles in the wine will make you feel happy but when you sober up you will see it is all “smoke and mirrors.”  Albuquerque one day is going to wake up from Berry’s intoxicant of lies and we will all have to deal with the hang-over aliments he will leave us with.

The APOA sharply responded to Berry’s administration and Harris.  The APOA stated in part,   “…. However, this crisis at APD should be familiar to anyone in the current administration. The City and this Association had agreed on giving APD the most comprehensive and competitive pay package in the SW United States. This was done AFTER a study was conducted by UNM saying that based on crime rates, assaults, and other key factors; The APD needed to boost the salaries and benefits of the officers who worked in ABQ. The Berry administration has decimated the ranks of the APD and put Public Safety on the back burner all while the crime rates and the levels of violence increase here in ABQ. …”  Mister Harris; there was already a study.  As an attorney and a city councilor you should have researched it and you should have known about it before suggesting the waste of public money.  Harris should be embarrassed by this lousy ploy to take the pressure off of Berry for ruining the City and APD.

 Kudos to the APOA for taking a stance for the department and the rank and file.

According to the story, “One reason Harris believes the police department has fallen short of its goal is morale.”  Harris also stated,  “Some of the problems we've had recently, some of the police officers feel that there's not the respect or admiration for police officers that there used to be and I don't know if that's just the City of Albuquerque."

Harris’s statements are true.  Mayoral candidate Paul Heh told Channel 4 during his interview that morale was low and to fix the vast majority of problems in APD, “You replace the top chain of command and I mean the whole top chain of command…” He also stated that APD needs a chief that is respected by the officers and a chief who respects the officers.

In addition Heh stated, as part of his plan to correct the problems in APD, “You drop the college requirement.  I’m also against giving sign-on bonuses to police officers.  Either you want to be a police officer or you don’t.”  Heh was adamantly opposed to spending another $20,000 on a study when we all know what the problems and issues are in APD.

Candidate Dinelli stated, “I would think that we need to reinstate the incentive program to pay officers with 20 more years of experience the $5,000 or $7,000 that they used to have in place.” Dinelli also stated, “I also believe they need to take a look at the admission requirements…I think that the requirement on the college education should be reconsidered.”  It appears Dinelli has a grip on how he would solve APD’s woes.

Now the conversation turns to our current mayor.  Channel 4 asked Berry for his input on his fellow Republican Harris’s proposal.  This is a serious issue confronting our city and knowing what our leader thinks is important to all the citizens in Albuquerque.  Berry’s response, “He was busy!” Our police department is in melt down and a local station asks for his input and guidance, Berry’s response, “He was busy!”  What could Berry be doing that he would be SO BUSY that he could not take five minutes to talk to Channel 4? Watering his grasslands in Four Hills? No, that’s not it, Berry has a grounds keeper. Is Berry attending another $500 per person fundraiser?  No, that’s not it Berry never showed up to that fundraiser either. We know the answer; he is an incompetent “leader” who always takes the path of avoidance.  Look at Berry’s pattern; he always avoids the public or public issues when he knows he is wrong.

Berry instructed Shultz to provide a response for him.  Let’s see, he spent 5 to10 minutes refusing to meet with Channel 4 because he was “busy.” From there Berry drops a dime on Jay McCleskey, Gov. Martinez’s pet snake.  This takes another 30 minutes. And then Berry spends another 30 minutes on the phone discussing with Schultz what he wants him to say.  That brings the total time lost on Berry avoiding Channel 4 to a grand total of one hour and ten minutes for an interview that would have taken five minutes. Berry should know, when you play with snakes it is only a matter of time before you get bit.

You can’t hide forever varmint! We got our Eye on you…

 

IS BERRY A PENDEJO?

Recently, Pete Dinelli was addressing the Democratic Party and made a slur about voters who cross party lines.  The comment referred to people who crossed the Democratic Party lines as being “pendejos” if they voted for the opposing party’s person.

The Spanish slang for an idiot or fool is “pendejo.”  Dinelli was attempting to motivate the democratic base and offered some type of “buy-in.”  Dinelli immediately apologized to those who felt he was in error.

The media has taken Dinelli’s statement out of context at the instruction of the true PENDEJO; Berry. Keep in mind Berry is the "Puppet Master." Berry has proven he has the media on a string and has absolute and complete control over them.

Has anyone noticed Berry is never seen but you hear about all his rhetoric?  If he is out, his cronies rush him away and keep him sheltered from anyone who might challenge his integrity. Berry hides from the public but still wants their vote. Berry is a liar and a real pendejo.

The voters will need to vote their conscience in October.  Just say no to the pendejo Berry!

