Albuquerque City Council approves $1.4 billion budget - By Carolyn Carlson, City Desk ABQ
Budget bumps, popsicles and postponed charter changes dominated the lengthy Albuquerque City Council meeting May 20. In the end, a $1.4 billion budget was approved for fiscal year 2025.
BUDGET UPS AND DOWNS
A big chunk of the five-plus hour meeting was spent working out the dollar details. After a couple of hours of discussion between the council and administration, Chief Administrative Officer Samantha Sengel handed out popsicles continuing a city budget tradition started by her predecessor Lawrence Rael.
A big ticket item was the reorganization of some employees who work for departments but are also under the purview of the mayor’s office. These include some parks and recreation employees who will now be under the chief administrative officer. An additional $3.5 million was added to the administration’s budget of $3.1 million to handle the new employees.
There were no changes to the proposed $271.5 million police budget, the $17.9 million community safety budget or the $119.9 million Albuquerque Fire Rescue budget.
The BioPark and library services came out as winners.
Councilors approved a $500,000 bump for the BioPark to go toward taking care of all the living things — more than twice the amount requested by staff and the public after $200,000 was left out of the mayor’s proposed budget. The library also received $400,000 back in the budget. Councilors eliminated fee increases for the city’s swimming pools and raised municipal golf green fees by $1.
About $1 million in funding for housing vouchers was left out of the budget. When questioned about putting the funding back, Health, Housing and Homelessness representatives talked about the amount of time it takes to get voucher money out the door. City administrators said it can take up to 200 days for a person to work through the process and get placed in housing — and that is if housing is available. Because of this, not all the funding allocated is used in one year and is subject to being reverted.
Also included was $400,000 in funding to use to match federal Medicaid or Medicare resources to create a pilot program that will offer wrap-around services for individuals with psychiatric and/or substance abuse disorders.
IT’S COMPLICATED
After hours of amendments, councilors deferred several city charter changes until the next meeting.
One major proposal is to change the requirement that a mayor or city councilor have at least 50% of the vote or be subject to a run-off election. The proposed change states the winner would need at least 40% of the total vote.
The other proposals involve changing the procedure for the appointment and removal of the city attorney and city clerk; allowing the City Council to remove the police chief and fire chief and changing the procedure to resolve disputes between the executive and legislative branches regarding their respective duties.
If approved, the proposed changes would be sent to the voters in November.
Santa Fe ‘mansion tax’ returns to court - Santa Fe New Mexican, KUNM News
The city of Santa Fe’s so-called “mansion tax” will return to court Wednesday, less than a week before it’s set to take effect.
The Santa Fe New Mexican reports the lawsuit was filed in October by Kurt Hill, Richard Newton and the Santa Fe Association of Realtors, which campaigned against the tax voters passed overwhelmingly in November. They argue the tax is illegal because the city does not have the authority to tax real estate.
The city argues the tax is on the transaction, so is permissible. It also charges that the plaintiffs cannot challenge the ordinance because they haven’t been harmed by it.
The ordinance would impose a 3% tax on Santa Fe homes sold for more than $1 million. It would be on the purchaser to pay the tax on any amount over the $1 million mark. The revenue would benefit the city’s Affordable Housing Trust Fund.
The tax is scheduled to go into effect next Tuesday, May 28.
Nearly 800 New Mexico veterans see healthcare benefits expand under toxic exposure law - By Jennifer Shutt, States Newsroom
President Joe Biden is set to announce in New Hampshire on Tuesday that 1 million claims have been granted for benefits under the toxic exposure law that Congress approved less than two years ago, following the military’s use of open air burn pits in Afghanistan and Iraq.
The law, approved with broad bipartisan support following years of advocacy by veterans, their families and service organizations, has also led to more than 145,000 people enrolling in health care provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs.
In New Mexico more than 11,800 claims have been sent to the VA, which has processed and approved 6,858 of those claims, according to data provided by the White House. Under the new order 892 veterans in the state will also be able to access more health care benefits.
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Denis McDonough told reporters on a call ahead of the announcement that the law has made “tangible, life-changing differences for” veterans and their survivors.
“That has meant more than $5.7 billion in earned benefits for veterans as well as access to no-cost VA health care across all 50 states and the territories,” McDonough said.
