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Monday, September 08, 2025All Crime All The Time Fading? Guv's Special Agenda Veers To Other Concerns, Plus: Lujan Vs. Kennedy Gets Heated, And: Readers Write Of The Quantum Quandry And Alligators Forever! Has all crime all the time seen its day in the sun in Santa Fe? That's the question percolating as Wall-Leaners, Alligators and legislative sages assess the initial agenda Gov. Lujan Grisham put forth for the special legislative session she has called for October 1. Even though it was the issue that MLG first said would lead her to call her seventh special, crime was nowhere near the top of the agenda she released but reduced to a sidebar that a spokesman says is still being worked on in advance of the session. But no deals have been cut on long stalled major crime bills such as criminal competency standards and juvenile crime--and none seem to be in the making. And she won't force a showdown with the Feds by attempting to shut down immigrant detention centers. For a decade New Mexican politics has been drowned in legislative sessions and political campaigns dominated by crime but is there even one legislator who has been bounced from office over the issue? It is the polling numbers of the now lame-duck Governor and ABQ mayor that have taken hits during this long crime fight, but even they have been safely re-elected in its midst. The utter failure of the '24 special session MLG called on crime, after which she never regained momentum on the issue, was an early sign that crime may have peaked politically. As one of our Alligators analyzed: Crime, its causes and political impact can be mysterious to analyze but we do know that economic concerns are mounting. BREAD AND BUTTER
Passage of Trump's Big Big Beautiful Bill gave MLG the perfect excuse to pivot off of crime and onto the bread and butter issues. Her special session heads there with proposals to address federal cuts in food stamps, Medicaid and health delivery to rural areas. These are matters of utmost importance in a quasi-welfare state like ours and ones in which Democrats have the sympathy of voters. Not that the GOP doesn't have a point when they argue that the cuts are not scheduled to take effect until 2027 and there is no need for a special. State Sen. Crystal Brantley comes with this forceful video on MLG abandoning the crime agenda and putting softballs on the agenda like funding for public broadcasting. If there is indeed a shift underway in the state political narrative the immediate beneficiary would seem to be progressive Dem governor candidate Deb Haaland and not moderate Dem contender and District Attorney Sam Bregman or fellow moderate Ken Miyagishima. Haaland fighting crime is like watching a fireman with an empty hose. But on bread and butter issues she can relate. Bregman? Not as much. In the ABQ mayoral and Santa Fe races a legislative pivot to the economy and health does not necessarily lessen the potency of the crime issue. There may be even more emphasis now on the responsibility of local leadership--mayors and city councils--to deal with crime spikes rather than watching Santa Fe continue to tie itself into knots. NOT 25 Our Aug 21 blog had September 25 as the probable date for the special session but did not say it was definite. The Alligators get a pass for that minor miss since they came close. No lashes with the wet noodle this time. LUJAN VS. KENNEDY
Senator Ben Ray Lujan's clash with Health and Human Services Secretary RFK Jr. at a Senate Finance Committee hearing last week was met with mixed reviews across the socials. Some supported Lujan for calling out Kennedy's performance while others labeled Lujan's behavior theater that veered to the bizarre when he wondered if Kennedy could understand his "New Mexico accent." The cabinet secretary bristled under Lujan's questioning, accusing him of reciting "gibberish" and "showboating" for the cameras for his 2026 re-election campaign. Lujan says Kennedy's health policies are endangering the public health and he should resign. The seven minute exchange with Kennedy is here. Lujan reported $2.68 million in cash on hand as of June 30. No Republican has yet announced a challenge to Lujan. One other note. How unusual was it to see a scion of the Catholic Kennedy family, one of the most popular political clans ever in northern New Mexico, tangle with a Hispanic Democratic Catholic Senator Ben Ray Lujan? Surely that is politics turned upside down. QUANTUM QUANDRY Reader Phil Leckman offers thoughts on our blog of last week pointing out that the excitement over quantum computing as an economic boost for the state follows so many others that never panned out: While not disputing the overall point of the blog post, I think you are pushing your argument a little too vigorously. I imagine that many in Rio Rancho - population less than 10,000 in 1980 when Intel set up shop, and more than 130,000 today - would disagree with you that Intel's operations there have had "no lasting legacy." Intel remains Rio Rancho's largest industry by far, with more than 3,000 employees and an annual economic impact of more than a billion dollars. And while Schott Solar's local tenure was brief, Albuquerque's long-term support for the solar industry also led to the rise of Array Technologies, now a publicly-traded multi-billion-dollar company with a manufacturing presence on three continents that's still headquartered here in New Mexico. Array - which is also responsible for New Mexico's only resident billionaire - is only one of many successful, profitable solar-industry firms that have taken root here. Are any of these game-changers on the scale of a Microsoft or Amazon? Perhaps not, but their long-term economic impact is profound and it seems misguided to minimize it.  Our "legacy" reference to Intel was not meant to demean the company but to point out that the metro area has not gotten much spin off of other high tech firms from Intel's presence here. Also, Intel now employs less than 3,000 after 227 layoffs the company announced in July. As for Array, the founder of Array Technologies who became a billionaire is Ron Corio. He founded the company in 1989 in Albuquerque, initially focusing on solar tracking systems. Following Array Technologies' IPO in 2020, Corio sold his 38% stake for an estimated $1.2 billion. Phil offered some exceptions to the rule that when econ planners and politicians promise big, look for a bust. Reader Alan Schwartz added to our list of imagined economic booms: Joe, don't forget the 2010 Greeen2V billion dollar investment plan that tanked. It proposed to turn "sand into killowatts." And don't forget the "we're in the running" stories for Tesla Model S, or was it their battery factory? Then there was the Space Force. And how's that Hydrogen hub coming along? We know about Maxeon but what's the status on Ebon Solar? Some days I think there is a stack of preprinted forms on the 11th floor reading: "We're in the running for _____hundred high paying jobs, with an economic benefit of _____ billions over the next _____ decades. Ron Nelson chimes in: Once again you hit the nail on the head. However you left out the multi-million dollar “super computer” that Gov. Richardson bought that never made it out of the packing crates. ALLIGATORS FOREVER  We, the Alligators of New Mexico, protest your use of AI to run odds on the mayoral races. We resent those artificial prognosticators who know nothing of NM Politics aka the “dark arts." AI robots weren’t there when the deals got struck and they’ve never done a single lap around the Roundhouse. Where were these robots when us Alligators were suffering through our 15th statewide party convention or spinning a candidate’s poll with a local reporter? AI doesn’t know the difference between a chicharrón and a chico. They don’t know what we know here in the swamps of La Política! We’re the political odds makers in NM! Alligators forever! Yikes! Taken to the woodshed by my own Gators, proving again that no one controls those wily creatures. Yes, long live the Alligators and our beloved La Política. