Sheriff Greg Solano reports that The Santa Fe County Sheriff’s Office is launching an Emergency Alert System in conjunction with Nixle.com. It is a free service that allows Santa Fe County residents to receive trusted up to the minute neighborhood information for citizens through out Santa Fe County. Those who sign up for the service at www.santafesheriff.com will receive notices sent out by the sheriff’s office through text message, twitter accounts, email, and via the Sheriff’s alert web page.
The service will include up to date alerts on traffic delays, missing persons, disasters, crime information such as suspect vehicles, warnings on crime sprees, public safety alerts, and News Releases. The service will also include up to date information on the swine flu epidemic as it pertains to Santa Fe County.
Citizens will be able to enter addresses of particular concern to them such as their home address, work address, family members etc. Once you log in with your home address you can add multiple address’s by going to (Locations) and click to Add New. When the Sheriffs office sends out alerts they are categorized as county wide alerts or area specific. If we are trying to warn of a particular crime prevalent in a specific area of the county then the alert may only be sent to those living or working in that area. Broader alerts would be directed towards the entire county. The citizens who sign up will not be subjected to spam or advertisements and strict confidentiality of their information will be adhered to. The service is completely free of charge.
Sheriff Greg Solano states “We were working on launching this system in the next few weeks however due to the swine flu epidemic we have rushed to launch the system sooner. I encourage all citizens in the county to sign up for the alerts and take advantage of this great system. Sheriff Solano has been in contact with the State Health Department and together with our Santa Fe County Office of Emergency Management we are monitoring the one possible but unconfirmed case of swine flu in Santa Fe County and will monitor for any other possible cases in Santa Fe County. Alerts will be sent out via the Sheriffs Emergency Alert System described above.
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Thursday, April 30, 2009
Sunday, April 26, 2009
New Mexico State Democratic Central Committee Meeting
I attended the New Mexico Spring State Democratic Central Committee Meeting on Saturday April 25, 2009 both as a voting member and as a candidate for Lieutenant Governor. My weekend started for my wife Antoinette and myself at the Albuquerque Country Club on Friday afternoon where State Auditor Hector Balderas had a reception to honor State Chair Brian Colon. Afterward there was a welcome reception at the Hyatt Regency Hotel hosted by Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish. My Wife, a good friend and I had a late night and then checked into a reasonably priced hotel for a few hours of sleep.
The next morning we were on our way to the Kiva Room at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The three of us passed out business size cards with information on the Lieutenant Governor Race and my run for it in 2010. For the first time I had a potential opponent out handing out stickers with an announcement she would be running for Lieutenant Governor as well. I took some pictures in between shaking hands and talking to old and new friends. Below I have some of the pictures.
Here the crowd shuffles into the 3 floor of the convention center.
Governor Richardson showed up for a short time to greet Democrats in the lobby but never gave a speech in the auditorium.
Brian Colon was re-elected as the Party Chair.
The Audio Visual Guy keeps things moving along.
Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish speaks to the crowd.
Senator Tom Udall makes a point in his speech.
State Treasurer James B. Lewis demonstrates his great speaking abilities.
Congressman from my district Ben Ray Lujan addresses the crowd.
Here I share a laugh with my local Ward Chair Connie Salazar
State Auditor Hector Balderas takes the stage.
Secretary of State Mary Herrera gives her report to the Democrats.
Here I catch both Representative Brian Egolf and the New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell Twittering. (or is it tweeting?)
Congressman Harry Teague addresses the crowd as Chair Brian Colon looks on.
The Santa Fe New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell sits near Albuquerque Journal Reporter Dan Boyd and the two watch the speeches from a safe distance.
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The next morning we were on our way to the Kiva Room at the Albuquerque Convention Center. The three of us passed out business size cards with information on the Lieutenant Governor Race and my run for it in 2010. For the first time I had a potential opponent out handing out stickers with an announcement she would be running for Lieutenant Governor as well. I took some pictures in between shaking hands and talking to old and new friends. Below I have some of the pictures.
Here the crowd shuffles into the 3 floor of the convention center.
Governor Richardson showed up for a short time to greet Democrats in the lobby but never gave a speech in the auditorium.
Brian Colon was re-elected as the Party Chair.
The Audio Visual Guy keeps things moving along. 
Lieutenant Governor Diane Denish speaks to the crowd.
Senator Tom Udall makes a point in his speech.
State Treasurer James B. Lewis demonstrates his great speaking abilities. 
Congressman from my district Ben Ray Lujan addresses the crowd.
Here I share a laugh with my local Ward Chair Connie Salazar
State Auditor Hector Balderas takes the stage.
Secretary of State Mary Herrera gives her report to the Democrats.
Here I catch both Representative Brian Egolf and the New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell Twittering. (or is it tweeting?)
Congressman Harry Teague addresses the crowd as Chair Brian Colon looks on.
The Santa Fe New Mexican Reporter Steve Terrell sits near Albuquerque Journal Reporter Dan Boyd and the two watch the speeches from a safe distance.Monday, April 20, 2009
Should Police Chiefs Be Elected?
The last time I titled a blog post with a question it created quite a stir. Oh, well I am going to start this blog with a question also. I started as a police officer in 1988 after being hired as a rookie by the Santa Fe City Police Department. The chief of police at the time was Raymond Sisneros also a former Sheriff. He left about 2 years later and became Undersheriff for Sheriff Benjie Montano who is now the soon to retire Deputy Chief of the Santa Fe Police Department.