White House Domestic Policy Advisor Neera Tanden said during the call that the law, known as the PACT Act, “represents the most significant expansion of benefits and services for toxic-exposed veterans, including veterans exposed to burn pits and certain veterans exposed to radiation and Agent Orange.”
“This is truly personal for the president given his experiences as a military parent,” Tanden said. Biden’s son, Beau, died at 46 years old in 2015 from brain cancer.
The approval rate for benefits under the PACT Act is about 75%, according to a senior administration official.
Biden is set to make the announcement during a trip to Merrimack, New Hampshire.
BURN PIT EXPOSURE
Congress struggled for years before reaching a compromise on when and how to provide health care and benefits for veterans exposed to open air burn pits during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Hazardous chemicals, medical waste, batteries and other toxic substances were disposed of in those burn pits, typically located on military bases. Service members had no choice but to live and work alongside the smoke, often breathing it in.
The law added 23 illnesses to the list of conditions that the VA presumes are connected to military service, eliminating the arduous and complicated process that many veterans had to undergo to try to get health care and benefits for those diagnoses.
Before the bill became law, veterans often had to prove to the VA that their illnesses were connected to their military service if they wanted to receive benefits or health care for those illnesses.
The U.S. Senate voted 84-14 in June 2022 to send the legislation to the House, where it was delayed for weeks over a dispute about incentivizing health care providers to move to rural or very rural areas.
The bill passed the House following a 342-88 vote in July, after that section was removed from the package. Senators voted 86-11 in August to send the bill to Biden’s desk.
The president signed the bill during a ceremony on Aug. 10.
“When they came home, many of the fittest and best warriors that we sent to war were not the same,” Biden said during the event. “Headaches, numbness, dizziness, cancer. My son Beau was one of them.”
The VA has an interactive dashboard that provides veterans with information about how to apply for health care and benefits under the PACT Act as well as how many claims have been submitted.
The VA has a calendar of in-person events that can be found here. Veterans or their family members can also call the VA at 800-698-2411 to inquire about PACT Act benefits.
Lawsuit: City leaders attempted to use Risk Management as a ‘slush fund’ — KUNM News, City Desk ABQ
A former city manager within the Risk Management Division filed a whistleblower lawsuit against the City of Albuquerque on May 17 citing intimidation, false accusations and disregard for workplace safety laws concerning asbestos at the Gateway Center.
Tierna Unruh-Enos with City Desk ABQ reports the lawsuit was filed by Jeanette Chavez, an official within Risk Management who was one of the first city officials to raise alarms about asbestos in the active work areas at the Gateway Center. She also alleges that city leaders were attempting to use the Risk Management fund as a “slush fund” to pay out funds illegally.
The lawsuit alleges that in February 2023, Chavez warned her direct supervisors and other top city officials about the dangerous exposures to asbestos occurring during the demolition, renovation and remodeling project at the Gateway Center. According to the lawsuit, that’s when top city officials turned on Chavez, and “created a hostile work environment by their threats and actions, causing her concern for her continuing employment.”
The lawsuit goes on to say, “City officials including the CAO [Lawrence Rael] and CFO, Sanjay Bhakta who was Ms. Chavez’s upline supervisor, would yell at her when she brought up her concerns about the asbestos exposure issues at the Gateway project.”
Specifically, Chavez said she was concerned about continued exposure to city employees, other occupants of the building and public visitors to the worksite.
City Desk ABQ reached out to Rael, Bhakta and city administration for comment. Rael and Bhakta did not respond, but a city spokesperson said they could not comment on pending litigation.
TOO MANY NOTICES
According to the lawsuit, on May 19, 2023, Chavez directed Risk Management to send out notices of possible exposure to workers, employees and members of the public who the city knew had visited the Gateway Center.
In the lawsuit, Chavez says that shortly after sending out the notices, the CAO, [Rael,] “criticized Ms. Chavez for sending out too many notices.” Chavez told Rael that she was legally required to inform anyone known to have been exposed to asbestos.
Shortly after sending out the notices, Chavez says in the lawsuit that city administrators made false accusations that Chavez and the Risk Management Division were encouraging construction workers to file a class action lawsuit against the city based on their asbestos exposure.
