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Thursday, July 17, 2025Mayoral Money Reports Show Keller Continues In The Pole Position; Councilor Sanchez Ponies Up $150K In Personal Money As Mayor's Six Foes Play Catch Up City Councilor Louie Sanchez, a retired cop in the insurance business, raised eyebrows by loaning himself $150,000 after he tried and failed to qualify for pubic financing. He collected $44,000 in donations and reported cash on hand of $181,000. Does he loan himself more to make a game of it because his private donations aren't keeping pace with what he needs? Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, the leading Republican hopeful, appears to have the second most cash on hand among Keller's foes. He says he raised $106,000 after the latest report that showed him with $17,000 in cash. His cash on hand is uncertain because he did not release any additional expenditures incurred during the time he raised the $106K. White loaned himself $20,000 in the period covering June 3 through July 7 and received $10,000 from two Louisiana donors. Because of GOP money still out there, White appears to have the best shot at raising enough funds to make a noticeable TV buy come the fall, but he has a long way to go to come close to Keller who not only has the $756K in public financing but an outside PAC has formed on his behalf that could bring the total spending on his behalf to $1 million or more. That PAC, or Measure Finance Committee as they are know in city clerk parlance, reports $75,000 in cash on hand, much of it from big labor, and raising $101K since its inception. Former US attorney Alex Uballez reported $51,000 in cash. His campaign took a major hit by failing to qualify for public financing. Now he must regroup. Parking lot owner Daniel Chavez loaned himself $100,000 earlier this year and spent most of it to get petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. He did not come with more personal money in the reporting period and reported just $13,000 in cash on hand. Mayling Armijo reported cash on hand of just $2,800. A PAC supporting her has $61,000 in cash on hand. Eddie Varela had $1,441 in cash. Keller with less than four months to go maintains the pole position but can he win with 50 percent and avoid a run off election with the second place contender? Difficult at best with this many candidates. There has been no public polling on Keller in ages. The last Journal survey in November of '22 showed him with an anemic 33 percent approval rating. It can be assumed that with his city hall PR machine operating at full tilt and an apparent drop in overall crime those numbers are better. No matter what polling Keller sports, his money number is where it needs to be. The city waits to see who can catch up. PRAGMATIC DEMOCRAT ABQ Dem District 9 city council candidate Melani Buchanan Farmer writes of blog coverage of her race against incumbent GOP Councilor Renee Grout: I’m a businesswoman, a former public school teacher, and someone who works closely with our veteran community. I don’t fit neatly into any one box. While your piece described me as a “Progressive Democrat,” I’d describe myself as a pragmatic, common-sense Democrat—focused on fairness, opportunity, and solutions that put kids and families first, not special interests or extreme ideologies. I try not to get bogged down by labels—they’re often more divisive than helpful. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. Wednesday, July 16, 2025Dem Lieutenant Governor Clash; Pope Entry Into Race Irks Garcia Richard Camp; Haaland's Hand Behind Move?
