Eye Poll: Cook

Last week's Eye Poll was rolling along when councilor Mayer shook up her race by leaving it. At the time the incumbent held a comfortable lead over both of her opponents - a lead that evaporated following her withdrawal. In the end, Michal Cook cooked up a solid lead over his opponent and his former opponent with 50% of Eye readers support, Mayer still garnered 32%, and write-in David Green 18% in our unscientific poll (view it here).

This week we swing our attention to the District 9 race between incumbent Don Harris and challenger David Barbour. Hopefully, no one else will fall out of the remaining races or we won't have anything to talk about. Don't forget to vote and you might want to hurry!

Mayer Out

The topsy turvy world of politics continues to amaze us. We just got confirmation from our Eyes that as 770KKOB reported earlier today, Councilor Sally Mayer is dropping out of the race for District 7 council. The departure leaves an almost unobstructed path for Michael Cook to take the District 7 chair.

Rumor has it that Mayer could even be leaving before her term is complete which would pave the way for Mayor Chavez to fill the seat until December. Either way with only one name on the October ballot and the only other candidate - David Green - a write-in candidate, it looks like Michael Cook will be the next councilor from District 7.

----- Update -----
770 KKOB reporter Peter St. Cyr is reporting that Councilor Mayer will be staying through the end of her term. The move takes away the potential for a temporary replacement to be selected by The Almighty Alcalde.

Eye Poll: Benton Blowout

In what can only be termed a blowout, City Council Commissar Isaac Benton scored a decisive victory over County Commissioner Alan Armijo. In our unscientific poll Councilor Isaac Benton received 65% of Eye readers support while Alan Armijo ran 30 points behind with 35% (view it here).

What we originally believed to be a close contest looks to be leaning heavily toward the incumbent councilor. Of course these numbers are unscientific, but no campaign likes to be 30 points behind in any poll. When you add these numbers to the fact that the Armijo campaign has been next to silent since qualifying for the ballot, the October election very well could be a Benton blowout.

This week we take a look at what had been a sleepy little race that looked to be a rerun of the 2005 district 7 council race. That is until one of the candidates - David Green - failed to file his Declaration of Candidacy last Tuesday. That failure changed the entire dynamic of a race that our Eyes told us was leaning toward incumbent Sally Mayer. Will the incumbent solidify her position? Will challenger Cook make in-roads with Green voters? Will the Green campaign wage a successful write-in challenge? All questions to be answered in this week's Eye Poll! Don't forget to vote!

Gotcha! Green Gone

There are no fewer than 19 deadlines in a typical Albuquerque City Council race. Each deadline has its own set of requirements and may or may not apply to every candidate in a specific race. One of the more arcane - and perhaps ridiculous - requirements is a candidate's Declaration of Candidacy.

The Declaration of Candidacy is usually due sometime in mid-August. By that time council candidates have already qualified for public financing (or not), met with the city clerk, attended classes on campaign reporting, collected nominating petition signatures, and filled out or filed a whole host of other forms. Missing most of the deadlines might result in an automatic ethics violation or - in the case of public financing - taxpayer money might be denied a candidate, usually the prospective councilor is allowed to continue in the race.

There are only two deadlines that result in a candidate not being printed on the official ballot - failing to submit enough signatures for ballot qualification and failing to file the Declaration of Candidacy form with the City Clerk between the hours of 8am and 5pm on the proscribed day. That day, in this election cycle was yesterday, August 11th - it's a day that District 7 hopeful David Green isn't likely to forget because that's the day he fell off the city council ballot.

Failure to file the Declaration of Candidacy doesn't technically end a council candidacy, but it does mean that they will not appear on the printed ballot. A qualified candidate can opt to run a write-in campaign, but must file to do so by August 25th.

David Green is a first time unknown candidate. It's highly unlikely that he would be able to run a successful write-in candidacy. His failure to file yesterday effectively ends his bid to unseat incumbent Sally Mayer.

You would probably guess that both of the remaining candidates for the District 7 seat would be happy to see their mutual rival gone. In this case, the enemy of my enemy isn't my friend.

Green - a Democrat - would likely appeal to anti-Mayer Ds. By falling out of the race those Ds will be looking for somewhere to go. Their logical new home would be over at Michael Cook's place. That is of course, if they don't just stay home.