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
Thursday, September 04, 2025On The Biz Beat With Quantum Computing: Will State's New Economic Dream Be Just Another Disappointing Sideshow? History Says It May It is an interesting sideshow but stands in stark contrast to the mayoral campaigns in ABQ and Santa Fe focusing as they are on the long struggle here to address homelessness, crime and rampant drug dealing and addiction. MLG says she wants the state to be the “home of quantum computing" but such grand goal setting has been notably absent during her seven years at the helm when it comes to the aforementioned social issues. She has tried to chip away at them without ever acting on them in the singular way she is cheerleading esoteric quantum technology. It is the decayed social environment that has kept the state an economic backwater, with little population growth, a stagnant economy, caused professionals (e.g. doctors) to reject the state and created a general malaise regrading the future. The sideshow strategy by the state's political class has a long and sorry history but apparently a successful one. The electorate has repeatedly given second terms to its top leaders. Here's a glimpse of that history. Eclipse Aviation. Touted as the centerpiece for making ABQ a hub for all sorts of aviation firms, Eclipse crashed and burned after hefty government subsidies. Intel--A shining star when it set up shop here in the 80's, the spinoff firms that were predicted to result in a mini Silicon Valley never happened. Today Intel here is a shell of its former self and with no lasting legacy. Innovate ABQ--This was the brainchild of ABQ Mayor Richard Berry to create economic and job creation at a seven acre campus near downtown. Millions of dollars later, it fizzled. ART--Another Mayor Berry scheme that tore up Central Avenue to create a fast bus lane and spur the economy but instead caused economic chaos on the Route 66 corridor that persists to this day.  Today Maxeon Corporation, a Singapore-based solar manufacturing firm, is dubbed the new hope and is receiving generous government subsides but has now announced severe financial challenges and has delayed plans to build here. Space--Not entirely a disappointment but the Spaceport was to be a launching pad for Virgin Galactic to send tourists into space, fostering an economic boom in the desert near T or C. After more than 15 years, it still hasn't happened. Related to that is Orion Center, a satellite builder described as an economic "game-changer" by Mayor Keller where more than a thousand would be employed. Now long gone. Legal Marijuana--MLG pushed for nothing harder during her two terms than legal marijuana. When she finally got it, she declared; "The legalization of adult-use cannabis paves the way for the creation of a new economic driver in our state with the promise of creating thousands of good paying jobs for years to come." Instead the industry is a mess and those "thousands of good paying jobs" remain a mirage. Imagine if the financial and intellectual resources spent on these failed efforts had gone to address what really troubles the state today. There is a difference with the quantum project. It is not a public-private partnership but one with the federal government's Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA. Maybe that gives it a better chance of success? Maybe. At the ceremony announcing the partnership, state Economic Development Secretary Rob Black said: One of "those days," or as Frank sang, "just one of those things"? ABOUT QUANTUM The definition: Quantum computing is an emergent field of computer science and engineering that harnesses the unique qualities of quantum mechanics to solve problems beyond the ability of even the most powerful classical computers. The field of quantum computing includes a range of disciplines, including quantum hardware and quantum algorithms. While still in development, quantum technology will soon be able to solve complex problems that classical supercomputers can’t solve (or can’t solve fast enough). This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Wednesday, September 03, 2025AI Put To Work on Santa Fe Mayoral Race; Grok Has Garcia With Early Lead But Race Is "Wide Open" With two term incumbent and progressive Democrat Alan Webber not seeking a third term and with no dominant name seeking to replace him, AI concludes what most human observers believe--that the race is wide open with City Councilor Michael Garcia perhaps having a slight edge in the early going. Here's Grok in Santa Fe: The 2025 Santa Fe mayoral election is shaping up to be a highly competitive race with no clear front runner at this stage. Incumbent Mayor Alan Webber has announced he will not seek a third term, leaving the field open for several candidates. Seven candidates have declared their bids: City Councilor Michael Garcia, former City Councilors JoAnne Vigil Coppler and Ron Trujillo, former city Finance Director Oscar Rodriguez, former county clerk candidate Leticia Montoya, and political consultant Tarin Nix. Additionally, County Commissioner Justin Greene has also announced his candidacy. A mysterious poll conducted in May 2025, reported by The New Mexican, indicated that a large majority of voters remain undecided, with City Councilor Michael Garcia leading among named candidates at 15% support. However, the poll’s origins are unclear, and its results should be treated with caution due to the lack of transparency about its methodology and sponsorship. The poll also highlighted voter dissatisfaction with current city leadership and identified key issues like crime, housing affordability, traffic, infrastructure, and homelessness as top concerns. Given the lack of definitive polling and the early stage of the campaign, it’s challenging to pinpoint a likely winner. Michael Garcia may have an edge as a current elected official in the race, potentially benefiting from name recognition and his position as a critic of the current administration. However, other candidates like JoAnne