Help Support Housing Affordability for All | |
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by Sharla Parsons and Alex Applegate
Housing is a focal point of two crises that affect everyone in Albuquerque, not just the people who are unhoused. The first crisis is the lack of available homes (the second crisis, the climate crisis, is discussed below). The Urban Land Institute argues that there is a shortage of 32,000 rental units in Albuquerque and that the city needs to build 20,000 housing units within five years. However, 68% of the city is zoned R1, or si zoning, which creates huge limits on where homes that we desperately need can be built
The Missing Middle
Rent for a one-bedroom apartment has risen 40% since 2020, and housing prices have followed a similar trajectory, rising 33% from 2020. With most of the land zoned as single-family only, there is almost no inventory for the more affordable alternatives like duplexes and other higher density options, creating what is called “the missing middle.” These types of options not only allow those starting out to afford to buy homes but also allows them to build wealth that they can then use later in their lives and is a huge factor in closing the racial wealth gap that was created by systemically racist housing policies prior to the Fair Housing Act of 1968.
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Single Family Homes are the Leading Cause of our Climate Crisis
The transportation sector of the US economy is the largest (according to the USDOT) and fastest growing (according to the EPA) contributor to climate change, accounting for one-third of greenhouse gasses in the United States. The major component of this is the proliferation of single-family homes and the resulting reliance on automobiles for transportation. A single-family suburban home produces 21 metric tons of emissions from transportation and heating, while a high-density home produces only 6 metric tons per year. If we are serious about ending our climate crisis, we must make changes to gently move our city towards a denser housing pattern. This is where the proposed IDO changes will guide us.
Denser Housing Requires Less Car Traffic
Studies have shown that single-family homes require more cars than the duplexes that the new IDO changes would allow by a factor of a third. Why does this take place? Denser housing creates a more walkable and bikeable community attractive to small businesses, who rely on the increased local traffic that these communities create. The more businesses near such communities, the less people drive for their every need. Reduced car traffic encourages more people to walk or bike, further decreasing car traffic in a positive feedback loop.
Decreasing Neighborhood Traffic, Decreases City Traffic
In Albuquerque, over two-thirds of residents live in single-family homes, and this reliance on single-family homes and the resulting car traffic has made Albuquerque the second most dangerous city in the nation for pedestrians and bicyclists. As these IDO Changes decrease traffic in neighborhoods, we decrease the congestion across the entire city, thereby making it safer for cyclists and pedestrians across the city. This will encourage more such activity, further decreasing traffic and further decreasing the city’s contribution to climate change.
The IDO Changes Move us in the Correct Direction
The City of Albuquerque’s Housing Forward ABQ (with its goal to create 5,000 new housing units by 2025) explains the IDO zoning changes here. The changes include:
- Converting motels, hotels, and commercial office spaces into long-term housing units
- Allowing for and development of “accessory dwelling units” (ADUs), or “casitas” as we know them locally, in established residential areas
- Allowing the development of duplexes in previously single-family-only zones.
- Encouraging development of more mixed-income and market-rate housing, expanding the “missing middle” sector of rentals and owned homes.
- Reducing the parking requirements (which can account for 10 to 20% of rent of an apartment, even if the renter does not have a car).
- Changing some building height restrictions where appropriate to allow for more residential housing within the city.
- Eliminate building heights in certain restricted areas to remove a restriction that prevents the building of multifamily dwellings.
- Limit short-term rentals (AirBnB type rentals) to promote the long-term stability of Albuquerque’s Housing Market.
We, Democrats, should support these efforts and refuse to succumb to NIMBYism. These gentle changes will not adversely affect our neighborhoods. On the contrary, they will decrease traffic and make neighborhoods safer for our children while decreasing the stress that housing insecurity causes our cities and creating practical steps we can effectively take to help end our climate crisis. We urge you to support these changes.
