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R.J. Berry accepts his victory as his parents, son and wife cheer. Photo by MG Bralley
When R.J. Berry resigned his position as a state representative on Monday, he removed one from an otherwise growing number of job titles, the biggest one being: mayor of Albuquerque
Rio Rancho mayor Tom Swisstack Swisstack found himself in a similar situation 18 months ago. When he was elected mayor of Rio Rancho in March 2008, Swisstack had a choice: keep his legislative seat and juggle two jobs; or give up his seat in the Legislature and concentrate on running a city facing significant challenges.
Swisstack chose to run the city. He resigned his legislative seat. Eighteen months later, Swisstack still feels he made the right decision.
“Part of why I stepped back, even though it was doable, was perception: [that people might think] I was not able to concentrate enough on either of the jobs. That weighed heavily,” said Swisstack, who had served a single term as Rio Rancho’s mayor in the 1990s. “People expect you to produce. You have to stay focused. That’s why I ended up giving up my legislative seat.”
Berry will take over as Albuquerque’s mayor Dec. 1. Over the past week, a certain level of curiosity had begun to ripple across the political class about whether Berry would resign his legislative post and, if so, when.
Under the state constitution, Berry could have served both as mayor and as a state lawmaker. But Berry ostensibly decided that the challenges of running the state’s biggest city were pressing enough for him to give up his legislative seat days before the Legislature convenes a special budgetary session in Santa Fe.
“With the transition of my administration just getting underway, it is imperative that I give it my full attention,” Berry said in a statement released Monday. “The citizens of my district deserve a full-time legislator representing their needs in Santa Fe and the people of Albuquerque deserve a mayor-elect who is working full time to facilitate a smooth transition at City Hall.”
The state of the economy likely will make running New Mexico’s largest city a challenge, at least initially.
The conditions in local job markets are “grim” according to the Sept. 24 state labor report. In the past year, Albuquerque has lost 14,500 jobs, and the state as a whole has lost 30,900. It’s the worst the state has seen since January 1944, the report said.
Also there is a decline in gross receipts tax, which is largely responsible for funding city government.
Swisstack believed he could have juggled being Rio Rancho mayor and state legislator, he said. But he felt the need to preempt any talk of a divided focus and project an image of total concentration as the city’s chief executive.
Rio Rancho had just come out of a tumultuous period. Former Rio Rancho Mayor Kevin Jackson had resigned in July 2007 over questionable spending with a city credit card.
“We needed to make some tough decisions, and the mayor had to be on hand to meet with the public, with businesses,” Swisstack said.
Swisstack said he’s looking forward to working with Berry, whose time in the Legislature briefly overlapped with Swisstack’s.
“He and I have a really excellent working relationship,” Swisstack said, adding that the two men worked together on a bill during Berry’s first term before Swisstack departed the Legislature. “I’d like to think both of us are somewhat moderate.”
Swisstack said he envisions working well with Berry on regional issues like air quality, transportation and economic development.
