New Mexico's most infamous political action committee, ABQPAC, is back in action putting in last minute money to DEFEAT the proposed quarter cent sales tax for public safety on Tuesday's ballot. Northeast Heights Republican voters confirm to "New Mexico Politics with Joe Monahan" that they have received a lit piece this weekend from ABQPAC asking them to say no to the tax hike which would be used for the police, fire and corrections departments, and social service crime prevention programs. ABQPAC was not available for comment, so I cannot tell you how widespread its mailing was.

ABQPAC is the group formed to help Albuquerque Mayor Marty Chavez pay for his travel expenses. The ensuing controversy over where the money came from and how the Mayor spent it headlined the news for months. The controversy ended with Mayor Marty getting a reprimand form the City Ethics Board. ABQPAC stopped raising funds but still had thousands of dollars on hand. That's apparently the money now being spent.

Word of ABQPAC's renewed involvement in city politics is already pushing some buttons. A pro-tax supporter gave me this explanation for the late ABQPAC move: "Joe, this tax was sponsored on the City Council by Eric Griego, and he's campaigning for it. ABQPAC supports the mayor and some of those guys think Griego is looking at the mayor's job in two years. I don't think they care about defeating the tax as much as they care about Griego getting credit if it passes."

Well, anything ABQPAC touches is sure to be hyper-controversial. Griego HAS been mentioned as a possible mayoral candidate. The mayor said he would vote for the public safety tax, but would not campaign for it. Many of the business people with ABQQPAC would naturally be against the tax, so claiming this is a move against Griego has to be weighed against that. As soon as Tuesday's vote is over attention will slowly turn to the 2005 cycle as the mayoral wanna be's start to surface. One thing appears certain: Because of the ABQPAC scandal that engulfed city hall, there will be no shortage of contenders.

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