The publicly financed Cook campaign should have the money to lure the anti-incumbent vote to their cause. The question is will the Republican Cook be able to build a coalition of anti-Mayer votes (Rs & Ds) and still attract enough Democrats to tip the race in his favor.

Until recently, we thought that the D7 race was a bit of a snoozer. A three-way race favors the incumbent by lowering the threshold of victory and watering down the vote. A two-way race
makes a runoff impossible and gives the challenger more of an opportunity to make his case.

In the final analysis, incumbents have a huge advantage over their challengers. In a multi-person race, that advantage is multiplied. Unless Michael Cook finds and convinces voters in District 7 that incumbent Sally Mayer needs to be fired, Mayer will continue to hold her council seat.

Shrewd Move

Wednesday night's "Heart of the Heights" mayoral forum ended in a two-fer for The Almighty Alcalde - he dodged questions from a hundred constituents and managed to get a little payback from former loyalist Councilor Sally Mayer.

The story in a nutshell is that The Mayer invited the mayor and his challengers R.J. Berry and Richard Romero to her semi or sometimes monthly constituents meeting. The meeting is routinely promoted by the city using email and postcards paid for by, well... all of us. Of course the two challengers agreed to attend, but the candidate, who wasn't a candidate, but is a candidate now didn't respond until late Wednesday evening.

Predictably, The Almighty didn't descend from his perch on the 11th floor to communicate directly with the councilor, but sent a message through PR flack Joanie Griffin. According to our Eyes, the mayor (through Griffin) asserted that the use of taxpayer funds to promote a political event was an ethics violation and that one would be forthcoming. As of this morning, no complaint had been filed.

As many readers may know, we've been critical of Councilor Mayer on a number of occasions for a number of reasons. If Wednesday's event is a violation, then any appearance by any elected official promoted using city resources is an ethics violation because a politician cannot be separated from politics.

Actually, the whole non-affair is pretty funny. Think of it. Martin Chavez, the man whose face graces every city billboard, every city television commercial, every ribbon cutting, and park opening, is worried about a few hundred bucks used to promote an event where some of his constituents would have a chance to question him and his competitors.

Marty certainly didn't worry about spending HUNDREDS OF THOUSANDS of dollars on the city's Tri-Centennial Celebration - which he conveniently turned into campaign events by starting the celebrations a year early. As every city logo proudly declares, Albuquerque was founded in 1706. A majority of Marty's Tri-Centennial Campaign, uh... Celebration events took place in 2005 - coincidentally, an election year.

The truth is, attending a forum where an incumbent is on stage with their opponents carries with it a significant risk - a risk that most campaigns will want to minimize. That's because the only way for an incumbent to go is down.

At the same time, The Almighty Alcalde was able to damage Councilor Mayer by generating the specter of an ethics violation. That move benefits his choice for District 7 - challenger Michael Cook.

Two years ago, Marty got heavily involved in the council elections. All of his Martycrat candidates - Katherine Martinez, Paulette de Pascal, and yes... Joan Griffin - were soundly defeated. This year the mayoral hand has been a bit more subtle, but that doesn't mean that he isn't trying to influence a couple council elections.

Our Eyes tell us that this time around the mayor is working through attorney and political strategist Doug Antoon. Mr. Antoon is running two candidates - District 5's Dan Lewis and District 7's Michael Cook, and is associated with Marty's Fundraiser-in-Chief and ABQPAC Bagwoman Terri Baird.

Mr. Antoon first cut his teeth in Republican circles back in 2007 when he ran the successful recall defense of Councilor Don Harris. He also served on the Executive Committee of the Bernalillo County Republican Party in 2008. Oddly enough, according to OpenSecrets.com Antoon contributed $200 to the Martin Heinrich campaign while ostensibly promoting Republican candidates in the 2008 election. Our memory may be a little fuzzy here... but we're pretty sure that Heinrich wasn't a Republican and we're damn sure he wasn't the Republican nominee last year.

Antoon's duplicity concerns us. Even though $200 is a piddlin' amount - particularly in a Congressional race - his responsibility while serving on the Bernalillo County Republican Party Executive Board was to support Republican candidates.