Vigil Coppler, who ran against Webber in 2021, and Oscar Rodriguez, with his experience in city and town management, could gain traction depending on their campaign strategies and voter outreach. Tarin Nix and Leticia Montoya, while less experienced in elected roles, are focusing on improving city services, which could resonate with voters frustrated by current conditions. The use of ranked-choice voting in Santa Fe means the winner will need to secure over 50% of the vote, either in the first round or through subsequent rounds of vote redistribution, which adds complexity to predicting an outcome. In summary, no candidate can be confidently named as the likely winner at this point. Michael Garcia appears to have an early lead based on limited polling, but the high number of undecided voters and the competitive field suggest the race is wide open. Not bad, Grok. You get a free software update for your efforts. That Councilor Garcia has stuck his neck above the field is not surprising. Debbie Jaramillo was elected mayor from the council in '94 and David Coss did the same in 2006. In 2014, Javier Gonzales was a Santa Fe County Commissioner when he became mayor. That history brings Commissioner Greene to the fore who Grok did not address. Greene is a favorite of the progressives and could give Garcia his stiffest challenge. Is the race going to come down to those two or will firebrand Ron Trujillo heat things up? Can either of the women contenders--Nix and Coppler Vigil--break out? Does dark horse Rodriguez catch a wave? To be continued. . . This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Tuesday, September 02, 2025Can AI Predict The Outcome Of The ABQ Mayoral Race? We Put It To The Test, Plus: Schooled By Trump: Latest State Broadband Plan Bows To Satellite Delivery So today we swallow our pride and ask AI--in this case Grok--what are the odds that ABQ Mayor Tim Keller will be elected to a third term? Grok's response begins with the positive factors for the incumbent followed by the negatives. Incumbency Advantage: Keller has strong name recognition and a track record, having won in 2017 with 62% in a runoff and in 2021 with 56% outright. Incumbents often benefit from established voter bases and campaign infrastructure. Financial Backing: Keller is leading the financial race with $756,000 in public funds, supplemented by a measure finance committee, totaling around $880,000. . .This financial edge could amplify his campaign’s reach. Policy Achievements: Keller emphasizes progress on initiatives like the Gateway Center for homelessness, clearing the rape kit backlog, and investments in parks, libraries, and housing. He also highlights moving the Albuquerque Police Department (APD) toward exiting the DOJ consent decree. These accomplishments may resonate with voters seeking continuity. Historical Context: While no Albuquerque mayor has served three consecutive terms, Keller’s campaign frames him as a “battle-tested” leader, potentially appealing to voters wary of untested candidates FACTORS AGAINST Voter Fatigue and Approval Decline: Keller’s approval rating dropped from 77% in 2020 to 49% in 2022, a 28% decrease among his own Democratic base, reflecting dissatisfaction with issues like crime and homelessness. Rising Crime and Homelessness: Critics, including opponents like Darren White, Mayling Armijo and Eddie Varela, argue that crime and homelessness have worsened during Keller’s tenure. Homelessness increased from 1,152 in 2021 to 2,394 in 2023, an 83% rise, which opponents use to challenge his record. Crowded Field: Seven candidates, including Keller, have qualified for the ballot, with notable challengers like former U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez and former Sheriff Darren White. A crowded field could split votes, potentially forcing a runoff if Keller doesn’t secure 50%. GROK ANALYSIS  Good stuff from Grok but it's still up to a real live political reporter to clarify as well as make the odds that Grok shies away from. First, Keller's overall approval rating was not 49 percent in November 2022. We told Grok to clarify: According to a November 2022 Albuquerque Journal poll, Tim Keller’s overall approval rating among likely Albuquerque voters was 33%, not 49%. However, the same poll noted that among Democrats specifically, Keller had a 49% approval rating, with 20% disapproving. This distinction is critical, as the 49% figure applies only to Democratic voters, not the general electorate. The overall 33% approval rating reflects a broader decline in support, with 40% disapproving and 21% expressing mixed feelings. And since Grok won't be an odds maker, it's back to us. So. . . THE ODDS Odds that Keller finishes first in the November 3 election? We put those at 1/5, meaning a $100 bet would pay only $120 with an 83 percent probability that Keller will finish first among the seven mayoral candidates on the ballot. Odds that there will be a run-off election between the two top finishers if no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote in the initial election? We see a 70 percent chance that there will be a run-off or odds of 3/7. If you agree and bet $100 and there is a run-off, the payout would be $143.00. On the other hand, we place the odds of there being no run-off at 5 to 1, with a winning $100 bet paying $600. The reason the odds on a run-off occurring are not in the 80 percent or above range is because so far Keller appears to be the only candidate to have the funds for an extensive media campaign. That could change. Thanks for keeping us on our toes, Grok, but it appears you have a way to go before you take over the world. SCHOOLED BY TRUMP  That's a reason for mild celebration as the Trump administration forced the states to take another look at deploying satellite internet before letting $42 billion in federal broadband funds out the door, including $675 million for New Mexico. There are still 43,000 unserved and underserved locations in the state, according to the Broadband Office. In the second look required by Washington, the state is proposing 32 projects. Forty-four percent of the locations would get high-speed fiber, 40 percent fixed wireless and 13 percent satellite service as provided by Starlink and others. Today is the final day for public comment on the plan. There's an online form that has a list of technical parts of the plan to comment on but there is also a space for "other." We checked that and made comments supporting more satellite delivery than the planned 13 percent. The form to comment is here. We and a number of our readers have been pounding the table for satellite hook ups to mostly rural households where kids are stranded waiting for the costly and very slow rollout of fiber. But the Broadband Office was notorious in their opposition to satellite as were some Democrats in the legislature who killed a $75 million appropriation for satellite pushed by MLG. The inclusion of satellite in the state plan--albeit at a still too low rate--is a victory over the stagnant status quo that afflicts so much of the state bureaucracy. Like it or not, the Trump administration gets credit. So be on high alert Broadband Office Director Jeff Lopez. The slower the fiber rollout takes the more heat your bosses in Washington will be applying on you to increase satellite delivery and get this long delayed job done once and for all. Don't say we didn't tell you. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Wednesday, August 27, 2025Bad Vibes About Santa Fe Crime Turn More Real; Businessman Rings The Bell, Plus: Quantum Computing Meets Fentanyl That's because we've been discussing the bad vibes we've been getting about City Different crime with thought leaders like radio's Richard Eeds and others. It reminds us of the early days of the ABQ crime wave that eventually overtook the city. The stats are still mixed but anecdotal evidence should be enough for the leading Santa Fe mayoral and city council candidates to start pondering a sterner intervention: Salazar said he is closing his business at 110 W. San Francisco St. at the end of August. He said his sales are down about 30% from the same point last year, adding he no longer feels like it is safe for him to operate a business downtown....“I’m hearing from folks who are used to visiting Santa Fe often that they don’t feel safe coming here, going out for dinner on the Plaza after dark. The nightmare scenario for Santa Fe, one of the leading tourist attractions in the USA, is frightened visitors. Salazar's take may or may not be hyperbole but the vibes we started to get months ago are showing up in the numbers: City crime statistics show Santa Fe police responded to significantly more calls for service in July than they did in November — a difference of 1,800 calls. While numbers fluctuated from month to month, the overall trend in that period was a steady increase. No one rings a bell at the start of a crime wave that then becomes permanent. That's why anecdotal evidence and bad vibes have to be taken seriously. It's also why we have elections. A LASTING SCOURGE Of course, it's the long-lasting and hideously dangerous fentanyl scourge that is sucking the life blood from so many neighborhoods across the state. We get this from Las Cruces: Las Cruces and Doña Ana County have been put under an alert for high amounts of drug overdoses in the area. The Las Cruces Police Department and drug intelligence officers working for the High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) for New Mexico issued the alert after 21 overdoses happened over the course of three weeks in the region. Most of those took place in Las Cruces. Two of those overdoses were fatal.This high rate of overdoses began with the beginning of August. Early last week, there were seven overdoses in just three days. Meanwhile, the new buzzword in state economic circles is quantum computing and developing a "quantum workforce." This while the state waits for a quantum leap in getting kids to stop skipping classes at historic rates, treating rampant drug addiction and interrupting nonstop gun violence. Hmm. Wonder what Oppenheimer would think? This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Reader Vox Populi: They Write Of APD DWI Scandal Coverage, The Race For Mayor And More About our continuing coverage of how the local media has been shut out of the federal hearings for APD cops pleading guilty to taking bribes in exchange for getting DWI offenders off the hook, we get this from the self-described Senior News Alligator at one of those local news outlets: Joe, you wrote that: “We would add that the NM media has been alarmingly shy in pursuing their right to attend the hearings and protecting the public's right to know.” We have asked the Federal prosecutor (both of them) about this repeatedly. And they have repeatedly told us that the plea agreements come in the morning and they set the hearing to the docket that day, hence there is no advance notice. It sucks, and while we will keep asking, it is obvious that the fix is in. We keep asking but they keep saying “No.” when they very obviously can say “Yes.” ~Senior News Alligator Thanks, Sr. Gator. It's a troubling double-standard and one that newly named "Acting" US Attorney Ryan Ellison could look into--if he is concerned about transparency as he says he is. Of course, Ellison could double down and ask that the US Senate formally vote on his nomination made by President Trump rather than avoid the confirmation hearings by accepting the unusual title of Acting USA. On the same topic another reader writes: Keeping us in the dark makes us less aware of the sweet deals these crooked cops receive so nothing has changed. Life goes on and no one involved in the DWI scandal will spend time in prison for committing fraud while the person committing a first time shoplifting crime of $100 is put through the ringer for his crime while he does a perp walk in front of local TV stations. So much for all the transparency all our leaders brag about. ABOUT THOSE LAYOFFS The new director of Sandia Labs said this week the first round of layoffs--some 400 of them--will likely be the last. When we blogged of the layoffs we noted how quiet the state's congressional delegation was in reaction to them in contrast with years past whenever the national labs were threatened with cutbacks. However, since then we did see a statement from ABQ US Rep. Melanie Stansbury whose district includes Sandia: Sandia Labs are a backbone of our community in New Mexico. More layoffs mean more New Mexicans and local economies suffering under the current Administration’s policies. And, the ripple effects will only continue to reverberate. Stansbury made her comments on the socials June 30, shortly after the layoffs--the first in decades at Sandia--were formally announced. HE LIKES ABBEY Reader Russell Toal writes of retired Legislative Finance Committee Director David Abbey who recently authored a book about his tenure: A MAYORAL ENDORSEMENT Longtime reader and contributor Ron Nelson who leans conservative has an endorsement to make in the ABQ mayoral race: Joe, I think Darren White needs to stay retired. He has to many skeletons in the closet plus he’s like a bull in a China shop on some of the really pressing issues. He’ll need a real strong trial lawyer as his City Attorney to defend many of his positions against the grip that our local ACLU has on local policy. My choice? Mayling Armijo. She addresses many of Mayor Keller's screw-ups screw ups with rational solutions. She’s also small business oriented. I was hot on Louis Sanchez when things first started but I think he killed his chances when he was the deciding vote to make ABQ a sanctuary city. Check out Ms. Armijo’s social media--she’s aggressively putting herself out there. