Stinking to High Heaven

marjorie says...

We haven't touched on it much here, but one of the big controversies in Albuquerque at the moment is the issue of Tax Increment Development Districts being created on massive tracts of undeveloped land. Just this week, powerful politicians are stepping up to bat for SunCal, the company that wants to develop 50,000 acres with the help of tax payer money. First we had our Mayor veto'ing legislation passed at the City Council barring future creation of TIDDs in "greenfields" and then we had County Commissioner Tim Cummins going on a completely over-the-top rant about "social engineering" and "liars spreading misinformation" at the County meeting the other night that created 9 TIDDs for SunCal.

As the Journal pointed out this week, Marty Chavez is quite cozy with SunCal, as evidenced by his recent campaign manager also being employed by SunCal's lobbying firm. I wish they had also pointed out the large sums of money donated to Marty by SunCal just this year as well. As in, $5000! This morning is the kicker in a Journal editorial, where they basically connect the TIDDs to us poor voters thusly:

"Now the familiar refrain comes from the Chávez camp. It's believable— if you can believe that a roster of successful companies are being suckered by lobbyists, instead of the suckers being voters with little access."

Gee, I really don't think I could have said it better. Now, if only the Journal would revisit the subject of all that land Tim Cummins owns out there on the westside, which he is actively developing. He stands to make a BUNDLE out there, and he should have recused himself from the vote on Tuesday night just as he did regarding the Tempur Pedic IRB. As to "social engineering," maybe he ought to turn the mirror on himself.

The powerful and their land development deals really stink to high heaven a lot of the time.