November 29, 2005

Good soldiers rewarded

Mayor Martin Chavez today announced the key members of his administration.

Chavez seems big on rewarding loyalty, which isn't a surprise. You'd want people working for you who actually want to be along for the ride.

Still, the benefits of working on the mayor's successful reelection campaign are continuing to show.

The two newest members of the mayor's staff include two recent college graduates -- Scott Forrester and Tony Pedroncelli, the latter of whom was the mayor's deputy campaign manager.

After the election, they both jumped over to help Chavez-supporter Tina Cummins in her City Council run-off election.

Not so successful there.

Bruce Perlman, the city's new Chief Administrative Officer, has long been a Chavez supporter. Today he called Chavez the city's greatest mayor. And he believes it, something he showed with his pocketbook. He was a $2,600 donor to the Chavez campaign.

And just this evening a reader pointed to this detail: Perlman was the original treasurer of ABQPAC, the political action committee that became a scandal in the mayor's second term after it accepted improper contributions, including from contractors seeking city business.

On Wednesday Chavez names his next term's department directors. Stay tuned.

In the mean time, here's a question: Do the people the mayor chooses make a difference in how the city operates? Let me know your thoughts.