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Tuesday, August 26, 2025Progressive Hope For Takeover Of ABQ Council Seat Falters With Candidate Withdrawal, Plus: More State of the City React With Buchanan Farmer out, Colton Newman is now Grout's sole rival but he has only raised $100 while Grout has qualified for about $50,000 in public financing. District 9 in the far NE Heights and Foothills area has grown more moderate in recent cycles. Grout is a down the line Trumper, but has tried to be quiet about it, focusing on community involvement while adopting conservative policies on crime and homelessness. Buchanan Farmer did not say why she is abandoning the race only that it is due to "personal and family circumstances." The current Council leans 5 to 4 favor of the GOP, with conservative Dem Councilor Louie Sanchez often voting with the four R's. He is leaving his District 1 seat to run for Mayor so the seat is expected to fall back into the Dem column. Dems are still holding out hope that they can take down longtime District 5 GOP Councilor Dan Lewis on ABQ's westside with Dem Athena Allen, wife of BernCo Sheriff John Allen. But Lewis, another Trumper who has fled to the closet, is celebrating pork barrel projects he has brought home in his recent spate of advertising. With Mayor Keller favored to win a third term, he is line to face a slightly more favorable Council although his relations with the nine member panel have been more strained in his second term with councilors from both parties. MORE STATE OF CITY We blogged Monday that we found Mayor Keller's State of the City address mostly pollyannish but city spokesman Gilbert Gallegos says a good portion of the Saturday talk had Keller acknowledging the serious issues facing the city: Joe, Here is a link to the full speech, and for what it’s worth, some examples of the Mayor’s perspective: “Don’t get me wrong, I see what you see, challenges seemingly all around us: addiction driven crime and homelessness, families worried about rent, guns in our schools and parents targeted by ICE.” “If there were easy solutions to our long-term problems, I would have fixed them in a heartbeat, I assure you. But we’ve been doing the hard work, now alongside those challenges are signs of progress and resilience that remind us we can hold our community together and lift up Albuquerque.” “We still have a ways to go, but the path is clear: follow through, match investment to the scale of the problem, and deliver lasting outcomes we all deserve.” Reader krent201 came with this critique of Keller's State of the City: Crime: There is no way to provide a comparison for how bad it is. Making statements like, “when you’re in the middle of a turn-around” is the most chilling feature of ABQ and the voters may actually believe it! There is no mistake about what is happening in ABQ and NM. The only thing said that is correct is that “projects are finally showing results." For those results take a drive down Central or 2nd St. Better still come to my house where junkies and derelicts are sitting out front shooting up, leaving their waste droppings and food wrappers, all within a five foot area. Yes, the results of 8 years of this fantasy riddled administration is stated clearly in your last sentence, “Don’t worry, be happy”. Maybe he needs to take another toke? This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Monday, August 25, 2025ABQ Mayoral Campaign Becomes Psychological Warfare: Keller's Sunny Reality Versus The Field, Plus: Possible GOP Guv Hopeful Weighs In On State Doc Shortage
ABQ Mayor Tim Keller did not cite that famous quote from a Marx brothers movie at his annual State of the City address Saturday but that was the essence of the buoyant half-hour summary he offered to Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque before a considerable crowd at the ABQ BioPark. Another quote that would fit the bill for the pre-election oration is: "Everything's coming up roses." Here was Keller's paraphrase: It’s not always easy to recognize when you’re in the middle of a turnaround that’s actually happening, but the signs of resurgence are in plain sight. . Projects years in the making are finally showing results. Now we still have a long way to go, but the path is clear. The November 4 election is pure psychological warfare now. There is Keller's sunny side of the street and the more dystopian views from his rivals seeking to deny him a third term at the helm of the state's largest city. However, challenger Alex Uballez did not directly rip into Keller's version of reality as did the other five mayoral hopefuls. He accepted Keller's boast of mild improvement on crime and homelessness but argued it is not enough: The people of Albuquerque know eight years is too long for you to be gaining traction. The people of Albuquerque know that a third term is something you give to someone who is hitting home runs and just nailing it. Okay, but if a third term should go only to a homerun hitter, who gets a first term? A pinch-hitter? That's the box city voters are in as they see with their own "lying eyes" that many city conditions have deteriorated under Keller, but they don't see any credible alternatives on the roster to put into the big game. Given that backdrop, Keller is delighted to put the spotlight on himself and welcome the comparisons. On Saturday he reveled in taking joyful selfies with bystanders, creating images to match the reality that he so wants voters to come to adopt as their own. The display brought to mind a third quote for the day and the campaign: "Don't worry, be happy." THAT DOCTOR SHORTAGE The debate continues over how much medical malpractice insurance premiums ares responsible for the state's doctor shortage. Duke Rodriguez, head of cannabis company Ultra Health, a former top state health official under GOP Gov Gary Johnson and now considering a Guv run of his own, comes with this take: Joe, you’re right that the media is only telling half the story when it comes to New Mexico’s doctor shortage. Yes, malpractice premiums are a piece of the puzzle. We could cut them in half tomorrow, lower caps on pain and suffering, even keep pointing fingers at the trial bar and their PAC disclosures. We could also raise Medicaid reimbursement rates and issue dire warnings that half a dozen rural hospitals may close. But let’s be honest—none of those single fixes will solve the physician shortage in New Mexico. The fact is, there is a physician shortage across the entire country, not just here. Doctors are aging out of practice, and the next generation is smaller in number and more selective about where they choose to live and work. The competition for quality physicians is fierce, and it’s not going away. The winners will be those states that can offer doctors a complete package of quality of life: strong schools for their families, safe and vibrant communities, and an economy with a healthy mix of payors—not just a population heavily dependent on government-sponsored coverage. Until we address those fundamental issues, we’ll continue to be outbid in the national contest for medical talent. So yes, malpractice reform can help around the edges. But if we don’t confront the bigger picture—education, safety, economic vitality—New Mexico will remain on the losing end of this competition. That’s the reality no sound bite or bandwagon can avoid. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.