The city’s Inspector General’s Office (OIG), investigated the claims of retaliation and intimidation. An OIG report filed in August 2023, found that Chavez’s claims were substantiated and that she and her staff were being retaliated against for participating in the OIG investigation into the asbestos project at Gateway.
SLUSH FUND
Bhakta would “pressure her to spend money from the Risk Management funds that were not authorized by the City’s policies and procedures for the use of Risk Management funds,” the lawsuit states.
Chavez says that she became concerned that city administration viewed Risk Management funds as a form of “slush fund” for paying out funds that didn’t meet the legal requirements. The lawsuit says Chavez was alarmed when she learned that Bhakta and others in the administration were attempting to change the City Risk Manual policies and remove her from her authority over those funds.
Chavez worked for Risk Management from early 2019 until October 2023. In late September, she resigned, and one of her last duties was supposed to be answering questions from the City Council and other officials concerning Risk Management, including about asbestos abatement.
Three days before that scheduled meeting, she was asked to go home on sick leave until her final date of employment on Oct. 6. The practice of awarding large sick leave bonuses to top officials departing during controversy — and then letting them claim sick leave while not being sick — is contrary to written policy.
As first reported by City Desk ABQ earlier this month, the city’s inspector general has confirmed that she is investigating those practices.
As early voting expands, more than 27,000 New Mexicans cast their votes in primaries - By Danielle Prokop, Source New Mexico
May is basically early voting month in the lead-up to the 2024 primary Election Day on Tuesday, June 4.
More sites statewide are open for voters to cast ballots early in the New Mexico primary elections, and will continue to be open until Saturday, June 1.
Polls will reopen for Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Since voting opened May 7, the Secretary of State Office said 27,688 people have cast ballots, with nearly 60% of those coming to the polls in-person.
An additional 11,474 people returned their absentee ballots already. That is almost a third of the more than 35,000 voters that requested absentee ballots for the primary election as of Monday, according to the Secretary of State.
New Mexico holds “modified open primaries,” meaning you must be a member of a recognized party. In this state that is either the Democratic, Republican or Libertarian major parties. The Green Party of New Mexico, considered a minor party, does not have a primary which means that their candidates will appear on the ballot in November. Voters can only select candidates in their registered party.
Independent voters account for about 25% of New Mexico’s voting populations. Anyone that is not affiliated with a party can change their registration at polling places in-person, using same-day registration. After picking their party, they can vote on the same day.
Already, 493 voters across the state used same-day registration when casting their votes, according to the New Mexico Secretary of State Office. When signing up, 270 registered as Democrats, 215 registered as Republicans and 8 people registered as Libertarians.
Voters already affiliated with a major party cannot switch their party and vote on the same day.
For voters wanting to send a ballot through the mail, the deadline to request an absentee ballot is Tuesday, May 21. That can be done anytime online or during office hours if in-person at a county clerk’s office.
Voters can also sign up to permanently add themselves to a list, and receive their ballots each election in the mail, instead of having to request an absentee ballot request individually.
For some races, the primary is the only contested election between candidates, meaning they will not face an opponent in the November General Election.
Controversial former sheriff, undersheriff set sights on Roundhouse - By Bethany Raja, City Desk ABQ
Two of Bernalillo County’s former top cops are seeking seats at the Roundhouse in November, despite being named in a federal indictment as key players in a gunrunning scheme that allowed gun store owners to buy illegal weapons.
Manny Gonzales, a former Democrat and former Bernalillo County Sheriff, is running in the primaries for a State Senate seat on the Republican ticket for District 23, against Republican Terry Lynn Arragon. His former undersheriff, Rudy Mora, is also running on the Republican ticket for State Senate in District 10.
Mora is unopposed in the primary election and will face incumbent Democrat Katy Duhigg in the general election.
Both Gonzales and Mora have previously run for office on the Democrat ticket but switched parties this year.
City Desk ABQ reached out to both campaigns for comment on this story, but calls weren’t returned by press time.
Before seeking a state senate seat, Gonzales swapped parties and announced a short-lived campaign to secure the Republican nomination challenging U.S. Senator Martin Heinrich this fall. Gonzales was disqualified from that race because his campaign didn’t earn enough signatures from Republican supporters to make the primary ballot.
