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paperboy text opinion editorialsThis editorial first appeared in the Albuquerque Journal. It was written by editorial page staff and is unsigned as it represents the opinion of the newspaper rather than the writers
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Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Handling of Pit Appeal Calls for a Time-Out
When Albuquerque Mayor Richard J. Berry took office more than a year ago, he placed government transparency and mending relations with the City Council among his top priorities.
Berry has made good on pursuing those objectives with initiatives like the sunshine portal and with his professional, civil style in dealing with the Council.
So it's a shame to see some of that accumulated good will and political capital squandered by his administration's handling of a liquor license dispute with the University of New Mexico.
The City Council had rejected a waiver to allow UNM to sell alcohol in the newly renovated Pit to the big spenders in the luxury suites — though it would not be available to the average Joes sitting below, whose tax dollars also paid for the renovation.
Without informing the elected council that had rejected the move, non-elected city administrators agreed to binding arbitration to settle the university's appeal instead of making UNM go to court and argue an unpopular position in a state where alcohol abuse is an ongoing human tragedy.
The council's decision was based on a state law that prohibits alcohol sales within 300 feet of a school, and it declined to grant a waiver based on social policy considerations. UNM's position was that the city shouldn't have a say in what is allowed on neighboring state property, that sports complexes aren't schools and that the city itself allowed alcohol sales at Isotopes Park, across the street from the Pit and University Stadium.
City CAO Rob Perry says the city didn't have a strong case and he feared a judge would rule in favor of UNM, leaving the city limited future oversight of places like the university and the state fairgrounds.
Perry, who was promoted by the mayor from city attorney to CAO, also says the decision to go to binding arbitration was not based on the mayor's support for UNM's alcohol sales at the Pit and University Stadium — a position undercut by the stealth nature of the events.
In the end, the arbitrator ruled in UNM's favor, citing beer sales at baseball games.
City Council members are understandably angry and feel they were ambushed. With good reason.
Whatever communications were sent to them by Perry's office didn't rise to an acceptable level. Council President Don Harris and Councilor Ken Sanchez both said they had no idea the city had embarked on this course, and they are actually the client in this case.
This has been a hot political issue with significant public interest. Not only was the council kept in the dark, but there was no public announcement by the administration about this course of action until the arbitrator said UNM could start pouring the booze.
And the way it played out certainly has nothing in common with the goals of transparency and better council relations.
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