E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Thursday, August 21, 2025Late September Is Targeted For Any Special Legislative Session, Say Sources; Would Session Include Medical Malpractice? Plus: More Horsing Around On The Campaign Trail Still up in the air is just what she would hope to accomplish or whether this would be a grandstanding gesture to pump up her numbers and those of her fellow Dems on the thorny issue of crime.. Also remaining uncertain is what kind of of deal she could strike, if any, before calling the 112 legislators lawmakers to the Roundhouse, While there is no guarantee that a special is in the cards September 25, a few days after the start of the fall season, that is the working date, says our Senior Gator who has consulted legislative sources. They way the media is a forming a bandwagon for medical malpractice insurance reform makes observers wonder if MLG would include it in a special, even though chances of passage are no better than most of her crime bills. The media is half right about the doctor shortage. Medical malpractice is a piece of the puzzle but there are larger pieces they are ignoring in the quest for a simple answer. They include quality of life issues in attracting physicians and the low rate of Medicaid reimbursements for the doctors. With nearly 40 percent of the state's population covered by Medicaid, that doesn't leave as many folks on private insurance that pay the doctors much better for their services. The ink-stained wretches are freaking out because trial lawyers formed a PAC to fight medical malpractice reform bills and were forced to disclose their donors and contributions by the State Ethics Commission. Good for the commission but demonizing the trial bar isn't going to get more doctors here or to stay here. We've reported hard and long over the stagnant population of this once growing state, the aging of that population and the fleeing of our best and brightest young people for greener pastures. See Monday's blog. Until this state really confronts the aforementioned social challenges and more, quality of life measures of all sorts are going to stay in the gutter--including the number of doctors and other professionals who have options about where they want to live and raise their families. HORSING AROUND
Mr Monahan, as per your great, humor filled blog Wednesday, it appears that Sam Bregman's trusty steed, who may or may not be motivating on an altered title, is nowhere nearly as articulate as Mr. Ed of early 1960's television fame if all he can do is neigh as indicated in your posting. (Does the full ad have the horse actually "talking"?) In any event, I recall then-PRC Chair Sandy Jones, during his run for NM Land Commissioner in 2010, cleverly brought out his family dog, and that four-legged critter did actually "speak" for his candidate. Sandy's daughter, Cristal, later told me that the trick to getting the canine to "mouth" words was to insert a large dollop of peanut butter in his mouth. Now that I ply my memory on the above Jones campaign ad, it seems to me that your blog actually awarded first place to that campaign ad that cycle. Good stuff, Mike. Sandy was quite the guy during his long stint in La Politica. Bregman's ad does not have Fuego talking but we think he still deserves a dollop of peanut butter for his writing efforts. Hey, maybe Sandy could send Fuego some of his favorite brand? This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Wednesday, August 20, 2025Sam Bregman Is Horsing Around; Dem Guv Hopeful Trots Out Fuego To Help Raise Dollars; Opponents Question Fuego's Credibility, Plus: Horse Named Governor Sam Loses Big Race
In a demonstration that a politico will do just about anything to raise desperately needed dollars and that we are truly in the dog days of summer, (well, maybe horse days) Bregman trots out his horse Fuego (Fire) to soften up potential donors. And Mr. Ed apparently has nothing on Fuego who can not only talk but also writes campaign pitches, like this: On weekends, when Sam isn’t out on the campaign trail, it’s just me and him on the ranch, relaxing, reflecting, and squeezing in some bonding time. Sam gets to slow down and reconnect with the values that fuel this campaign and the reasons he’s in this race--safer communities, stronger schools, affordable, accessible healthcare and a future of possibility for every New Mexican. But from what I’ve learned, campaigns aren’t fueled by oats and carrots. It takes people like you willing to step up and fight to move New Mexico forward. Sam and his team are building a people-powered campaign, but to keep the momentum going, they need your help. Thanks for saddling up with us, Fuego What a mouthful from Fuego-and a lot of schmaltz. We can let tht pass but intrepid investigators for the opposing Guv campaigns are already on the attack, saying Fuego may have a credibility problem. How so? One operative says: If I’m tough to reach this weekend, it’s because I’m out on the ranch - where chasing Whiskey doesn’t mean a drink (he’s my horse). Did Whiskey become Fuego to make him politically correct. for fund-raising. Or does Fuego have a twin brother? Inquirnig minds want to