SWOPblogger

So I suppose you’re pretty self-satisfied about now. But it won’t last long, bro. Remember all those promises you made to your contributors? They’ll be calling to cash in soon. So while you may have 'political capital', you also have a large political debt to pay to your contributors. And we’ll be watching for any cronyism, favors to your contributors or any use of the mayor’s office for shenanigans. That’s right. We know who you represent. So don’t even try it.

Damn, you really put your colita out there for sale, no? Over a $1 million dollars? You sold our city to the highest bidders.

I can’t believe a local boy would tacitly go along with defeating a simple minimum wage hike. You know wages are the NUMBER 1 complaint around here. Your backers didn’t want it so you helped spread pro-low-wage-propaganda. For someone who supposedly represents working class people, that should spell the end of your career. You should be ashamed of yourself for going against your neighbors. You know we all need a raise.

But you’re pretty good at campaigning, if nothing else. And you know how to fool some of the people, some of the time.

But you can’t fool us all.

We know that you’ve been the West Side’s longest running politician. You were a state senator on the West Side and you’ve been Mayor for 8 years and just elected to serve 4 more. And the West Side still lacks infrastructure, has no vision (except for subdivisions out in the desert) and still, every day, the traffic has become worse. What have you accomplished Mr. Gets-Things-Done? Really. The problems have only gotten worse under your leadership.

You’d like to have folks believe that Native Americans and community groups who are opposed to the road through the petroglyphs are against WestSiders, when it’s actually your developer friends. We know you opposed the Planned Growth Strategy and did everything in your power to water it down. Bro, we know who gives you money. It’s on the internet for crying out loud.

You’d like to have folks believe you care about working class folks in the city, but you support every tax break for every rich company with their hand out. You know who foots the bill when the Intels, Philips, TemperPedics and Eclipses don’t pay taxes. We do. Our children do. Our schools do. And we know we don’t get the jobs, so don’t even try that argument. And it’s not about jobs anyway – jobs are the least valued part of the equation. It’s about transfer of wealth from tax payers (us) to wealth (who you represent.)

And if you keep harping on the fact that Forbes ranked us high for places to do business, you just make it harder for wages to rise. You know anyone working here in Albuquerque can go pretty much anywhere else with a similar cost of living and get paid much more for the same job? Forbes ranked us high because our wages are so low. Nothing to be proud of. When we get ranked high for education, skilled workers, good wages and transportation, then you can brag.

And don’t think we’ve forgotten about all your, well let’s just say, troubles with ethics. I hear you can indict someone by petition. That could just be an option for those folks who are sticklers for rules.

Now you say you want a better relationship with APS. Forgive me for saying it, but I don’t think two wrongs make a right. Your administration plus APS equals trouble. Leave our schools to community groups, parents and tax payers.

And Marty, it’s ok to party. Enough of the fascist party patrol, curfews and anti-youth and anti-family policies. Let people breath. Use the cops for real crimes - not ticket quotas, breaking up Quinceañeras and criminalizing young people.

So I hope your proud of yourself Marty. The city’s still a low wage city. Make you happy? Or just your contributors? You have a friendly council, I suppose, but just don’t act like yourself or you’ll alienate them soon.

As for folks who can see through your act, we’re going to keep working to look out for our interests, values and needs and organize for a better Albuquerque and against you and your contributors’ agenda.

Yours,

Karlos Schmieder
Communications organizer
SouthWest Organizing Project

karlos@swop.net
http://www.swop.net/blog.htm
505 247 8832

# posted by karlos @ 2:01 PM