Next to take the chiefs position was Chief Bobby Lucero who lasted by my memory a little under 4 years. Debbie Jaramillo was elected Mayor in 1994 and Chief Lucero learned his fate after Newly elected Mayor Jaramillo announced on a morning radio talk show that he was fired. An outsider was then brought in as Chief. Chief Donald Grady was brought in during the summer of 1994. Chief Grady was Santa Fe's first black Chief of Police and quickly became controversial not for his race but for his inability to relate to the officers who served under him. It was during this controversial period that I lost the presidency of the police union to an anti Grady faction who used racial overtones to create divisions in the police force. Now I was not pro Grady but I did not agree with my opponents tactics to get rid of Chief Grady. Chief Grady lasted less than 2 years resigning in February of 1996. I left the city police in 1995 and went into private business. The Grady years and my departure from the city police could fill a couple of other blog posts.
Chief Donald Grady
Mayor Jaramillo was not happy with her Chief being driven from the Police Department. The City Police Officers and the Mayor were always at odds and the line officers truly felt the Mayor hated cops and Chief Grady was sent to punish them. Mayor Jaramillo then appointed her brother in law Carlos Jaramillo to the Chiefs Position. Now the initial appointment only served to enrage officers even more and led the media and others to dub Santa Fe Jaramillo Ville. The mayors brother was city manager and now her brother in law was chief. A local radio station started the name by playing a rendition of the song Margarita Ville in which the lyrics were changed to read, "Wastin away again in Jaramillo Ville". I wish I had a copy of the song which was one of the most hilarious parody's I have ever heard. I made a little money during this time selling buttons which had a picture of the sign outside city hall with the "Santa Fe" removed and "Jaramillo Ville" in its place.
Chief John Denko
Chief Jaramillo actually was a laid back get along with the officers kind of guy and he faired much better as chief than anyone initially thought he would. When Mayor Jaramillo lost her re-election bid in 1998 Chief Jaramillo left soon after. The new Mayor Larry Delgado replaced Chief Jaramillo with Chief John Denko in 1999. Former Chief Denko is now the Governors Cabinet Secretary for D.P.S. . He left in 2003 with a little less than four years as Chief.
Chief Beverly Lennen
Beverly Lennen was the next chief to take the helm at the City of Santa Fe Police, becoming the first woman chief in the history of the City of Santa Fe Police Department in 2003. Unmentioned in my previous paragraphs was the fact that Beverly Lennen served as interim chief on several occasions in between many of the chiefs appointments which I described above. Chief Lennen lasted until February of 2006 lasting a few months over 3 years. Finally we get to Chief Eric Johnson, Appointed in 2006 by newly elected Mayor David Coss. Chief Johnson has just announced his retirement which will come on May 29th 2009.
Chief Eric Johnson
I just went through all that to get you to this point. Do you see a pattern here? No chief has lasted a day beyond 4 years during my institutional memory which goes back twenty one years (man I am old ). Now a mayors term lasts 4 years and many are re-elected meaning a possibility of up to eight years serving as chief. Santa Fe Chiefs however do not last. Why is that?
As I look back on the chiefs over the last 20 years there is one very common factor. They are all retired or near retirement. Most candidates will not accept the job of chief unless they are within a year or two of minimum retirement years. This ensures that if they are fired they can just retire. Even with that as a fallback most chiefs in recent years also enter into a contract which says that they can revert to their previous rank should the mayor wish to remove them for any reason except out right malfeasance in office.
Next we must look at the stresses of a City Police Chief. The police chief is clearly a political appointee hired by the Mayor. This ties their job to that of the Mayor. As long as the Mayor remains and supports the Chief, the Chief should stay. However the Chief still has many more supervisors. There is the City Manager, Eight City Councilors, and the Mayor. The Chief must answer to all of them while still answering directly to the public. Imagine answering to ten bosses all wanting attention for the needs of their district. Some of them maybe don't like you just because you are the mayors pick and maybe they are not happy with the mayor or the city manager. Maybe they ran for mayor and lost, or maybe they want to run for mayor and their success may depend upon your failure. Seems like a tough job?
Now lets compare this to the Sheriff. A Sheriff is elected to a four year term by the citizens and the Sheriff ultimately answers only to them. This places the Sheriff on equal footing with the County Commission in that they need the Sheriff to help with concerns in their district just as much as the Sheriff needs the Commissioners for his or her needs such as budgetary and passing ordinances and other needs. The County Manager also needs the Sheriff just as much as the Sheriff needs him. They are all on pretty much equal footing and the need for each other creates a mutual respect whether real or political. I throw that in because regardless of the actual respect the individuals may or may not have for each other, for political reasons their is a need to display to the public the semblance of getting along and respect for the citizens sake.
I also believe that because the Sheriff is elected he or she is more responsive to the media and public relations concerns than a Chief may be because he needs to be sure what he or she is says to the media will meet the approval of the Mayor, City Manager, and eight councilors.
So, what if the Chief of Police was elected? Would we retain chiefs longer, I believe the answer to that is yes. What does that accomplish? It would accomplish more continuity in the chiefs position and less controversy in appointments. I also believe it could allow a chief to spend more time being responsive to the public concerns and less time dealing with city hall. An elected chief would have to be more responsive to the public and during election time lay out a plan for law enforcement in the city. In between elections citizens would decide how well the chief lived up to the campaign promises and the plans laid out during the campaign. Whether percieved or real the meddling accusations against councilors and mayors should be eliminated or greatly decreased. Now this is just an idea thrown out there by a Sheriff who stays up to late at night thinking about things like this and the likelihood of this ever occurring is next to zero. Yet I think it is an interesting concept that deserves some attention.
