Pay attention to the Bernalillo County DA race

By Dan Foley

You may be missing one of the most important races in New Mexico this year just because of the simple fact that it takes so much money to get noticed over the noise of the presidential and congressional campaigns. The race I’m talking about is the one for Bernalillo County district attorney.

In the last few days, a lot of important news has come to light that bears directly on this race. The current district attorney, Kari Brandenburg, has taken the unusual step of successfully fighting to have sealed a lawsuit that has been filed against her. If that isn’t enough to raise serious doubts, we’ve also seen articles in the local press about an alarmingly low conviction rate.

Add to that the graphic details that have emerged about Brandenburg’s repeated inability to get murderers put away. A key component of any DA’s record is getting murderers and violent criminals behind bars. But Brandenburg is no Steve Schiff. As a matter of fact, she’s no Bob Schwartz. She has far and away the worst record of any Albuquerque DA in my lifetime, and I’m almost 39.

What we are finding out, though, is that Kari will vigorously pursue a mentally challenged individual — and will work hard to get someone like that behind bars, even for something he didn’t do. She has demonstrated either a blissful ignorance or terrible prejudice in her prosecution of a decorated United States Marine — for defending his home and property against a known criminal who threatened him and his family. This one has been in the news a lot. In both these instances Brandenburg comes off looking, well, either dumb, or very badly motivated. Who knows which? Neither is good.

Why is it that the most important races end up getting overshadowed by the big dollars?

The Bernalillo County DA has traditionally been one of the highest profile elected offices in the state. The late Steve Schiff parlayed a successful tenure as the chief prosecutor for our largest county into five terms in the U.S. House of Representatives. His congressional career would not have been possible but for his success as district attorney.

The people of Bernalillo County should be paying very close attention because this race deals directly and immediately with you and your family’s safety. Law enforcement, and its prosecution, affects you more than your congressman or senator. People need to wake up and see what is going on with the district attorney’s office here. It seems from what I have been looking at that the current district attorney is not only failing at her job, but placing all of us and our families’ safety in jeopardy.

It’s all about the conviction rate

I believe that a district attorney should be judged by the conviction rate of her office. If she is unable to convict criminals, then what is her function in life? Last time I checked, the district attorney is not in charge of educating our kids or providing health care to all of us. She has one, simple mission statement: prosecute criminals and get them behind bars, off the streets and away from our families.

If people want to talk about being careful in her prosecutions and making sure the innocent are set free, then find out why she pushed so hard to prosecute a mentally challenged individual or a U.S. Marine who was acting in self-defense. If the district attorney doesn’t have the ability to know which cases to prosecute, which ones to plea bargain and which ones to drop, then she shouldn’t have the job in the first place.

One thing that might be worthwhile would be to have an organization that publishes the records of the district attorneys, the same way they do judges. (It would be a lot better of course. The judge ratings all look as if they’re done by the judges’ families — everyone is “above average.” I mean you have to be falling-down drunk and get plastered on the front page of the paper to have anyone make reference to even the slightest other-than-excellent comment in the judicial ratings.) All they have to do is produce the statistics on how each district attorney’s office does on prosecutions and convictions.

The public really does need to know how they are actually performing. And it would be valuable. No one really cares to see all the lawyers write how great the judges are — sucking up to them on the off chance they have to appear before them. On the other hand, a review of district attorney records would be fact-based, not bootlicking, legal incest.

Brandenburg’s challenger brings the issues to light

Brandenburg’s challenger, Lisa Torraco, is doing a good job of getting the facts out there. And the media are finally starting to ask the tough questions of Brandenburg and her record. Brandenburg, for her part, seems to be speechless, looking more or less like a deer in the headlights. For a politician to be speechless when confronted with a poor public record speaks volumes about both the validity, as well as the damaging nature, of the public record being cited.

The current district attorney is failing at her job. There is no reason I can think of — and none that she has pointed out — that should make you want to rehire her. It is rare in life that you have an opportunity to say “thanks but no thanks” to a person who is placing you and your family in harm’s way.

This election, get the facts. If you are tired of hearing about serious criminals walking free while a U.S. Marine goes to jail, then vote accordingly. And if you think the current district attorney’s record is fine, then vote to rehire her. But if you think the safety of our families is too important to leave in the hands of someone who thinks this is a part-time job, then say no to more of the same, and vote for Lisa Torraco.

Remember: Criminals are full-time operators. Why should the district attorney be part-time?

Foley, a Republican, is the outgoing minority whip in the New Mexico House of Representatives.