Oh what a bummer! It looks like Mayor Chavez has decided to abandon his gubernatorial campaign website for 2010 (see the last listing):
Now, he has decided to change gears. My favorite line from his announcement speech:
I know that in my gut the national and state GOP will fight mean and dirty. Their war effort and power are at stake. But in my heart, I know they no longer represent the mainstream of their party or New Mexico.
Say What! Republican power is at stake? Um, exactly where are we talking about? The Democrats control both Houses of Congress. The Democrats control both bodies of the state legislature. Am I missing something?
And, what did our esteemed Mayor forget to mention in his announcement speech:
All together, the city collected $10,611,397 in revenue [through red light cameras] and handed over $2,844,920 to Redflex. This left the city with between $5.8 and $7.8 million in net profit. The precise figure is not known as officials charged as photo enforcement expenses a number of part and full-time police officer salaries as well as the entire administrative hearing office budget. The audit report sidestepped the question of whether the ticketing program has had any beneficial effect on traffic accidents. It mentioned that police could claim only two of the nineteen intersections with cameras might have seen a decrease in accidents.
Kinda makes you wonder if he is elected Senator, whether or not he would be pushing for a national red light program. After all, it has been just so dang profitable for the City of Albuquerque.