There are those who say that the Mayor would never give up control of law enforcement because it is one of the basic functions of government. Yet there are even benefits to mayors and city councilors. Having a separate elected police chief would allow the fellow elected councilors and mayor to just point their finger at another elected official when crime issues arise. A quick google search led me to one campaign site where the chief is elected in San Angelo Texas. I also found an editorial in Los Angeles which discusses electing the Los Angeles Police Chief.
A good example of how the public might feel about this issue occurred several years ago when Bernalillo County and The City of Albuquerque presented a proposal to voters to merge the two governments into one metro government. The issue that was most debated and was credited with the defeat of the proposal was that the elected sheriff would be done away with and a police chief would rule over all the new metro government law enforcement. Of course the sheriff spoke out in opposition and the public voted the proposal down. The idea of re-hashing the proposal with an elected sheriff overseeing all law enforcement never quite gained ground and the proposal was never brought up again. Maybe that is a solution to discuss in another blog post, the combining of city and county government in Santa Fe. Of course with an elected sheriff for law enforcement :-) .
So there is an idea thrown out there for debate, criticism, or laughter, I am not sure I even fully agree with the idea as I have not spent enough time hashing out the true details. And as it has often been said the devil is in the details.
What do you think? Vote below.
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Next to take the chiefs position was Chief Bobby Lucero who lasted by my memory a little under 4 years. Debbie Jaramillo was elected Mayor in 1994 and Chief Lucero learned his fate after Newly elected Mayor Jaramillo announced on a morning radio talk show that he was fired. An outsider was then brought in as Chief. Chief Donald Grady was brought in during the summer of 1994. Chief Grady was Santa Fe's first black Chief of Police and quickly became controversial not for his race but for his inability to relate to the officers who served under him. It was during this controversial period that I lost the presidency of the police union to an anti Grady faction who used racial overtones to create divisions in the police force. Now I was not pro Grady but I did not agree with my opponents tactics to get rid of Chief Grady. Chief Grady lasted less than 2 years resigning in February of 1996. I left the city police in 1995 and went into private business. The Grady years and my departure from the city police could fill a couple of other blog posts.
Chief Donald Grady
Mayor Jaramillo was not happy with her Chief being driven from the Police Department. The City Police Officers and the Mayor were always at odds and the line officers truly felt the Mayor hated cops and Chief Grady was sent to punish them. Mayor Jaramillo then appointed her brother in law Carlos Jaramillo to the Chiefs Position. Now the initial appointment only served to enrage officers even more and led the media and others to dub Santa Fe Jaramillo Ville. The mayors brother was city manager and now her brother in law was chief. A local radio station started the name by playing a rendition of the song Margarita Ville in which the lyrics were changed to read, "Wastin away again in Jaramillo Ville". I wish I had a copy of the song which was one of the most hilarious parody's I have ever heard. I made a little money during this time selling buttons which had a picture of the sign outside city hall with the "Santa Fe" removed and "Jaramillo Ville" in its place.
Chief John Denko
Chief Jaramillo actually was a laid back get along with the officers kind of guy and he faired much better as chief than anyone initially thought he would. When Mayor Jaramillo lost her re-election bid in 1998 Chief Jaramillo left soon after. The new Mayor Larry Delgado replaced Chief Jaramillo with Chief John Denko in 1999. Former Chief Denko is now the Governors Cabinet Secretary for D.P.S. . He left in 2003 with a little less than four years as Chief.
Chief Beverly Lennen
Beverly Lennen was the next chief to take the helm at the City of Santa Fe Police, becoming the first woman chief in the history of the City of Santa Fe Police Department in 2003. Unmentioned in my previous paragraphs was the fact that Beverly Lennen served as interim chief on several occasions in between many of the chiefs appointments which I described above. Chief Lennen lasted until February of 2006 lasting a few months over 3 years. Finally we get to Chief Eric Johnson, Appointed in 2006 by newly elected Mayor David Coss. Chief Johnson has just announced his retirement which will come on May 29th 2009.
Chief Eric Johnson
I just went through all that to get you to this point. Do you see a pattern here? No chief has lasted a day beyond 4 years during my institutional memory which goes back twenty one years (man I am old ). Now a mayors term lasts 4 years and many are re-elected meaning a possibility of up to eight years serving as chief. Santa Fe Chiefs however do not last. Why is that?
As I look back on the chiefs over the last 20 years there is one very common factor. They are all retired or near retirement. Most candidates will not accept the job of chief unless they are within a year or two of minimum retirement years. This ensures that if they are fired they can just retire. Even with that as a fallback most chiefs in recent years also enter into a contract which says that they can revert to their previous rank should the mayor wish to remove them for any reason except out right malfeasance in office.
Next we must look at the stresses of a City Police Chief. The police chief is clearly a political appointee hired by the Mayor. This ties their job to that of the Mayor. As long as the Mayor remains and supports the Chief, the Chief should stay. However the Chief still has many more supervisors. There is the City Manager, Eight City Councilors, and the Mayor. The Chief must answer to all of them while still answering directly to the public. Imagine answering to ten bosses all wanting attention for the needs of their district. Some of them maybe don't like you just because you are the mayors pick and maybe they are not happy with the mayor or the city manager. Maybe they ran for mayor and lost, or maybe they want to run for mayor and their success may depend upon your failure. Seems like a tough job?
