{"id":2357,"date":"2007-10-10T08:09:00","date_gmt":"2007-10-10T14:09:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/new-mexico-nothin-could-be-finer\/"},"modified":"2009-08-22T14:10:33","modified_gmt":"2009-08-22T20:10:33","slug":"new-mexico-nothin-could-be-finer","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/10\/new-mexico-nothin-could-be-finer\/","title":{"rendered":"New Mexico: Nothin’ could be finer"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

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

As if you needed another reason to live in the Land<\/st1:placetype> of Enchantment<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place>. New Mexico<\/st1:state> is already the most diverse, culturally cool and beautiful state in America<\/st1:place><\/st1:country-region>. Darn good weather, too.<\/p>\n

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

It\u2019s also the most exciting place in America<\/st1:country-region><\/st1:place> for presidential politics. No other state was decided by as few votes in 2000 and 2004 (with Gore winning by 366 and W by 5,988), and only two other states (Iowa<\/st1:state> and New Hampshire<\/st1:place><\/st1:state>) changed colors. Count on another nail-biter in 2008.<\/p>\n

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

Now, the tragic illness of Pete Domenici<\/a> has also turned New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> into the center of U.S. House and Senate politics. We all know the deal: The governor could grab a Senate seat for the Dems any time he wants, and still preserve his shot at secretary of state if a Dem wins the White House.<\/p>\n

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

If the governor sticks to his guns, though, it\u2019s all wide open. Mayor Martin Ch\u00e1<\/span>vez<\/a> has joined Don Wiviott<\/a> in the battle to take on Heather Wilson<\/a> or Steve Pearce<\/a>, and other Dems are thinking of jumping in. CD1 and CD2 are about to become as crowded as the unemployment line on 161st Street<\/st1:address><\/st1:street> in the Bronx<\/st1:place>. If you like politics, it doesn\u2019t get better than New Mexico 2008.<\/p>\n

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

Heath, who absolutely dominated news coverage of the events of the week by breaking nearly every angle on the story, has covered the Senate permutations and House races beautifully. I\u2019ll go into more detail as the field shapes up, but for now, I can\u2019t lay it out any better than Heath has.<\/p>\n

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

Budget battleground<\/span><\/p>\n

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

There\u2019s another battle that isn\u2019t getting the same great coverage: tax increment financing (TIF). But it\u2019s as likely to affect your wallet and the services you expect as much as any election.<\/p>\n

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

In 2008, there\u2019s going to be no more important place in the West than New Mexico<\/st1:state><\/st1:place> in the battle for who finances growth.<\/p>\n

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

This week, the Bernalillo County Commission<\/a> took a major step toward endangering the county\u2019s tax base when it green-lighted TIF for greenfield<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> areas on a 4-1 vote. <\/p>\n

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

Let me be clear: I think each of the five commissioners means well, and I don\u2019t think there\u2019s anything corrupt about their decisions. Of course, the fact that developers are spending literally millions of dollars on lobbyists, lawyers, consultants, PR folks and legislative strategists, just for our little ol\u2019 \u2018burque, should tell you how much is at stake.<\/p>\n

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

Subsidy stand-off summary<\/span><\/p>\n

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

Big props to Commissioner Deanna Archuleta<\/a>, who bravely did everything she could to make TIF more fiscally responsible. Most of her amendments failed 4-1, leading her to vote against the overall bill.<\/p>\n

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

Commissioner Teresa Cordova<\/a> seemed to grasp the potential for TIF abuse and sponsored a successful amendment to reduce county exposure, but disappointingly still voted to move forward.<\/p>\n

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

Commissioner Alan Armijo<\/a> has always been a guy who stands in support of social programs, but, along with Cordova, seems to have greater faith than I that the developers will agree to development agreements that put the taxpayer and services first. <\/p>\n

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

Commissioner Tim Cummins<\/a>, to his credit, supported the Cordova amendment, but otherwise was gung-ho about the subsidization of developers, as was Commissioner Michael Brasher<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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

I hope for nothing more than to have my fears proven wrong; Commissioners Archuleta, Cordova and Armijo<\/st1:place> form a majority of the commission and can ensure the fiscal soundness of the county for decades to come. It\u2019s going to take a lot of guts to do it.<\/p>\n

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

According to Cummins, traditional development is funded about 60 percent by taxpayers and 40 percent by developers. What makes the current system acceptable is that the taxpayers\u2019 general fund and capital dollars are restored by new tax revenues generated in the new developments. The developers pay their share and still make a big profit. Good for them.<\/p>\n

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

Bernalillo<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placetype><\/st1:place> just turned the formula on its head. Now the taxpayers will still be pitching in big amounts, but developers will have their share paid for by tax revenue from the new development. Not only will that dramatically subsidize developer profits, but it will mean that the general fund (read: yours and my wallets) will not be replenished.<\/p>\n

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

Maybe we\u2019ll grow so much no one will notice. Does that make it smart policy?<\/p>\n

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

If Norquist and Nader can join forces\u2026<\/span><\/p>\n

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

A few months ago, arch-tax hawk Grover Norquist<\/a> and uber-liberal Ralph Nader<\/a> teamed up to push for greater government transparency. <\/p>\n

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

This week\u2019s actions merely set the framework for developers to pocket up to 75 percent of new tax revenue. The final details will be hammered out in development agreements that follow each developer\u2019s applications. Both tax hawks and social program advocates need to be involved.<\/p>\n

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

Politics makes strange bedfellows, but this alliance makes perfect sense. If our general fund is depleted to fatten the bottom lines of Ohio<\/st1:state> and California<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> developers, only one of two things will happen: Either services and staff will be cut (which progressives don\u2019t want) or taxes will be raised (which traditional conservatives don\u2019t want). More likely, both will happen.<\/p>\n

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

Let\u2019s set aside the electoral battles on this one. Progressives and traditional conservatives alike need to be involved in these development agreements. Make sure that whoever wins November\u2019s big electoral battles represents a state still on the rise, not in bankruptcy. Nothing would be finer.<\/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 As if you needed another reason to live in the Land of Enchantment. New Mexico is already the most diverse, culturally cool and beautiful state in America. Darn good weather, too. It\u2019s also the most exciting place in America for presidential politics. No other state was decided by as few votes in […]<\/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-2357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-bundy-columns"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357","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=2357"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2357\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2357"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2357"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2357"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}