City Rule May Bar State House Bid

Albuquerque firefighter Emily Kane is one of three Democrats seeking the nomination to run in state House District 15.

But it might take a City Charter amendment to keep her in the race.

That’s because voters approved a charter provision in 1989 that prohibits Albuquerque city employees from holding elected state offices. City personnel rules based on the charter also make it clear that employees can’t even be candidates for such an office.

Kane, a captain in the Fire Department, says the prohibition isn’t fair, and she’d like to see it changed. Kane told me in an interview she believes she ought to be treated like anyone else who wants to run.

“Firefighters run for office all over the state,” Kane said.

But the city Legal Department sent Kane a letter this week saying it doesn’t think she “can legally remain a city employee and run for the state Legislature.”

It’s not clear yet how the impasse will be resolved.

Amending the City Charter isn’t easy. A super-majority of the City Council can approve an amendment, or it can be submitted to voters.

Also running in House District 15, an open seat, are Democrats Joe D. Craig and Matt David Munoz and Republicans Christopher T. Saucedo and Kenneth J. King.

Wiener bio updated

County Commissioner Michael Wiener doesn’t want anyone confused about whether he’s running for re-election.

He is, and he had that fact posted to his official county bio on the Web after he filed his campaign paperwork last week.

The county said Wednesday that Wiener plans to remove the mention of re-election.

“The County Attorney’s Office thinks it’s better for a commissioner not to mention that he or she is running for re-election in a bio that (is) posted on the county’s website,” county spokeswoman Tia Bland said. “Commissioner Wiener is fine with removing that part from his bio.”

The ethics code prohibits using county property for political activity, though it’s not clear the one sentence on Wiener’s bio would violate that rule.

Wiener said he meant no harm, and he pointed out that his candidacy is listed elsewhere on the county website. The clerk provides an online list of all the candidates who have filed with the county to be candidates in the primary.

Wiener said he didn’t mind removing the sentence but that any objections to it sound like “nit-picking.”

“It’s a known fact that I’m a candidate,” he told me in an interview. “I don’t think it’s a secret.”

Wiener faces former Chamber of Commerce Chairman Lonnie Talbert in the June primary.

As of Wednesday afternoon, the second sentence of Wiener’s bio mentions that he “recently announced that he is seeking re-election to his seat representing District 4 (the northern part of Bernalillo County) in the June 5 primary election.”

Wiener’s lengthy bio on the county website includes some other interesting touches: He made his acting debut in a television show called “Real Stories of the Highway Patrol,” and he was an extra in “Breaking Bad.”
— This article appeared on page C2 of the Albuquerque Journal