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The Republican majority on the Bernalillo County Commission – the first in 40 years – isn’t guaranteed to last through the end of the year.
State law appears to allow the winner of the Nov. 6 election to start his or her term earlier than the Jan. 1 date that usually applies to county offices. That’s because the commissioner holding the job now, Simon Kubiak, was appointed by the governor.
A state statute calls for the appointee to serve “until his successor shall be qualified.” Pretty much everyone I’ve talked to, even some of the candidates themselves, seemed to think this meant the normal Jan. 1 start of a term.
But the county Legal Department believes a successor is qualified sooner than that – essentially after the election results are certified and the period for challenging them expires. That happens about 30 days after the election, so we’d be looking at a Dec. 7 date, in time for the commission’s Dec. 11 meeting.
Kubiak, of course, could make all this moot by defeating Debbie O’Malley in the general election.
Kubiak, a Republican, is a lawyer who works in criminal defense and personal injury. O’Malley, a Democrat, is an Albuquerque city councilor, a position she’d give up if she moves to the commission.
In any case, it sounds like the Republican commissioners will have to move quickly if they want a guaranteed shot at approving Sheriff Dan Houston’s plans for more deputies. Houston is a Republican.
City councilors like to debate all the big issues. The latest example came this week, when Rey Garduño sponsored a memorial recognizing the one-year anniversary of the end of “don’t ask, don’t tell.”
The policy barred gays from serving openly in the military.
The bill would have proclaimed today as “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell Repeal Day.”
A handful of supporters urged the council to pass the measure. One said: “I now can serve openly and with pride.”
Councilors rejected the bill on a 4-3 party-line vote. Opposed were Republicans Trudy Jones, Brad Winter, Dan Lewis and Michael Cook.
Joining Garduño in favor were fellow Democrats Ken Sanchez and O’Malley. Two councilors were absent: Don Harris, a Republican, and Isaac Benton, a Democrat.
Government meetings don’t normally offer much in the way of touching moments, but Monday’s council meeting was an exception.
The council and its audience honored Atilano David, a survivor of the Bataan death march, with a standing ovation after he spoke in favor of making Bataan Memorial Park a city landmark.
The landmark designation passed without opposition. Benton and O’Malley sponsored the measure.
— This article appeared on page C1 of the Albuquerque Journal
