Albuquerque's seven mayoral candidates battled it out over crime, economic growth and education during a somewhat contentious campus forum Wednesday night.
Mediator Jim Villanucci, a local radio host, emceed the event, which was cosponsored by the College Democrats, College Republicans and the Pre-Law Association. Of the roughly 300 in attendance, about half were students.
Answers to the first question, about how the candidates would reduce crime, varied wildly.
Former district attorney Bob Schwartz said he would "rebuild" the police department by reinstating dismantled units. City Councilor Alan Armijo and former mayor Martin Ch†vez agreed and said they would restart the Domestic Abuse Response Team and other special units if elected.
Incumbent mayor Jim Baca disagreed with Schwartz and Armijo, saying that when he became mayor, many of the Albuquerque Police special units were "just sitting around in training."
"Only 350 of our officers were actually on patrol, so I disbanded some units and put them back on the street," he said.
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Baca got dual reactions from the crowd when he reiterated his stance against concealed weapons laws.
"I just don't know what kind of message we are sending to our children when we carry concealed weapons," he said.
City Councilor Mike McEntee disagreed, saying concealed weapons carried by school officials could reduce the number of armed officers in Albuquerque Public Schools.
McEntee and former state treasurer James Lewis said they felt that punishment for drug and alcohol abuse should focus on treatment rather than "wharehousing" offenders in prisons.
Lewis added that pre- and postnatal care, as well as improved parenting skills, would give communities a head start on preventing drug-related crimes.
"The war on drugs is not any closer to solving the problem," he said.
McEntee said jail policies amounted to a "revolving door" and promised to work toward better tracking of criminals to prevent repeat crime.
A rebuttal session for the crime question prompted one of several tense moments when Schwartz referred to current crime statistics as an abomination.
"I think your hairdo is the abomination," Baca said, garnering boos from the crowd.
Ch†vez and businessman Rick Homans pledged support for teen curfews, drawing the attention of students in the crowd who asked them to justify their statements during a public question session at the end of the forum.
The candidates supported promoting tourism, working to attract business and improving education to bring increased economic development to the city. Baca, Homans, Ch†vez and Lewis all spoke of the city as a technology center, but were in disagreement about how to manage business growth.
Baca said he has worked diligently to protect the environment, and was adamant against urban sprawl, but supported the growth of technology industries.
"The way the city grows is important to our quality of life in the future," he said. "We're choking the city to death."
McEntee said the city was unfriendly to business, citing "legendary cronyism and backroom deals," as the culprit. He said he would advocate reduced city involvement, a streamlined city hall and preventing tax increases that would drive away potential employees.
Schwartz said the business issue was intertwined with education and crime.
"If we want progressive companies with good jobs, we can't get them when this is known as a high crime city," he said.
Lewis said, if elected, he would work to support small business, especially those owned by minorities and women.
When asked about education, most called UNM an education hub for the city, but said they were most concerned with issues in public schools.
Homans said UNM needed endowed visiting professors from industries like robotics and laser optics to better fuel a technology economy for the city.
The mayoral election is Oct. 2.
