Scam-era Scammers

As you all know by now Monday night saw the defeat of relief from governmental intrusion and tyranny. The Albuquerque City Council overwhelming voted to uphold the Almighty Alcalde's veto of Council President Brad Winter's bill to suspend scam-era operations at least until the mayoral task farce presents its report.

Everyone knows what the task farce will return, but it'd be nice for a change if our city government would err on the side of freedom and justice rather than on the side of "excess money."

"During the holiday season, I ask that we reflect on what matters most, the safety of our loved ones," Chávez said in a one-page message to the council. "Virtually no one argues that this technology is not effective in catching violators. Do we really want red light runners and school zone speeders to be given a free pass this holiday season and into the school year?"
- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Really... since when is there a school zone on I-25 and isn't school out for the non-religious, non-threatening, barely Winter break anyway? Besides, when we reflect on our loved ones we're concerned about their safety, but we're even more concerned about their liberty; something that a majority of the council and the Almighty Marty "Hugo" Chavez seem to care little about.

To that end, we thought we'd post who is most responsible for the continuation of the scam. We have decided that these Scam-era Scammers, those people most responsible for the continuation of the red light con will be posted permanently on this website - starting with this post.

Martin J. Chavez
The Scammer in Chief, defender of the con, whose absolute faith in the infallibility of the Redflex system has cost us a bunch of cash and him a shot at the U.S. Senate.

The mayor has even tried to tell us that the system isn't turning a profit, characterizing the red light largess as "excess money." Now he's using the oldest scare tactic in the world to keep us pumping cash into city coffers citing school zone speeders as scam-era justification.

Ray Schultz - APD Chief of Police
The Chief brought the scam from his previous job in Scottsdale, Arizona. Schultz continues to support the Redflex program as if he were a stock holder often confusing his job as chief with that of a scam-era lobbyist.



Ken Sanchez - Councilor District 1
Councilor Sanchez was famously not present during the 1st scam-era moratorium vote. We don't think it would be any different than this vote as the councilor can only be characterized as being in Marty's pocket. After all Sanchez served as the mayor's treasurer until being convinced to run for council.


Debbie O'Malley - Councilor District 2
At least O'Malley is consistent in her support of the scam, but that's about all I can say for a councilor who feels that fleecing the public through scam-eras is a good idea.



Isaac Benton - Councilor District 3
Councilor Benton is consistently neo-socialist preferring government run transportation and government dictated development. It comes as no surprise that the councilor would support enriching the government while limiting the rights of everyday citizens.


Rey Garduño - Councilor District 6
We were pleasantly surprised by Garduño's initial support of the scam-era moratorium. Of course, the councilor we dubbed "Sticky Fingers" during the last election flipped his vote and flopped when it came to keeping the city's hands out of our pockets.

Sally Mayer - Councilor District 7
What more do we have to say... despite her seeming support of Councilor Winter when the Marty was caught balancing the budget with scam money, The Mayer failed the sniff test herself when it came time to protect our due process rights.



Trudy Jones - Councilor District 8
Councilor Jones got a mulligan from us when she missed this vote (and her first council meeting) in favor of participating in the Capo's tantrum. This time she showed up and failed the test.



Don Harris - Councilor District 9
We really can't figure Harris out. He complains about being sold out to the "liberals" and then sides with all of them to keep the scam-era cash coming.




All of the officials listed above need to be remembered. They have by their own actions supported expanding the administrative authority of the city while doing little to protect our freedoms.

"Sell not virtue to purchase wealth, nor Liberty to purchase power."

- Benjamin Franklin, Poor Richards Almanac

Eye Poll: Surprising Results

This week's Eye Poll double header featured the four way race in district 6 and the district 4 re-poll. In district 4 the results (which we believed were suspect the first time) showed a narrowing of the gap between incumbent Councilor Winter and challenger de'Pascal. However with 111 fewer participants due to more stringent voting rules, de'Pascal still ended up with an 8 point advantage with 54% to Winter's 46% (view the results here).

We always stress that this is an unscientific poll and we believe the increased voting security is at least partially responsible for the change in the poll results. One way or the other the Eye Poll shows a determination by the de'Pascal camp to get out their voters at least for the Eye Poll. It remains to be seen whether or not they will be able to muster enough votes on election day and during early voting which is now in progress.

Our featured Eye Poll took a look at the vacant seat of Councilor Martin Heinrich, district 6. This is a four way race between Rey Garduno (D), Joan Griffin (M), Blair Kauffman (D), and Kevin Wilson (R). Martycrat Joan Griffin took this one with 41% of the vote, Kevin Wilson was surprisingly strong with pulling 37%, Rey Garduno thought to be the odds on favorite only got 19% of the vote, and Blair Kauffman rounded out the group with 3% (view the results here).

Our unscientific poll showed surprising strength from Republican Kevin Wilson. He seems to have run a fairly high profile campaign, at least from the outside. It will be interesting to see whether the 2 Democrats and the Martycrat (registered as a D) end up splitting the vote enough to allow Mr. Wilson to slide into the seat.

