OPINION: Talk of the Town

Ranked-choice voting for better elections

In the Nov. 16 Sunday Journal Opinion section, an op-ed from Jeff Tucker gave an informative account of the legal history behind Albuquerque’s present requirement for runoff elections if no single candidate gets 50% of the vote. He also advocates for a return to plurality voting, in which the candidate with the most votes wins (regardless of the percentage), in part because of the expense of runoff elections.

Tucker does not include some of the political context, however. The 2004 constitutional amendment allowing runoffs was inspired in part by two sequential mayoral elections in Albuquerque which resulted in mayors with very small pluralities (in 1997, the winner had 29% of the vote; in 2001, 31%). Political commentary at the time questioned whether the winners really represented the community, since a large majority of the voters voted for someone else. Albuquerque then established runoffs if no candidate attracted more than 40% of the vote.

The next two mayoral elections were won by candidates who received 47% in 2005 and 44% in 2009. The latter election resulted in a Republican mayor for the first time in over 20 years. This led to the most recent change in 2013, which required runoffs if no one received at least 50% of the vote. It was promoted as a good-governance measure, but it could also be seen as a political reaction to election of a Republican mayor.

I advocate for ranked-choice voting, which is intended to elect officials who have full or partial support from a majority of the voters in a given election. It promotes legitimacy while eliminating the expense of runoff elections. I believe that a return to plurality elections would worsen the trend of conspiracy theories and denials of election returns if the winner has only 30% of the votes.

Ed Fancovic

Albuquerque

UNM should hold on to this football coach

The Lobos have a winner! If the University of New Mexico wants to be a top-tier team, we need to keep the football coach. As an alumni of UNM, you have to pay to keep him. A $4 million buyout is nothing to the big dogs. It’s time that the big donors step up. If not we might as well drop football like the stupid decision to drop men’s soccer. Loyal Lobo alumni deserve this!

Charles Packard

Albuquerque

Valencia County failed voters with tax flub

A basic, fundamental responsibility of county government is to calculate property taxes correctly. That didn’t happen this year in Valencia County. According to the Valencia County assessor, an incorrect value was submitted to the state of New Mexico. When the state returned the mill levy rates, the near doubling of the residential mill levy went unnoticed. The County Commission then approved those erroneous levies, and finally, the treasurer sent out the tax bills as if everything were normal.

In a county with high poverty rates, thousands of retirees on fixed incomes, working families living paycheck to paycheck and homeowners already stretched thin, the result has been financial shock and emotional stress. Many are terrified they won’t be able to cover the bill due Dec. 10. And the response so far from county officials does little to undo the damage or restore trust.

That brings us back to this essential point: Elections have consequences. We elect the county assessor, treasurer and commissioners. They oversee taxes, budget and the systems that determine whether residents remain secure in their homes — or get pushed to the brink by a clerical failure.

This incident can’t be brushed aside as an unfortunate blunder. It should catalyze a demand for:

• Full transparency about how the error occurred and who signed off at each stage.
• A public, independent review of internal processes within the Assessor’s Office, the Treasurer’s Office and the Valencia County Commission.
• Clear, written corrective procedures so that this never happens again.
• Accountability — not just apologies — from the officials involved.

Valencia County deserves a government that double-checks numbers before they hit our wallets. We deserve elected officials who understand that.

Summer Ludwig

Belen

Tax cuts for wealthy has not cut poverty

My heart goes out to every family that faced the terrifying prospect of not having enough food during the government shutdown and before. Knowing that funds had been allocated and were deliberately withheld made it even worse. Families on the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program are already living on the edge. This was a real slap in the face for them.

New Mexico took steps to fill the gap, but the uncertainty alone is damaging. The prospect of not having medical care is equally scary, as insurance rates are in danger of rising significantly in January. At this point, many Americans are experiencing the same levels of anxiety as the people we have abandoned by cutting U.S. Agency for International Development programs. Maybe this will remind us about how harmful poverty is.

SNAP and some other U.S. Department of Agriculture food support programs are funded through next September. But housing help has been cut, and health insurance rates are likely to increase for everyone starting in January.

Cutting taxes for the wealthy has not cut poverty. It’s time to put our money where the people are. Please support our U.S. Sens. Martin Heinrich and Ben Ray Luján and our Reps. Melanie Stansbury, Gabe Vasquez and Teresa Leger Fernández as they continue their efforts to support our families.

Roxanne Allen

Albuquerque

Curb waste by cutting nuke weapons biz

If the Trump administration is intent on eliminating waste, fraud and abuse, I suggest looking at the nuclear weapons industry.

Pit production at Los Alamos National Laboratory is a complete waste because the Savannah River Site will be online soon after LANL produces pits. We just need one manufacturing location and, needless to say, LANL is a logistical nightmare in terms of expansion and safety. Moreover, LANL still hasn’t cleaned up its nuclear waste from the 1940s.

The influx of LANL employees to the Santa Fe area has driven up housing costs beyond the means of the people here. Housing mitigation needs to occur for local residents as it is. Beyond that, LANL wants to run power lines across the Rio Grande into the Santa Fe National Forest.

We, the people who live here, moved here due to the beauty and availability of outdoor recreation. The existing power lines around New Mexico are bad enough. Destroying the environment further is not supported by me or the local population. I call for the redirection of nuclear funding to social services and education which are so inadequately funded. Please contact Sens. Ben Ray Luján and Martin Heinrich and Reps. Teresa Leger Fernández and Melanie Stansbury about this situation.

Ginny Schneider

Cochiti Lake

Honor caregivers this Care at Home Month

This November, Compassus joins communities nationwide in celebrating National Care at Home Month, an opportunity to honor the dedicated caregivers who make high-quality, compassionate care possible in the most meaningful place of all: home.

Home care is more than a service; it’s personal, transformative and deeply impactful. For those recovering or healing, it offers hope and comfort. For approximately 1.7 million U.S. patients receiving hospice care — specialized medical care focused on providing comfort, dignity and support for individuals with terminal illnesses — it becomes a sanctuary where life’s final chapter can be written with dignity, peace and connection, allowing meaningful moments with loved ones in a familiar and nurturing setting.

At Compassus, our hospice teams go beyond providing care for patients; they extend kindness and support to families as well. Nurses, aides, social workers, chaplains and volunteers work tirelessly to offer holistic physical, emotional and spiritual care. Even after a loved one has passed, families receive up to 13 months of bereavement support to guide them through the grieving process.

This month, let’s take a moment to shine a light on the unsung heroes of home care — the compassionate caregivers who enter homes with open hearts and bring dignity, presence and understanding to those in need. Their remarkable work reminds us that health care isn’t just about medicine; it’s about humanity.

We invite our community to join us in celebrating the profound impact of care at home during National Care at Home Month. Together, we can honor the caregivers who make every day brighter for patients and families, where they feel most at peace.

Elizabeth Ross

Compassus Hospice New Mexico