Now lets compare this to the Sheriff. A Sheriff is elected to a four year term by the citizens and the Sheriff ultimately answers only to them. This places the Sheriff on equal footing with the County Commission in that they need the Sheriff to help with concerns in their district just as much as the Sheriff needs the Commissioners for his or her needs such as budgetary and passing ordinances and other needs. The County Manager also needs the Sheriff just as much as the Sheriff needs him. They are all on pretty much equal footing and the need for each other creates a mutual respect whether real or political. I throw that in because regardless of the actual respect the individuals may or may not have for each other, for political reasons their is a need to display to the public the semblance of getting along and respect for the citizens sake.
I also believe that because the Sheriff is elected he or she is more responsive to the media and public relations concerns than a Chief may be because he needs to be sure what he or she is says to the media will meet the approval of the Mayor, City Manager, and eight councilors.
So, what if the Chief of Police was elected? Would we retain chiefs longer, I believe the answer to that is yes. What does that accomplish? It would accomplish more continuity in the chiefs position and less controversy in appointments. I also believe it could allow a chief to spend more time being responsive to the public concerns and less time dealing with city hall. An elected chief would have to be more responsive to the public and during election time lay out a plan for law enforcement in the city. In between elections citizens would decide how well the chief lived up to the campaign promises and the plans laid out during the campaign. Whether percieved or real the meddling accusations against councilors and mayors should be eliminated or greatly decreased. Now this is just an idea thrown out there by a Sheriff who stays up to late at night thinking about things like this and the likelihood of this ever occurring is next to zero. Yet I think it is an interesting concept that deserves some attention.
There are those who say that the Mayor would never give up control of law enforcement because it is one of the basic functions of government. Yet there are even benefits to mayors and city councilors. Having a separate elected police chief would allow the fellow elected councilors and mayor to just point their finger at another elected official when crime issues arise. A quick google search led me to one campaign site where the chief is elected in San Angelo Texas. I also found an editorial in Los Angeles which discusses electing the Los Angeles Police Chief.
A good example of how the public might feel about this issue occurred several years ago when Bernalillo County and The City of Albuquerque presented a proposal to voters to merge the two governments into one metro government. The issue that was most debated and was credited with the defeat of the proposal was that the elected sheriff would be done away with and a police chief would rule over all the new metro government law enforcement. Of course the sheriff spoke out in opposition and the public voted the proposal down. The idea of re-hashing the proposal with an elected sheriff overseeing all law enforcement never quite gained ground and the proposal was never brought up again. Maybe that is a solution to discuss in another blog post, the combining of city and county government in Santa Fe. Of course with an elected sheriff for law enforcement :-) .
So there is an idea thrown out there for debate, criticism, or laughter, I am not sure I even fully agree with the idea as I have not spent enough time hashing out the true details. And as it has often been said the devil is in the details.
What do you think? Vote below.
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Sunday, April 12, 2009
Thursday, April 09, 2009
Opinions Start Coming In on Solano Cartoon Character
Opinions so far are mixed on whether the cartoon character looks like me or not. My Administrative Assistant thinks it looks kinda like President Obama. One of the secretary's thinks it looks like a Bill Cosby Cartoon character. My wife still says it looks like me. A couple of people have commented and they say it looks like me. So throw a comment on my blog or vote in the poll.
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Take the poll below.
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Take the poll below.
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Wednesday, April 08, 2009
Sheriff Greg Solano as a Cartoon Character!
Julia Goldberg's Blog was one of the first blogs I ever read. After reading hers and others for a few months I decided to create this one. Now Julia and her blog turned me on to a new website that allows you to create your own comic strips. With my wife's help we created Sheriff Greg Solano the Comic Strip! I'm not sure it looks like me but my wife says it does. What do you think?
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New Santa Fe County Chair Elected
At 7 pm on Tuesday April 7, 2009 about 280 Santa Fe County Democrats crowded into a conference room at the Santa Fe Community College to elect a new Chair. I was one of the voting delegates who attended to cast their vote. A total of 453 votes were cast (votes by proxy were allowed) and the newly elected chair was Richard Ellenberg a retired attorney who moved here from Georgia and has been active in the Santa Fe Democratic party for the last 4 years. He garnered 240 votes to Jose Morfin's 214. It was a close contest which divided the Santa Fe Democrats. I certainly hope that the party can be pulled back together as important local and statewide races are upcoming. I took some photos with my cell phone but for some reason they came out really blurry I need to check the settings on the camera and see if I can figure out what happened. I will post a few here anyway.
I ran into Steve Terrell our political reporter with the Santa Fe New Mexican (sorry Steve the picture I took of you was too blurry to post). Lt. Governor Diane Denish joined the group and gave a campaign speech for her race for Governor. Many local and statewide elected officials gave welcoming speeches including myself. The candidates for chair welcomed delegates with tables of refreshments, buttons, bumper stickers and copies of their platforms.
Richard Spoke first and raised a few eyebrows when he spoke of the Gringo Vote. He did promise to open communication using the web and other means.
Next to speak was Jose Morfin who spoke of preparing to re-elect democrats across the board and also opening lines of communication and bringing new comers to Santa Fe into active membership in the democratic party.
Robert Garcia a County Delegate, Santa Fe County Under Sheriff, and Candidate for Sheriff in 2010 shares a light hearted moment with my wife Antoinette.
I ran into Steve Terrell our political reporter with the Santa Fe New Mexican (sorry Steve the picture I took of you was too blurry to post). Lt. Governor Diane Denish joined the group and gave a campaign speech for her race for Governor. Many local and statewide elected officials gave welcoming speeches including myself. The candidates for chair welcomed delegates with tables of refreshments, buttons, bumper stickers and copies of their platforms.
