OPINION: Talk of the Town

Keep private residences out of fairgrounds

Expo New Mexico is an egalitarian space. People come from all over the state. All are equal when walking around the campus. There is no reason to add private residences in the area. This will only increase tension. People who live in an area are naturally territorial. It makes more sense to leave all private housing out of the fairgrounds. Any private housing should be to the east of Louisiana Boulevard.

There are thousands of visitors to Expo all year. During the annual State Fair there are thousands of visitors. The mock-up design with visitors sprinkled is comical. Anyone who has attended the State Fair knows people are shoulder to shoulder and happy about the energy.

The developers suggest tearing down the exterior wall and adding a large park. The wall makes people feel safe within the premises. It was added for that reason. The developers say they are aiming for the highest and best use of the property. A park is not the highest and best use of property. Parks are great, but they do not generate income. The highest and best use of any property is manufacturing and commercial uses that generate income.

There is plenty of green space at the facility, and we could use more trees and grass. 

Adding a stadium is fine because there is already parking. Expo could use the boost of attendance — provided of course that people other than the New Mexico United soccer team can use the stadium. For example, the stadium could also be used for high school soccer tournaments, club soccer, exhibition games, etc.

The use and management of the facility needs to remain with the current management system.

Elizabeth Stacy Vencill

Albuquerque

Taxpayers deserve a verdict, not foot-dragging

Enough already about the never-ending delays in the Sheryl Williams Stapleton trial as reported in the March 6 Albuquerque Journal.

If this lady is guilty of the dozens of state and federal criminal counts alleging money laundering, fraud and other crimes, then a "fair and speedy trial” should not have to wait five years.

It is hard to believe that the attorneys for Williams Stapleton and her co-defendant claim more time is needed to deal with the immensity of the charges. If found guilty, Williams Stapleton would have had five years to breathe free air from the time the initial state charges were filed. It’s easy to see why folks get discouraged with our criminal justice system and wonder if favorable treatment has been rendered to this once-powerful legislator and public school executive.

It almost seems like a cop-out by the federal judge who recently granted the delay in the scheduled federal trial with the rationale that it may allow time for a plea deal. It seems like there has been ample time to seek a deal if that was the chosen path.

Let's get this case over with and, if found guilty, render the maximum punishment possible. It's our tax money that has allegedly been stolen, and we have a right to see the perpetrator punished to the full extent of the law.

Dave Coulie

Albuquerque

Public memory must include the whole truth

Here in New Mexico, we live with reminders of how history shapes our sense of place and purpose, with fierce debates about monuments that reflect our complicated past. As our communities engage in conversations about who we choose to honor, it’s time to take an honest look at the legacy of Cesar Chavez, whose actions, it now appears, include credible allegations of sexual assault and coercive power dynamics involving his colleague, Dolores Huerta, and other female workers.

When allegations of sexual assault or abuse of power surface, one common reaction is disbelief: “But he seemed like such a good guy.” As a community, we must confront that tension: that a person can do good and still cause harm.

Chavez’s leadership in the farmworker movement improved countless lives. His name became synonymous with justice, dignity and hope. Grappling with that contradiction of a man who advanced justice for farmworkers yet may have abused those same ideals is uncomfortable, but necessary. For too long, our public memory has divided people into heroes and villains without allowing for complexity. Being a good person, or doing good work, does not erase harm.

People accused of serious crimes rarely fit the caricature of a monster. They may be parents, mentors or community leaders, people with charm, compassion and charisma, who give their time and money to help others. But goodness in one area of life does not negate wrongdoing in another.

Survivors are often dismissed because their stories challenge our belief in someone’s decency. When we insist that only bad people do bad things, we protect perpetrators and isolate victims. We must tell the whole truth — even when it complicates the legacies we revere.

Amy Adler, 

Board vice president, Solace Sexual Assault Services

Heinrich let New Mexicans down with vote

I am an independent who usually caucuses with the Democrats. But I am so furious at New Mexico Democratic Sen. Martin Heinrich for supporting Markwayne Mullin for secretary of the Department of Homeland Security. If the Democrats do not put up a primary challenger to Heinrich when he is up for reelection, I will surely vote Republican. I feel betrayed by Heinrich, who I tended to trust for his levelheaded approach to governing. But him voting to confirm Mullin because he is his "friend?" Dude, you are not there to practice nepotism. You are there to protect the people of New Mexico from people like him.

I am wholly disgusted right now. Anything the Journal can do to get the word out about needing Democrat primary challengers for Heinrich would help.

Joe Justice

Albuquerque

NM delegation must halt the Trump machine

Sen. Martin Heinrich’s rationale for voting to approve Markwayne Mullin as Homeland Security secretary makes sense in normal times. But we’re well beyond normal. In these times, you’re either acquiescent to President Donald Trump and his corrupt, cruel, incompetent administration or you’re part of the resistance. Neither of our senators have yet shown the courage to stand up in resistance.

There are still too many members of Congress who agree that this administration is awful but if we just keep our head down, we’ll get through it. We can then win an election or two and we’ll be able to return things to normal. But that is not what’s happening here. 

Here we have a corrupt cabal of ideologues that is actively, systematically and rapidly eroding the rule of law, our Constitution and our democracy. We’re engaged in an existential fight and our congressional representatives need to pull their heads out of the sand and begin to act like it.

Until then, it’s our duty to make it more uncomfortable for our congressional representatives to acquiesce than to actively engage in helping us resist.

Our senators need to oppose every nomination. They need to use every procedural lever at their disposal, such as unanimous consent, to grind the wheels of government to an absolute halt. They need to make every action by this administration as costly and as painful possible. We need active resistance to this authoritarian takeover. Our senators and all our congressional representatives need to step up.

(That is, aside from Rep. Melanie Stansbury. She is engaged in active resistance to this putsch in progress.)

Stephen Conrad

Algodones

There’s a critical need for bipartisan housing solutions

Congratulations to Housing New Mexico, the city of Albuquerque and partners for the recent opening of the Farolito Senior Community. Innovative affordable housing solutions such as Farolito show how working together yields important results to expand housing in our community. Housing is the cornerstone of every individual and family to be able to thrive here in Albuquerque and across the country.

Congress has a critical role to play in addressing New Mexico’s housing affordability crisis. This month, the Senate passed the largest housing bill in decades. Congress passed bipartisan legislation to improve housing affordability by expanding old programs, deregulation and creating more opportunities for home ownership. The lack of housing supply is driving the higher cost of housing. This bill aims to boost the United States’ housing supply, driving more affordable options across our country.

Let’s ask Congress to keep this bipartisan momentum going by expanding the Housing Choice Voucher program. Housing projects across our community can benefit from more availability of vouchers, just like Farolito Senior Community. Half of all renters in the U.S. and Albuquerque are “rent burdened,” paying more than 30% of their income on rent and utilities. That limits available income for necessities such as food. With a voucher, recipients have their rent partially covered by a subsidy paid directly to the landlord. The vouchers can lift the most marginalized and lowest-income groups out of poverty, including people who are unhoused.

I’m a proud New Mexican and grateful that we take care of all members of our community. Let’s keep it up and do more.

Carol Pierce

Albuquerque