This month, Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller announced that he has vetoed the Albuquerque City Council, who passed legislation that would have combatted homeless encampments in residential neighborhoods.
When asked for his reasoning, Mayor Keller said, “We need every tool at our disposal to confront the unhoused crisis and we need to be willing to act courageously. … However, reasonable time, testing and piloting has not been allowed.”
The response to the veto has been mostly negative so far. Albuquerque is dealing with a rampant homeless population that has destroyed public spaces. The City Council responded to public outcry by putting a moratorium on the unpopular Safe Spaces legislation, but the Mayor has now vetoed that action.
“With his veto and veto message, Mayor Tim Keller is essentially saying ‘Let the public be damned, I know what I want and what’s best for my city," Pete Dinelli said in a blog post. "Keller no doubt thinks he is acting courageously, but what he is doing is ignoring the wishes of city residents as he tries to unilaterally enact city council policy and infringe on the purview of the city council all the while as he spends upwards of $60 million a year to deal with the homeless. With his veto, Keller ignores that the moratorium, as well as pending repeal legislation, is a direct result of severe public backlash and outcry by city residents and neighborhood associations that refuse to support Safe Outdoor Spaces.”
Fellow Democrat Louie Sanchez from District 1 said, "I think the biggest issue we’re dealing with is the overwhelming majority of our constituents saying they don’t want it. When I talk to anybody and everybody I’ve run into about 95% of the people that don’t want safe outdoor spaces next to their house or business. They don’t want that. And I think it’s important that we listen to our constituents more than anything."
City Councilor Brook Bassan says that she was originally in favor of safe spaces in the city, but after hearing from her constituents, changed her mind and her vote. She has introduced legislation to reverse the unpopular policy and said, “Working to allow these safe outdoor spaces to happen is saying that we do not pay attention to the majority of Albuquerque residents who are saying they don’t want these and they don’t need them because we need to come up with a different solution, whatever that may look like.”
Appeals of the Dawn Legacy Point Safe Outdoor Spaces homeless tent encampment were filed by various businesses around the city including: Martineztown Santa Barbara Neighborhood Association; Menaul Middle School; Life Roots; Reuele Sun Corporation, a participant in the Menaul Redevelopment Area; Crown Plaza Hotel, a participant in the Menaul Redevelopment Area; T-Mobile Cell Phone Call Center; Sunset Memorial Cemetery; and Greater Albuquerque Hotel and Lodging Association.
Residents and community members are also speaking out against the legislation.
Gilbert Speakman, a member of the community, said, "The Mayor and councilors pushing the problem off to developers calling themselves volunteers. This was underhanded and unplanned with total disregard for the neighborhood and surrounding schools.”
Businesses and residents were not notified about the proposed encampment in their neighborhood.
Loretta Naranja Lopez, President of the Santa Barbara Martineztown Neighborhood Association, said, "Seems like the city has known what they were going to do here for a while. The city also knows the impact of homeless encampments next to neighborhoods, and to not involve us from the beginning is incredibly discouraging. Failing to have us at the table, especially when they know how dangerous these encampments are, shows a complete lack of regard for the welfare and safety of our community. They can call it 'safe' all they want, but we’re not safe and experience has shown us that."
The City Council will be able to override the veto in session on September 7.