The purchaser, Western Albuquerque Land Holdings, LLC, is a mystery, according to the Albuquerque Journal, which noted “It is unclear who has a financial interest in Western Albuquerque Land Holdings LLC or what the company plans to do with the property.”

Suncal had been one of the largest real estate developers in the West but was blindsided when the housing bubble burst a few years ago. When its development projects elsewhere began to go belly up, its subsidiary in New Mexico assured state legislators that the project here was shielded from the national crisis. But ultimately that wasn’t the case, and in April 2010, SunCal Corporation’s New Mexico subsidiary, Westland DevCo, filed for Chapter 11 protection in a U.S. bankruptcy court in Delaware.

In 2009, SunCal had eight professional lobbyists and spent $232,540 on an advertising campaign in support of its quest to obtain a tax increment development district, or TIDD for the project. The creation of the TIDD would have allowed the company to use future tax revenues to pay for building roads, sewer and water lines, and parks.

The bill passed the Senate, but failed on the floor of the House in a stunning vote on the last night of the session.

Gov. Bill Richardson

As 2009 staggers into the history books, exhausted and a bit lighter in the pockets than when it first appeared on the scene, let’s acknowledge this: the year gave us plenty to write about.

Accusations of pay-to-play, former elected officials getting indicted, electoral surprises and an occasional David toppling a Goliath — 2009 produced it all, giving the year a healthy luster of newsworthiness despite its threadbare look.

The year showed incredible stamina, in fact, with a steady drumbeat of scoops, gotchas and revelations, exhausting many a political junkie and news professional. And 2009 didn’t take long to demonstrate its capacity to shock.

On the fourth day of 2009, an announcement in Washington landed in New Mexico with all the percussive power of a bombshell: Gov. Bill Richardson was withdrawing as President Obama’s commerce secretary, citing a federal corruption investigation into how his administration conducted business.

And the news kept coming.

Some 360 later, the year is ending the way it began — scrutiny, including from federal prosecutors, on how the state invested its money over the past half decade.

In between those two bookends, the state of New Mexico also came to the disturbing realization that it was broke, Albuquerque’s longtime mayor fell short of winning a third four-year term — knocked off by a long-shot two-term GOP state lawmaker — and two former elected officials found themselves on the business end of a criminal indictment.

It’s unclear whether what transpired this year will change the political dynamic here in New Mexico, or lead to more government transparency. But before The New Mexico Independent gets back into the daily grind, let’s take a deep breath and reflect on the busy year that was.

Click here to begin with: Scandals

“Absolutely they are trying to shift the council,” Councilor Debbie O’Malley said, referring to California-based SunCal, a major developer, and others, whom she believes are targeting City Council President Isaac Benton and Councilor Michael Cadigan in the lead-up to Tuesday’s election.

Benton and Cadigan are part of a faction of the Albuquerque City Council that has so far resisted creating a Tax Increment Development District (TIDD) for SunCal within city boundaries. The district would allow SunCal to use bonds based on future tax proceeds to pay for roads, water lines and other infrastructure for its massive mixed-use development on undeveloped land on the west side.

Others point to the donors of Benton’s city council opponent, Bernalillo County Commission Chairman Alan Armijo, as evidence of an organized effort to unseat the two councilors, whom their critics say, are anti-growth.

Armijo is a registered lobbyist for the National Association of Industry and Office Parks. City records show he has received numerous contributions from the development and commercial real estate industries, including $100 from SunCal executive Will Steadman.

Armijo is term-limited on the Bernalillo County Commission, where he voted with two other commissioners to create special tax districts for SunCal in the county’s unincorporated areas.

“If Cadigan and Benton lose we’ll have a tremendous fight on our hands,” said Councilor Rey Garduno. “We could see efforts to get rid of impact fees entirely and free reign for SunCal for their greenfield TIDD.”

“Nobody Got Me to Run”

Armijo said in a telephone interview that he wasn’t anyone’s pawn and that he isn’t a rubber stamp for a special tax district for SunCal within the city.

“Nobody got me to run, except the people in my district who have been calling for the past two or three years saying they are not getting any responses [from Benton],” Armijo said.

