‘Rock steady’ Keller best suited for mayor
Former mayor gives current occupant of position high marks for first six months in office
As often happens with new elected officials, many have rushed to grade Albuquerque’s new mayor on his first six months in office. As someone who once faced many of the same challenges of taking over this large bureaucracy with short notice and with an urgent mandate for change, I can hopefully provide some perspective on Tim Keller’s first months in office.
I’ve made no secret that I felt that in a field of good candidates, Keller was by far best suited to take on the toughest job in Albuquerque. While he didn’t have the experience — no one does until they actually do the job — he was razor sharp, asked all the right questions and clearly had a deep love for his hometown. He’s rock steady.
There are three areas where Keller said he would focus and has made significant progress in a very short amount of time.
Public safety is the biggest area of concern for our city, and Keller inherited a mess. He’s brought his trademark transparency and accountability to tackling crime in just a short time by appointing a trusted police chief, restructuring the police department, rebuilding trust with the community and making crime data public.
Restoring APD will take years, not months, and Keller has set the department on the right path forward. The U.S. district judge overseeing the DOJ settlement agreement has given Keller’s team public kudos for working together for the betterment of the people of Albuquerque. That’s an important step forward for us all. He understands that being on the right path provides little solace for current victims of crime. We won’t see our mayor accepting awards for public safety until he believes the job is actually complete.
By almost every measure, ART is a debacle of historic proportions. Keller didn’t make the mess, but it’s his responsibility to clean it up, and he’s tackling it head on. Few appreciate the dreadful tangle of enforceable contracts, which if breached by the city would cost taxpayers well over one hundred million dollars. Bringing out the bulldozers might sound good, but it would be fiscal lunacy. He’s been transparent about the challenge and has gathered top-notch people to help navigate the mess to a successful conclusion. I can’t imagine who else would be better at this moment on this issue than Keller.
Albuquerque’s flat-lined economy is another area where the Keller administration is changing how we do business. Simply, his focus has been on creating jobs here at home. His administration has been proactive in ensuring that contracts with our tax dollars are going to home-grown companies instead of outsourcing them elsewhere. That’s a critical focus and real departure from the “lure a big fish” strategy of corporate handouts.
Finally, Mayor Keller has changed the game for our kids and created opportunity. Kids are better off when they have safe, fun places to spend their time and Keller doesn’t want kids left out of the city’s school and summer programs because of a wait list or inability to pay. That’s why he’s doubled down on our kids by doubling access to these programs.
Having a mayor with vision is important. Having a mayor who knows how to translate a vision into reality is even more important. Keller has stepped up and faced these challenges directly while keeping his promise to be transparent and accountable to the people of our city.
Though we all have our opinions and political leanings, I take the mayor seriously when he suggested we all ask ourselves, “What can I do to help Albuquerque?” It’s true that you can’t roll up your sleeves as long as you’re wringing your hands. Keller rolled up his sleeves on day one and is getting the job done.
Oh, and I forgive him his heavy metal (music) inclinations. But perhaps some Al Hurricane, Los Blue Ventures or even some Neil Young from time to time?