If the dictionary needs a picture for a pendejo; we have one below they may use…

 

This is the funny thing about all this: some people are still puzzled as to why the City of Albuquerque is in ruins. It is said that a picture says a thousands words... Look closely folks; Berry is part of the problem and not part of the solution.

HEH WINS!

That would be the headlines if the Mayoral Race was held today based on the signatures submitted; Heh would be the city’s newest Mayor.  Mayoral candidate Paul Heh turned in over 2,000 additional signatures on Monday bringing Heh’s total amount of signatures to a whopping 7,604.  At the bottom of this story is a letter we received from our next Mayor, Paul J. Heh.

In contrast and comparison, Dinelli is estimated to have submitted between 5,000 and 5,500 signatures.   Berry submitted an estimated 6,000 signatures.  Heh lead the three candidates with an overwhelming 7,600 signatures.

One of the oddities we found was both big dollar politicians (Dinelli and Berry) were cleared and given the 3,000 signatures to reach the bench mark several days ago.  The City Clerk has stalled this process for Heh.  The disparity in treatment is obvious.  Heh is the ONLY non-politician in the Mayoral Race.

Now why it is when a candidate submits over 7,600 signatures does the City Clerk drag her feet to complete the process?  Is it because she is incompetent? Is it because she is one of Berry’s hand-picked minions? What is it with Ms. Bail-Berry-Out?

Rather it is incompetence or cronyism, the fact remains that Heh is proving to be a top contender no matter what Berry does to try and suppress or stop Heh.  You won’t see this story on television or in the Journal.  You asked why; it is simple, Berry COMPLETELY controls the local media.

Open letter from Paul J. Heh

With today’s submissions to the Albuquerque city clerk , over 7,500 of this city’s voters have endorsed my candidacy for Mayor with their signature. From business people to college students, city employees to bankers, retired to active duty, and from public safety to public maintenance, citizens from all walks of life have told me the same theme over and over: they are tired of our city leaders lying and saying things are fine when they are not, and that Albuquerque is doing great when it can do so much better.

My special thanks goes out to all the volunteers that spent their afternoons and weekends away from their families. With your help you have given citizens of this city the voice they so desperately want on the ballot in this mayoral election. They want a non-politician to be their mayor. They want somebody who understands their situation, whether it’s great or tragic, and restore honesty, integrity, and hard work back to the office of the Mayor of Albuquerque. They want me, Paul Heh.

Much has been said about “finances” in this mayoral race. That whomever has the biggest bank account, the most heavily funded special interest super-pac, and the fattest donor base is the front runner. Well, as we’ve seen, money has already tainted the race. Both of my opponents are having to address what seem to be unlawful donations. To his credit, I’m told Mr. Dinelli has done the honorable thing and given the few hundred dollars given to him by city contractors to charity. Mayor Berry however continues to hide behind lawyers and, true to his form, refuses to honor rules that control this election process. With over $19,000 of unlawful funds donated to his campaign by city contractors, Mayor Berry’s campaign lawyers argue the rules don’t apply to him. Once again, it’s not Mayor Berry taking a position, but people for Mayor Berry. And once again Mayor Berry refuses to follow the rules.

While I’m keenly aware that it takes money to run a campaign, I will refuse to make it the priority. This campaign is about fixing this city, and to do that we need heart and sweat, not a continuation of the policies that have led us to where we are today.

As I said when I declared my candidacy months ago, I will not hide behind lawyers like Mayor Berry. I will lead this city from the front. With myself and the other two candidates now on the ballot, this campaign begins in earnest and to them I say let the fun begin!

Something is 'Cook'ing or Should We Say; Someone?

 

It's amazing how the mouthpieces of the Berry Administration continue to promote this bizarre idea that everything is "all good" and that Albuquerque is moving forward. Even when broken, a clock is right twice a day fellas. You might ponder the real meaning of this. Considering the events of this week, we'd say the clock is so broke you can't even tell what time it is!!!

 

Former Counselor Cook is Cooked

What can you say regarding former city counselor Michael Cook? Arrested for DWI late Wednesday night, the Eye would like to recognize him for taking responsibility for his actions as he promptly resigned from his position as a city counselor. Mr. Berry, Mr. Perry, and soon to be Mr. Schultz, you might take note of Mr. Cook's actions. Notice how by resigning he puts all the issues that would otherwise affect the city to rest? Notice how his ownership of his error immediately makes it a non-issue? We are by no means endorsing Mr. Cook's alleged DWI offense. But we do respect a person who is willing to take ownership of such issues when it clearly affects his ability to work in public's interest. This is something Berry, Perry, and Schultz have no concept of given the hole they have buried the city in with all of their misconduct. Make no mistake about it, the mess they have let happen will cost us tens of millions in extra taxes. Just look at what is happening in New Orleans as they try to satisfy elements of their DOJ consent decree tab. We only had Hurricane BPS, at least New Orleans had a true natural disaster happen there!

