The best part of Richard Romero's plan goes unsung.

Mayoral Candidate Richard Romero
held a news conference on the steps of
the police department, to present his
plan to address rising crime rates in
Albuquerque.

In my opinion, Romero left out the best
part; his promise, link, to bring a new
level of transparency to city government,
including the development of budget
priorities for the Albuquerque Police
Department.

There is a consensus in Albuquerque, that Mayor Marty Chavez is not being honest with the public over the actual numbers of police boots on the ground. In start contrast, Senator Romero has pledged to be honest with voters about those issues. He said that, voters will also finally learn the truth about the statistics regarding the red light cameras, another source of mistrust between the current Mayor and his constituents.

According to an old Japanese proverb;

No one of us, is as smart as all of us.

Part of the transparency accountability that he has promised
to bring to city government, is the intention to make the
development of city budgets, an open process; subject to
public scrutiny.

For the first time, stakeholders will be at the table when the
decisions are made that divvy up and allocate resources.

Line items, such as the squad of thugs that Mayor Chavez
has following him around to protect him from the press, link,
won't survive in a budget process that is subject to public scrutiny.

It has been argued that, a rising tide lifts all boats.
The rising tide of transparent accountability to the public, will
bring new efficiency and effectiveness to the Police
Department, and to the Fire Department, and to Solid Waste,
and Parks and Recreation, and to every other department in
city government.

There is a reason that Mayor Marty Chavez doesn't talk about
transparent accountability in city government. And no reason,
that Richard Romero cannot.




photo Mark Bralley