Advocates for city ballot proposition "Democracy Dollars" report "in-kind" contributions of tens of thousands of dollars in staff time. The coalition pushing the proposal includes Common Cause NM and the NM Working Families Party. They have also been hitting the mailboxes trying to educate and persuade voters. A recent mailer is posted here.

Democracy Dollars (DD) would give each eligible voter--not only registered voters--a voucher worth $25 that they in turn could donate to any candidate who has qualified for public financing. One idea behind it is to try to bolster the publicly financed candidates in races with those receiving robust private financing.

It's a tough sell because campaign money floods into elections in the form of outside PACS which are lightly regulated and can freely spend what they want. That means DD would be trying to  catch up to a pile of seemingly unlimited campaign money. Still, Common Case believes it's worth a try:

A review of donations from individuals to mayoral and city council races in 2017 shows that those who contribute to campaigns. . .  do not reflect Albuquerque’s diverse population. Instead, the donor class is whiter, older, and higher-income than the general population. As a result, people of color, young people, and middle- and working-class residents are underrepresented in the city’s politics and policies. Our elections are fairer—and our democracy works better—when politicians listen to the entire public instead of only to a few, unrepresentative big donors.

At first blush Democracy Dollars is not easy to understand. That leads Dem political consultant Sisto Abeyta, who is not an ally of the progressive Dems leading the effort for DD,  to believe it will be defeated at the November 5 election:

Agree of disagree, it is hard to understand without considerable voter education. Most of the voters confronted with this will vote no, not necessarily because they don't like the idea, but because they don't understand it or never head of it. 

Critics say some voters will turn thumbs down because of the possibility of fraud with the hundreds of thousands of $25 vouchers that would be distributed. It's another interesting issue to watch on Election Night.

BENTON AND QUINTERO

As expected, the battle for the District 2 ABQ city council seat has narrowed to Councilor Ike Benton and Zack Quintero, his chief challenger in the six person race. Quintero, making his first run for office at 29, was ridiculed in a mailer financed by an independent group and posted here last week. Quintero backers were none too happy. Here's one that we heard from:

Joe: The mailer going after Quintero was more humorous than effective. Voters understand the attempt to wordsmith a job description versus Ike's record of voting for A. R. T., the closing of businesses and the rampant crime in District 2. The so-called "progressive PAC" responsible for the Zach attack needs to up their game to be taken seriously. Benton is making a last ditch effort to stave off a run off but many folks are hearing from him for the first time in his long tenure on the council. The race is about getting a new set of eyes for the district. This is the opportunity for a new generation of leadership with a long term vested interest in the future of the city. 

If Benton can't make it to 50 percent Nov. 5  he will face a Dec. 10 run-off election for the Downton/Barelas/N. Valley district with the second place finisher. That would likely be Quintero.

BEATEN BONDS

Bond issues are rarely defeated in ABQ elections, but former GOP BernCo County Commissioner Michael Wiener thinks we could see that rarity this election:

I honestly feel quite a few of the bond issues will be voted down. I have spoken to many friends and neighbors and they tell me they voted against the bonds to send a loud message to City Hall. There appears to be a lot of unrest and unhappiness over increasing crime, the outrageous number of stolen cars, proliferation of homeless panhandlers, rising tax bills and the overall direction Albuquerque is heading. (You heard it here first).

We'll see soon enough if Wiener, a former ABQ city councilor who once represented the NE Heights, is mainly getting blowback from fellow Rs or whether that discontent has seeped into the Dem column.