Armijo acknowledged the local development community views him more favorably than Benton.

“I’m hearing from the development community that you cannot … even bring ideas to Mr. Benton,” Armijo said. “What I hear is he won’t even talk. He usually makes up his mind. There’s no room for discussion.”

Benton responded by saying that “calling me anti-growth is laughable,” but added, “SunCal would love it if I wasn’t there” on the council.

This year’s city council elections could result in a city council more friendly to SunCal, which could be a big help to the company. In 2007 the city council passed a moratorium on locating the special tax incremental development districts on undeveloped land within city boundaries, but Mayor Martin Chavez vetoed it.

SunCal did not respond to Cadigan’s and Benton’s allegations when contacted Wednesday. The company instead issued a general statement that said, in part, “We support government that delivers quality services to residents, including smart, well-planned growth.”

O’Malley and Garduno mentioned the mailers, underwritten in part by SunCal, that target Cadigan and that were sent to District 5 voters this week as evidence of an organized effort.

Cadigan is a longtime vocal critic of TIDDs.

A measure finance committee named Moving Albuquerque Forward sent out one Cadigan mailer earlier in the week, and another one hit mailboxes Wednesday.

The single largest contributor to Moving Albuquerque Forward was Westland Development Co. LP, a subsidiary of SunCal, city campaign finance records show. Westland gave $10,000 through Sept. 25, 2009.

“It’s egregious that they’d put $10,000 into a measure finance committee, as though that would cloak their intentions,” Garduño said. “That’s a lot of money to spend on a city council seat.”

The organization had raised $26,000  through Sept. 25, city records show. The Westland contribution is twice as large as the next biggest contribution—$5,000 from Caballero Farms.

A call to the committee was not returned.

Cadigan’s opponent is Dan Lewis, who, like Benton, has opted to take public financing for his campaign. Cadigan opted out of the public financing system.

Beyond the municipal election politics, what is at stake in next week’s races, some say, is how Albuquerque grows – whether it will be with a focus on developing open, unused spaces for large mixed-use housing developments on the edge of the city or through prioritizing re-development of sites within the city core.

Opponents of a TIDD for SunCal have argued that the state would be gambling hundreds of millions of dollars in future tax proceeds on the proposal, which might not live up to its billing. From their perspective, SunCal’s development would increase sprawl at a time when New Mexico has to think carefully how to manage growth. A large, mixed-use development so far from Albuquerque’s core would also increase traffic, pollution and demand for water.

Supporters have countered that the SunCal proposal could mean thousands of jobs created by industrial and commercial employers who would be attracted to the development. That’s especially important now, as the state struggles through the recession.

SunCal already has several Tax Increment Development Districts beyond the city’s boundaries in Bernalillo County. The goal is to create the special tax district for the land within the city.

State Approval Needed, Too

SunCal also must appeal to the Legislature. While Bernalillo County has created the special tax districts for SunCal, the state has not given those districts the authority to issue bonds based on the future tax proceeds.

State lawmakers debated legislation earlier this year that would have given bonding authority to several TIDDs that would have then issued $400 million in bonds based on future tax proceeds. But the legislation failed on the floor of the state House on the final night of the session, shocking the political class as well as the media.

The firm revealed its deep financial pockets leading up to and during this year’s legislative session.

SunCal spent at least $232,000 in a marketing campaign to bolster the legislative effort that included billboards, radio and television ads, and direct mail that encouraged people to go to the company’s Web site, which encouraged readers to call, write or e-mail their legislators in support of the TIDD legislation.

The company, through Westland Development Co. had eight professional lobbyists working on its behalf during the session, including Mark Fleischer, Mayor Chavez’s campaign manager.

A mailer sent to District 5 voters this week criticizes City Councilor Michael Cadigan, who is seeking re-election.

Cadigan is a longtime vocal opponent of the tax-proceeds scheme — called TIDDs for short — by which SunCal, the developer, hopes to pay for roads, water lines and other infrastructure for the massive development.

The Cadigan mailer is a reminder that Albuquerque’s future growth, and how to manage it, remains a hotly debated, unsettled political issue as city voters go to the polls next week to elect a mayor and city councilors.

