Let’s start with the good news: New Mexico is number one on an important ranking. We have the nation’s lowest property taxes, and they’ve been the lowest for a long time. The reason goes back in history to the 1800s when New Mexicans lost land to tax sales because they didn’t understand American taxation imposed […]
Commentary
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
The Most Inconsequential of Felony Convictions
Fifty years ago, President Richard Nixon, facing three articles of impeachment over the Watergate break-in and wiretapping scandal, resigned from office. Pardoned just a month later, Nixon would spend the rest of his years in quiet retirement, always tainted by Watergate. Thirty years ago, a special counsel was appointed to review President Bill Clinton’s involvement […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Commentary
Letter to the Editor: Charter changes could allow a minority party to “game the election system”
This letter is provided as opinion/commentary from the author. You can submit your own: editor@citydesk.org Prior to 2013, Albuquerque had an election system that allowed a minority of voters to elect a candidate even if a strong majority of voters wanted someone else. In most elections, like for state legislature or governor or county commission, there […]
Posted inAlbuquerque, Commentary, Opinion
Letter to the Editor: R-45 Undermines Public Safety and Erodes Community Trust
This letter is provided as opinion/commentary from the author. You can submit your own: editor@citydesk.org As soon as Monday, the Albuquerque City Council will consider amending our city’s long-established immigration protection policies under the auspices of public safety. But this misguided amendment will have the exact opposite effect, weakening police work while opening the door […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Farm Bill Advocates to Congress: Get a Move On
The U.S. House Committee on Agriculture recently delivered a draft farm bill. It was eight months after the old farm bill, about to expire, had to be extended. This $1.5 trillion, 942-page tome has a lot to like, but it’s missing some key provisions important to New Mexico. And it’s hung up in partisan scrapping. […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Do Your Research Before You Vote
“We need bold solutions, drastic overhauls and serious reforms,” writes a candidate for the Legislature in an op-ed article. Bold, huh? Boy, that’s new and exciting. Oh, wait. It isn’t. It’s a standard cliché for everybody who runs for office. This particular candidate wrote an entire op-ed filled with platitudes and generalizations. Not a single […]
Posted inColumnists, Commentary
Primary Season Isn’t Over, But General Election Issues Are Taking Shape
A natural outcome of certain states moving their presidential primaries earlier in the year is that for those states with later primaries, primary election turnout is often dismal. That will likely be the case in New Mexico in 2024 where both presidential frontrunners have locked in their delegate count and there are few contested primary […]
Posted inCommentary, Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Setting the Record Straight About Cindy Nava
Submitted by Dr. Patricia Jiménez-Latham Let’s set the record straight. I was incredibly disheartened to read a campaign flyer making disparaging comments about NM Senate District 9 candidate Cindy Nava. I have known Cindy for 20 years as she began her work in the political arena and worked with her professionally at Transform Education New […]
Posted inCommentary, Letters to the Editor
Letter to the Editor: Rebuttal Response to Op-Ed on Produced Water
Submitted by Steve Conrad, Ph.D. groundwater hydrology The recent op-ed by Sherry Robinson entitled “Step into the future with Produced Water” exhorts us to “trust technology and step into the future.” The problem with her premise is that the oil and gas wastewater treatment technology she suggests that we trust is unproven to be even […]
Posted inCommentary
Letter to the Editor: DA hasn’t earned 4 year extension in office
This letter is provided as opinion/commentary from the author. You can submit your own: editor@citydesk.org This Letter to the Editor is submitted by Jeffrey Paul, Albuquerque. The Albuquerque Journal’s endorsement of District Attorney Sam Bregman (“Editorial: Bregman has earned a 4-year contract extension as Bernalillo County DA, May 25, 2024) is troublesome on a couple […]