Can a plethora of anti-ART mailers in the final days of Election '19 force Dem City Councilor Ike Benton into  a December 10 run-off?

The longtime councilor championed the failed ART project on Central Avenue, an epic public works failure that has enraged voters. They're now getting daily reminders of Benton's ART support, either from his main election rival Zack Quintero or an anti-Benton independent committee.

ART runs rhrough Benton's Downtown/Barelas/North Valley district which--like much of the city--has seen a sharp escalation in crime.

The surprise of this campaign has been the meager opposition to the incumbent councilors seeking reelection, given the ART disaster and the sharp, crime-caused decline in the quality of life for many residents. That has given Benton and Councilors Pat Davis and Trudy Jones plenty of running room for their re-election bids.

But there is fervent and passionate opposition to the status quo, even if not loudly heard on the campaign trail. This reader's rage was prompted by the Democracy Dollars proposition on the Nov. 5 ballot that would give ABQ residents $25 vouchers to support their choice of publicly financed council and mayoral candidates. Hold on to your hats. Here we go. . . .

File this under “Fool Me Once." Democracy Dollars, the brainchild of former City Councilor Eric Griego of the Working Families Party of ABQ and other progressives, is a follow-up to Griego’s failed 2005 public financing scheme. Let’s not forget that Griego's 2005 bill brought us 14 years of a City Council that stood by as Albuquerque completely fell apart. 

Public finance didn’t bring us the transformative, grassroots, free-of-influence City Council candidates Griego promised. Instead we got a rogue’s gallery of do-nothing bumps on a log, including: Ken Sanchez, Issac Benton, Dan Lewis, Don Harris, Rey Garduno, Debbie O’Malley, Brad Winter, Pat Davis and Cynthia Borrego. 

ABQ City Council

These political hacks figured out how to team up with interest groups, professional campaign managers and work the public finance system to stay in office as long as humanly possible. They wilted when it came time to toughen up and face Albuquerque’s growing challenges. Former Councilors Pete Domenici, Vince Griego, Pat Baca and Ruth Adams could show these folks a thing or two. Democracy Dollars won’t change the poor quality we see in our City Council. Maybe it’s time to go back to the old way and elect some politicians that know how to get stuff done.

We dedicate the aforementioned rant to poet Dylan Thomas who famously wrote: "Rage, rage against the dying of the light."

Reader Eric Shimamoto writes of our coverage of Democracy Dollars:

Joe, the "absolute hypocrisy" I find difficult to ignore is of  Pete Dinelli, who ran a publicly-financed campaign for mayor in 2013, now claiming that the use of public funds for municipal campaigns is somehow a violation of the state constitution's anti-donation clause.

BACK TO BENTON

The anti-Benton forces believe their final-hours push on ART will keep Benton below 50 percent and force a run-off election with probable second place finisher Zack Quintero. But now they fret that their late start may not take Benton down to the 40 percent level which could make him an appealing target for well-funded outside committees. Then there is the backing of Benton by the entire progressive Dem establishment.In a run-off they would go all-out for Benton to avoid major embarrassment.

TRANSIT TAX TALK

Reader Don Miller wants to talk about a little talked about item on the ballot--the renewal of a quarter cent gross receipts tax for transportation.. Have at it, Don:

I haven’t seen any commentary on the extension of the 1/4 cent for roads, sidewalks and bikeways so I  offer my 1/4 cent. It is promoted as not being an increase in taxes. However should it fail, the gross receipts tax in ABQ, currently at 7.875 percent, would go down by a 1/4 cent, so a vote for this tax is actually an increase. Additionally, when this tax was initially imposed, it was based on a promise that it would sunset in 20 years. I am not opposing this tax, but feel that taxpayers should know what they are voting for or against.

That transit tax was first approved back in 1999. As we recall, it was done via a mail-in election which increased turnout. That gave the electorate a more moderate bent thus overwhelming the anti-tax voters.

MTO OUT

MTO

It was a bit of a surprise but not a stunner when Secretary of State Maggie Toulouse Olive rpulled the plug on her bid for the 2020 Dem US Senate nomination and endorsed Rep. Ben Ray Lujan Tuesday. After all, she was completely overpowered by him in the money department. He had back to back quarters in which he raised over $1 million and had $1.6 million in the bank. MTO was down to $85,000 in cash. That's not even chump change in the high dollar chase for a Senate seat. Best to bow out and live to fight another day.

For Rep. Lujan this is just the ticket he needs. With no primary opponent he is now able to begin his general election race and move back to the center after MTO pushed him perhaps too far left as he endorsed the Green New Deal, Medicare for All and the impeachment of the president.

In thanking MTO for endorsing him on her way out of the building, Lujan mentioned her support for "healthcare for all" not Medicare for All. Further, there was no mention of the Green New Deal she advocated but instead Lujan mentioned the "climate crisis." Intentional or not, that's the path that could quiet the southern and eastside resistance and lead to a big win.

Lujan

We can't say "no R's need apply" when it comes to the Senate derby but GOP contenders Mick Rich and Gavin Clarkson have a better chance of getting elected Navajo Nation President than to the US Senate.

MTO's departure makes the election of a native Hispanic US Senator likely. That's something we haven't seen since the 1970's. Surely a woman will someday secure a senate seat but not this cycle.