This week we take a look at the last two candidates who are running for the district 2 council seat. Incumbent Council President is the odds on favorite, but it will be interesting to see what effect the Almighty Mayor's endorsement will have on the Martinez campaign; especially in light of the mayor's recent media problems. Don't forget to vote!

Parties to the City Election

This October's Municipal Election has got it all. We've got educators and a toy salesman, a retired housing advocate and a builder's advocate, an accused embezzler and an admitted larcenist, Democrats (D), Republicans (R), and Martycrats (M). If that weren't enough... District 9 is in a state of open rebellion and is on track to give their councilor the boot even though his replacement will be a card carrying Martycrat. It's enough to make you long for a good old fashioned partisan race.

(Sidebar)
Our Eyes tell us that Admiral Lowe and crew are pretty confident that the ethics hearing for Councilor Harris will reveal misdeeds that could amount to thousands of dollars in fines. To make matters worse for the embattled councilor, he'll be featured on the second page of the district 9 ballot, making the recall almost impossible to miss for the voters in his soon to be former district.
(End Sidebar)

If all of that isn't enough to make you a little bit crazy, 5 of the participants (Sticky Fingers Garduño, Honey Bee de'Pascal, Ad Guru Griffin, Toy Man Wilson, and Commissar O'Malley) are all fueling their campaigns with your tax dollars. If they are so willing to use money that has been forcibly taken from the taxpayer to run their campaigns, what do you think they'll do when they have the power to do it for themselves? Talk about larceny!

Fortunately we can't vote in every district (well without voter ID... maybe we'll give it a shot), but if we could it'd be very hard for one of the above candidates to talk us into spending our vote when they've already stolen our money. On that note, let's talk about who's not already taking your money.

Katherine Martinez(M) - District 2 (Challenger)
Frankly, we don't believe that Ms. Martinez has a chance to beat Commissar O'Malley whose long, deep family ties in the North Valley and her incumbent status make her almost invulnerable. The irony here is that we have a former (current really) housing advocate being challenged by a representative of people who know how to build homes.

Even though Ms. Martinez has been directly endorsed by the Almighty One and would surely be expected to vote the Marty line, we don't believe she'd take the position that the City of Albuquerque should become landlords to people who can't afford homes. There are many ways to help people buy homes, but they all need to include earning and ownership.

Brad Winter (R) - District 4 (Incumbent)
Councilor Winter is completing his second term as councilor. He has been effective for his district and more importantly hasn't spent his time as councilor or as a candidate sticking his hand in our wallets. Another point in his favor is that he's the only councilor that's done anything to try and fix some of the problems caused by the Red Light Scam-era system.

His opponent on the other hand, is accused of embezzling over $60,000, and is already being run by the Napoleon of the 11th floor. Despite the Honey Bee's attempts at claiming victim status, the only victims in this race are the taxpayers.

Blair Kaufman (D) - District 6 (Open Seat)
You know, we'd really like to be able to say something nice about this particular candidate. He hasn't taken any of our money for his campaign which could mean he respects the taxpayers and their hard earned money. But after reading the Journal's Online Chat (Subscription) we suspect that the only reason he isn't rolling in "clean" money is that he didn't qualify.

It's really disheartening for those of us who believe the government should spend less time in our lives and in our wallet to see each candidate trying to out spend the other. Not one of them talked about freedom, not one talked about personal responsibility (except Sticky Fingers Garduño after he'd been nailed for fibbing on his Journal questionnaire).

(Sidebar)
It's amazing how frequently candidates and politicians have a Michael Vick Moment after being nailed. They suddenly find Jesus, Allah, or head out to rehabracadabara. What responsibility does a candidate for elected office have to be truthful, even when faced with a "gotcha" question from the Journal?
(End Sidebar)

We really feel for the residents of District 6. There's not a bit of difference between the candidates. The Republican isn't, the two Democrats are all the same except for the larceny thing, and the Martycrat spouts the exact same big government crap that the other three are busy spewing. Personally, we believe Sticky Fingers will end up representing District 6, but it probably won't make any difference except to Marty.

The Missing Piece of the Puzzle

How do you really get to know a candidate? One way is to go to a website (Rey Garduño, Paulette de'Pascall, Brad Winter, Debbie O'Malley). Now that you're back... how much do you really know about the candidates or the incumbents?

You could also go to candidate forums, read campaign literature, surf the net and read blogs like this one, follow them through the mainstream media, or perhaps you'll be lucky enough to meet one of the candidates on your very own doorstep. If you manage to check each of the above sources of information off your list... now how much do you really know?

Each of the above items is a piece of the puzzle. When combined, they can form a picture of a candidate or an elected official. However, there's still one important piece missing; one that cannot be spun, suited to individuals or situations, and although it's often tried, this piece can't be denied (even if you forget to hit the "finalize" button). The all important piece, the one that not only completes the puzzle but brings it into absolute focus is the one that shows who a candidate associates with.

In today's Tribune there's a story about a group called the Committee for Responsible Budgets who ran ads attacking Councilors Winter and Harris over the most recent council / mayoral spat that had to do with the budget and $9 MILLION for the Westside Metropolitan Detention Center. Turns out three of the group's backers can be tied directly to the Almighty Mayor himself.

