OPINION: ABQ needs a workhorse, not a show pony

I think I’ve hit the sweet spot. The mayor’s campaign manager has blocked my emails and a conservative city councilor is mad at me for supposedly endorsing a progressive takeover of the City Council.

The middle solves the riddle, as they say in tennis doubles.

I’ve been smoking on this column for a month. Who should I endorse for mayor in Tuesday’s runoff election? Both of these guys are so uninspiring they need to tie a pork chop around their neck to get voters to listen to them.

I received and returned my absentee ballot almost two weeks ago. There was only one race on it — what a waste of paper for someone accustomed to filling the page, even if with a house ad or two if necessary.

The choices for mayor were Timothy M. Keller and Darren White. I looked for an oval to shade in for “present,” but I didn’t see one. So I voted for White. I don’t think Keller wants my vote. I’m not sure White wants my endorsement either.

But like most of you, I’m ready for change. I’d like to see some heavy-lift cranes dotting Albuquerque’s skyline like they do in Dallas, Phoenix and Denver rather than having endless discussions about repurposing existing vacant buildings.

I’m not too overwhelmed by either candidate. Both are career politicians, who are way down on my most-favored vocation list sandwiched between community organizers and tobacco cessation specialists.

Keller is running out of ideas, and White doesn’t seem to have any. But we’ve got to choose one: There’s no ranked-choice voting in a runoff.

Keller’s eight-year tenure as mayor is a mixed bag. I’ll do my best to segregate the seeds and the stems.

I give Keller credit for the creation of the Gateway Center system. Homelessness, and the nuisance crimes associated with living in tents and vehicles and smoking fentanyl all day, is a top concern among Albuquerque residents. The city’s purchase of the former Lovelace hospital on Gibson in 2021, the largest city-owned facility outside of the Albuquerque International Sunport, and the arduous process of turning the 572,000-square-foot former hospital into a hub of medical and behavioral health services for those experiencing homelessness is Keller’s greatest achievement. That took perseverance, and the mayor deserves credit for that.

Gateway stands today as a monument to the city’s commitment to try and help those most in need, even if their disposition is self-inflicted.

I also give Keller credit for the creation of the Albuquerque Community Safety department and for leaning in heavily to the police service aide program. Both of those programs were excellent ideas that free up first responders from down-and-out calls and minor traffic accidents. We see those young police service aides everywhere. My hunch is they are the city’s most popular employees because they keep the traffic moving while ensuring anyone injured is rendered medical aid.

Keller, and Police Chief Harold Medina, also deserve credit for getting the Albuquerque Police Department out from under federal Department of Justice oversight. They both acknowledged the problem of an over-aggressive police department and embraced reforms rather than fighting them. That’s Keller’s second-best achievement, and he owes Medina a lot of credit for getting there.

On the stemmy part of the bag, the ugly and sudden rise of mass homelessness in Coronado Park was Keller’s most visible failure. The mayor himself referred to it as the most dangerous place in New Mexico before finally acting with conviction and clearing it out for good.

Parks are not intended as free camping grounds and 24/7 fentanyl farmers markets. Keller’s homeless and open drug use policies have been far too lenient and led to the cesspool in Coronado Park and the sprouting of little tent cities in distressed areas all over the city. The “ongoing public safety challenges” prompted the governor to declare an emergency in the city in April and deploy the National Guard.

Keller was also a know-nothing mayor presiding over police unit DWI and overtime scandals taking place for years right under his nose before he finally found out. That kind of negates APD’s reform accomplishments.

In my final analysis, as I’ve often written, Albuquerque is stuck in a rut while the biggest cities in states surrounding us are thriving. Every adjoining state has an NBA team. If you stand at Four Corners, only one state lacks a Fortune 1000 company — us, according to US500.

Salt Lake City is a strong contender for one of two Major League Baseball franchises that could be awarded in 2028. Albuquerque isn’t even on the bubble. But our homeless population is doing great, doubling to almost 3,000 people over the last couple of years. About half of them are from Albuquerque. Many others are fentanyl destination tourists attracted to our cheap pills and lenient policing. No wonder they proudly wear their new “I heart Tim Keller” hoodies.

If it weren’t for international immigration and our burgeoning homeless community, the city’s population would actually be negative.

Keller can’t even close the deal on a privately funded $30 million stadium for New Mexico United at Balloon Fiesta Park. His most ambitious project now is a 7-mile biking/walking trail connecting Downtown and Old Town venues. Yeah, I’ll try that one evening when it has emergency call boxes every 10 yards like first down markers on a football field. “Honey, I’m third and 25 near Tingley Beach. If I don’t make it home, tell the kids I love them. And you, too.”

I give Keller a hard time because he’s the only unimpressive mayor we have right now.

If your car isn’t starting in the morning, you can go to your neighbor only so many times for a jumpstart before he finally says “You need a new battery.” Eight years is long enough for a car battery or a governor or a president or a mayor.

We need a workhorse right now, not a show pony.

We need an Army paratrooper who’s built character doing his own laundry, not a Notre Dame and Harvard man who’s hardly held a real job.

We need a candidate who funds his own campaigns, not one who rides on the backs of taxpayers election after election.

We need a mayor focused on public safety and economic growth, not one who will ban plastic bags again.

We need a leader with the fortitude to take responsibility for things, not one who blames others or national trends while blowing his Trump dog whistle.

We need a fighter more suited for the mean streets of Albuquerque than the yoga sessions of Malibu and Martha’s Vineyard.

I endorse White, and change, because I think we are worthy of an NBA team and a Fortune 1000 company, and that we can and must do much, much better.