Entrapment

It's a favorite trick of outgoing politicians - give one last payoff to those who have supported your administration. The Albuquerque Journal reported Wednesday that the Chavez payoffs have begun as the Once Almighty Alcalde takes a stab at paying off his people and a shot at the man who will replace him.

Scott Forrester, an assistant to Mayor Martin Chávez, whose term ends Nov. 30, saw an increase in his annual salary from roughly $48,000 a year to a little under $80,000, officials said.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Greg Smith, an attorney, received an 8 percent increase in pay — to about $111,000 a year — and was transferred into a different job. He used to work as an attorney for the city and is now a contract manager in the Department of Municipal Development.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Danny Nevarez, an information technology official in the Environmental Health Department, saw his pay boosted about 48 percent, to around $102,900.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Frankly, no matter what excuse is given these raises are appalling. Our Eyes tell us that since the Once Almighty Alcalde lost the election earlier in the month, Hizz Honor has been busy squirreling away his minions and busily trying to reclassify his unclassified friends. One such reclassification was Director of Parks and Recreation, Jay Evans who was recently moved from his unclassified directors position in Parks and Rec to an over $80,000 a year classified position running Open Space.

The intent of the Chavez administration is to protect their minions while leaving them behind as land mines ready to explode on an unsuspecting Berry administration.

Moving Marty's Minions doesn't exactly protect them from termination. Moving someone from an unclassified position to a classified position doesn't remove the probationary period where the city can let the "newly acquired" classified employee go for pretty much any reason in the first 90 days. Marty's moves only make it more difficult, not impossible.

In light of the current economic situation, the Berry transition team needs to take a hard look not only at Marty's many minions but at the positions that were created to reward them. Now's the time for many of these positions to disappear along with their occupants - which would save all of us a boat load of money.

More importantly, Mayor-elect Berry would be setting a good example for the rest of the city by trimming his at-will staff before he even takes office despite Marty's attempt to trap him into keeping Marty's Minions.

The Sheriff Shuffle

The pending resignation of Sheriff Darren White in order to take the Public Safety post with the city has created a bit of a diemma for the Bernalillo County Commission - which is charged with appointing someone to fill out the term. According to our Eyes, state law requires an appointment before White's departure in order to prevent a sheriff's gap.

What's complicating things is that next year is an election year and no fewer than 9 Democrats have thrown their badges into the appointment and election rings. The Bernalillo County Commission is controlled by Democrats, so there shouldn't be a problem... right?

Wrong. Commissioners - particularly Commissioners Armijo, De La Cruz, and Hart-Stebbins - are reluctant to choose any Democrat who's actually planning a run for Sheriff. At the very least, appointing one of the 9 would give that candidate a decisive edge in the Democratic primary. And since there isn't a single Republican that has asked for the appointment (perhaps an opportunity there), the Democrats on the commission are looking elsewhere for potential candidates.

According to our Eyes, commissioners are looking at the old old sheriff to replace the soon-to-be new old sheriff. Former Sheriff Joe Bowdich is currently serving as the "civilian chief" over at APD - it's a job without a job description, responsibilities, or duties but it pays well. Commissioners have hit on the idea that Bowdich would be the perfect interim-Sheriff and frankly we don't disagree. It might even save the city over $100,000 by vacating a position that has outlived its usefulness.

[Sidebar]
Nothing against Bowdich but, he was in fact brought in to provide cover for the evidence room scandal. The former sheriff was certainly a respected former law enforcement officer but his purpose as a "civilian chief" was to lend needed credibility and restore confidence in APD. Bowdich's position was created for political reasons - to provide cover for the Chavez administration - not functional reasons.

Like most government positions created for political purposes, their usefulness is short lived except as a position to reward supporters.
[End Sidebar]

More importantly for the Democrats on the commission, it allows them not to be seen as choosing the next sheriff. Of course there's nothing to guarantee that any of the 9 Democrats who have asked for the appointment will win the job next year or even that the next elected sheriff will be a Democrat, but at least the Armijo, De La Cruz, and Hart-Stebbins, won't be accused of favoritism or blamed for a November loss.

No matter how it pans out, it looks like the sheriff shuffle will result in a sheriff who really doesn't want the job - at least not long-term. After all, county commissioners are politicians and they're not going to willingly hurt their political future.

Partying Like it's 1999

Budget shortfalls are everywhere. Unless you've been out of the country or in a coma for the past year, you know that every level of government is scrambling to find a way conserve resources as tax revenue dwindles. Sometimes our elected officials talk about reducing spending - meanwhile others are talking about increasing taxes.

