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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — An Albuquerque city councilor wants to keep the city’s top legal officer and chief record-keeper independent of the political winds that shift with each municipal election. Council Vice-President Dan Champine is sponsoring a pair of measures at Monday night’s City Council meeting that would let voters decide in the election whether the City Attorney and City Clerk should operate independently from both the executive and legislative branches. The proposals aim to ensure the two offices serve the entire city government rather than a single branch.
If approved, Resolution R-26-30 and city charter amendment Proposal P-26-2 would place the question on the Nov. 3 General Election ballot. The proposal would formally separate the City Attorney and City Clerk from the executive branch by making the positions “accountable to, but independent of” both the mayor and City Council. Currently, both positions are confirmed by the council but oversee departments under the mayor’s chain of command. If voters approve the amendment, candidates for both positions would be chosen by a hiring committee, not the mayor, before council approval of the candidates. The proposal would also change how the positions can be removed. The mayor could remove them early with support from five councilors, while the council could independently remove them with seven votes. The resolution is the legal mechanism needed to place the question before voters.
City Clerk Ethan Watson took the middle ground and is open to the proposal, “We’re aware of Councilor Champine’s proposal and we’re taking a close look at it,” Watson told City Desk. “Anything that helps us better serve Albuquerque residents is worth the conversation.”
The proposal has been building, following a legal battle between the City Council and Mayor Tim Keller’s administration over paramedic staffing models, which was settled in February. Champine told City Desk the legislation is a direct response to what he called “favoritism” by the City Attorney during the dispute. He said the City Clerk was lumped in because the position falls under the same category in the city charter. “The city attorney does represent not only the administration but the council themselves, and it wasn’t being done that way,” Champine said, adding that the amendment is meant to create an independent office that answers equally to both branches of government. The legal battle also led the council to launch an internal audit investigation into City Attorney Lauren Keefe over an alleged conflict of interest. Councilors said Keefe sidelined the council’s legal interests while working alongside Keller’s administration to challenge council-approved mandates.
The council is expected to discuss the proposal further, and Champine said it is still a “thought process,” meaning additional amendments could be added as discussions continue. If the measure passes the council, it would still need final approval from Burque voters in the General Election.