The District 5 race and the District 7 race feature either a filed ethics complaint or a threatened ethics complaint. We don't believe that it's a coincidence that Mr. Antoon is involved in both of those races.

Ironically, Antoon had to deal with an ethics complaint against his client two years ago when he represented Councilor Harris. Apparently, he's learned that an ethics complaint generates a fair amount of earned media. Earned media is the name of the game when you're tied to a fixed amount of taxpayer provided money.

All in all, Marty's refusal to attend Mayer's Wednesday forum was a shrewd move. It protected him from uncomfortable questions and from himself, while advancing the campaign of one of his confederates. It looks like The Almighty Alcalde was campaigning Wednesday after all...

----- Another Thought -----
Just like any citizen, Mr. Antoon has the right to support what ever candidate he chooses, in what ever way he chooses. Our criticism is about his choice to support a Democrat in an important race over a well qualified Republican at a time when he held a partisan position in the Republican party.

We would have the same criticism if a member of the Democratic party chose to support a Republican candidate. At issue is the job they volunteered to do and the appearance of giving aid and comfort to the enemy.

Working for either county party carries with it the obligation to support the slate of candidates selected by the party. If nothing else, it looks bad to have an executive committee member supporting a candidate from the other side.

Just this week, Democrats removed Robert Aragon from his position as a ward chairman after he endorsed Republican Jon Barela in next year's 1st Congressional District race. If you hold a partisan position of leadership, expect the troops to be a little put out when you support a high profile member of the other team.

The same goes for elected officials. Everything is partisan at one point or another and a partisan challenger may make an issue out donations that cross the isle. However, elected officials represent constituents from both parties while party executive committee members are elected to serve the members of their own party exclusively.

The whole thing is more than a little annoying. Republicans are not going to have substantive gains in New Mexico until they can figure out what team they're on. We've heard more than one Republican say that they'd support Cadigan over Lewis, or Chavez over Berry. Frankly, we would prefer Lewis and Berry to win. But if Chavez wins, we don't want Lewis to be another councilor in Marty's pocket.

The Almighty Alcalde owes his 12 year occupation of city hall to Republicans. He has masterfully manipulated the Rs on the council and in the public. At this point, all indications are that the man behind the D5 and D7 curtain is no Doug Antoon but Marty Chavez by way of Doug Antoon.

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

Trash, Trolleys, and Ticket Takers: The Mayer to Clear Up "Misinformation"

Councilor Mayer (The Mayer) takes particular pleasure in telling constituents about her "Heart of the Heights" monthly meetings. They're typically a dog and pony show with some city official giving a presentation about their particular area of expertise. The Councilor herself sets the agenda and is rarely exposed to criticism.

Our Eyes just got on an email previewing The Mayer's next show. Her "agenda" contains two things that you've read extensively about here... Red Light Cameras and the Transportation Infrastructure Tax extension. In addition Leonard Garcia, Director of Solid Waste is going to tell the audience how the recent disposal of recyclables in the city's landfill is an aberration and how it will never happen again. (We know of at least one other time where the city found it more convenient to dump your contribution to saving the environment in the landfill, rather than recycling it.) The Mayer's email Missive:

Hello Everyone,

I just wanted to remind everyone about the Heart of the Heights meeting this coming Thursday, March 15 @ 7:00pm. It will be at the Sheraton Uptown as usual.

Leonard Garcia, the Director of Solid Waste, will be our guest speaker. He will be able to answer any questions you might have about recycling. It should be really interesting considering what has been in the news lately. After recycling I want to take some time to talk about the Transportation Tax and the Red Light cameras. There is a lot of misinformation out there on both those subjects.

I hope you will try to come. The next meetings are both on Thursdays - April 19th and

May 17th - mark your calendars.

Sincerely, Sally

If you can make it through the trash talk and the recyclable ramble, she's going to address the "misinformation out there," regarding the Red Light Cameras and the Transportation Infrastructure Tax extension, both of which she supports. You'll remember that The Mayer was responsible for spiking the transportation tax repeal in committee and then for leading the charge to defer it in open council Monday night. It should be entertaining to watch the councilor with the Texas twang try to twist the truth into something that lets her off the hook.

Remember, these meetings are open to the public... if you'd like to ask about all of that "misinformation."