Bills that would cut spending all over the state government map and eliminate some political hires were among proposals continuing to stream in as lawmakers remained divided over how to solve the state's worst budget crunch since the 1980s.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Some Democratic members, so far overruled by senior leaders, are pushing consideration of tax increases or repeal of tax cuts as ways to raise revenue and avoid cuts to education and health care programs. Educator unions strongly back the tax hike moves, wanting to avert any reductions in school spending.

-ABQ Journal (Subscription)

The fact is we find ourselves in a crisis. It's a crisis created by uncontrolled spending during a time of relative plenty. Like the Roaring 20's, there were abundant indications that the largess of economic prosperity would not last forever. But like their early 20th century counterparts, they partied like it was 1999 (Sorry, couldn't help the Prince reference) and spent as if there would always be plentiful sources of tax revenue - there wasn't and there isn't.

Most governmental agencies have been forced to recognize the fact that it's imperative that they get a handle on their spending. Apparently, the Bernalillo County Commission didn't get the memo. A little over a week ago at their October 13th meeting, the Bernalillo County Commission was presented with a plan to freeze hiring.

In an effort to proactively deal with declining revenues while avoiding more drastic measures such as layoffs, mandatory furloughs or reduced work hours for its employees, Bernalillo County is proposing a strategic freeze on hiring non public safety related personnel.

Along with a freeze in hiring of new employees, Bernalillo County will focus on reducing nonessential expenditures and careful monitoring of expenditures. Finance Division staff will carefully monitor economic trends and notify the County Manager when revenues appear to be stabilizing and the hiring freeze may be re-evaluated.

-BernCo.gov

The resolution was defeated 3-2 with Commissioners Armijo, De La Cruz, and Hart-Stebbins voting to party like it's 1999 - while Commissioners Wiener and Brasher voted to institute the hiring freeze.

Not to make this a partisan issue but just guess which party the 3 nay votes belonged to. If you said Democrat, you'd be spot on.

It's not like Republicans haven't been guilty of spending like a collective group of drunken sailors - they have. But in case you haven't been paying attention, Democrats on the national level have spent more in the first six months of this year than all of the preceding U.S. governments combined. In fact, Democrats on the national level have made their Republican predecessors
look like Congressional Scrooges when it comes to spending.

New Mexico has been under single party rule for over 70 years. They've dominated almost every elected body, every state department at almost every level for almost all of those 70 plus years. The Bernalillo County Commission is no exception.

When presented with a resolution to freeze spending at a time where tax revenues are on the decline, what do the Democrats on the commission do? They vote to continue to hire non-public safety personnel as if there were no tax revenue problems.

Yeah... It's delusional and totally ignored by the local press. Every level of government should be working to find ways to reduce its spending. The County Commission - at least 3 of the 5 members - clearly haven't figured it out and clearly don't get it. They're partying like it's 1999 and can print money in the basement. Unfortunately, we're the ones who will have to clean up their mess and pay the tab.

1Out Of 2

Tuesday, Mayor-elect Berry filled two of his top positions - Darren White, Public Safety Director and David Campbell, Chief Administrative Officer.

Sheriff White is a solid pick for Public Safety Director. He was one of APD's own, headed up the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, and is currently in his second and - because of term limits - last term as Sheriff of Bernalillo County.

Currently the position of public safety director is held by Pete Dinelli - a lawyer. It's probably a good idea to have someone who has been a first responder in a position dealing with first response. However, we're not real sure that having a Chief of Chief's position is absolutely necessary - but that's a discussion for another day.

Berry's other pick could be somewhat more problematic. David Campbell - a Democrat - has been a city attorney under the Missing Mayor (Saavedra) and was an assistant to Mayor Kinney. He's worked for both Rs and Ds and therein may lie his problem.

Campbell's back and forth political relationships and mercenary nature may work for a lobbyist or lawyer, but the result is a bunch of folks on both sides of the isle that are none too fond of the CAO to be.

The Chief Administrative Officer requires council confirmation. Right now, the council isn't exactly falling all over itself to endorse Campbell as the new CAO.

Councilor Brad Winter, a Northeast Heights Republican, said he isn't sure Campbell will win enough votes for confirmation. He said he's concerned about Campbell's background as a land-use attorney who's contested city zoning decisions.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Land use issues often end up in front of the council. The council has a history of deciding these cases based on politics (they are a political body after all) and subsequently being overturned by the District Court because they failed to make a decision based on the law. Councilor Cadigan has firsthand experience in these matters.

The point is... attorneys like Campbell don't make a lot of political friends in the process. So, lets take a look at a possible vote with the assumption that the new guys Lewis and Cook will give the mayor what he wants.

For years, Campbell has represented eeeevil developers. Forget about O'Malley, Benton, and Garduno and our Eyes tell us that Councilor Sanchez is no fan. That leaves Harris and Jones. Jones appointed Campbell to the Charter Review Task Force, so we have our first definite yes. Harris could go either way. But let's assume that since he's worked with Representative Berry for the last few years, he gives the new mayor what he wants.

