It's a bridge too far--a big overreach--for critics of that ABQ City Council proposal to prohibit retailers from giving customers plastic straws, foam containers or those commonly used plastic bags you get at the grocery store. This, they ask, is the pressing issue in a metro area riddled with a crime and drug epidemic? One of our Senior Alligators weighs in:

This is utterly surreal. Crime is out of control. Our kids are being killed left and right. Drugs and drug-related activity basically run Albuquerque. But, according to four City Councilors, the biggest issue facing Albuquerque is plastic bags and straws. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. Albuquerque is not a serious city. And this self-absorbed and aggrandizing ABQ City Council has less importance to our everyday lives than any APS student council.

Meanwhile, City Councilor Ike Benton, seeking re-election this year and one of the sponsors of the anti-straw measure, pushes back against the notion that he is an environmental councilor and not a crime fighter:

I strenuously advocated for more downtown police presence with the previous two police chiefs (to no avail), and publicly criticized the Berry administration’s weak and late response in 2017 when Lavu and other businesses threatened to leave Downtown. I co-sponsored  the passage of a police pay increase and benefits bill. I supported the recent GRT increase (Council-led), with the lion’s share of revenue dedicated to public safety. . . I consistently supported DOJ intervention that led to the consent decree. I am co-sponsor of the current bill to update the civilian police oversight ordinance.

Stil, that's not stopping at least one challenger from emerging to take on Benton this fall. Robert Nelson, a self-described "community activist and organizer" who is also a nonprofit manager, is telling friends he's planning a run against Democrat Benton. You can be sure crime will be a central issue in that race as well as the other three council contests on the ballot this year.

HERRELL ANNOUNCES

The Alligators around here (our informed sources) are now batting 100 percent when it comes to Yvette Herrell. As they predicted, Herrell on Tuesday announced she would again seek the GOP nomination for the southern congressional seat. She won the nomination in '18 but lost the general election to Dem Xochitl Torres Small. Herrell's announcement follows her news Monday that she would not challenge the outcome of the election.

But Republicans are not expected to all fall in line behind Yvette in 2020. She had a battle for the nomination in '18 with former Hobbs Mayor Monty Newman and she can expect one or more competitors for the nomination this time, say insider R's. Why? . . .

First, she lost by 3,700 votes in the normally conservative district. And she ran a clumsy campaign, refusing to debate Torres Small and failing to respond to ethics allegations that the Dems continually pounded.

Then there's this: Shouldn't the R's put up a candidate not tied to the factions tearing the party apart and that hurt their chances in the south in '18?

Herrell is part of the anti-Susana Martinez GOP wing and Newman is part of the pro-Martinez wing. How about a GOP candidate from neither faction--a uniter who might give them a better shot of taking out Torres Small?

One other note: Does Herrell getting in mean former southern congressman and current State GOP chairman Steve Pearce will not run? That seems a fair conclusion.

By the way, Herrell did not formally concede the election to Torres Small in announcing her 2020 run. And saying you won't contest an election is not the same as calling your opponent and/or stating publicly you congratulate them and wish them well.

REPLACING CISCO

No sooner had ABQ Dem State Senator Cisco McSorley been named to a state job by the Lujan Grisham administration than the speculation began over who would replace him in the SE Heights seat he has held for over 20 years and which he resigned from Tuesday.

The first name to pop up was Dem Bernalillo County Commissioner Maggie Hart Stebbins, whose final term on the panel ends in 2020. Years ago she worked as a legislative analyst for former State Rep. and House Speaker Raymond Sanchez.

Another name making the rounds is attorney Antoinette Sedillo Lopez, who ran for the Dem nod for the ABQ congressional seat last year.

It's the BernCo Commission that Stebbins sits on that will name McSorley's Senate replacement. The Commission is currently four to one Democratic. Without Stebbins voting, it is 3 to 1 Dem.

In a sidebar, Stebbins last night was named chairwoman of the commission for the year.

If Stebbins is the Senate pick her County Commission seat would open up. Her replacement would be named by the Governor.

McSorley, 68, was named director of the state Probation and Parole Division. The ABQ native is an attorney and member of the Senate Judiciary Committee who has been active in the push to legalize recreational marijuana in NM as well as corrections reform.

McSorley was a member of the state House from 1984-1996 when he was elected to the Senate. He proved popular with voters and has scored easy re-election victories since.

THE BOTTOM LINES

Retired APD Seargent Dan Klein in writing Tuesday of "sanctions" imposed on the current district attorney and his predecessor said both have been subject to court sanctions. In writing of DA Torrez he cited a case in which the office was fined for missing court deadlines. The news report also called that a "sanction." However, in the other case involving DA Brandenburg he cited a state payment that was made on behalf of the DA's office to settle a lawsuit. That payment was not a sanction. Dan apologizes for the error--which we also did not catch--but it's Klein we're feeding to the Gators. Get the barbecue sauce out.
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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019