LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Politicians are Adults, Softball is Over

Dear Jaden McKelvey-Francis, some readers of the Daily Lobo had the unfortunate pleasure of

reading your recent interviews with mayoral candidates in this very paper. I am amazed that a university journal with the opportunity to hold a politician's feet to the fire used this opportunity to exacerbate climate change by wasting good paper on pointless articles. The questions asked of these city candidates read like a speed dating card, not anything resembling journalism. Many of these people have been responsible for our daily institutions for years, and their records and interests should be in serious consideration to the voters. These politicians are adults, enough with softball interviews. Because my university's paper is clearly struggling to come up with good questions for those running for office, I thought I’d help out leading up to this runoff election;

Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller:

- Keller, you are the only candidate who has qualified to take advantage of public financing, and have received over $700,000 in tax payer money to fund your campaign. Why are Albuquerque residents investing over half a million in your campaign and no one else’s? Are these restrictions so severe that you’ve become the only candidate who can access these funds? What’s your response to those that say that outspending your opponents with taxpayer dollars is unfair?

- Your unpopular chief of police, Medina, personally requested the National Guard to assist in our city. Why has your administration invited the military into our city for policing? You have promised to remove this chief when you are reelected, why haven’t you yet? Will the National Guard leave with the chief?

- How do you plan to get ICE out of Albuquerque?

Former Sheriff Derin White

- Not only did you fall short of over 1,000 small campaign contributions to receive public funding, you managed to raise $300,000 from your own efforts. Many of your top contributors are investment groups and property owners, doesn’t your campaign reflect the elite of this city? You’ve promised to clear tent cities and restore property value, isn’t that exactly what your donors want?

- You have criticized the mayor’s spending on shelters, will you spend less on shelters for the homeless? You have said before that these “tent cities” need to be cleared, where should the homeless of Albuquerque go? Do you believe shelter is a human right?

- As a Republican, many are afraid you would allow Trump to unleash both ICE and our national guard on our city, are you capable of resisting the Trump administration as a Republican?

City Councilor Louis Sanchez and District Attorney Alex Uballez are two other public officials

running for office who got off with easy questions. Argumentative questions force politicians to speak truth where they normally want to speak in code and broad statements. How insulting to the readers that The Daily Lobo is incapable of addressing the concerns of the people. Few are lucky enough to interview all the mayoral candidates, and these opportunities are so routinely squandered. We want to know why our leaders are failing us, not let them make more empty promises. Hopefully my questions will reach these candidates during this runoff, but that would require this paper value confrontation.

Jaden, I beg of you, enough with the softball interviews. Challenge these candidates. The readers demand it.

- Thomas Abeyta