E-mail Story
Print Friendly
Send E-mail
Reprint story
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Chávez In; Three-Way Race Set for Top City Job
By Dan McKay
Journal Staff Writer
Martin Chávez has already spent more time in the Mayor's Office than anyone since World War II.
So why is he launching yet another bid for election — a move that would give him an unprecedented fourth, four-year term as mayor of Albuquerque?
"I really feel in my heart that I'm just getting started," Chávez said in a recent interview, clad in bluejeans and a sports coat.
He will formally announce his re-election campaign today as he and two other candidates — state Rep. Richard Berry and former state Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero — begin their sprint toward the Oct. 6 municipal election.
Five of nine seats on the City Council, where Chávez has had rocky relationships, are also on the ballot.
In a recent interview at a picnic table on Civic Plaza, Chávez said he would focus in a new term on plans to expand the police force, attract environment-friendly "green" jobs and work with the school district to help teens succeed. He also wants to continue improving cultural amenities, such as Tingley Beach and the zoo complex.
But his opponents are already taking aim. The Berry campaign has accused Chávez of making Albuquerque a "sanctuary city" for illegal immigrants — a charge the mayor's team strongly disputes. And the Romero campaign says it's time to end cronyism at City Hall — an attempt to highlight Romero's record of opposing corrupt politicians.
Chávez appears to be getting along well with some key constituencies — city employees and prominent business leaders — who have given mayors trouble in the past. He recently picked up a re-election endorsement, for example, from AFSCME, the union that represents thousands of rank-and-file city employees.
On the other hand, some of the mayor's harshest critics — including some councilors — say he's been too eager to spend money on ornamental projects and unwilling to cooperate with other elected officials.
Even so, it's been a quiet start for the election year. Chávez, who is 57, waited until today to formally announce his campaign, just 90 days before the election.
Opponents say he delayed a formal announcement so he could treat criticism of his policies as an attack on the administration as a whole, allowing him to use city employees or resources to respond.
Romero, in particular, said Chávez was putting his political ambition ahead of taxpayers' interests. Berry said Chávez was playing "political games." Chávez, for his part, called the timing criticism "sour grapes" and said he was complying with both the letter and spirit of regulations on political activity.
A broad appeal
Chávez and Romero are Democrats. Berry is a Republican.
Albuquerque city elections are nonpartisan, meaning party affiliations won't appear on the ballot. If no candidate gets 40 percent of the vote, the top two will compete in a runoff in November.
Political analyst Brian Sanderoff, president of Research & Polling Inc., said Chávez has succeeded in the past by running as a "right-of-center candidate" who can beat Republicans on their home turf. But he has also appealed to other voters, too.
"The secret to Chávez's success is that it's a nonpartisan race without party labels," Sanderoff told the Journal. "He draws substantial support from Democrats, Republicans and independents."
Chávez has won the mayoral election each time he's run — in 1993, 2001 and 2005. He lost a bid for the Governor's Office in 1998 to Republican Gary Johnson, and he abandoned a brief campaign to seek the Democratic nomination for the U.S. Senate in 2007.
He served in the state Senate before becoming mayor.
His two opponents have also served in the Legislature, setting up a three-way race of former or current state lawmakers.
One challenge for Berry, Sanderoff said, is whether he can persuade Republicans to break from Chávez. To do that, he will need to boost his name recognition citywide.
As a state representative, Sanderoff said, "he starts out with a base that is relatively small geographically in the city. He needs to get his biography out there."
Berry, who co-owns a general-contracting business, has said he will focus on fiscal responsibility, public safety, creating jobs and improving basic infrastructure.
Romero, meanwhile, is already well-known after two high-profile, but unsuccessful, congressional races against Heather Wilson. That means he has already had a chance to put hundreds of positive ads before voters, Sanderoff said, but he was also the subject of negative attacks.
"He's known for (the) million-dollar campaigns against Heather Wilson," Sanderoff said.
Before that, Romero drew statewide attention when a coalition of Republican lawmakers, plus a few Democrats, helped him unseat Manny Aragon from the Senate leadership job. Aragon later pleaded guilty to mail fraud and conspiracy in the Metropolitan Courthouse construction scandal — a fact Romero has highlighted to demonstrate his willingness to take on cronyism.
Romero, a retired educator, has stressed his bipartisan record and said he would work to reduce crime, help small businesses and make Albuquerque a leader in renewable energy. Chávez, for his part, said he will campaign, not only on "four-year goals," but also "with an eye to what the city will look like 50 years from now." He said his record as mayor shows he knows how to turn campaign rhetoric into reality.
He said public safety will remain his No. 1 priority, and he will push to expand the police force from 1,100 to 1,200 officers. He said he will also push to toughen state laws dealing with repeat offenders.
For judges handing out lenient sentences, he said, he will be a "thorn in their side." Chávez said he would look at the "soft edge of crime" by working to expand programs for troubled youngsters.
Another campaign pledge he intends to highlight is the creation of nonpolluting jobs. He supports financial incentives for development projects that meet certain environmental standards.
"We're just now seeing the beginnings of a green economy," Chávez said.
Asked about the possibility of a building a new Downtown events center and hotel complex, an idea under discussion for years, the mayor said he still "very strongly" supports the project but that it should go before voters if it requires a tax increase. He said he doesn't expect any immediate movement on the issue, and he doesn't plan to put it on the fall ballot.
"I don't see any way to do the project without an increase" in gross-receipts taxes, Chávez said.
As for other big projects, the mayor said he would continue pushing for "world-class" amenities, such as expanding Tingley Beach.
Critics fault waste and style
But some of those amenities have sparked trouble for the mayor.
The City Council forced Chávez to halt construction of a reflecting pool at Balloon Fiesta Park in 2007. Critics said it was a waste of water and money, while supporters said it was always in city plans.
Tingley Beach triggered political fighting, too. The council cut funding for a Chávez-supported effort to build a swimming lagoon there, complete with guard dogs to chase off the geese. Again, councilors questioned the cost and the water use.
Even the mayor's critics say his tangles with councilors and other elected officials seem to have as much to do with personalities as policy.
County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo once called Chávez a "big baby" and accused him of acting like a king, not a mayor.
Whether those criticisms will interest voters is unclear. Chávez casts himself as someone who will push vigorously to get what's best for the city.
"I've never been afraid to fight for what I committed to get done," he said.
His record includes construction of controversial projects, including Montaño Bridge and the extension of Paseo del Norte through the petroglyphs. Supporters say it's a sign of his ability to forge consensus.
"As the years pass of incumbency, you make a lot of friends and a lot of enemies," Sanderoff said. "That's just the natural part of politics. It'll be interesting to see whether some of the political detractors try to get involved in some way to help the challengers or stay on the sidelines."
You also can send comments via our comment form
|
|
