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Wednesday, June 24, 2009
Romero on Cops; Winter Welcomed
By Dan McKay
Of the Journal
ROMERO ON CRIME: More officers on the street and shortened response times should sound familiar to those who have followed Mayor Martin Chávez's policies for improving Albuquerque police for the past several years.
Mayoral candidate Richard Romero said Tuesday that they will also be the cornerstones of his anti-crime agenda if he is elected — although Romero said there are plenty of differences in the details.
Romero, during a news conference in front of the main police station, said officers should put greater emphasis on "community policing." He said that would mean better communication with citizens and making a bigger effort to serve their needs. Romero said he would examine how to redistribute public safety dollars to make a bigger difference on the street.
Romero took shots at some of the mayor's policies, promising he wouldn't need personal bodyguards if elected. Those officers should be working on the street — as well as many other officers now relegated to desk duty, he said.
Chávez should stop blaming officers for major mistakes, Romero said. He said that Albuquerque police are doing a good job and that any problems stem from poor leadership.
"The real measure (of the APD) should be where the buck should stop: at the mayor's desk," he said.
— Sean Olson
FINALLY INVITED: Mayor Martin Chávez loves his news conferences. He'll even schedule more than one each day.
It's a practice that irritates city councilors, who say he leaves them out of announcements, even when they've had a role in the project.
Perhaps Chávez is now addressing those complaints. On Monday, he invited one of his harshest critics, Brad Winter, to celebrate the opening of a new skate park in the far Northeast Heights.
Winter said he was invited a couple of hours before the 2 p.m. announcement. He and the mayor talked "cordially" at the news conference.
"I still don't think we see eye to eye on a lot of issues, but I really do appreciate being invited," Winter said.
Chávez beat Winter and two others in the 2005 mayoral race.
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