It seems Deb brought Pope in to avoid having another woman run with her. Time will tell if that's the case but Garcia Richard's supporters aren't waiting. They don't see risk in an all-female '26 ticket which would be an historic first. In fact, they believe it would be a plus. One of them writes: The old rules that the ticket has to have an ethnic or ideological balance no longer holds, Joe. The game is Bernalillo, Santa Fe and Dona Ana counites, all progressive and all welcoming to women candidates. If Haaland is recruiting Pope she is running scared which she seems to be getting a reputation for. A Haaland-Pope ticket would also be a first with Haaland as the first Native American as Governor and Pope as the first African-American lt. governor. Such Dem identity politics also has appeal in the aforementioned major counties. As for Haaland being "scared," she has pulled in her horns on her often uber-progressive politics in the wake of Trump's decent showing in the state's presidential race, shying away from policy specifics since announcing her bid in February. Dem Guv candidate and BernCo District Attorney Sam Bregman is already identified as a moderate Dem and is not moving noticeably left. A Bregman-Garcia Richard ticket would be an interesting twist with the land commissioner working to bring aboard progressives put off if Haaland lost to Bregman in next June's primary. RACE ANALYSIS
Pope, about 51 and first elected to his westside ABQ seat in 2020, is more moderate and not as affable as Garcia Richard but he does have presence. Who is hungrier for the job? That would be Garcia Richard. She is term limited as land commissioner and must win to continue her political career. Pope does not have to give up anything. His four year term is not up until 2028 so win or lose next year, he stays at the Roundhouse The Garcia Richard-Pope clash, laced as it is with ethnic and ideological threads, may make some Dems uncomfortable but it could also be seen as a sign of health. While the Dems are off to a hot start for the top offices, Republicans continue to founder when it comes to fielding well-known faces. State Senate Minority Leader Bill Sharer did find the energy to blast his senate colleague upon his entry int the lieutenant governor contest: Harold Pope is not the type of leadership New Mexicans need nor deserve. His sponsored legislation and voting record speaks for itself, and he represents an increasingly out-of-touch ideology that New Mexicans reject: He voted for Senate Bill 258 that aimed to mandate inappropriate sexual education to students as young as 11 years old. He backed House Bill 64 which sought to use taxpayer dollars to pay for college for illegal immigrants. Welcome to the main stage of La Politica, Senator Pope, where punches come from the right, left and in between. THE BOTTOM LINES NM State Police Chief Troy Weisler has a clarification of a portion of the blog that appeared in a first draft Tuesday and was later corrected: Joe, I wanted to make a clarification in reference to Dan Klein’s comments that appeared inaccurate. Mr. Klein stated: “The Law Enforcement Certification Board is currently staffed with sheriff’s and police chiefs. That needs to be changed. The Board can have a law enforcement voice but other members should be current or retired judges, district attorneys, defense attorneys and civilian professionals.” Those are the precise changes that were made to the Law Enforcement Certification Board a few years ago by the Legislature. The current members and the specific mandated areas of expertise they represent are listed on the website. That includes, in addition to current or retired law enforcement – a judge, a telecommunicator, multiple attorneys from different fields of expertise, a professor and a citizen-at-large.. The position of chairman of the LECB is listed on the site as vacant. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Tuesday, July 15, 2025Disturbing Video Of Sheriff's Deputy Killing Baby Rabbit Prompts Call For Reform Of How State Supervises Cops As Problems Mount A disturbing video from August 2024 of a Grant County Sheriff's Department deputy killing a baby rabbit by slamming the small creature against a police vehicle and smiling during and after the incident has sparked outrage even among law enforcement. Details: Deputy Alejandro Gomez of the Grant County Sheriff's Office asked to hold a small rabbit found along a dirt road near Hachita. A fellow deputy, who was holding the animal, refused to hand it over — believing Gomez would kill it — before Gomez pointed his Taser at the deputy and said, "Give it to me right now." The deputy handed Gomez the bunny and told him, "Don't throw it," asking him to "swear on your kids" that he wouldn't. Gomez smiled toward the camera and threw the rabbit against the deputy's patrol vehicle. The rabbit was fatally injured. Gomez, 27, was placed on paid leave and is charged with four counts of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon upon a peace officer and one count of extreme cruelty to animals, a fourth-degree felony. Retired APD Sergeant Dan Klein says this is the latest in a series of cops gone bad incidents that demand attention from the state: Governor Lujan Grisham has ignored the mess that New Mexico law enforcement has become. We have the epic DWI scandal that implicates APD and other