Ane Romero

A first draft of this report omitted Councilor Diane Gibson

Women will control five of the nine ABQ City Council seats following the November 5 election, a majority apparently for the first time.

Four women are competing for the NE Heights seat long held by Republican Brad Winter who is retiring. The female winner will join Councilors Klarissa Pena, Cynthia Borrego and Diane Gibson. Councilor Trudy Jones is seeking re-election but her lone foe is a woman. That means five female councilors up from the current four.

Now if Gina Naomi Dennis were to pull off a major upset and beat District Six City Councilor Pat Davis that would mean six women councilors.

Let's loop back to that District Four seat and check in with one of our observers there:

Brook Bassan

Joe,  I find the race fascinating because it's four women running in an affluent area that leans right, with only one, Brook Bassan, a declared Republican. Brook however does not bring a typical resume. Will Republicans vote for her, or switch to one of the Dem candidates, a couple of whom--Ane Romero and Athena Ann Christodoulou--bring more conventional qualifications. Hailey Roy is the other Dem candidate.

District 4 is a very large area geographically, and a field campaign to fully cover it is daunting. Three of the four candidates secured public financing but even with that it's not much relative to the task of reaching and motivating the voters who don't turn out in big numbers for any off-year municipal election. 

If Republican Bassan does not win, the Council Dems will grow from six to seven and we believe that would be a record. The four way race is likely headed to a December 10 run-off since it takes 50 percent to win at the first election.

TOO MANY MOVIES?

Reader David Williams in Clovis is on the econ beat looking at the state's big bet to diversify the state economy by awarding large tax incentives to the film and TV industry:

I have never been able to understand why New Mexico pays so much money to the movie industry. There is no way that industry puts that kind of money into our economy. This op-ed was in the Wall Street Journal on July 19. It should open a lot of eyes in this state. We have roads all over New Mexico that are in need of repair. All of that money that is being put into the pockets of the movie guys, could sure go a long way toward road and bridge repairs.

The op-ed written by Atlanta CPA Jay Starkman argues:

Studies by state economic-development authorities and film-industry lobbyists routinely inflate investment and employment returns. Only 4,000 Floridians, for instance, work in film and television production. Yet in 2015 the Florida Office of Film and Entertainment claimed that film incentives and sales-tax credits had created 675,000 jobs in the state over 10 years. The best jobs on a film or TV production invariably go to nonresidents flown in from New York or California. Locals usually get spotty, part-time and relatively low-paying work as hairdressers, security guards, carpenters, drivers and caterers.

SUGGESTION BOX

The state may want to catch up on how it chronicles employment from the SE Permian Basin oil boom. Currently, economists at NM Workforce Solutions place those jobs into the broad category of "mining and  construction." But with the boom becoming a much larger part of the economy, that does not tell the tale. The legislature and other policy makers could use a specific employment measure for "energy" in the public reports. There seems to be plenty of well-paid eggheads at the Department that should be able to get the job done.

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2019