Sontag Rising

 

Our Eyes tell us retired APD Lieutenant Sontag is on his way to be the interim chief. Given his standing with the state's fringe Republican neo-conservative Tea Party, we suspect he will simply be the front-man for CAO Rob Perry. It'll be Perry's way or the highway. Whatever representations Sontag makes with respect to his "clean up" of APD's evidence room issues, trust us the bodies are still buried there in evidence. Our Eyes tell us Sontag could be taking the chief's chair as early as June 1. We'll see.

 

Cartels Among Us

For those of us who are concerned with the macabre crimes of bodies being buried and burned in the cars lately, here's a jump at the obvious, the Mexican drug cartel La Linea is very much in operation here in Albuquerque. This is not anything new as homicide has been actively investigating, and playing down, what are clearly Mexican cartel order murders. Sorry, whenever Mexican nationals and their family members are slaughtered, the crime speaks for itself: It's a message. The message is for others to fall in line "or else." Women burned in cars, children with their throats cut open, people mutilated, kidnappings. We hate to be the bearer of bad news but the cartels are here. Our only concern is what happens if the Sinaloa Cartel decides to take on La Linea over the territory known as Albuquerque? So many experienced officers have left the department and the officers are so cowed into a bunker mentality we can expect a summer like last year but worse.

 

Officers & Deputy Chiefs

 

The Field Services Bid happened once again, and given the numbers of officers who bid, our Eyes tell us expect more end of shift hold-overs, fewer officers on duties, more forced overtime, fewer vacation days, more responsibility, more explaining to citizens why their call held for so long, more explaining why DOJ is here and how they are not going away anytime soon. But we do know who is going away. About a year ago two-time civil rights violator Steve Warfield was promoted to Deputy Chief of APD. With his stars barely even on, our Eyes tell us he announced his retirement. Why bother promoting to the position if you're going to leave? At lease retired Deputy Chief Beth Paiz had the common sense to decline to take Ray Schultz's job.

 

Lastly, our Eyes are telling us the local Republicans are in fuss over something. There are a lot of sweaty palms and lots of bunkers being built...it seems something big is coming. But then again, that's the Republican way, to just always be afraid that something big is coming. In this case, perhaps it's knowing that Pete Dinelli and Paul Heh have gotten so many signatures that they are already in the cushion zone and still have through the end of the month. Whatever you do Darren White, please do not endorse Mr. Heh or Mr. Dinelli, that will surely torpedo anything effort to kick Berry to the curb!

Oh yeah, shame on those of you who thought this story was going to be about Schultz... Just-a-little-bit of Eye humor.

Dinelli Cries [Foul]

The Eye On Albuquerque received the posting below from Mr. Dinelli via his agent. According to Mr. Dinelli’s agent, the Eye’s story concerning Dinelli’s bid for Mayor was a “Hit Job.” The post below is exactly as we received it from Mr. Dinelli’s agent.

I want to address the Eyes points of criticism:

1. Ray did not work for me when I was CPSO. I was not in the chain of command but acted as a liaison between Chief, Mayor and the City Council. Ray as a Department Head reported to Chief Administrative Officer Ed Admas and the Mayor. Chavez and CAO Adams made it clear that Ray did not report to me. Berry changed that when he hired Darren White.

2. I did not "choose to keep" Schultz. Mayor Chavez hired Schultz and I advised Chavez against it at the time. Ray was my third choice, and would always be my very last choice. I was CPSO for only 18 months

3. Frivilous and fruitless issues: When I was a city Councillor, I was the sponsor of the public safety tax that gave police and fire straight across the board 4-6% salary increases without negotiating. I sponsored 2 out of 3 of the quality of life tax bills that built the science museum, the aquarium, the botonical gardens and the balloon museum. I sponsored the creation of the Internal Audit Department, the creation of the Independent Review or Independent Council for police, the General Council for police and the funding for a full time psychologist for APD.

5. No media "hammered" me at press conference and no one asked me why I did not deal with or get rid of Schultz, but I did go on record to get rid of him.

6 The Eye said I did not make corrections when had the chance: totally wrong. I demanded the detectives and inspectors removed from CNAU and I ordered dramatic changes to SOP. I also turned around 911 with a complete reorganization making 30 hires and implementing salary adjustments and a training progam.

