What's the deal with Mayor Marty?

[Jay Brotz]

I'm a relatively new resident of the Duke City (~4 years) and an even newer resident of Duke City Fix (~2 months). Reading through many of the posts on the site (particularly relating to city projects) I have gathered that the general consensus opinion of Mayor Martin Chavez is overwhelmingly negative. I don't have an opinion yet - but I'm uneducated. What is it about our Chief Executive that rubs you the wrong way? Or do you like him? If he's so bad, why did he get reelected to his office? Discuss!

[Robert S.]

I really don't like Marty's "fake" economic development. I feel like it's businesses locating to Albuquerque because of tax breaks and other financial help, not because businesses want to be in Albuquerque and have the type of lifestyle we have in the city.

The Tesla thing today (although it may be more of Gov. Bill's doing rather than Mayor Marty's) cements my feeling about all of these businesses relocating to the Albuquerque metro area. Gov Swartz was just tired of everyone else offering better incentives than his state (losing tech, losing moviemaking and tv production, etc). and appears to have made Tesla a high profile pet project and gave them a great economic deal to build their plant in CA and not build plants in states like NM.

Due to our economic development/job growth, etc, we may have dodged the current "housing depression" that other cities are seeing, but I think our housing depression is on the horizon when the businesses go elsewhere where there are better economic incentives or other quality of life issues and we are left with lots of jobless or those people move with the jobs elsewhere and leave tons of houses on the market to try to sell.

[Jay Brotz]

Thanks for all the comments. I'm getting a much clearer picture of our fearless leader now. One question though -- a few have pointed out that Marty polarized the City Council. So which councilors are pro-Marty and which are anti-Marty? Do they pretty much always line up the same way?

[Phil_0]

At this point Ken Sanchez is a Marty protege, Trudy Jones and Sally Mayer frequently vote his way, Isaac Benton and Don Harris are sort of in the middle but more in the anti-Marty camp (Benton's opponent was another Marty protege, and the mayor kind of tacitly supported a failed attempt to recall Harris last year), and Rey Garduno, Brad Winter, Debbie O'Malley, and Michael Cadigan are anti-Chavistas, the last three somewhat rancorously so.

[Flaca]

I've heard from a friend that knows Ken, that Ken tells people that he's against something and then votes for it because Marty wants it. Sally lives in a classy apartment and doesn't seem to know what it's like to keep a yard up or have to do something because it's the law. My opinion is that she lives in law-law land- excuse the pun, but I couldn't resist it.
Rey Garduno seems very accessible. I have talked to his wife several times and he had an open party to celebrate his election.

[bonnie]

I agree with your assessment of Sally. At the meeting I attended she was droning on about "shade grown coffee" and how that was the answer to saving the city. If only everyone in the city would drink this magical coffee that she aparently just found out about, the city would be great. She doesn't seem to have a very good grip on things like relevency and functional outcomes. But she likes the feel good issues such as puppies and sunshine.

[sophie]

I thought Sally hated the mayor because of the whole animal shelter brouhaha.

[Phil_0]

Hmmm, that's true...he sort of stole her thunder on her pet (sorry) issue. Still, she usually votes his way.

[Flaca]

I don't like her pet laws. They are excessive. People from outside of Albuquerque have to get an Albuquerque City Kennel Permit to advertise pups. I do believe this is unconstitutional.
She said on the 9 pm news this year that she was "tired of people dumping their unwanted pets in Albuquerque",which is why they can't advertise in the Albuquerque paper". Lots of people come to Albuquerque to buy "Unwanted pets" and take them back to their towns-ranches-whatever. If somebody pays a pretty penny for a pup, you can't classify it as "unwanted" and "dumped".
I got my dogs in Socorro because I was looking for a specific breed. I did it through Petfinder and Oodle.com. I was looking at dogs in Missouri. Sally doesn't realize that if you can't get it in Albuquerque-you'll go elsewhere. Also I was and am so mad at Albuquerque and its animal laws that I will not go to the animal shelter here. We drove to Socorro and got our hounds from their pound.
This series of laws was supossed to create more money for animal control, so it could hire more people in Albuquerque. I swallowed my objections if it meant more jobs for local people. Sally and Marty out-sourced . First year, I was screaming at people in the Midland, TX. The second year, I was screaming at people somewhere in Arizona. Our tax money hired out of state companies and people to gather paperwork-computer data- from Albuquerque, NM, so these out-of-state people could send me a yellow card to say that the cat needed his shots and city license and I was supossed to send the money to their company. I called the number and recognized the west Texas twang of the Midland-Odessa area. I asked where the chair was that the person sat in. She hemmed and hawed and I nailed her- Midland. The card and my victim said that I had to deal with them and I could not deal with animal control in Albuquerque. I called up animal control and asked how this could be legal. I got a long diatribe from animal control of how Chavez and sally didn't follow their law; there wasn't an expanded animal control hiring; and it was taking money from the city in the name of saving money-but I could deal with animal control.
I Emailed the city councilors, mayor and the head of animal control how the company and city was using false advertising in stating that we had to deal with Texans- I also asked if the fire department was the next department to be out sourced and suggested that we should get city councilors and a mayor from India. Within 60 days the cards had the local animal control as another place to send money and the f+#^# yellow cards. Then last year, I called and found out that it was a new company in AZ. So far, this year I haven't received any yellow cards, but I did get a card from the vet.
They lied to me and the other citizens of Albuquerque about having more money for animal control officers and operations. Sally won't complain about this, because she was part and parcel of this stupid idea. I had Missy chained to a tree out front today, as I dead headed my roses. I broke 2 of Sally and Marty's laws.
1. The chain was 6 inches longer than allowed for a dog in the front yard.
2. She was chained to a tree. It didn't matter that she was there for about 20 minutes rolling in fresh cut grass under a great shade tree and I was with her every second.

[Phil_0]

The pet laws are also pretty elitist, privileging professional breeders and expensive AKC purebreds and almost criminalizing the very existence of the good old New Mexico mutt.

[Phil_0]

She does seem pretty out of it...her district could benefit hugely from a proactive counselor like Cadigan, Benton or O'Malley.

[Robin]

if Cadigan would start working on plans for a north-westside library and/or community center, like he's been promising, then I would consider him pro-active...

[Phil_0]

I dunno...he's got a lot on his plate, but if you attend city council meetings you certainly get the impression that he pays a lot more attention and is a lot more active than Mayer, Harris or Jones.