{"id":2317,"date":"2007-10-03T20:41:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-04T02:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/election-07-winners-checks-balances-and-abq\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:10:33","slug":"election-07-winners-checks-balances-and-abq","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/election-07-winners-checks-balances-and-abq\/","title":{"rendered":"Election ’07 winners: checks, balances and ABQ"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>By Carter Bundy<\/span> <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The big story from the Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> elections is that a very powerful mayor went 0-for-4 in city council races and also was rebuked by voters on several referenda. Lots of people are going to be talking this week about Marty Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s<\/a> diminished authority and the rise of an independent city council.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

But those who think this is somehow the end of Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s career underestimate him at their own peril.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1vez is bright. He can be charming and engaging. I randomly ran into him at the Denver<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> airport in August, and we talked presidential politics over beers. Loved it. He also has exceptional political skills most of the time. So what went wrong this year?<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It takes more than talent<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Unfortunately, coupled with his outstanding political abilities, there seems to be a defensiveness that makes it hard for him to disagree with someone and not take it personally. We all know someone who has that trait. Heck, most of us, including myself, have it to some degree.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

It\u2019s when the mayor takes things personally that his normally savvy political instincts desert him and he gets embroiled in unnecessary \u2013 and, invariably, losing \u2013 battles.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The mayor\u2019s grand scheme to take total control of the legislative branch collapsed like the 2007 Mets. But Mets\u2019 Manager Willie Randolph is getting to keep his job, and so is Ch\u00e1vez.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

There is a silver lining for the mayor. Seriously.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Ch\u00e1vez now has had three big election defeats in a decade: in 1998 for Governor, in the 2003 city council races, and on Oct. 2, 2007. He came back from the first two to win mayoral elections.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

This election was largely about blame. With the recent rancor between the mayor and city council, voters are looking for better cooperation between the two. The mayor and his candidates explicitly blamed Councilors Brad Winter<\/a> and Debbie O\u2019Malley<\/a>. Voters saw things a little differently.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s the silver lining: The mayor is a guy who is capable of, and has a history of, learning from his mistakes. If Ch\u00e1vez makes a genuine commitment to work with the council and with other groups in the city, he\u2019ll probably find willing partners. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

That can only be good for him and his future, and I wouldn\u2019t bet against his coming to the same conclusion.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Make no mistake though, it was bad<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In 2003, Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s developer allies at Citizens for Greater Albuquerque tried to take over city council and were crushed. That year, he had the thin veil of an outside group to give him plausible deniability when his candidates lost.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

In 2007, the mayor and his staff were active in recruiting, fundraising and participating in the campaigns of Katherine Martinez, Paulette de \u2018Pascal and Joanie Griffin, not to mention supporting the recall of Don Harris<\/a>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Most ominous for the mayor was the showing in District 6. His 2005 mayoral race communications director, Joanie Griffin, knew her background with him and with Republicans would be a liability in liberal District 6. So Griffin<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> understandably tried to distance herself from the mayor and her GOP past. But District 6 voters are pretty sharp and Nob Hill progressives live in a tightly-knit community where word travels fast.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The reason the District 6 showing is scary for the mayor is that, while unquestionably to the left of the average voter, District 6 voters are also activists and representative of a significant portion of the Democratic Party\u2019s primary voters.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

To a lesser extent, state Treasurer James Lewis<\/a> took a hit, too. James is a great guy and a man of unquestioned integrity. He didn\u2019t do himself any favors with Democratic primary voters, though, by stepping out in favor of Griffin<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, everything came up roses for Lt. Gov. Diane Denish<\/a> and congressional candidate Martin Heinrich<\/a>, as Gardu\u00f1o featured their support for him heavily in his campaign literature. Voters obviously responded positively.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Don\u2019s vindication<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Watching politics up close makes even the most optimistic of us a bit cynical, but the bi-partisan rejection of Harris\u2019 recall was one of most affirming moments for our system I\u2019ve seen in a while.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

I mean, I was sitting there listening to a guy tell me how Bill Clinton was responsible for 9\/11, our national debt and the Iraq<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region> war. Huh? But there we were, together, defending the right of voters to choose their elected leaders. Only in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

And I can\u2019t think of a more touching, beautiful political moment than when, following a radio announcement of Don\u2019s victory, his wife just hugged him and held him for what seemed like an hour.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rey\u2019s revelry<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Rey\u2019s party had the feel of hope and pride. Several people talked about how proud they were to be New Mexicans. The personal trashing had fallen flat, and voters in District 6 reaffirmed their commitment to growing Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> in a way that will make us even happier to be here 20 years from now.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Brad<\/span>\u2019s<\/span> and Debbie\u2019s party party<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Most surreal was the bipartisan gathering at the Hotel Albuquerque, where Winter, O\u2019Malley, Ken Sanchez<\/a> and all kinds of Democratic and GOP operatives were hanging out.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

You wouldn\u2019t believe the list even were I inclined to post it. Quite the unusual evening all the way around, and a very good one for checks, balances and Albuquerque<\/st1:place><\/st1:city>\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Bundy is the political and legislative director for AFSCME<\/a> in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>. The opinions in his column are personal and do not necessarily reflect any official AFSCME position. You can learn more about him by clicking here<\/a>. Contact him at carterbundy@yahoo.com<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Carter Bundy The big story from the Albuquerque elections is that a very powerful mayor went 0-for-4 in city council races and also was rebuked by voters on several referenda. Lots of people are going to be talking this week about Marty Ch\u00e1vez\u2019s diminished authority and the rise of an independent city council. But […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2317","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2317"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2317\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2317"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2317"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2317"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}