On The City Beat: Longtime Councilor Benton To Retire; Departure Could Lead To More Hispanic Council, Plus: Gaming the '23 City Election, And: Super-sized Pay Raises For Council And Mayor Proposed; Too Much?

Joaquin Baca

Hispanic strength could increase on the ABQ City Council now that longtime Councilor Isaac "Ike" Benton has announced that after 18 years of service he will not seek re-election this year.  

Since the founding of the modern form of government in 1974 the intent has been to have three Hispanic leaning seats but with Benton representing District 2 that covers Downtown, Old Town and parts of UNM Hispanics have been limited to two--those of westside District 1 Councilor Louis Sanchez and District 3 Valley Councilor Klarissa Pena--both Democrats like Benton.

That could change at the November city election because Democrat Joaquin Baca, ABQCore Neighborhood Association president and an elected member of the Mid Rio Grande Conservancy District (MGRCD), appears to be the leading hopeful to replace Benton. 

Actually there are no announced candidates yet Baca, a hydrologist and a Belen High graduate, is poised to be the first with a formal entry in the days ahead. He wants more cops downtown and more local businesses there which he says will help solve the crime. He was a fervent supporter of the proposed downtown ABQ soccer stadium which voters defeated with 65 percent of the vote. 

If we did go to three Hispanic council members, don't expect them to march in lockstep. Far from it. Councilor Sanchez is an unabashed conservative. Councilor Pena is a longtime moderate and Baca, if elected, would follow mainly in the progressive footsteps of Dem Benton.

Forty-nine percent of the city's population currently identifies as Hispanic. 

THE BENTON FILE

As for Benton whose term will expire at the end of the year, the Downtown ABQ News and other analysts said the architect's lengthy time on the council saw him consistently advocating for urbanist themes including: 

--Carrying the bill that led to the city's 2007 purchase of the Rail Yards. (Whether that Downtown/Barelas landmark will be a major redevelopment hit or a money pit has yet to be determined). 

Councilor Benton

--Led the redevelopment of the historic El Vado Motel property that has been a hit (although the motel could use a better website explaining the redo for potential visitors.)

--Advocated strongly for the construction of ART. (This was the renovation of Central Ave. to upgrade the bus system and is often referenced as the most bungled public works project in city history.)

--He had better luck with The Workforce Housing Trust Fund that helped build Silver Gardens, Casitas de Colores, the Imperial Building, Sterling Downtown apartments and projects at the Sawmill Community Land Trust.

--Benton was instrumental in the city approving the Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO). As the Downtown News put it: "A massive rewrite of the city's zoning rules most famous for streamlining regulations. But for some neighborhood leaders, it is infamous for largely doing away with collections of neighborhood-level rules called sector plans."

--The Complete Streets Ordinance probably best illustrates Benton's vision for a modern city. It mandates "that when the city refurbishes a road it must make a serious attempt to widen sidewalks, plant trees, install bike lanes, and generally make life easier for everyone not using a car."

While Benton gets a solid grade for his areas of interest, it can't be omitted that he and his fellow councilors since 2009 failed to effectively address the public safety crisis in the city which has only grown worse with time and helped stall the rebirth of Downtown that Benton had high hopes for.

CITY ELECTION '23

The even numbered City Council Districts--2, 4,6 and 8--are up for election this year. Besides District 2, there will also be two more new councilors. One is SE Heights District 6 where Councilor Pat Davis will step down and where the race could draw a large crowd. The other is District 8 where longtime GOP Councilor Trudy Jones is retiring. A Republican is sure to replace her in the heavy GOP area but who is up in the air. No-one has yet announced. Insiders report former GOP County Commissioner Wayne Johnson will not run, after mulling over the possibility.

In District 4 in the NE Heights, Republican Brook Bassan will run for re-election. She has not yet drawn an opponent. She took a hit for agreeing with the mayor on a controversial homeless solution but since has veered away from him. 

The Council has shifted to the right since the 2021 city election with conservatives able to approve measures on a 5 to 4 vote, but Mayor Keller has the veto and it takes six votes to override him--votes they do not have.  However, Jones has been voting to uphold some of the vetoes. If a "true-blue" anti-Keller R replaces her it would bolster the conservatives. 

Councilors Lewis, Sanchez, Grout, Bassan and the new District 8 councilor would then be the bloc to override a mayoral veto, still lacking a sixth vote. That would cause eyes to fall on moderate Dem Klarissa Pena as the sixth and the swing vote in any future override attempts. 

Keller hasn't been stymied much by the conservative council because he passed his major initiatives while the Dems had a stronger hand. Now it's mainly about execution. 

BIG PAY RAISES 

If voters could vote on proposed super-sized pay raises for the mayor and city council they would vote no, according to a survey conducted by the commission that is proposing the big boosts. 

The commission was given the job of adjusting the salaries in 2009 by a voter-approved Charter Amendment so the voters won't get a say. Still, many of them will see red when they see this:

The citizen commission responsible for setting Albuquerque elected officials’ pay wants councilors to get an 87% hike. That would mean going to $62,843 per year from the current rate of $33,660. The council president would get an equivalent increase: up to $66,928 from $35,860. The panel also has voted to increase the mayor’s salary. The position would pay $146,081 up from today’s $132,500. The Citizens Independent Salary Commission voted on the salary changes. The commission is slated to vote on Wednesday. The new pay scale takes effect after elections--that means 2024 for the candidates who win the council District 2, 4, 6, and 8 elections this fall, and 2026 for those who prevail in the 2025 election for mayor and the other five council seats.

As we said voters aren't exactly giving these pay hikes a resounding vote of confidence which is no surprise since the city remains engulfed in crime:

Among 182 survey respondents, 37% answered that the City Council salary should remain $33,660, but 36% thought councilors should make less and 26% said they should earn more. When it comes to the mayor, 48% said the position should earn less, 34% thought it was good as it is now, and 18% felt the job deserved a higher salary.

The salary commission should stop ignoring the will of the public. 

The Commission appears to be overstepping its mandate by expressing concern that some citizens can't run for the council because they can't afford to. The council was created as a part-time body as was the BernCo Commission. The salary commission should concern itself with determining fair pay for a part-time councilor--not who or who isn't running for city council.  

Each of the nine councilors has a full-time aide with a full-time salary to assist them in their part-time duties. 

In a rarity, a recent city council meeting took only a couple of hours after which Councilor Davis said they should try to keep it that way instead of multi-hour sessions that drone on and on. 

The salary commission should reduce the proposed raises so they are in line with a part-time position--like the part-time BernCo Commissioners who receive salaries below $40,000. That still leaves room for a double digit increase. 

Council candidates could object to those too hefty raises but they would still go through. Hey, do you think any of them would decline the higher pay? . . . Yeah, thought so. 

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2023