It is extremely disappointing and disheartening, when our City of Albuquerque Councilors are not responding to the will of their constituents. I live in District 8 represented by my Councilor Trudy Jones, and she epically flip-flopped on her vote for the Safe Outdoor Spaces – Homeless Tent Encampments (SOS), three times in a matter of weeks.
How is this possible?
This SOS policy is deeply flawed in a number of ways, with homeless tent camps scheduled to be installed next to neighborhoods and in the epicenter of our most fragile business districts, for which I and many others, reached out to Councilor Jones to oppose.
It is most certain that our citizenry favors taking care of our homeless population in a thoughtful and planned out manner, but let’s be honest, it cannot be at the expense of our personal safety or economic security, which the SOS clearly violates. Councilor Jones should be fully aware of her constituent’s opposition to the SOS, particularly if she read the most recent Citizens Perception Survey, that indicates only 9% of respondents believe the City is doing a good job with the homeless.
If Councilor Jones was truly committed to the mandates of her constituents, she would have been steadfast in her position to not only oppose the original SOS resolution that she voted for, but also to override the Mayor’s veto of the one year Moratorium for the SOS, that she voted against.
To put this into perspective, Councilor Jones voted for the original resolution to allow SOS homeless tent encampments to be peppered in and around our City at two encampments per district with 50 occupants per camp. I live in the far northeast heights, and would like to know where Councilor Jones intends to approve the importation of 100 additional homeless occupants, injected into our neighborhoods, which will exacerbate an already critical mass of homeless that now disrupt, corrupt and destroy the property and wellbeing of law-abiding citizens.
How is it that an issue as sensitive to the health and safety of our neighborhoods, economic viability of our businesses and survivability of our City, is being played off like a political football? Councilor Jones first voted Yes on the original SOS resolution, but due to the backlash from voters, saw the light and voted Yes for a one year Moratorium of the SOS, to allow policy makers time to reexamine the impacts of the SOS in more detail. Without notice of her intentions and without regard for her constituents, Councilor Jones then flipped her vote again, to allow the Mayor’s veto to stand for the dissolution of the one year Moratorium, which now delivers the green light for the SOS encampments to move forward. This is nothing short of a quid-pro-quo between Councilors and the Mayor, whereby deals are cut behind closed doors and transparency of our policy makers is completely sealed off from public view.
I implore Councilor Jones and all other Councilors, to not only listen to the objections of their constituents to this most egregious SOS policy, but also respond to the will and mandates of their constituents, and vote down any future SOS actions meant to facilitate Homeless Tent Encampments, and keep our neighborhoods and business districts safe and viable.
Bob Reule, a lifetime resident of Albuquerque for 68 years, resides in the NE heights. He attended Eubank and Mitchell Elementary, Madison Jr High, Sandia High School and UNM. Bob owns and operates a family-owned local business since 1958.