Election

Sometimes, not voting is better than voting ignorantly

In a recent race, two candidates faced off. One was the incumbent with years on the job and much formal training. The other was completely unqualified. Moreover, the challenger failed to respond to the Albuquerque Journal, effectively hiding two DWIs, a lie of omission, at best..

How did that candidate get one third of the vote? What is wrong with people? Do they like the surname or gender or position on the ballot of the challenger or dislike those of the far-better-qualified incumbent? — who was really, the ONLY qualified candidate.

A potential disaster was avoided, in no thanks to thousands of ignorant voters. Not that it would have been the first such blunder.

Inform yourself before you vote. If you know little or nothing about a race, don’t vote.

Election

DEMAND Instant Run-off Voting! #IRV

Five candidates ran in the Democratic primary for Governor. The “winner” got roughly 35 percent of the vote (and that vote was a small percentage of regular voters — only 10% voting were under 35 years of age). More people didn’t vote. More people voted for someone other than the “winner.” Sincere congratulations to the winner, BUT who really won?

DEMAND Instant Run-off Voting. The Democratic Party should go on record supporting IRV and demanding it for our next primary, at the very least. Accept no excuses, no stalling tactics. IVV plus None of the Above. We might have a different and stronger candidate in such a case.

IRV would also allow more people to run without being spoilers, as in one judicial race were the “loser” and the very distant 3rd place had more votes than the “winner.” That 3rd place candidate really does seem to be a spoiler, but we’ll never know how many of his voters would have gone to the other candidates, as opposed to None of the Above.

I guarantee that IRV plus None of the Above would increase voter turnout and shake up complacent incumbents. DEMAND IT NOW!

Election, loco

If you haven’t voted yet, what are you waiting for? Map shows wait times…

Follow the link to a map of polling places showing wait times. All have been 0-15 minutes in the time I’ve been watching.

My Vote Centers

My Vote Centers
ON ELECTION DAY ONLY

Map Pin Colors:
Green = 0 to 15 minutes wait
Yellow = 16 to 29 minutes wait
Red = 30 minutes or more wait

My Vote Centers

If you want to say hi to Merri Rudd, she’s Presiding Judge at McKinley MS.

image

[Hat tip to Dukecityfix for the link. Smile to bernco.gov for the info, but next time post the link before voting day so I can share it sooner.

APD

Homeless man shot in back.

The Wars on Drugs and Terrorism have so militarized the local police, even in smaller towns, that they have become an occupying force engaged in the War on People. We brought this on ourselves. Who profited from this?

Boyd autopsy reveals he was shot in back | Albuquerque Journal News By Patrick Lohmann / Journal Staff Writer UPDATED: Friday, May 30, 2014 at 12:01 pm

The 30-page autopsy said Boyd suffered three gunshot wounds from separate bullets, but the one to his lower back seems to have been the most destructive: A bullet passed through the muscle in his lower abdomen, his left adrenal gland, his large intestine, spleen, diaphragm and left lung before exiting his left armpit. The bullet then re-entered his upper left arm and was recovered by medical investigators, according to the autopsy.

The other bullets also struck Boyd’s arms, including one in his upper right arm that entered from the back and exited the front of his arm. In addition, a bullet struck Boyd’s upper left arm and exiting through back, according to the autopsy.

Because of the damage done to Boyd’s right arm, doctors had to amputate it as they conducted several emergency surgeries to try to resuscitate him, according to the report. He arrived at the University of New Mexico Hospital at 8:15 p.m., the autopsy stated, and his time of death was shortly before 3 a.m. on March 17.

The report also said Boyd suffered several blunt-force injuries, contusions and abrasions on his buttock and right leg, some of which were “consistent with injuries produced by a dog.” Officers were seen on the video loosing a police dog on Boyd.

In addition to documenting the injuries, medical investigators found that Boyd appeared older than his stated age and that he had no illegal drugs or alcohol in his system.

Among the items investigators associated with Boyd were clothes, a toothbrush and a Bible. They also pulled Taser prongs from his clothing, according to the report.

Boyd autopsy reveals he was shot in back | Albuquerque Journal News

Boyd died after 12 hours in hell.

APD

A sad tale of police, guns and a family history | Albuquerque Journal News

Leslie Linthicum sums up the lingering problems with this killing and finds some historical nuance (follow the link for the whole story).

A sad tale of police, guns and a family history | Albuquerque Journal News By Leslie Linthicum / Of the Journal PUBLISHED: Sunday, June 1, 2014 at 12:05 am

“This shooting just made me feel so profoundly sad,” someone said to me the other day. Me too. And I’ve been pondering why.

Is it because Hawkes was the first woman to join the list of people killed by city police officers since 2010? Because she was 5-foot-2 and barely 100 pounds? Because she was really just a kid?

Is it that it seemed avoidable – a forced confrontation in the middle of the night to flush out a suspect in a 2-week-old auto theft case? Couldn’t an arrest warrant in the morning have kept everyone safer?

Is it the autopsy findings – a bullet shot into her left ear, another into her left bicep and another through the top of her right shoulder – which seem hard to square with the stated scenario of Hawkes stopping, turning and pointing a handgun just before she was shot?

Mary Hawkes, 19, was the first woman killed by APD since 2010.

Mary Hawkes, 19, was the first woman killed by APD since 2010.

Is it the autopsy findings of scrapes and bruises on her chest, both knees and the backs of both forearms?

Is it the absence of the officer’s lapel cam video that would answer those questions about what she and the officer were doing when she was shot?

Each time someone is killed by police, there’s a rippling of effects – the personal tragedy to the family, the toll on the police officer who has taken a life and the public policy discussion about whether it was an avoidable use of deadly force.

With that in mind, I also wonder whether the Hawkes killing continues to nag me because of her family history, which brings additional layers of nuance and complication.

A sad tale of police, guns and a family history | Albuquerque Journal News

Election, loco

Vote Tuesday, 6/3

Vote for Judge Willow Parks, last on the ballot. Don’t let an unqualified opponent sneak into a vital position.

Hunt is on for elusive primary election voters | Albuquerque Journal News By James Monteleone / Journal Staff Writer PUBLISHED: Monday, June 2, 2014 at 12:05 am

After trailing behind 2010 early voting numbers for most of the early voting period, a surge of voters turned out to cast ballots on Friday and Saturday, raising the county’s total early voting numbers to 6 percent higher than the 2010 primary, Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said. Nearly 22,500 Bernalillo County voters voted early, compared with about 21,100 early primary votes in 2010, according to the county clerk’s office.

Hunt is on for elusive primary election voters | Albuquerque Journal News

"It does not require a majority to prevail, but rather an irate, tireless minority keen to set brush fires in people's minds." — Sam Adams