I’ve been off the air for the past few weeks due to lots of family at home during the holidays, an annoying sciatica problem and maybe just a touch of the winter blues. My plan is to get back into the swing of writing that I hope you enjoy reading and gets my brain off of negative things.
But even though I’ve taken some time off, I’m pleased to say that New Mexico hasn’t skipped a beat in offering up some odd stories that makes us the “Land of Enchantment.”
Starting with an always fertile ground, New Mexico politics continues to offer some great stories.
In Albuquerque, during the heated race for Mayor, someone distributed bright yellow sweatshirts supporting incumbent Tim Keller to scores of homeless people wandering the streets of the city. The homeless issue was a topic of much discussion during the race between Keller and former Sheriff Darren White.
Although no one person or group was ever identified as providing the gold and red “I (heart) Tim Keller” “sweatshirts, both sides pointed to the other as the culprit.
Keller demanded that a blogger who said he knew the source of the sweatshirts be investigated, but at this point, I’ve seen no follow-up to the demand. And anyway, Keller won the election, so I doubt the issue will be pursued further.
The last time Keller ran for mayor of Albuquerque in 2021, similar shenanigans occurred with a drone dangling a sex toy buzzed a campaign rally crowd for his opponent, former Sheriff Manuel Gonzales. According to sources “a drone dangling a rainbow-colored sex toy began buzzing near the stage. The device was nicknamed the “Dongcopter” by some media outlets and observers.” Keller’s team denied any involvement.
New Mexico politics has been rife with political silliness over the years in an attempt to disparage certain candidates. I recall a time when I was first reporting politics as United Press International Bureau Chief in Santa Fe that a group who opposed long-time U.S. Senator Joseph M. Montoya came up with a slate of candidates in the Democratic primary election that they hoped would confuse the voters into casting their ballot for the wrong person. They managed to persuade at least three political neophytes to file for the office of U.S. Senator in the Democratic primary. Their names: Joseph E. Montoya, Joseph A. Montoya and Joseph N. Montoya. Again, who was behind the sleight of hand was never revealed, although most figured it was the organization behind the unopposed Republican candidate in the general election. In the end, it didn’t matter because Joseph M. Montoya won handily and continued to represent us.
A good friend of mine recently told me about his first exposure to New Mexico politics during the early 1970s. He was living in Rio Arriba County at the time he went to register to vote. Rio Arriba County seems to always been a source of political chicanery, especially at the time Emilio Naranjo was the power behind the Democratic Party in that part of the state. My friend says that when he went to the county courthouse to register to vote, the registration form section asking to declare which political party they favored was already filled in as “Democrat.”
On another ongoing subject, it appears that New Mexico has moved on from smuggling bologna to smuggling exotic animals. A recent story in the Albuquerque Journal says a man was recently sentenced to 17 years in federal prison for distributing large amounts of fentanyl along with — wait for it — a Bengal tiger imported from Mexico.
The tiger, imported to Albuquerque, was found in a dog crate in a mobile home in the city’s Southeast Heights. The tiger, one of at least three David “Cholo” Mendoza Enriquez is allged to have imported from Mexico was named Duke and has since been placed in an exotic animal facility in Colorado. The story also says that Mendoza Enriquez also offered an alligator for sale at one time.
The suspect had posted on a “WhatsApp” social media platform that:”Right now, what I have for sale here are two tigers.” I never cease to be amazed at what people post on social media, but for those investigating crimes, it’s turned out to be a gold mine.
The fates of the other tigers or alligator were not disclosed.
And finally, if you’ve been complaining that your utility bills are too high, just be glad that you’re not a resident of Tucumcari. Apparently due to a computer glitch, some residents of the eastern New Mexico community said they recently received water bills for more than $50,000. One of those was a city commissioner who was charged $55,000 for using more than 9 million gallons on her property.
Another person who received a bill for more than $50,000 simply commented: “I could dig a well for $50,000.”
aero-cordero.com 