In a KOAT interview when he announced his U.S. Senate race, Gonzales said he switched political parties because he had strong personal convictions and needed to follow his values.
“My decision to run for the U.S. Senate under the Republican banner stems from a deep conviction that our state needs practical, common-sense solutions, not partisan rhetoric,” he said.
FROM DEMOCRAT TO REPUBLICAN
Gonzales was appointed sheriff in 2014 after then-Sheriff Darren White resigned to serve under newly-elected Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry. He later won election twice as a Democrat. Mora served as Gonzales’ undersheriff until 2019.
During his second term as sheriff, Gonzales threw his hat into the 2021 Albuquerque mayoral race but lost to incumbent Mayor Tim Keller by 30 percentage points.
While term limits prevented Gonzales from running for a third term as sheriff, Mora ran for the post as a Democrat in 2022 but was bested by current Sheriff John Allen. Mora then supported the Republican sheriff candidate against Allen.
Speaking with City Desk ABQ this week, White says that it’s always difficult for candidates to switch parties because opponents will accuse them of not really being a member of their new party.
“They’ll have to overcome that,” he said.
GUNRUNNING INDICTMENT
Both candidates are no strangers to controversy.
Last year Gonzales and Mora were named in a federal indictment for helping gun store owners buy and sell over 1,000 machine guns under the pretense that they would be used for law enforcement purposes. Many of the weapons were never received by the agencies and ended up being sold to the public instead. Neither man has been charged, but six others, including former Albuquerque gun store owner James Tafoya, have been.
The indictment states that for 5 years beginning in 2015, Gonzales signed nearly 600 “law letters” so that gun store owners could buy illegal firearms — including machine guns — even though BCSO had already started phasing out the use of these guns in 2013. Mora, who at the time was the Pueblo of Laguna police chief, also signed letters that helped a local gun store acquire over 400 weapons under those pretenses.
White told City Desk ABQ that he believes the candidate’s opponents will use the indictment against them if they make it past the primary election.
“It’s clearly not a positive when you’re running for office that you were somehow involved in basically a gunrunning federal investigation,” he said. “But they’ll counter that they fully cooperated and weren’t ever charged.”
White, who has also run for Congress and has advised numerous Republican candidates in New Mexico, says the onslaught of mailers attacking them for their involvement in that case will be relentless.
ELECTIONS FRAUD AND MEETING THE PRESIDENT
As surprising as the federal investigation may have been, many voters will likely remember another high-profile controversy during Gonzales’ last election.
During his 2021 mayoral bid, Gonzales faced two ethics complaints and was denied $661,000 in public funding by the Albuquerque City Clerk’s office after fake signatures and $5 campaign contributions were found on campaign documents.
An appeal later affirmed the city’s actions.
In 2020, Gonzales, then the Democratic Sheriff, appeared at the White House with former Republican President Donald Trump, to announce the controversial law enforcement initiative — Operation Legend — in which federal agents were deployed to cities across the United States to combat violent crime.
For his part, Mora drew controversy in 2017 for his participation in the investigation of a controversial shooting where his son Joshua Mora — who was a Bernalillo County sheriff’s deputy — shot and killed two people. The incident resulted in a $3.3 million settlement against the county for the deputies’ actions.
EYES ON THE PRIZE
Despite the controversies surrounding him, Gonzales stands by his motto to “bring New Mexico values to Santa Fe.”
On May 7, Gonzales’ State Senate campaign reported that it had raised $12,320 in campaign contributions at this point in the primary election cycle.
Gonzales’ top contributor so far is International Protective Services Inc., a large Albuquerque-based private security company run by former Valencia County deputy Aaron Jones. Jones has donated $5,500 to the candidate. Gonzales’ campaign contribution reporting page lists him as compliant with state campaign finance laws.
Mora has raised $21,205.07, with his top contributor as of the last reporting period being Rudy Guzman, who donated $5,200 to the campaign.
The next primary campaign finance report is due May 30.
If Gonzales wins the primary election for State Senate, White said it will come down to how much money his opponent has raised.
“To remind people that he had controversies and that he switched parties,” he said.