OPINION: Talk of the Town

Students shouldn’t pay fees for UNM athletics

The decision by the University of New Mexico Board of Regents to increase student fees in order to “invest” in Lobo Athletics stinks to high heaven of greed and incompetence. May I point out that UNM currently has over half a billion dollars in its endowment. No New Mexico student should even be paying for tuition with that kind of money lying around.

And let’s not forget the land recently sold to In-N-Out Burger to build a burger joint on UNM’s South Campus. I’ve read the sale price on this is $2 million.

Since the regents and UNM President Garnett Stokes are calling this an “investment,” what is the rate of return? Or is it just a money grab spending project funded through the pockets of students and parents alike?

UNM seems to spend endowment money buying property and legislators. It’s about time land sales and gifted money be used to help students and not used to run semi-pro sports teams and their accompanying legal problems.

Clyde Aragon

Albuquerque

Budget cuts money for police recruitment

The fiscal year 2026 budget cut $5.4 million from police recruitment, even as our city continues to face serious public safety challenges. The mayor has effectively given up on hiring more officers and instead redirected those funds elsewhere.

It fails our hardworking city employees, especially our blue-collar workers who keep Albuquerque running every day. While the mayor’s political appointees enjoy generous annual raises — 5% or more — frontline city workers once again got shortchanged.

The budget continues to squeeze Albuquerque families. Over the past eight years, we’ve seen new taxes and higher fees across the board — from food truck permits to city pool and golf fees, zoo tickets, restaurant licenses and trash pickup. I offered amendments to lower these fees and put money back in your pocket.

Worst of all, this budget is void of any real plan. There’s no strategy to reduce crime. No commitment to tackle homelessness. No bold ideas to grow our economy. What little “vision” it offers amounts to more waste, more bureaucracy and more political spin. This mayor now employs 35 public information officers — up from eight just eight years ago.

I proposed real solutions: protect public safety funding, deliver fair raises to frontline workers, cut unnecessary fees, and ensure your tax dollars deliver results. But the mayor’s allies pushed his budget through anyway.

I couldn’t support a budget that rewards failure and asks for more.

Dan Lewis

Albuquerque city councilor