Taos Lawlessness Continues…And a Challenge
Last week, the town passed a muddled version of the sign code aimed, politically, at regulating protest signs in the state highway “right-of-way.” The location of the Department of Transportation (DOT) right-of-way depends on state maps, which measure, variously, the width of the highway right-of-way from the median, say 100 feet on Highway 64 west to forty feet or less in, say El Prado and greater Taos. Despite DOT’s historic lack of enforcement of sign regulations—except during election campaigns or the campaigns against sign man, Jeff Northrup—the state highway engineer for district 5 is now considered the ultimate arbiter.
Meanwhile, in Northrup’s case, the Taos Police Department has turned over local enforcement of sign regulations to the “beautify Taos” team, aka the Tow Truck Gang, who pick up the protesters’ signs willy-nilly, setting a new standard for “vigilante” justice. The Taos News has joined the Tow Truck gang and confiscated one of Northrup’s signs, promoting the new professional baseball team, a sign Northrup apparently and allegedly placed on Taos News private property—depending, in this case, where the town’s right-of-way is on Albright St.
Just as the town’s attempt to quash protests is un-American and anti-First Amendment, so The Taos News, an infrequent supporter of the First Amendment and promoter of libel, has taken an un-American stance against baseball. Apparently The Taos News has a personal problem with Northrup, who reports on political corruption, sport, and the price of gasoline. All the boosters in town protect each other, lest some get the wrong idea about the nature of politics in Taos.
Readers know that Jeff is an eccentric, a high profile gadfly, and pain in the ass but he has assumed the status of local folk hero. Judge John Paternoster basically construed the protester as such during a recent controversial court hearing about alleged “criminal trespassing” (and perjury) in a case that may be appealed.
While I hasten to support Jeff’s right to free speech, I heartily disagree with this recent protest against Taos Fiesta as a breach of the separation between church and state. Despite the coincidence of fiesta and a Catholic feast day, I see the celebration, like pastoral displays at Christmas, as part of the local culture. I disagree with the ACLU on this point, due to the changes in practice and the need for all citizens to understand their historic religious and philosophical roots. After all, the constitution hardly applies to Taos Pueblo, where a theocratic form of government has long been the custom.
Currently, the Town of Taos has violated a number of laws regarding open government and public notification, the enforcement of the state mandated constitutional prerogatives governing acequias—the Sanchez, Moreno, and Spring ditches. According to the county and recent stories, the Town has violated JPA contracts governing E911—dispatch, i.e. health, safety, and welfare services, in respect to maintaining repeater operations at towers in the hinterlands of the county. We won’t talk about fraud, kickbacks, and the private aggrandizement of wealth by alleged public servants, who never saw a contract or deal they couldn’t pass up. Neither ethics nor conflict of interest are seen as important by the Cordova administration.
Now, according to a motion filed in district court by the county against the town regarding annexation, the town has ignored basic statutes and ordinances regarding the shoestring annexation airport project. The merits of the case can be discussed later. The below mentioned objections summarize the town’s violation of “procedural” safeguards in District Court Documents.
To wit:
(1) no petition was filed by the Town of Taos to invoke the
petition method of annexation,
(2) no contiguous landowner petitioned the municipality for
annexation,
(3) no map accompanied a petition that “shows the external boundary of the territory
proposed to be annexed and the relationship of the territory proposed to be annexed to the existing boundary of the municipality,” and the area was not otherwise sufficiently described,
(4) consent of two governmental entities (Taos Pueblo and Acequia del Prado del Rio Lucero) owning land within the territory annexed was not obtained,
(5) the Town of Taos failed to submit a water plan for
evaluation,
(6) the ordinance failed to annex the streets located along the boundary of the area
being annexed.
The town is engaged upon a policy of annexation at any cost, especially the cost to citizens in terms of taxes and democratic principles, not to mention the historic customs of the community that pre-date not only statehood but nationhood. Just as the town is trying to rob county taxpayers by appropriating GRT sources or by imposing fees on library users, so the town council has done dirty deals with developers and ignored the rights of parciantes or taxpayers, while submitting to coercion from the Kit Carson Electric Coop (KCEC) for the Command Center folly.
And why haven’t the Town cops solved the KCEC robbery? Will Luis reveal the names of the miscreants at the annual membership meeting on June 8 to the cheers of Mother Mary and her trustees? A few years ago the Taos PD and The Taos News ignored downtown commercial burglaries and the editor of Horse Fly was forced to investigate. Despite the passage of months, it only took a few calls and interviews to figure out that the rash of burglaries was an “inside job.”
The Chief of Police engaged in a cover up but detective Holfelder busted the “green chile” burglar, a local cop. Asked where he got his tips, he said, “Horse Fly,” no doubt with his tongue in cheek. If the cops don’t bust the great Coop robbery soon, I will pull out my pen and and make a few calls, and bust the cover-up, then call Holfelder, again.
Vamos, vamos, muchachos.
Postscript: Communists strike?
From: Jeff Northrup <jeffn@taosnet.com>
Subject: Re: Two Amos signs stolen today
Date: June 3, 2013 5:42:01 PM MDT
To: Chief Ken Koch:
Ken: Vigilantes got me again. This morning between 6:30 and 7:00 I put out eight identical signs, all advertising the Blizzards baseball game at noon today at the high school. Six signs and their step stools were stolen, which I did not notice until I went to collect them at 3:45pm. The only thing left were the rocks. The signs in front of Centinel Bank Drive-up and Southside copies were spared.
I know that you and your bosses approve/encourage theft, but I filed a police report anyway; in fact, to save time and better document thefts in the future, you might ask your beat cops to note the time they notice my signs being stolen if they happen to observe the theft. And, I know this is asking a lot, maybe they could pass along the identity of the perps to me, so that I might visit with them and ask them to please stop taking my property.
I called 911 around 4:30 to make a police report. Sgt. Weaver responded, and took the information. I used to be on very good terms with Weaver until a year or so ago–but then he was offended by my signs labeling the Taos police as Darren’s Nazis. The truth hurts, even for a tough ex-Marine. He’s a good cop and animal lover, and I’m sorry that he’ll be retiring soon.
The location of the thefts, all along Paseo del Pueblo Sur:
***The east side of the street, directly across from Mante’s Chow Cart.
***In front of ABC Locks
***SE corner of Albright
***SW corner of Cruz Alta
***NE corner of Cruz Alta
***NW corner of Merced
The police report number is F13000019. I place a fair value of the property of $174.
Jeff Northrup
On 6/2/2013 7:54 PM, Jeff Northrup wrote:
Ken: Looks like your vigilante cops are back to work. They(?) grabbed two of my signs from in front of Southside Copies between 6:15pm and 6:30pm today. I called 911, and Jani came quickly to file a police report (F13000010). The signs said:
**Wife killed your girlfriend? Call Amos 758-1111
**Robbed at Gunpoint? Call Amos 758-1111
Anyway, I hope the vigilantes are doing more productive work for you than swiping signs.
Good luck on Thursday. I hope you’re getting the support you’ll need. Jeff