Strictly Confidential
Off the Record
On the Q.T.
Hush Hush
“It is the will of God that we must have critics, and missionaries, and Congressmen, and humorists, and we must bear the burden.”–MARK TWAIN
The local PD recently charged community watchdog Jeff Northrup with criminal trespass. According to the detainee, “While driving by I noticed children and fireworks activity at the Mayor’s town residence on the evening of July 4.†Northrup said the incident occurred about 20 minutes after the town’s annual fireworks display on Sunday evening. Northrup mentioned his fireworks activism and said, “I was concerned about the safety of the children and the fire danger.†He says he spent the prior week telling local vendors that both the town and county had banned fireworks. They were selling a commodity that could not be used legally in the community, according to Northrup.
Northrup said he was within the perimeter of the Mayor’s property for about 60 seconds before he himself retreated and called 911 to report the fireworks violation. Apparently, a party was in progress at the town house. The activist said he was physically confronted by an elected official (not the Mayor). Then the cops came, detained Northrup and confiscated his camera, which contained evidence of the controversial allegations. The men in blue apparently did nothing about Northup’s allegations of illegal fireworks’ use by kids on the Mayor’s property. Instead they charged the watchdog with a crime–though they didn’t tase him.
The award winning local newspaper slyly referred to Northrup as a “self-proclaimed†activist. But I would argue that the eccentric picketer embodies the very definition of political courage. Whether you agree with him or not he has taken on Big Oil, euthanasia at the animal shelter, and political shenanigans at the Town. He walks his talk like no other Taoseno. Northrup’s activities cost former Mayor Duran, himself, and the publisher of Horse Fly $22,000 each in legal fees for a tiny photo flogging his passport business. (Horse Fly published prior photos of Dick Cheney and Osama Bin Laden as part of the passport series but was never threatened with Bush-era legal teams or an Al Qaeda fatwa.) Jeff was named “Chicano Chamber Man of the Year†in 2009 for succeeding where others failed in bringing “cheap gas†to Taos.
As if to emphasize their focus on law and order, the Taos P.D. recently stood by a story dreamed up by the thin blue line: tasing a supine 190 lb. female, handcuffed and laying on the ground. A no-nonsense photo of Chief Rick Anglada and Second-in-Command Maggio appeared in the news last week. The close-cropped cops, who are shown wearing ties, slacks, white shirts, and shoulder holsters, remind me of the noirish “L.A. Confidential.†It’s difficult to tell the difference between detectives and mobsters—when cops hang up the Blue Uniform in a closet. The identical hairstyles, sported today by law enforcement and gang-bangers, have always been a source of curiosity.
Most of my colleagues and even his friends–refer to Jeff as “stupid.†But I say the man has the courage of his convictions. He calls an alleged violation of the fireworks ban, an alleged violation of the fireworks ban. He also said he has encouraged the Mayor to seek a restraining order against him. So the two antagonists are in agreement about one thing.
KCE Coop Seeks Input
Recently, the Town gave their 28-year old wunderkind manager a 15 or 16% raise from 90 Gs to over 100 Gs. Before Sammy Pacheco left Taos County he was making $135,000 as manager. Several administrators at CRAB HALL earn salaries in the 80s and high 90s—despite the dismal record of failure at TMS. Now comes the KCEC seeking public sentiment about a proposed raise for their CEO Luis Reyes.
One Coop faction favors a 3 to 5 % raise. The other faction favors a 10% raise. Reyes makes about $150,000 now plus benefits. Call your trustee and voice your opinion. During the last decade, KCEC has lost millions of dollars on its Propane and Internet ventures. Now Reyes and the Trustees are looking to take on another $20 million in debt for a federal matching grant if their application for an Obama Broadband subsidy is successful.
We have no idea if the Trustees make decisions based on their intuition or on their research. They don’t write op-eds or appear in public unless Luis is there to protect them from pesky questions. Practically speaking, most decisions are left up to Trustee Art Rodarte, the movida-maker or swing voter from Ojo Caliente.
We hasten to say that we are not critical of the Coop—lest they file a lawsuit against us. At the Socorro Coop, the trustees recently voted to file a lawsuit against its members for approving by-law changes (See Albuquerque Journal, July 10, front page below the fold). Politicians, both elected and appointed, today frequently file lawsuits or criminal cases against their public critics. And even politicos, who have been driven from office, regularly appear in public or on the media as if charges of misconduct or the commission of criminal acts are just bumps in the road.
T’was always thus.