7. Not a single person has asked me NOT to run, including all the other potential candidates who I have made clear that I am running.

8. As far as not being successful at any positions I held, I built the Strike Force from the ground up and it had a huge impact on cleaning up the City.

9. As far as acting as a spoiler and dividing the Democrat vote, I have a strong base of support within the party by virtue of being a Ward Chair, being on the State Central Committee and being elected to go this year the Demo National Convention.

There were two major points that I would add to my original response to the Eye":

10. Not being successful at any position I held: As a Deputy City Attorney, I built the Safe City Strike Force from the ground up and we closed down crack houses, meth labs and I initiated nuisance actions against motels along central and violent bars. I negotiated the tear down of 8 motels and 4 violent bars that were magnets for crime. I personally sued over 300 graffiti vandals, gang members and their parents and collected approximately $180,000 in damages. I also established and set up the Metro Court arraignment program and hired and managed the para-legals and the attorneys that process 35,000 to 40,000 traffic cases a year. I also managed the DWI Vehicle Forfeiture unit in the City Attorneys office and the last year I was the manager it seized more vehicles in court than ever before or since collecting $1.5 million from the sale of confiscated DWI cars.

11. The Eye said there were a number of officer involve shooting that occurred when I was Chief Public Safety Officer. I was CPSO for only 18 months, the same amount of time Darren White was CPSO, and I believe there were only 2 or 3 shootings, while White had 24 shootings

Politics, politics, politics...As a politician Mr. Dinelli has run for several offices, several times, he should be open to and welcome any criticism or maybe the truth?

 

NOTE:  Dinelli failed at his last attempt for Mayor.

 

UPDATE: 02/07/2013

We have received miltiple requests for the Eye to post the chart shown.  Below is the City of Albuquerque's organizational chart which SHOWS that Ray Schultz ANSWERED to Mr. Dinelli.

 

 

Dinelli First to Officially Enter the Mayor’s Race

Former Public Safety Director, Peter Dinelli, announced publicly he is running for Mayor.  Dinelli was the Public Safety Director for the City of Albuquerque when APD was involved in several police shootings.  Dinelli left when Berry was elected and was replaced by Darren White.  Dinelli’s successor, the nefarious Darren White, made several bad decisions, including, retaining Ray Schultz as chief and later resigned in disgrace and embarrassment.

Ray Schultz worked for Dinelli while he was the Public Safety Director.  Dinelli, like White, chose to keep the worst chief of police in APD history. We anticipate Dinelli will stand on his soapbox and try to be the “knight in shining armor” that is going to “now” save the City of Albuquerque from this menacing chief. The vast majority of votes will see this as a political ploy and nothing more.  As with most political magicians, Dinelli will pull his magical wand out of his pocket and promise everyone that he will make everything better.

Dinelli is a “has been” and when he had the chance and opportunity; he blew it.  As a former city councilor, Dinelli spent most of his time fighting over frivolous and fruitless issues. As a public safety director he had many opportunities to rid the City of Schultz. While Dinelli was head of the City’s Safe Strike Force he had ample opportunity to report and help correct the deficiencies at APD and other city departments.  Dinelli failed at every position and opportunity he was given.  During Dinelli’s announcement ceremony, the media hammered Dinelli hard asking why he had not handle Schultz when he had the opportunity.  Being a seasoned typical politician, Dinelli played word games and never answered the question.

Our Eyes tell us Dinelli will come with an enormous amount of baggage. Starting out a campaign by omission of the truth to the media and the voters and with this much baggage will probably leave this candidate and campaign stuck in the sand…Our Eyes have told us that Dinelli was told by some and asked by others not to run.

Here is our simple analysis of Dinelli’s candidacy:

Dinelli will only serve to split the Democratic vote. This will allow Berry and the rest of the parasites to remain in power for four more years.

Federal Judge Slams City; Chief Shultz Skates Again

The City of Albuquerque is left holding the bag again, thanks to the irresponsible actions of the City’s Nuisance Abatement Team. The team has several APD officers assigned to it as well as a few inspectors. The team was being overseen by Pete Dinelli who is an attorney and former City Councilor. According to the Journal report (see here), “A federal judge's ruling that the city has engaged in overzealous enforcement of its nuisance abatement ordinance — resulting in the eviction of some residents without a hearing beforehand.”

The City’s Nuisance Abatement Ordinance was one of the items that former Mayor Marty Chavez prided himself with.

According to the Journal, “U.S. District Judge James O. Browning found the city had failed to show sufficient evidence about whether the code violations in the challenged cases demonstrated an immediate danger to the lives and safety of the occupants — enough to turn people out of their homes without a warrant.”