Jose Morfin gave out water, buttons, and bumper stickers that proclaimed
GANAMOS! (we win).
GANAMOS! (we win).
Richard Ellenberg handed out donuts, granola bars, coffee, and did I mention DONUTS!
Richard Spoke first and raised a few eyebrows when he spoke of the Gringo Vote. He did promise to open communication using the web and other means.
Next to speak was Jose Morfin who spoke of preparing to re-elect democrats across the board and also opening lines of communication and bringing new comers to Santa Fe into active membership in the democratic party.
Robert Garcia a County Delegate, Santa Fe County Under Sheriff, and Candidate for Sheriff in 2010 shares a light hearted moment with my wife Antoinette.For the most part the mood was serious however a room full of laughs were elicited when Interim chair Bill Sisneros teased former mayoral candidate and long time Santa Fe Fiesta board member and past president Tony Lopez about his pink tie. Tony shot back a little later when Bill Sisneros asked the crowd how they liked his new Buddy Holly looking glasses. Tony loudly proclaimed the glasses looked like he took them from Sara Palin. That comment brought the house down with laughter.
I am a County Delegate and I also threw my name in the mix for State Central Committee. The voting for State Central Committee lasted until 10 pm. and the college then threw the democrats out for the night. The elections committee took the ballots for State Central to Denny's to have breakfast and count the votes. A group of us went to Late Night Burger for a late dinner. I checked in on the vote counting at midnight and it was still ongoing. At this point (1:48 am) I still don't know if I was elected to State Central or not.
Just as the make up of the National Democratic party has changed with the election of President Obama, the Santa Fe Democratic party has taken a dramatic shift tonight. I over heard one disappointed democrat joke that a whole group of them should go to the Republican Party take it over by having a hundred dems join the Republicans in Santa Fe County, then vote to endorse democrats. It was a joke but within the joke there was some sense of the division now in the Santa Fe Party. Hispanics are really worried that our current Hispanic democrats in office may not enjoy the same support from the democratic party they have for years. I really don't believe that to be the case however Chair Richard Ellenberg will have to really reach out to heal divisions which came about during this election.
Santa Fe County has long been a democratic stronghold and divisions in the party could change that. The demographics have been changing in Santa Fe and recent elections have begun to show the shifts. The democratic party must adjust to meet the needs of a changing Santa Fe County while not leaving the old guard behind. Only then will the party remain the dominating party in Santa Fe County.
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I am a County Delegate and I also threw my name in the mix for State Central Committee. The voting for State Central Committee lasted until 10 pm. and the college then threw the democrats out for the night. The elections committee took the ballots for State Central to Denny's to have breakfast and count the votes. A group of us went to Late Night Burger for a late dinner. I checked in on the vote counting at midnight and it was still ongoing. At this point (1:48 am) I still don't know if I was elected to State Central or not.
Just as the make up of the National Democratic party has changed with the election of President Obama, the Santa Fe Democratic party has taken a dramatic shift tonight. I over heard one disappointed democrat joke that a whole group of them should go to the Republican Party take it over by having a hundred dems join the Republicans in Santa Fe County, then vote to endorse democrats. It was a joke but within the joke there was some sense of the division now in the Santa Fe Party. Hispanics are really worried that our current Hispanic democrats in office may not enjoy the same support from the democratic party they have for years. I really don't believe that to be the case however Chair Richard Ellenberg will have to really reach out to heal divisions which came about during this election.
Santa Fe County has long been a democratic stronghold and divisions in the party could change that. The demographics have been changing in Santa Fe and recent elections have begun to show the shifts. The democratic party must adjust to meet the needs of a changing Santa Fe County while not leaving the old guard behind. Only then will the party remain the dominating party in Santa Fe County.
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Sunday, April 05, 2009
Even More Reaction to my Media Lobby Blog Post
I am a regular viewer of the KNME show called New Mexico In Focus. I have it set on my DVR to record each episode and then I watch it at my leisure. The Public Broadcasting show features local news in both a documentary format where an issue is discussed at length or featured in a documentary type format for the first half of the show usually led by co-host David Alire Garcia, and then the second half of the show features a round table discussion led by Gene Grant.
As part of the round table discussion the show has a segment where a topic is given by Gene Grant and then two or three panelists discuss the topic however the entire question is only given 60 seconds for total discussion.This is where my blog post titled "Has the legislature become beholden to the media" was the 60 second topic. I have to say I was very disappointed in the commentary. I know its only 60 seconds but instead of discussing the questions posed in my blog the panelists debated whether I as sheriff had any business discussing the topic or having a blog?
The panelists were:
Teresa Cordova, UNM Architecture & Planning Dept.
Daymon Ely, Attorney
Jim Scarantino an Attorney and columnist for the Albuquerque Journal
Former Sandoval Co. Commissioner Marco Gonzales who is also an Attorney for the Modrell Sperling Law Firm.
Before I get into my response to their comments here is an excerpt of the show which contains the 60 seconds I am discussing. The whole show can be seen here.
Now I brought up the whole subject of what lobbyists do in comparison to what I observed from the media in the last session of the legislature in particular to spark discussion. I am actually glad to see that has happened. I allow comments on this blog and I write the blog to engage in discussion on local and national topics and try to be honest and forthright in my blogging. This blog is not intended to be sanitized for political purposes and is not intended to be a campaign web site. It is also not the blog of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. Now I do discuss law enforcement and crime issues but those who read this blog regularly know that is not all I discuss.