agencies continuing to unfold. And what has MLG said about it? Silence. Now we have a Grant County Sheriff Department deputy (Silver City) brutally killing a baby rabbit while a supervisor and other deputies laugh. Cruelty to animals is a red flag for potential cruelty humans. Is this what we are hiring as police officers now? The killing of baby animals and DWI scandal are the tips of an iceberg that there is something very wrong with law enforcement. What can the legislature do? They can update the entire law enforcement certification and licensing statute. The Law Enforcement Certification Board (they make rulings on whether officers can keep their certifications etc.) should be placed directly under the Attorney General. The Governor's Law Enforcement Academy director resigned earlier this year and the CEO of the certification board was fired around the same time. Give control over law enforcement to the chief law enforcement officer, the Attorney General, and make stringent new rules for hiring and firing of police officers. The good officers deserve professionalism not the joke that law enforcement has become. Gary Mitchell, attorney for Deputy Gomez, says: We don't think he did anything wrong, obviously. We're waiting to see what evidence the state has. . .But it sounds like an inner-office situation that should not have turned into a criminal case. New Mexico State Police are charged with the investigation. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. Monday, July 14, 2025Final Candidate Roster Set For ABQ Council Races; A Look At Current Council-Mayor Relations And The Future, Plus: The Early Favorites To Win In November Despite having a working 5 to 4 conservative majority--four Republicans and one conservative Democrat--the Council's bark has been worse than its bite when it comes to the 11th Floor where Keller presides at downtown Government Center. Most of what he has wanted he has received albeit with intermittent adjustments by the Council. Keller has issued at least 12 vetoes since the current Council was seated in January 2022 with the Council overriding four of them for a success rate of 33%. But the vetoes have been over low-key and often procedural matters matters that have not engaged the public. Keller's relationship with the Council has gone downhill but he was successful with his first Council in passing the major items of his agenda that included acquiring the Gateway Center for homelessness, approving a tax increase for public safety and reorganizing the city in a more progressive fashion by establishing departments such as an Office of Equity and Inclusion. CRIME STRUGGLE It is the city's struggle with crime where Keller is most vulnerable and where the Council has been ineffective in placing blame on him. They have not had the appetite to take him on for fear of coming across as soft on crime and anti-police while facing a public that has been reluctant to pin the cause not only on Keller but on their own councilors. That circumstance does not appear to be in for any dramatic change as a result of elections in five of the nine Council districts this November. Our observers report the most likely outcome appears to be a Council slightly more aligned with Keller or should another Democrat succeed him. That's due mainly to the race in District One on the city's Westside where conservative Democratic Councilor Louie Sanchez, the most vocal Council critic of Keller, is giving up his seat to run for mayor. His most likely successors are either Ahren Griego or Daniel Leiva, both Democrats and not seen as holding animosity for Keller or being conservatives. Presuming Keller is re-elected (he has six challengers) and one of those two District One candidate wins, the Council could return to a 5 to 4 moderate/liberal majority, diminishing the odds of overriding mayoral vetoes. OTHER COUNCIL RACES
The seat is held by Republican Councilor Renee Grout. Her chief challenger is progressive Dem Melani Buchanan Farmer. The district, once heavy Republican, has been getting competitive. In 2021 Grout won a runoff election with 51.7 percent of the vote. If Buchanan Farmer resists going too far to the left, she could score an upset, putting the Council deeper into Dem territory. Along those lines she recently made note of the layoffs (up to 500) at Sandia National Labs, the district's largest employer: Grout did not respond to an email inquiry about the layoffs. She is not alone in her silence. The state's Democratic congressional delegation, the Governor and Mayor Keller have all been mum about the bad Sandia news. Still, the issue hits the pocketbook, a critical one for voters of all stripes. In other Council races as the City Clerk posts the final candidate roster, District 3 ABQ Valley Dem Councilor Klarissa Pena is seeking a fourth term and in a position to win. In District 5 in the northwest incumbent Republican Dan Lewis is in a lively race with Dem Athenea Allen, wife of Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. Consultants say Lewis is favored but the race merits attention. In District 7 progressive Dem Tammy Feibelkorn drew no opposition. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. E-mail your news and comments. (newsguy@yahoo.com) Interested in reaching New Mexico's most informed audience? Advertise here. |
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