The mailer

A group named Moving Albuquerque Forward sent out the Cadigan mailer. The single largest contributor to Moving Albuquerque Forward was Westland Development Co. LP, a subsidiary of SunCal, city campaign finance records show. Westland gave $10,000 through Sept. 25, 2009.

The organization had raised $26,000 and spent $1,160, through Sept. 25 city records show. The Westland contribution is twice as large as the next biggest contribution—$5,000 from Caballero Farms.

A call to the committee was not immediately returned Tuesday.

The two-page mailer goes after Cadigan for what the group says is the councilor’s inaction on fighting traffic congestion after the opening of three new schools on the West Side.

“Michael Cadigan has been our Councilor for eight years. Eight is enough. It’s time for Cadigan to go,” the mailer reads.

Cadigan disputes the mailer’s accusations, saying in a press release issued Monday that he had “spearheaded a successful effort by the City and APS to provide a new and better access” to Volcano Vista High School, one of the three new schools.

The fight over SunCal

Cadigan is open about his opposition to SunCal, which has won high-profile endorsements from Gov. Bill Richardson and Mayor Martin Chavez.

SunCal’s proposed development has stoked a fiery debate in the city and in Bernalillo County.

Opponents have argued that the state would be gambling hundreds of millions of dollars in future tax proceeds on a proposal that might not live up to its billing. Opponents also say that SunCal’s development would increase sprawl at a time when New Mexico has to think carefully how to manage growth. A large, mixed-use development so far from Albuquerque’s core would also increase traffic and create more demand for water, they say.

Supporters of the legislation have countered that the SunCal proposal could mean thousands of jobs created by industrial and commercial employers.

In addition to his past opposition to Sun Cal, Cadigan said Tuesday he traveled to Santa Fe this past legislative session to lobby state lawmakers against legislation that would have helped SunCal.

The SunCal legislation called for giving bonding authority to several Tax Increment Development Districts — TIDDs — that would have then issued $400 million in bonds based on future tax proceeds. The cash would help SunCal pay for roads, water lines and other infrastructure for the planned mixed-use development the company has in mind.

SunCal wasn’t shy about lobbying state lawmakers, or the public, leading up to and during this year’s legislative session. SunCal spent at least $232,000 in a marketing campaign that included billboards, radio and television ads, and direct mail that encouraged people to go to the company’s Web site about TIDDs. That Web site then encouraged its readers to call, write or e-mail their legislators in support of the TIDD legislation.

The SunCal legislation failed on the floor of the state House on the final night of the session, shocking the political class as well as the media.

The company, through Westland Development Co. had eight professional lobbyists working on its behalf during the session, including Mark Fleischer, Chavez’s campaign manager.

From the release:

The Sunshine Bill was to be heard and voted on at the Finance Committee meeting on Monday, September 14th but this important bill was tabled because Councilors Ken Sanchez and Don Harris voted against approval at the request of the City Administration. Councilors Michael Cadigan and Debbie O’Malley voted for approval, since the vote resulted in a tie, the bill remains in committee.

“To keep this legislation in Committee is misleading to the taxpayers. There is public support for the ‘Sunshine Bill’ and they deserve to access this information, I am disappointed that a bill like this has been held up.” said Councilor Garduño.

Councilor Garduño will have to make a motion to have the Council vote to pull it out of Committee, then another motion to have the bill heard at tonight’s Council Meeting.

Councilor Garduño is inviting supporters of the “Sunshine Bill” and transparent government to come to tonight’s City Council Meeting and speak in support. The meeting begins a 5pm in the Vincent E. Griego Chambers at the Albuquerque/Bernalillo County Government Center, One Civic Plaza NW.

You can watch live streaming video of the meeting on the GovTV Web site.

“I think they spent a lot more than that. Because from what I’ve been able to see in the report, it’s very inadequate,” Stewart told the blog. “I think they spent at least twice that to try to get us legislators to buy a pig in a poke.”

So why does Stewart believe the full extent of the campaign may never be known?

Other expenses that Westland/SunCal paid out – but wasn’t required to report – include the money they spent mailing thousands of slick brochures to people’s homes, contributing to candidates and employing 11 lobbyists to convince legislators to vote for the lucrative tax legislation.