OK, lets get into discussing the individual comments from the panelists. Jim Scarantino says "there must not be crime in Santa Fe County since Sheriff Solano has time to blog and engage in issues that don't involve his office"
Wow, OK, Jim Scarantino besides being a recovering attorney (his words), Writes in blogs and media outlets all over the Internet. From New Mexico Liberty.com, to Duke City Fix.com, and on to Heath Haussamens blog as well as the Albuquerque Journal. He writes on a variety of subjects and often preaches free speech and open government. Well Jim whats more open than an elected official freely and openly discussing issues and accepting comments in an open forum like a blog? And because I am a Sheriff does that mean that I am only qualified to discuss law enforcement issues? Jim if we go by that logic then how qualified are you to write about the drug wars? Have you ever fought against the distribution of drugs and the deaths and destruction they cause?
Now I actually read your columns and enjoy the discussions but I would never question your ability or right to discuss issues outside the realm of your day to day job. I am a father, a grandfather, a former business owner, a back yard auto mechanic, a woodworker, I can weld, do plumbing, electrical, I write short stories and fiction novels, I am a Democrat who listens to republican radio and TV shows, I hunt, I fish, I have hung out and talked politics and guns with Ted Nugent, discussed law enforcement with President Clinton, discussed the heroin epidemic in New Mexico with President Bush and yes I have lobbied for bills in the legislature and I have even written columns in print. My point is I am more than just a Sheriff, But most of all I am an American who's free speech is guaranteed by the constitution I have taken an oath to uphold. It is that free speech that allows me to speak about the media, the legislature, and sometimes even about law enforcement on this blog.
Next on the Line panel to discuss my blog was Daymon Ely an Attorney. He said about me " He is a sheriff in law enforcement and not in the area of media and how things work in that world, He is trying to make a point but it would be better time spent doing his job." Now I am writing this post at 4:00 am on Sunday Morning. Most of my posts are done at night although I do post occasionally during the day. A blog post usually takes me about 15 minutes to write and I post about 2-3 times a week. I am Sheriff 24-7 , 365 days, five hours, and 49 minutes a year (this is the actual average number of days per year including leap year), the job of sheriff is not a Monday through Friday, eight hour a day job. I take it very seriously and anyone in the media who deals with me on a daily basis knows I answer my cell phone day or night weekday or weekend so in effect I am always working. Guess what? I still have 45-90 minutes a week to blog. I also deal with the media every day for the last 7 years so I think I am qualified to discuss the media, I am not saying I am always right in my opinions and discussions but then neither are lawyers, reporters, or others always right either.
Finally the only one who got it right. Teresa Cordova of the UNM Architecture & Planning Dept. said of my blog post "What he is discussing is what is the role of the media in policy making, to what extent do policy makers listen to the media?" Bingo, give that women the gold watch! Now the media and bloggers got all caught up on the part of my blog post where in comparing and contrasting the media's role in the last legislative session I compared them to lobbyists. They latched onto that part of the blog and did not pay any attention to the fact that in my opinion the media should be a watchdog over government and should be careful of becoming part of the government process such as lobbying or shaping public policy through the stories they write. Now I may be totally wrong in the opinion of some or all the media but that is what my blog is about, throwing out there my opinions and thoughts and getting some feedback. Teresa is the only one who bothered to even tackle the subject of my post instead of just attacking the writer.
In my humble opinion the others only attacked me and my blog rather than my opinions and thoughts. I would have much rather heard a real discussion about the role of the media in shaping and influencing the policy makers through their columns, blogs, and newscasts. Oh well, I guess its time to get off my soapbox and go catch some bad guys. I will try and make my next blog post about law enforcement but if I decide to go astray forgive me.
One final note: I hope this post did not come off as angry, I really am not. I am actually happy that so much discussion came out of these posts and I have enjoyed the debate. My wife says I love a good argument and you know what? Shes right :-)
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As part of the round table discussion the show has a segment where a topic is given by Gene Grant and then two or three panelists discuss the topic however the entire question is only given 60 seconds for total discussion.This is where my blog post titled "Has the legislature become beholden to the media" was the 60 second topic. I have to say I was very disappointed in the commentary. I know its only 60 seconds but instead of discussing the questions posed in my blog the panelists debated whether I as sheriff had any business discussing the topic or having a blog?
The panelists were:
Teresa Cordova, UNM Architecture & Planning Dept.
Daymon Ely, Attorney
Jim Scarantino an Attorney and columnist for the Albuquerque Journal
Former Sandoval Co. Commissioner Marco Gonzales who is also an Attorney for the Modrell Sperling Law Firm.
Before I get into my response to their comments here is an excerpt of the show which contains the 60 seconds I am discussing. The whole show can be seen here.
Now I brought up the whole subject of what lobbyists do in comparison to what I observed from the media in the last session of the legislature in particular to spark discussion. I am actually glad to see that has happened. I allow comments on this blog and I write the blog to engage in discussion on local and national topics and try to be honest and forthright in my blogging. This blog is not intended to be sanitized for political purposes and is not intended to be a campaign web site. It is also not the blog of the Santa Fe County Sheriff's Office. Now I do discuss law enforcement and crime issues but those who read this blog regularly know that is not all I discuss.
OK, lets get into discussing the individual comments from the panelists. Jim Scarantino says "there must not be crime in Santa Fe County since Sheriff Solano has time to blog and engage in issues that don't involve his office"
Wow, OK, Jim Scarantino besides being a recovering attorney (his words), Writes in blogs and media outlets all over the Internet. From New Mexico Liberty.com, to Duke City Fix.com, and on to Heath Haussamens blog as well as the Albuquerque Journal. He writes on a variety of subjects and often preaches free speech and open government. Well Jim whats more open than an elected official freely and openly discussing issues and accepting comments in an open forum like a blog? And because I am a Sheriff does that mean that I am only qualified to discuss law enforcement issues? Jim if we go by that logic then how qualified are you to write about the drug wars? Have you ever fought against the distribution of drugs and the deaths and destruction they cause?
