Groups like Hogares have always been influential in politics. They usually have champions in elected officials who protect them and whenever funding cuts loom, their political friends go into fight mode. When I served as Mayor the non-profits that got money from the city had full time lobbyists in the form of city councillors. So one had to be careful about reprimanding any of those groups who felt they were entitled to a supply of funding every year. It had to be done surgically. There were some groups I thought weren't doing the job but the city council would fund them anyway. Their sense of entitlement always rankled me.
What is surprising about the Martinez administration is that they bludgeoned all of these groups at once, which seems pretty suspicious to me. And then the funding went to an Arizona group? Very strange. We all know the politics of Arizona leaders and this will end up being a debacle for those most in need in a very poor state.
I was glad to see Pete Dinelli come out strong on demanding an investigation into the Mary Han death. At the very least it will put some much needed scrutiny on APD, Darren White, Rob Perry and others. This can't happen soon enough!
P.S. The Journal got my memo the other day and started using oodles of photos all of a sudden. And in color too. It really makes the newspaper look much better.
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No one will ever forget the Mary Han death scene. It will go down in infamy if only as a symptom of the disease permeating Albuquerque. Five years from now, people will ask, "remember when Mary Han died?" Hopefully, our city will be cleaned up from this mess and what happened to Ms. Han will never occur again.
Nice that Kari Brandenburg refused to do her job as DA.
This isn't politics, but I do think Kari is playing politics. She is best friends with Schultz, Perry and Berry. She will not hold them accountable.
It is time for the public to start a petition drive to force the Bernalillo County DA to name a special prosecutor and grand jury to look into Mary Han's death. The prosecutor should come from outside Bernalillo County. He / She needs to be far removed from the spider web of Paul Kennedy.
About the Petition -- That would require someone with courage and very few have courage in Albuquerque. Fear is the most common emotion here followed very closely by anger. Look at Kari Brandenburg's inexplicable response to what could be a murder in her backyard - "politics", really?
Well, good citizens of Albuquerque, why aren't you calling Kari out on this hypocrisy? Women! Why aren't you asking why a female lawyer's death can be so easily accepted to be suicide?
I've watched this case from some distance as it has unfolded. And while it seems there are a lot of people screaming and demanding action, there are some very VERY obvious people remaining silent. And these are people who are never silent. Why is it that Darren White who is the first to let us know what kinda junk food he ate hasn't said anything? Why is it after six front page stories the AbqJournal editorial board hasn't said anything? How come the governor hasn't said anything?
Sadly the answer to these questions is all too obvious. Saying something means not providing cover for the one common denominator among all three. They will protect Kennedy in favor of supporting what is right.
"Pay to play?" Must be some kind of disease on the 3rd floor of the Round House.
Now that the Attorney General has expressed his support for Ms. Han's family, expect some major push back on the Han family and their lawyer. I hope they keep at it.
Attack the messenger is nothing new. With the 50 year anniversary of the MLK march, it is appropriate to remind people that Malcom X warned,"If you aren’t careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."
So it is with the Journal which is unworthy of my time but for those who read it, the newspaper supports the status quo. Journal editors do not place the controversial stories on the news wire so it is a drop in a bucket. I may have missed it, I haven't seen an editorial demanding an investigation to Ms Han's odd death.
There is an online petition for Mary asking the District Court to appoint an investigative grand jury. The petition is located at:
http://petitions.moveon.org/sign/justice-for-mary-han-1
I hope they keep at it too. These office holders and power players only know fear or greed. Make their greed their undoing and terrify them with the truth.
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