Monday, March 01, 2021City Election '21 Kicks Off Today With Public Finance Declarations; Mayor And Five City Council Seats In Spotlight, Plus: Is Legal Pot Dead For This Session?
It's been quiet on the trail with only Mayor Tim Keller and BernCo Sheriff Manny Gonzales signaling they will run. Both are Dems. Keller will be seeking a second four year in November, after a first term haunted by an ongoing crime wave. Gonzales will run as the guy who will clean it up. Other candidates can be expected but whether they qualify for public financing is a big if. It takes nearly 3,800 qualifying contributions of five bucks each from registered voters to capture that big pot of public financing--$661,000. The requirement is from 400 to 500 contributions in the council districts. Qualified candidates for the five council seats up for election--Districts 1,3,5,7 and 9--will get financing from $40,000 to $50,000, depending on the voter population.
As for votes, Gonzales will try to round up Republicans in the NE Heights and Hispanic Democrats in the Valley. Keller will work to keep his strong progressive base intact and broaden from there. Speaking of the Valley, City Councilor Klarissa Pena is seeking reelection to her District 3 council seat there and we get this election year announcement: Mayor Keller and Councilor Peña announced a major street lighting project in Southwest Albuquerque today. The City will publish a request for proposal (RFP) for 267 new street lights in District 3.This project will add lights to major roadways that currently go dark at sunset, including Bridge, Tower, Blake, Gibson and more. . Yep, election years can be easy on the eyes of Mr. and Mrs. Albuquerque. IS MARIUJANA DEAD?  Joe, marijuana is dead for this session. That prediction comes on the heels of a hopeful development for the pro-pot crowd, the House passage of legalization bill (HB 12) sponsored by ABQ Dem Rep. Javier Martinez. With 20 days left and plenty of political crosscurrents we would not be as emphatic in predicting the fate of marijuana as our Gator, but there are issues. . . There are elements in the Martinez bill that haven't been there in past legalization efforts. They are called social justice provisions. While well-known to political insiders, that leaves the average New Mexican befuddled and one reason our Gator believes legalization will die in the Senate: The Senator Daniel Ivey Soto bill does not contain the social equity provisions and a compromise with those who support those provisions seems unlikely. I think the bills die in committee. What started as a movement to legalize marijuana has evolved into a billboard for social grievances. While that may have merit it casts a wide net, the specifics of which are left to a state cannabis division and an advisory panel. There are four pot bills now pending in the Senate, including the House-passed measure. A compromise is being sought. Despite polling well, there are still lawmakers who believe that New Mexico pot legalization would exacerbate damaging consequences drugs have had on our population: Some lawmakers remain skeptical in a state with one of the nation’s highest drug overdose rates. Sen. Michael Padilla, D-Albuquerque, shared the story of an individual close to him who died at a young age after starting to smoke marijuana as a teenager.
He also asked questions about possible political interference within a proposed cannabis regulatory board that would be established under several of the bills to oversee the industry. Our take: What the pro-pot interest groups don't take into account is that "recreational" drug users are largely nonexistent in wide swaths of our state. Drugs and alcohol are used to self-medicate the trauma caused by dysfunctional childhood outcomes, poverty and systemic racism. There is nothing "recreational" about any of that drug use whether it be pot or pills. That's why we have a medical marijuana program that already has over 100,000 active users. Perhaps that's where the attention belongs--preserving and protecting a program that addresses the trauma that has haunted our state for too many generations. THE BOTTOM LINES
Steve passed away at South Padre Island, Texas February 26. He possessed a brilliant political mind. He was a 1972 New Mexico George McGovern presidential delegate at the age of 20. He was a volunteer in the 1982 Toney Anaya for Governor campaign and went to work for him in the Governor's office as a political/policy wonk. He also worked for Jesse Jackson's Rainbow Coalition and co-founded Progresive Democrats of America, the organization that started the “draft Bernie” effort. Jim Hightower of Texas, another progressive of national standing, came with this reaction to Cobble's passing: A thoroughly decent human being, impish troublemaker, and helluva political strategist. A bit of all of us who worked with Cobble went with him. A terrible loss personally and for the (progressive) movement. Steve Cobble was 69. This is the home of New Mexico politics. Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here.   (c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021 |
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