Now I actually read your columns and enjoy the discussions but I would never question your ability or right to discuss issues outside the realm of your day to day job. I am a father, a grandfather, a former business owner, a back yard auto mechanic, a woodworker, I can weld, do plumbing, electrical, I write short stories and fiction novels, I am a Democrat who listens to republican radio and TV shows, I hunt, I fish, I have hung out and talked politics and guns with Ted Nugent, discussed law enforcement with President Clinton, discussed the heroin epidemic in New Mexico with President Bush and yes I have lobbied for bills in the legislature and I have even written columns in print. My point is I am more than just a Sheriff, But most of all I am an American who's free speech is guaranteed by the constitution I have taken an oath to uphold. It is that free speech that allows me to speak about the media, the legislature, and sometimes even about law enforcement on this blog.
Next on the Line panel to discuss my blog was Daymon Ely an Attorney. He said about me " He is a sheriff in law enforcement and not in the area of media and how things work in that world, He is trying to make a point but it would be better time spent doing his job." Now I am writing this post at 4:00 am on Sunday Morning. Most of my posts are done at night although I do post occasionally during the day. A blog post usually takes me about 15 minutes to write and I post about 2-3 times a week. I am Sheriff 24-7 , 365 days, five hours, and 49 minutes a year (this is the actual average number of days per year including leap year), the job of sheriff is not a Monday through Friday, eight hour a day job. I take it very seriously and anyone in the media who deals with me on a daily basis knows I answer my cell phone day or night weekday or weekend so in effect I am always working. Guess what? I still have 45-90 minutes a week to blog. I also deal with the media every day for the last 7 years so I think I am qualified to discuss the media, I am not saying I am always right in my opinions and discussions but then neither are lawyers, reporters, or others always right either.
Finally the only one who got it right. Teresa Cordova of the UNM Architecture & Planning Dept. said of my blog post "What he is discussing is what is the role of the media in policy making, to what extent do policy makers listen to the media?" Bingo, give that women the gold watch! Now the media and bloggers got all caught up on the part of my blog post where in comparing and contrasting the media's role in the last legislative session I compared them to lobbyists. They latched onto that part of the blog and did not pay any attention to the fact that in my opinion the media should be a watchdog over government and should be careful of becoming part of the government process such as lobbying or shaping public policy through the stories they write. Now I may be totally wrong in the opinion of some or all the media but that is what my blog is about, throwing out there my opinions and thoughts and getting some feedback. Teresa is the only one who bothered to even tackle the subject of my post instead of just attacking the writer.
In my humble opinion the others only attacked me and my blog rather than my opinions and thoughts. I would have much rather heard a real discussion about the role of the media in shaping and influencing the policy makers through their columns, blogs, and newscasts. Oh well, I guess its time to get off my soapbox and go catch some bad guys. I will try and make my next blog post about law enforcement but if I decide to go astray forgive me.
One final note: I hope this post did not come off as angry, I really am not. I am actually happy that so much discussion came out of these posts and I have enjoyed the debate. My wife says I love a good argument and you know what? Shes right :-)
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Thursday, April 02, 2009
Funny Friday- President Obama Raps About His Problems.
I am a big fan of Alpha Cat, his real name is Iman Crosson and he is a President Obama Imitator who has made a star out of himself on You Tube. I first became a fan of this Video.
Now he is out with a new video that is not only fun to watch but I am thinking of putting it on my Ipod to listen to as well. Here is his new video.
.
Now he is out with a new video that is not only fun to watch but I am thinking of putting it on my Ipod to listen to as well. Here is his new video.
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Wednesday, April 01, 2009
Santa Fe Reporter Fooling Around Contest!
We have a winner! Laura Paskus has won the contest. The answer is Sheriff Manuel Gordo Sena who was Republican and Sheriff from 1952-1954 !
When the Julia Goldberg of the Santa Fe Reporter called me to ask if I would participate in a contest whereby the winner of a trivia question would get a free ride along with a deputy on duty I thought it might be an April Fools joke. I went along with it and waited until I actually saw the contest in the Santa Fe Reporter before putting this post up.
So It is real and for those of you who visited my blog today to take a stab at answering the question here it is.
When was the last time Santa Fe County had a Republican sheriff?
Bonus round for an official Sheriff's Badge lapel pin. What was that sheriff's name?
Ok, folks send in your answers via the comment section of this blog post. The first correct answer wins the prize. Get both answers correct and win both prizes!
Note: on April 2, 2009 I added a hint somewhere in my blog.
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Santa Fe County Democratic Ward Elections Recap.
Tonight my wife Antoinette and I attended the ward elections for the Santa Fe County Democratic Party. In tonight's elections each ward met at their own tables and voted for a ward coordinator and vice coordinator and a number of delegates based on how many registered democrats were in your particular ward. My ward had 12 delegates to elect and two of those are automatically taken by the elected coordinator and vice coordinator. The elections were held at the NEA building on Botulph Road.
These elections really will make a difference next Tuesday April 7, 2009 when the newly elected delegates will vote for the chair of the Santa Fe County Democratic Party. Minnie Gallegos who has been the chair of the Santa Fe Democratic party will step down after leading the party since 2001. Jose Morfin a retired DOT worker and long time Santa Fe Democratic party worker and former President of the Young Democrats is running for the chair position against Richard Ellenberg a retired attorney who moved here from Georgia and has been active in the Santa Fe Democratic party for the last 4 years.