That story and its implications can not be written about any of the 5 candidates taking taxpayer money to further their political ambitions; not because they're not backed by special interest, but because those interests can remain unknown. A giant piece of their ideological picture can remain missing. What do they really stand for? Are they really telling you the truth in their campaign literature or when they're standing on your doorstep?

Our Eyes tell us that Transit Director Greg Payne has been spending time with Paulette de'Pascal. Some say that the mayor himself recruited her to run against his council rival Brad Winter. If we had a contributor list to look at we could make comparisons. If her contributors are the same people that donated to the mayor, then we'd know a lot about how she'd vote if elected.

Rey Garduño, running for the District 6 seat vacated by Martin Heinrich... Besides using a taxpayer funded email and being an advocate for "clean" elections, what else does he stand for? And what special interest group (if any) has encouraged him to run?

The Albuquerque Open and UN-Ethical Elections ordinance has created a veil of secrecy that surrounds these candidates. Who do they associate with? What do they really believe? Frankly, a candidate that's freed from their associations can tell voters whatever the voters want to hear because there's no record of a contradiction based on association to compare their statements with.

Matt Brix from Common Cause is a frequent poster here on Eye On Albuquerque, particularly when we talk about taxpayer financing of elections. He's eloquent and makes good arguments for taxpayer financing. Further, we're going give him credit for genuinely wanting to make elections more accessible. However (you knew this was coming), his advocated system of "clean" elections doesn't take money out of politics, it takes money out of our pockets while allowing candidates to hide their true colors; both are fundamentally wrong.

Every piece of a candidate's picture is important. Who a candidate's supporters are is probably MORE important to judging a candidate and their character, than any other piece of the puzzle. We don't have a problem with contribution limits and we believe that contributions should be made public, but forcing a group of people to fund another's political ambition is wrong. Obfuscating their supporters and their true objectives is undeniably dangerous.

Eye Told You: Sour Apples

It seemed like the electrons hadn't dried on our last taxpayer financing of municipal elections post before the poster child for why we shouldn't use taxpayer money to fund elections went out and bought herself a $3,000 apple (hat tip: Joe Monahan). According to Paulette de'Pascal's most recent campaign expenditure report, the District 4 council candidate purchased a $2,990.26 computer from the Apple Store at ABQ Uptown.

According to Monahan, Ms. de'Pascal cleared the purchase with the city attorney's office. The fact is, like it or not the purchase of a computer even a $3,000 computer is allowed by the Albuquerque Open and UN-Ethical Elections ordinance.

8. Communication Systems Purchase or lease of computers, telephone systems and other related communication devices used in campaign activities.

- Albuquerque Open and Ethical Elections Ordinance

To our knowledge, the ordinance does not address the disposition of purchased items after their use in a campaign. Besides, who would want some of the crap produced by campaigns for unsuccessful candidates (or for successful ones for that matter)?

Meanwhile over at one of the other "clean" campaigns, Rey Garduño's defending his decision to use his UNM email for campaign purposes. First of all, it's clearly unethical and according to the Journal article (Subscription) campaigning using university supplies or equipment is not allowed by UNM. Get ready for Garduño's defense... he's not a university employee because he's retired.

That's got to be the dumbest excuse we've heard in a long time. Along with the other retirement benefits that he may be receiving he's receiving a free email account from the university. Since the University of New Mexico is a state institution, it receives large amounts of tax dollars. In fact, UNM depends on tax money to stay open. That email account is no different than a pencil, or paper, postage, our tax dollars purchased the computer that hosts it, pays for the salaries of the people who maintain it, and the connection to the Internet that allows Mr. Garduño to access it.

That's the simple reason that regular employees of cities, states, and state universities are not allowed to campaign using their computers or email accounts. Retired or not, it's clearly unethical even if it's not specifically disallowed. Not to mention, there are more than enough email providers like yahoo or gmail that would provide a FREE account. Plus, since the Albuquerque Open and UN-Ethical Elections ordinance has generously provided $25,902.50 for his campaign he could easily afford a paid email account.

There's more to this little taxpayer funded fiasco. According to Paulette de'Pascal's July 13th campaign expenditure report, in addition to the dubious and legal Apple purchase she gave $400 to the Democratic Party of New Mexico. We'd love to know exactly what type of "expense" she incurred, because it looks an awful lot like a donation to her party.

We would like to believe that the original framers of this "clean" elections bill didn't intend for it to be used to fund political parties. There's something fundamentally wrong and inherently dirty when taxpayer money is given directly to political parties, and we don't care if it's Democrat, Republican, Green, Libertarian, or the Nudists for New Mexico party. (Ok... We made that last one up.)

Whether it's an email account, an apple computer, or a donation to the party, it's all taxpayer money being spent for political purposes. The only difference between Rey Garduño's email account and Paulette de'Pascal's Apple computer is that the university recognized that state employees should not be using taxpayer money for their own political ambitions. It's a lesson that we should re-learn here in Albuquerque.