know. We're on the case. Sorry, Fuego (and/or Whiskey) there are no free rides--horseback or otherwise-- from the Alligators of La Politica. GOVERNOR SAM LOSES And we have even more horsing around from the Bregman campaign. Here's the latest from blog reader Tom Ryzma in Pennsylvania: Joe, As you may know, the Bergman Family owns race horses, and one of them, a three year old colt, is named Governor Sam. Wow. I wonder how they came up with the name! Governor Sam just raced at Saratoga (top line race course) and went off as the heavy favorite at 1-2 odds. (Bet $2 - get $3 if he wins). Welp, Governor Sam got beaten at the wire by Spiced Up. Is that prophetic? So now what happens to Governor Sam? Does he get put out to pasture with Fuego and Whiskey (if Whiskey really isn't Fuego)) and does Governor Sam get a new name to help Bregman forget his loss? One thing seems certain. Governor Sam won't be writing any fund-raising letters. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Tuesday, August 19, 2025GOP Appears Divided Over ABQ Mayoral Race; Longtime R And Former Mayoral Hopeful Urges Republicans To Vote For Conservative Dem Sanchez Keller is expected to finish atop the field in the initial November election but short of the 50 percent needed for a first ballot win. Thus the December run-off a month later featuring the top two finishers. Republican Michelle Garcia Holmes, a former APD officer who was an unsuccessful candidate for mayor in 2017 and also came up short in two tries for the ABQ area congressional seat, took to the socials to warn R's away from leading GOP hopeful Darren White, a former APD officer and BernCo Sheriff Darren White. In fact, Garcia Holmes is urging her fellow R's to vote for conservative Dem candidate and City Councilor Louie Sanchez, another APD alumnus.. Here is her analysis of the race seeking to unseat Keller who is running for a third term: Because of the runoff rule requiring a winning candidate to get 50 percent of the vote in the initial election, there are not enough Republicans or other votes to get us there. I recommend choosing a conservative Dem to get a victory for us. There are so many people running and the votes split in different directions. The progressive Dems will come out for Keller, which will possibly give him what he needs to get to the run off. Dems Mayling Armijo and Alex Uballez will take some of those votes but not enough to matter. Sanchez is Keller's major threat as he is a sitting City Councilor on the Westside of Albuquerque and a Blue Dog Dem. Hard right Republicans will vote for the two Republican candidates, White and Eddie Varela. White is not a true Republican but has good name recognition, Turnout will be about 50 percent Democrats, 25 percent Republican and 25 percent independents. I worked in the same APD department as Sanchez and White. We were all police officers with APD. If it came down to those two my vote would go to Sanchez because of his integrity and honesty... The other candidate in the race is independent Daniel Chavez. None of the contenders has come anywhere near Keller in the fund-raising department. As the only candidate to qualify for public financing, he received over $750,000 in public money. Also, a PAC formed on his behalf could take his grand total over $1 million. Still, the race is only now being joined in the public narrative with about ten weeks to go until the Nov. 3 balloting. As one of our Senior Alligators puts it: "Joe, something could happen. Please wake me when it does." This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Monday, August 18, 2025The $64 Billion Question (Cont.) State Investment Heavies Upset After Haaland Ponders Tapping Reserves; Call Plan "Alarming" But Pressure Could Grow As State Econ And Social Challenges Mount The money in the question is the immense amount of cash stuffed away in state reserves. The question is whether to make it work harder as proposed recently by Dem gubernatorial candidate Deb Haaland. We reported last week that on social media Haaland somewhat nonchalantly targeted deploying some of those reserves to avoid more "ghost towns" in declining rural New Mexico. She did not directly mention abominable social conditions like widespread drug addiction, crime spikes such as the one in Española that prompted MLG to call out the National Guard or more horrific child abuse cases. The latter has again prompted CYFD critics like Marilyn Beck of New Mexico's Child First Network to deplore the continued incompetency at the agency. This, in the aftermath of six more shocking child killings in just the last four months, including a one year old who ingested a dropped fentanyl pill belonging to her drug-addled mother. Each of these cases had CYFD involvement. This is is heavy stuff in a state with oil-generated surpluses that have given it tremendous financial power to do what it pleases. But record increases in funding for public education--the touted Democratic "moon shot" that barely got off the launch pad--and the stonewalling of reform efforts at PED and CYFD--have left the state where we began at the start of the boom--last in the nation in just about all key social standings. HOW LONG?