My wife and I arrived about 20 minutes early and it became quickly apparent that both the Morfin and Ellenburg camps had brought in many new people to the ward elections. This is common as candidates try to get pro delegates elected in each of the wards. People wanting to become ward coordinator also bring neighbors or others to secure their vote and become coordinator. The only requirement for voting for and running for delegates is that you are a registered democrat in the ward you are either voting in or running for delegate. Now many people may look at this as trying to stack the deck in your favor but really this is democracy at its best and it serves to bring new people into the democratic party meetings and get them involved. Some show up only on voting day and never return but some stay involved and this is good for the party.
As I worked the room, ( I am still a politician) I noticed a pretty large contingent of pro democrats for each County Chair Candidate, they were identified by pro stickers and name tags that many of them wore. Some like myself were not wearing candidate tags but I did not talk to anyone who was undecided. The split seemed very large along racial lines with most Hispanics supporting Jose Morfin and most Anglo's supporting Richard Ellenburg. There were other dividing lines as well , most non native Santa Feans (defined by me as those not born here or having lived most of their lives here) were for Richard Ellenburg, while most of the Democrats in attendance whom I knew as being native Santa Feans were for Jose Morfin. Note: this is a generalization based on my observations so if you support a candidate and did not fit into these categories (and I am sure many did not) please don't take it personally.
In my ward I was elected a delegate, with my wife elected an alternate. In my ward of the 12 delegates elected it appeared that approximately 10 were leaning or actual Morfin supporters while two were not giving their preferences away. Most other wards I saw seemed either evenly split or leaning towards Morfin. At least two wards I visited ended up with apparent unanimous Morfin supporters as delegates. Now there were many wards that I visited well before the votes were taken and many that I visited afterwards. I could only get a sense of the delegates from those I visited after the elections had taken place.
In attendance at his ward was former ward chair Bernie Logue y Perea who resigned as ward coordinator last year to back a green party candidate in the PRC race. It appears that he is back in the democratic camp this year. I am sure he will have some fences to mend if he is to become any where near as involved as he once was in the Democratic Party.
It will be an interesting election next Tuesday and an important one. As we prepare for many county and state wide elections in 2010 the faces of the Santa Fe Democratic party elected on Tuesday will be counted upon to make a difference and work to ensure the Democrats retain their dominance in Santa Fe County and pull their weight for the state wide candidates. In the past years fund raising and coordination has been a problem in Santa Fe County and the next Chair must tackle those issues head on.
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These elections really will make a difference next Tuesday April 7, 2009 when the newly elected delegates will vote for the chair of the Santa Fe County Democratic Party. Minnie Gallegos who has been the chair of the Santa Fe Democratic party will step down after leading the party since 2001. Jose Morfin a retired DOT worker and long time Santa Fe Democratic party worker and former President of the Young Democrats is running for the chair position against Richard Ellenberg a retired attorney who moved here from Georgia and has been active in the Santa Fe Democratic party for the last 4 years.
My wife and I arrived about 20 minutes early and it became quickly apparent that both the Morfin and Ellenburg camps had brought in many new people to the ward elections. This is common as candidates try to get pro delegates elected in each of the wards. People wanting to become ward coordinator also bring neighbors or others to secure their vote and become coordinator. The only requirement for voting for and running for delegates is that you are a registered democrat in the ward you are either voting in or running for delegate. Now many people may look at this as trying to stack the deck in your favor but really this is democracy at its best and it serves to bring new people into the democratic party meetings and get them involved. Some show up only on voting day and never return but some stay involved and this is good for the party.As I worked the room, ( I am still a politician) I noticed a pretty large contingent of pro democrats for each County Chair Candidate, they were identified by pro stickers and name tags that many of them wore. Some like myself were not wearing candidate tags but I did not talk to anyone who was undecided. The split seemed very large along racial lines with most Hispanics supporting Jose Morfin and most Anglo's supporting Richard Ellenburg. There were other dividing lines as well , most non native Santa Feans (defined by me as those not born here or having lived most of their lives here) were for Richard Ellenburg, while most of the Democrats in attendance whom I knew as being native Santa Feans were for Jose Morfin. Note: this is a generalization based on my observations so if you support a candidate and did not fit into these categories (and I am sure many did not) please don't take it personally.
In my ward I was elected a delegate, with my wife elected an alternate. In my ward of the 12 delegates elected it appeared that approximately 10 were leaning or actual Morfin supporters while two were not giving their preferences away. Most other wards I saw seemed either evenly split or leaning towards Morfin. At least two wards I visited ended up with apparent unanimous Morfin supporters as delegates. Now there were many wards that I visited well before the votes were taken and many that I visited afterwards. I could only get a sense of the delegates from those I visited after the elections had taken place.
In attendance at his ward was former ward chair Bernie Logue y Perea who resigned as ward coordinator last year to back a green party candidate in the PRC race. It appears that he is back in the democratic camp this year. I am sure he will have some fences to mend if he is to become any where near as involved as he once was in the Democratic Party.
It will be an interesting election next Tuesday and an important one. As we prepare for many county and state wide elections in 2010 the faces of the Santa Fe Democratic party elected on Tuesday will be counted upon to make a difference and work to ensure the Democrats retain their dominance in Santa Fe County and pull their weight for the state wide candidates. In the past years fund raising and coordination has been a problem in Santa Fe County and the next Chair must tackle those issues head on.
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