State Sen. Carraro Pushes for Paseo Cash

2005-07-07

A state senator has asked the Attorney General's Office to determine whether Gov. Bill Richardson can place conditions on money meant for extending Paseo del Norte across the Petroglyph National Monument.
State Sen. Joe Carraro, R-Albuquerque and Rio Rancho, said he had given the governor's staff an Aug. 1 deadline to release the funding before making an official inquiry.
A spokesman for the governor's office said a decision will be announced next week.
"He is having intensive meetings on the issue with all sides," Richardson spokesman Pahl Shipley said, "virtually every day."
In March, Richardson placed four conditions on $3.3 million in legislative funding for Paseo, including a new vote by the City Council on the road extension, a plan to protect the monument, consideration of alternatives, and a guarantee the project is "legally defensible."
Carraro said Richardson earlier "had asked me to work with him on it" and predicted "a positive result," but has since delayed taking action on the issue.
"We need this decision" from the Attorney General's Office, Carraro said.
The city had deducted the amount from Paseo funding in the upcoming Nov. 2 road bond issue and applied it for other projects, and Carraro said the governor's decision could impact that election.
The Attorney General's Office has not issued an opinion, but the request may be considered moot if the governor agrees to issue the money, according to an official.
"It's being reviewed," said chief deputy attorney general Stuart Bluestone said of Carraro's Aug. 17 request.
Shipley said Carraro's letter to the attorney general was "his prerogative as a legislator."
Richardson has said the city has met most of his conditions, and had last said he would announce his decision after the Democratic National Convention in late July.
"Thousands of West Side residents have transportation needs," Richardson said in a July press conference at the Petroglyph National Monument. "We can't study this issue to death."
Supporters of the 1,200-foot road extension say Paseo is vital to relieve West Side congestion. Opponents argue that it cuts into sacred space in the monument and would benefit developers.
Albuquerque Mayor Martin Ch\'e1vez said he is confident the governor is working on it and would release the money soon.
"We're going to get it," Ch\'e1vez said. "I just know we are. One, we're legally entitled to it and two, we satisfied all of the conditions that he set out. We have satisfied them all."
The mayor said Carraro "would be better served by keeping his powder dry."
Carraro said regardless of the governor's decision it has set a precedent for him to place conditions on future funding and the attorney general needs to issue an opinion.
The money had been appropriated by Republican legislators, including senators from the Northeast Heights.
"They went out on a limb for me," Carraro said.
He said West Siders have been concerned about the money and have been questioning Richardson's authority to withhold it.
"I don't know what he thinks, what he hopes to gain, by withholding his decision," said Paseo proponent Larry Weaver, who is head of the Paradise Hills Civic Association. "It's going to have to be made sooner or later."
Opponents to the Paseo extension last week said they expect Richardson — who had given $2 million in capital outlay for the Unser alignment through the monument — to make his decision based on voters' rejection of the city's 2003 road bonds.
excerpts from The Albuquerque Journal, Article by Andrea Schoellkopf