“Like all other entities who lobby at the Legislature, Westland/SunCal will have to file a report in May detailing how much their lobbyists spent on food and drink for legislators during the session,” Clearly New Mexico wrote, “but the total amount of the rest of the expenses will likely never be known.”

Either way, the TIDD failed in the House after two dramatic ties in late-night votes at the end of the session. But the TIDD may be back up once again in a special session, Gov. Bill Richardson hinted earlier this week.

The Clearly New Mexico blog is a project of the Center for Civic Action.

Albuquerque's far west mesa -- rows of new houses here? (Photo by darksong/Flickr)

ALBUQUERQUE — Gov. Bill Richardson is saying he is “seriously considering” making two failed proposals to leverage future taxes against future development a part of his agenda for a proposed special session this fall.

During this year’s legislative session, state lawmakers embraced such a plan to rescue Albuquerque’s moribund Winrock Mall, which has slipped into a state of quiet shopping irrelevance.

By approving bonding authority for developers who want to help pay for a plan to convert Winrock into a place where people live, work and play, lawmakers may have given the mall a new lease on life.

But two other proposals — one in Albuquerque, the other in Las Cruces — with a similar funding mechanism suffered a much different fate during this year’s legislative session. Both died.

Now Richardson says he is even considering whether to put the two measures in the same bill.

“I haven’t finally decided to do it,” the governor said Wednesday after a bill signing ceremony at Winrock Mall in Albuquerque. “But I am considering it.”

That possibility has some opponents of the Albuquerque proposal – nicknamed SunCal for the California developer seeking the authority to issue bonds — asking if it is a deliberate attempt to pass the controversial project on the back of the less-controversial Las Cruces one.

“Why else would you combine them other than to get a better result,” said Sandy Buffett of the Conservation Voters of New Mexico. Her group vigorously opposed the SunCal legislation, which would help pave the way for a sprawling mixed-used development of industrial, commercial and residential growth on Albuquerque’s West Mesa.

Supporters of the SunCal proposal have not been able to push it through the Legislature despite two years of trying. The SunCal TIDD is mammoth in size compared to the Winrock and Las Cruces requests. It also calls for development, instead of re-development of a blighted or run-down area, as Winrock and Las Cruces propose.

This year the SunCal legislation died in the House when lawmakers rebuffed the bill in dramatic back-to-back tie votes on the last night of this year’s session.

Las Cruces area lawmakers played a significant role in the defeat of the SunCal bill. Rep. Joni Gutierrez, D-Las Cruces, did not vote on the Sun Cal bill, but voted yes to reconsider. Rep. Nate Cote, D-Las Cruces, voted against the bill but was absent for the motion to reconsider; immediately after the first vote he had left the Roundhouse to drive to El Paso, where he teaches a class.

Four of the Las Cruces area’s other five House members voted against the SunCal proposal.

Wrapping the SunCal and Las Cruces proposals into a single bill during the special session could put Las Cruces-area lawmakers in an uncomfortable position. They would have to decide whether to support SunCal to ensure the passage of the Las Cruces proposal or to vote against it, Buffett said.

Like Winrock, the SunCal and Las Cruces bills, had they passed, would have granted authority to newly created Tax Increment Development Districts (TIDDs) to issue bonds to help pay for development.

Issuing bonds that are backed by the promise of future tax proceeds is a quick way to raise a lot of money in a short time to pay for improvements, such as roads, water and sewer lines.

But the two proposals also differ in important ways.

The Las Cruces proposal, which area lawmakers have asked to be included on the special session agenda, would call for committing more than $14 million in future city, county and state tax proceeds to help revitalize a part of downtown. In effect, new development would cover land already in use.

The proposal unanimously cleared the Senate but never came up for a vote on the House floor.

The SunCal proposal, on the other hand, is much larger than the Las Cruces one. It would call for issuing $400 million in bonds based on future tax proceeds to help the company pay for infrastructure for the planned mixed-use development it has in mind.

It is that idea — of paving the way for growth across undeveloped land — that stoked opposition to the SunCal proposal from conservationists, among others.