According to the former City Attorney and now COA of Albuquerque, Rob Perry stated, "Really, what the problem is, oversight and supervision of this unit at the senior management levels was atrocious. ‘That's what permitted this to occur.’" Clearly Pete Dinelli was the Public Safety Director at the time and Ray Schultz was the Chief of Police. Dinelli is gone but Schultz is still here and costing the tax payers big bucks.

Interesting enough, “Perry defended the work of police and code enforcement officers, and said the high-profile evictions that generated headlines and TV coverage weren't necessarily sound policy. ‘Here's the reality: (They) weren't lawyers, but you know what? The former public safety director was, and the former mayor was. And they have to take a certain responsibility for the policies they implemented,’" he said.

Perry spoke condescending about Dinelli and Chavez, but not a word about one of the “Good Ol’ Boys” like Schultz, who is considered part of the City’s “senior management.” Why is Perry willing to shove Dinelli and Chavez under the bus and let Chief Schultz skate by on this one too? You will have to decide that question on your own.

Now Darren White is the Public Safety Director. It looks like the City of Albuquerque “jumped from the pan into the fire.” Way to go Berry.

The Suit was filed by Joe and Shannon Kennedy on behalf of Kevin Lowery and others, a class that they estimate includes roughly 200 individuals or families. The Eye is sure that the Kennedy's will be expecting a huge settlement which has become common when dealing with anything Schultz has his hand in.

The Eye On Albuquerque reported on the abatement team back in July of 2009. The Eye stated in the story, “If we are going to have a nuisance abatement unit, it better have strict procedures and be monitored closely for potential abuse (see here).” But apparently the City did not adhere to our warning then either.

Abating the Abaters

The City of Albuquerque has an aggressive policy designed to get rid of substandard properties and unruly businesses. The idea is to use city resources and departments to basically harass a business or property owner until they either clean up their act, close their doors, or sell the property. The city's nuisance abatement team is a combination of code inspectors and law enforcement working together to become a nuisance to the nuisance purveyors headed by Chief Public Safety Officer Pete Dinelli.

Back in April, the Journal reported that three detectives and two inspectors had been suspended for passing around a "distasteful montage of pictures." We know what immediately springs to mind - a bunch of photos ala Abu Grab.

"We are taking extremely aggressive action," said Albuquerque Chief Public Safety Officer Pete Dinelli, who directly oversees the Safe City Strike Force. "The alleged conduct was inappropriate and unprofessional, but in no way was it criminal."

Police officials said Dinelli was informed about the montage of pictures after a meeting Tuesday. Police officials would not discuss specifically what was in the photographs.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The short story didn't really come to our attention until just recently when a different version of events reached us through our Eyes. Apparently, the Safe City Strike Force had a meeting back in April where the leader of the group Pete Dinelli instructed officers to obtain search warrants in every situation where they were conducting searches of "nuisance" properties.

That sounds right. Everyone who's ever watched a cop show knows that the police need a warrant to search a private property - unless of course the officers are invited in by someone who has the authority to allow a search - someone like a tenant.

In fact, the unit has always obtained search warrants in any case where they had not been allowed to search the premises by a party who had the authority to do so. In cases where an authorized party allowed a search, officers carried a form and only performed a search after obtaining the signature of an authorized party.

According to our Eyes, Dinelli wanted the unit to put the kibosh on the authorized but non-search warrant searches because it's an election year. Apparently, the Chief Public Safety Officer didn't have a problem with the searches until his boss' (and his) job is on the line.

Our Eyes tell us that the photo montage suspensions are just an excuse to let the officers know that they're to tow the line. More importantly, the Eyes have it that Dinelli knew about the photos which were of a card placed in a strategic location after a successful abatement.

Look, the whole nuisance abatement concept bothers us for many reasons - the most important of which is that it's far too easy for a unit designed to clean up crack houses and prosecute slum lords to be used to harass law abiding property owners. It can also be used to steal MILLIONS of dollars from motorists through red light scam-eras... but we digress.

If we're going to have a nuisance abatement unit, it better have strict procedures and be monitored closely for potential abuse. That being said, the process should not be determined by the calendar. More specifically, it should not be determined by whether or not The Almighty Alcalde is up for re-election (to his 4th term).

If the unit is operating effectively, within the law, and not being used to harass, bully, or blackmail property owners then its operation should not change simply because the boss is up for re-election. Abating the abaters for political purposes is an abuse of the system and just as wrong as misusing the city's nuisance abatement process to harass an innocent property owner.