That's a 4 to 4 tie with Winter in the middle and Winter has already indicated that he is "concerned" about Campbell. Frankly, there's an even chance that Harris won't vote in favor of Campbell. There are simply more scenarios where Campbell ends up not becoming Ed Adam's replacement than there are scenarios where he does.

Mayor-elect Berry will get his public safety director. It's far less likely that he will get his first choice for CAO. In fact, Campbell better get back on the line with Obama and see if that Foreign Service gig is still available.

Berry Resigns House Seat

Mayor-elect R.J. Berry has decided that a divided official cannot function. The Albuquerque Journal is reporting that Berry had made the decision to step down from his District 20 seat in the New Mexico Legislature.

"It has been my great honor and privilege to represent my district in the Legislature during these past two terms. With the transition of my administration just getting underway, it is imperative that I give it my full attention. The citizens of my district deserve a full-time legislator representing their needs in Santa Fe and the people of Albuquerque deserve a mayor-elect who is working full-time to facilitate a smooth transition at City Hall," Berry said in the release.

- ABQ Journal

We really couldn't agree more... The fact of the matter is that setting up a new city government is not an insignificant task. And with the current $700 MILLION state budget crisis, serving in the state legislature is going to require the full attention of every elected official. Mayor-elect Berry is wise to realize the limitations and the requirements of his new job and act to make sure that his District 20 constituents are properly represented.

Now the question of who will represent District 20 falls to the Bernalillo County Commission. The only question is whether or not the Commission will be able to fill the seat before Saturday's special session start.

Back to IA

Common sense - or what passes as common sense - seems to have broken out on The 5th Floor. Our Eyes tell us that Chief Schultz has sent the Reserve-Gate "investigation" back to IA for investigation.

Seems that the finding that no one involved at anytime did anything wrong just didn't look so good when a few moments on Google would reveal any number of violations that make exonerating Young, Hudson, and Smith next to impossible to believe.

Originally, the plan was to slide Hudson and Smith back into SID quietly and under the cover of the transition. Of course once their plan was revealed, they couldn't very well go through with it - particularly based on what can only be considered questionable findings.

This is just one more indication that The 5th Floor is incapable of policing itself. The Chief and his DCs work first to hide problems rather than fixing them. Of course the cover-up needs to be hidden too. Before long you spend all of your time hiding screw-ups, petty corruption, and even criminal behavior all because politics has become the number one priority of your police force.

It's All a Mistake!

The Internal Affairs investigation into Reserve-gate was finished yesterday and - you guessed it - no one anywhere did anything at anytime that could be considered in any way wrong. We know that it comes as a shock that the Internal Affairs Division - that reports directly to Chief Schultz - found that this whole fraudulent time sheet thing was just a clerical error.

Our Eyes tell us that IA's "investigation" concluded that since it's common practice for SID to take a tech along on sting operations to operate the equipment, David Young was being paid overtime as a civilian tech not for police work. Our immediate question was... exactly what "equipment" was Young supposed to be working on?

During one arrest, a woman stripped naked in a hotel room and gave Young a back massage before she was arrested on criminal solicitation charges, court records show.

In four other arrests, Young touched women's breasts at their requests to convince them he was not a police officer, according to Metropolitan Court records.

And twice he allowed women to touch his "crotch" to prove he was not an officer.

- ABQ Journal (Subscription)

Now we're somewhat familiar with communications equipment and we're pretty sure that - while not required - operators generally keep their clothes on when performing technical functions. We're also sure that techs are behind the scenes types not on camera types - if you know what I mean and I think you do.

When Civilian Young became the star of his own surveillance recordings he became something more than a technician. When Young started arresting suspects and signing criminal complaints, he was no longer a technician working on the equipment he was acting in a law enforcement capacity - a capacity in which he had no authority despite being a reserve officer.

More importantly, all of Young's supervisors knew what Young was doing, gave Young a detective's badge to help him do it, and even nominated him for an award for doing it.

In typical 5th Floor fashion, Chief Schultz and crew have thrown Young and the entire reserve program under the bus when the parties responsible can be traced through the chain of command directly to the chief's office.

Now... right after an election and during a transition the IA report shockingly finds that no one did anything wrong. Our Eyes tell us that Commander, Joe Hudson and Lieutenant, Rob Smith are to be quietly transferred back to SID in the next few days under the cover of the transition and the excuse of the IA "investigation" findings.

Remember, fraud and illegal arrests couldn't possibly have anything to do with improper conduct, poor training, and a willingness to shall we say... fib. It's all a mistake because the "independent" investigation was performed by a department that reports to the chief. It's all a mistake because we said so. How much you wanna bet Mary Han won't see it that way?