The State Investment Council, manager of the massive wealth, is well-aware of the deeply troubling contrast between our booming finances and the deteriorating conditions of many of its citizens. The SIC has been "protecting" those funds for decades from what they see as ill-advised attempted "raids." They are nowhere near to pivoting in Haaland's direction as seen in this statement from an SIC spokesman reacting to Haaland's money bomb: Joe, State Investment Officer Jon Clark was giving an update to the legislative Investment Pensions Oversight Committee the morning your blog about the state reserves came out – which makes your column pretty timely. As you point out, it’s been a few years of major, unprecedented growth for the permanent funds and other endowments managed by the Investment Council, but even more importantly, the benefits those funds produce for New Mexicans every year have also exploded, tripling in size over the past decade to $2.57 billion for FY26 – a number which we expect to grow every year. That currently accounts for about 28% of K-12 funding and 78% of Early Childhood funding. It’s not always well understood that these funds aren’t just locked in a vault somewhere but are actually being invested to grow and deliver incredible benefits to New Mexico every year. In fact, we project these funds will return $38 billion to the state over the coming decade. That’s why it can be a bit alarming when people on social media talk about “spending half” of the funds to meet the state’s needs, not understanding that if done in a haphazard way, it’s akin to killing the golden goose. We have not seen statements where "spending half" of that $64 billion is recommended, but it speaks to the point about how attitudes toward those savings may indeed be changing. And that could set up another epic battle at the Legislature. We say another battle because we're reminded of efforts to tap the state's Land Grant Permanent Fund-- now over $30 billion--for about $150 million a year for mostly early childhood education. After a decade of debate lawmakers were finally worn down and in 2022 sent to the voters a constitutional amendment that allowed the draw down of the fund. It won overwhelming approval. This came after Santa Fe power players fell far behind what a majority of voters wanted. It took a progressive coup of Senate conservatives at the '20 primary elections to break their hold on the amendment. THE TROUBLE TODAY  What is troubling about this possibly new financial paradigm relates to the failure of the current one, The stagnation of PED, the CYFD disaster, the fentanyl scourge, the too-high crime rate and an anemic business environment have gone unabated even as the cash spigot is open wide. Beck points out that the problem is a stuck state government, lacking accountability and poor targeting: Joe, have you read the LFC program evaluation on home visiting? Less than 9% of families referred actually “complete” their program. I’m curious to watch the LFC's accountability report of the early chidhood department this week because ECECD seems highly ineffective no matter how much money they have. That take from Beck is especially worrisome because the constitutional amendment money for very early childhood (ages 0-5) and home visiting started to roll out in July of 2023--over two years ago. Beck agrees that comprehensive home visits could be an additional vital link in discovering dysfunctional homes and halting the violence that so many kids continue to be subjected to and that CYFD has been helpless to resolve. MORAL HGH GROUND  The rejoinder is that today's failure does not have to be tomorrow's. That it is morally imperative that the locked up money be used in an effort to improve and save lives--whether success is guaranteed or not. Still, voters probably would not be attuned to the subtleties, disgusted as as they are from reading nonstop of the latest depressing and morbid crimes. Their support for the early childhood amendment demonstrated that if given the chance to do something, do anything, they'll grab it fast. So right now it's a two-pronged challenge--accountability and targeting. That accountability and effective implementation of current home visiting as it relates to targeting child abuse as well as early education performance has to come from the LFC, other appropriate legislative committees, the Governor's office and the early childhood department. The CYFD needs attention from all of the above plus perhaps the attorney general's office as these child abuse cases are now so awful that criminal negligence could be in play. Also, the AG is in charge of the new Child Advocate Office, overseeing CYFD and will have to ensure it does not turn into a toothless wonder. As for the $64 billion put on the table by Haaland, there's no taking it off now that it has been linked to the state's gross under performance. The 21st century has rushed past this state. The last question today over the $64 billion is whether a serious gubernatorial debate will occur about finally meeting up with it. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Thursday, August 14, 2025Longtime Journalist Argues For Transparent Special Session of Legislature; Says Any Deals Beforehand Need To Be Open to Public Input
We've noted how the Governor and top legislators striking a deal on major legislation before she calls a special session is highly desirable to avoid another train wreck. But longtime NM journalist Peter St. Cyr wants to insure that the public is in on any deals. MLG has not called a special but appears to be leaning that way. Here is St Cyr's guest column: While the political class debates the timing and merits of a special legislative session this fall, my concerns are focused on the process being discussed by New Mexico House and Senate leadership. Their idea to have predetermined agreements in place before convening rank and file members to Santa Fe to simply rubber-stamp legislative solutions without meaningful public hearings should raise red flags with the public, nonprofit stakeholders, journalists and open government advocates. These groups should unite with me and stop this potential dog and pony show in its track and demand meaningful public hearings. New Mexicans should not be on the outside of closed door meetings and left to speculate on whether corporate donors and special interests are using their influence to shape legislative solutions ahead of public interests. These lobbyists should also be required to disclose their work, but Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham vetoed a lobbyist disclosure bill in April. Her rejection squandered an opportunity to increase transparency and rebuild trust in state government with the public and rebrand New Mexico’s corrupt pay to play reputation. LIKE A BEE STING Kicking the bill down the road felt like a personal betrayal. It stung especially hard. I remembered then-US Rep. Lujan Grisham’s campaign pledge to support open government and make transparency more than just a buzzword during a Sunshine Week candidate forum I produced in March 2018. A few months after she was elected, I visited with governor and her senior staff and encouraged her to make open government a framework for her new administration. A year later, I woke up choking on blood and gasping for air. When I was diagnosed with Stage Four laryngeal (throat) cancer my priorities shifted and I battled to save my voice. Nothing helped and I spent the next few years recovering from my shattered life and career. The governor’s promises seemed to be forgotten and faded into the ether. But I’m healthy again and will never forget her commitments. The special session’s agenda will be set by the governor and her leadership to mitigate the potential impact of federal policy and massive budget cuts is important. Still, we need to urge her to add the lobbyists disclosure bill to her agenda now. Getting it ship shape and passing it this fall will give lawmakers time during the next session to consider other important changes to increase transparency on financial disclosure forms they and other elected officials are required to file annually. At minimum, the bill’s sponsors and the governor should craft legislation to require any political subdivisions’ lobbyists to provide clear disclosure of their work. After all they are ultimately paid by taxpayers and we have a right to know how our money is spent. The Municipal League and New Mexico Association of Counties should also be required to make their lobbying efforts available to the public since they’re supported by city and county membership dues. A TEXAS LEAD Alternatively, New Mexico lawmakers should consider taking Texas’ lead. This year, Gov. Greg Abbott signed legislation prohibiting political subdivisions, including school boards, from using taxpayer money to hire professional lobbyists after supporters of school vouchers raised complaints their taxpayer money was being used to oppose their policy interests. Going forward, I will no longer identify as a watchdog journalist. After all this I will identify as a hedgehog journalist. They never give up even after being swarmed and stung by a Queen Bee. We welcome your comments including guest columns. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. |
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