Judge Rejects Minimum Wage Proposal

Minimum wage activists say they’ll appeal District Court Judge Nash’s dismissal of their petition against the city of Albuquerque . The appeal will be filed with state Supreme Court in the next few hours, the group says.

“The 25,000 people who signed the minimum wage petition think the law is pretty clear,”  Mary Lee Ortega, president of OLÉ, one of the lead minimum wage advocates, said in a news release. “The City certified our petitions, and it is required to hold an election within 90 days. We are confident the Supreme Court will agree with us.”

The coalition behind the minimum wage measure includes AFSCME, El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos, OLÉ, and Working America.

Judge Nan Nash just now denied OLE’s petition to order the city to put the minimum-wage proposal on the Nov. 6 ballot.

Nash also granted the city’s motion to dismiss the suit. Nash ruled that the proposal is “invalid” because it combines more than one item into one proposition — i.e. voters would have to decide with one answer whether to raise the minimum wage, establish a cost-of-living adjustment annually and change the treatment of tipped employees.

It’s possible, Nash said, that voters might like one aspect of the proposal, but not the others.

The decision means County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver will certify the ballot today without the wage question on it. There could be appeals, of course.