Member’s of the Albuquerque city charter review task force heard from several city councilors last night about why the task force was formed. The Mayor also gave his thoughts to the group about Albuquerque’s form of government. It was the second meeting of the task force, which is just getting under way for what looks to be a lengthy process of twice-monthly meetings.



Formed by the City Council, the task force will analyze the charter and make recommendations for revisions by April of next year. Albuquerque adopted its current Mayor-Council form of government in 1974, and this task force will be the third convened since then, the other two being in 1988 and 1998.



City Councilors have taken pains to emphasize to the task force that an entire review of the charter is appropriate and desirable. But their primary concerns are laid out in the ordinance that created the task force, in which they charge the group to specifically consider five things:

The existing mayor-council form of government;



The provisions for the separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches;



The adequacy of checks and balances between branches and of oversight and enforcement mechanisms;



Whether certain appointed positions, including but not limited to the city attorney and the city clerk, should be independent of the Mayor and the City Council to ensure fairness and accountability to both branches; and



Whether the city should implement a system of hearing officers or administrative law judges.



Council perspectives



Councilor Brad Winter said he and fellow Councilor Debbie O’Malley thought the time was ripe to review and possibly make changes to the charter because the legislative and executive branches seemed to constantly be “stepping on each other’s toes.”



The main concerns, Winter said, were checks and balances, and a clarification of the powers between the legislative and executive branch. Councilor Rey Garduno added that there had been several times when the Council was confronted with language in the charter that made what they could and could not do unclear.



O’Malley spoke at length about her frustration when Council directives aren’t followed by the executive branch. Citing her background in community organizing and development, O’Malley said she is coming from a very pragmatic place and has been frustrated at the lack of implementation of Council directives.



O’Malley said that the lack of movement on projects creates a sense of inertia. This inertia, she said, may be partly responsible for the creation of the Water Utility Authority as well as the recent consideration of a Metropolitan Redevelopment Authority as a way to have sustained support for projects.



“It’s important for me and my constituent to see that things get done,” O’Malley said. “It’s been frustrating, and I think a lot of it goes back to the charter, in terms of clarity about the powers between the executive and legislative branches.”



Mayor’s thoughts



Mayor Martin Chavez told the task force the central question is the distribution of power. He said he favored a form of government that had a strong executive branch because aggregative power was needed to move projects forward and prevent gridlock.



Following this, he said that the Chief Administrative Officer needs to report to the Mayor. He also said he strongly believed municipal government should remain non-partisan.



“Municipal government of all governments is the most pragmatic,” he said, “and we don’t need to see people voting based on party.”



He also told the task force he’d like to see an at-large City Councilor added to the council and that he didn’t think an independent municipal judiciary was a good idea. Plus, he said, the city’s ethics laws are weak if not almost non-existent. When asked if the ethic penalties are weak, he said he knew that “they sting.”





Composition and work plan of the task force



The 15-member task force still needs a Chairperson, who the City Council will appoint. The Mayor appointed five members, and each Councilor appointed one. The meetings will be held on the first and third Thursdays of the month from 5:30-7:30, mostly at City Hall. At both meetings members have expressed that developing a system for citizen input is necessary. They’re currently developing an agenda and based on that will schedule some meetings at other community locations.



Council Appointees:



Laura Horton, appointed by Councilor Ken Sanchez. Horton is vice president of the West Side Coalition of Neighborhoods.



Michael Passi, appointed by Councilor Debbie O’Malley. Passi is retired from his former position as associate director of Albuquerque’s Department of Family and Community Services.



Susan Jones, appointed by Councilor Isaac Benton. Jones is a Bernalillo County planner in the public works development review department.



Herb Hughes, appointed by Councilor Brad Winter. Hughes is a former Albuquerque City Councilor, and also served on the city’s first charter review task force in 1971.



Gloria Valencia-Weber, appointed by Councilor Michael Cadigan. Valencia-Weber is a law professor at UNM.



Eli Il Yong Lee, appointed by Councilor Ray Garduno. Lee is the Director of the Center of Civic Policy.



Chuck Gara, appointed by Councilor Sally Mayer. Gara is a realtor and past chairman of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.



David Campbell, appointed by Councilor Trudy Jones. Campbell is a former city attorney and was the chairman of the city’s charter review task force in 1998.



David Standridge, appointed by Councilor Dan Harris. Standridge is a local attorney.







Mayoral Appointees:



Marty Esquivel is an attorney and current Albuquerque Public Schools Board Member.



Steve Gallegos is a former City Councilor and County Commissioner.



James Lewis is New Mexico’s State Treasurer.



Dan Silva is New Mexico State Representative for District 13.



Vickie Perea is a former City Councilor.