Opponents argued that the state would be gambling hundreds of millions of dollars in future tax proceeds on a proposal that might not live up to its billing. Also of concern was that a TIDD would capture a chunk of future state tax revenues for one area at the expense of the rest of the state. A large, mixed-use development so far from Albuquerque’s core would also increase traffic and create more demand for water, they added.

Supporters of the legislation countered that the SunCal proposal would mean thousands of jobs created by industrial and commercial employers.

SunCal wasn’t shy about lobbying state lawmakers, or the public, on behalf of the proposal.

It launched a major advertising campaign that included billboards, radio and television ads and direct mail that encouraged people to go to the company’s Web site. That website then encouraged its readers to call, write or email their legislators in support of the TIDD legislation.

In all, the company spent $232,540 — detailed on its report to the Secretary of State.

The idea that SunCal represented economic growth for New Mexico was an argument that Richardson and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez made Wednesday at an event in which the governor signed a bill that gives bond-issuing authority to developers looking to convert Winrock Mall into a vibrant area that will attract jobs.

“I believe the TIDDs in the other areas, in Las Cruces, in Albuquerque, they’re good, they’re good for the economy,” Richardson said to a small crowd gathered at the Winrock mall for the bill signing. “They are good for producing jobs.”

Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez echoed those sentiments, if in stronger terms.

“There’s an interesting conversation, if you will, that goes on in Albuquerque,” Chavez said.

“We see it in Las Cruces as well and in other parts of the state. We have some folks under the aegis of smart or planned growth who really aspire to no growth. We are in the midst of a recession. Clearly we are doing better than most of the rest of the country. For the no-growthers, I would suggest that they walk to that end of the mall because they got what they asked for: No growth.”

As was widely reported during the session, the company undertook a massive advertising campaign in support of its quest to obtain a tax increment development district, or TIDD, for a project on the far west side of Albuquerque. The creation of the TIDD would have allowed the company to use future tax revenues generated within the boundaries of the project to pay off the costs it incurred to put in infrastructure such as roads, sewer and water lines, and parks.

The advertising campaign included billboards, radio and television ads, and direct mail that encouraged people to go to the company’s Web site about TIDDs. That Web site then encouraged its readers to call, write or e-mail their legislators in support of the TIDD legislation.

In all, the company spent $232,540 — detailed on its report to the secretary of state.

The biggest expenditure went to D.W. Turner, with a little over $50,000 for “creative services.” And three local television stations in Albuquerque raked in $80,000 together.

The failure of the TIDD bill, SB 249, on the floor of the state House on the final night of the session was a shocker to the political and media classes, as many thought the bill was “greased.” The final vote was a 33-33 tie, as was the re-vote just a few minutes later — with the votes cast by legislators on that second attempt being slightly different but totaling the same, 33-33.

In addition to the advertising, the company had eight professional lobbyists working on its behalf during the session.

Hat tip to Democracy for New Mexico for the file.

Gov. Bill Richardson signed into law a bill authorizing $137 million in public bonds that will provide the developers money upfront to help pay for the infrastructure for Winrock Town Center.

“Today I am very proud to be here to sign a bill that grants Winrock a new life, one which will completely transform this area,” Richardson told a small crowd gathered at Winrock Mall for the bill-signing.

As envisionsed, the roughly 80-acre property near I-40 on Louisiana Avenue would include a 70,000-square-foot multi-screen Imax theater, a 130-room hotel, 180,000 square feet of office, retail and restaurant space, and more than 400 residential units. The project also plans for more than 6,000 parking spaces.

Developer Gary Goodman of Goodman Realty Group said the project already has lured several tenants for the project. And he hopes to break ground this fall with plans to open doors on the project at the end of 2010 or early 2011.

“That’s what we are driving for,”Goodman said Wednesday.

The bill that Richardson signed into law also clears the way for Hunt Development Group to issue $27 million in bonds in a similar fashion for the third phase of the company’s Uptown development. That third phase, called Quorum, calls for a seven-story hotel, offices for both lease and purchase, shops, residential condos and extensive parking structures on the now-vacant 7.5 acres bounded by Louisiana, Indian School and Uptown Loop NE.

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