How You Can Support the IDO Changes
We are at a vital stage for the IDO changes. The City Council is meeting to introduce these proposed changes on June 5th. You can do two things to support these changes:
- Attend the June 21st meeting in person or via ZOOM and let them know that you support the changes during the general public comment period. The link to sign up to speak and the Zoom link will be on the agenda as soon as it is released: https://cabq.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx
- Call or email your City Councilor NOW before the meeting and let them know that you support O-22-54. Send to the Clerk of the Council- [email protected] and you can also send to your individual City Councilor.
Let’s show up in favor of housing affordability for ALL New Mexicans!
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Help Friends and Family Register to Vote with Voterizer | |
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With city council and school board member campaigns kicking into high gear, now's the time to make sure your friends, family, neighbors, and coworkers are registered to vote. Here's how — with an assist from Voterizer:
- Click the image above and download it to your phone. If that's not working, you can also download the full-size image here. (You can last week's Bans Off Our Bodies image here and the previous Pride-themed image here.)
- Set the image as your phone's lock screen. Here are the instructions for Android phones and for iPhones.
- Whenever you come across someone who needs to register to vote, confirm their registration, or update it, take out your phone and have them scan the QR code in the image. (As long as they fill out the electronic forms themselves, you don't need to be a Voter Registration Agent.)
The best way to support Democrats is by making sure we show up for elections. So, download the image right now and make sure every eligible voter you know is registered to vote!
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Making the Blue Review With Daniel Alfredo Francis Garcia | |
Daniel Alfredo Francis Garcia | |
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The Blue Review comes to you weekly from a team of Bernalillo County Democrats led by DPBC Chair Marisol Enriquez. While some of us, like myself and Lance Chilton, get regular bylines recognizing our contributions, others do their work without receiving the acknowledgment they deserve.
For instance, take our newsletter tech, Daniel Alfredo Francis Garcia. The 29-year-old helps put together the Blue Review every Monday. He whisks together written articles, images, and other design elements to craft the final product that ends up in our readers’ email inboxes every week.
To do this doesn’t just take mastery of programs ranging from WordPress to Constant Contact; it also takes patience, creativity, and a sense of service.
Like many of us, Daniel’s path into politics begins with a teacher — his fourth grade teacher at Los Ranchos Elementary, to be exact.
“She had these encyclopedia books,” Daniel stated in a recent interview with the Blue Review. “And I started getting into them. Then I see these men, and I thought, ‘Who are these men?’”
The section Daniel encountered focused on the Presidents of the United States of America. The first commander-in-chief to catch his eye? President Abraham Lincoln.
“He had strength. He had the strength to free the slaves. He had strength with the Civil War.”
After Lincoln, Daniel quickly set his eyes on President John F. Kennedy.
“He created the Peace Corps [and] dealt with the Cuban Missile Crisis… He had good sides and bad sides, but he wanted to change the United States. He wanted to end segregation and go ahead with the Civil Rights Act.”
In 2008, Daniel’s thirst for knowledge of historical Presidents quickly converted into a fascination with the modern political process. Daniel started paying more attention to President Obama and was wowed by the president’s ability to accomplish big things while channeling the energy of younger voters. And when the 2016 election occurred and “the man I do not want to name” — as Daniel refers to him — won, Daniel learned the presidency is only as good as the person who holds the office.
Then, in 2020, the Biden-Harris ticket inspired Daniel to take action.
“I was watching the debates, and I was hearing [then-presidential candidate Joe Biden] telling [then-president Donald Trump] to ‘shut up,’ and I thought, ‘Wow, [Biden] is tough. And when I was watching the vice presidential candidates [debate], I heard Kamala Harris telling former Vice President Pence to be quiet. And I was thinking, she has guts.”
These experiences led Daniel to find the DPBC website and an ensuing revelation: “I need to do something.”
He signed up to volunteer, and when Chair Enriquez reached out, he hit the ground running. Not only does he serve as the newsletter tech, but he also chairs Precinct 27 and writes daily trivia questions in DPBC’s Slack chat service.
And how does he feel now that his political passions have converted into service?
“You know, volunteering [for the Democratic Party], I love it, and it’s perfect for me.”
If you’re interested in giving your time like Daniel, make sure to fill out our volunteer interest form.
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5 Things We Read, Watched, or Listened to This Week (June 20th Edition) | |
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If you’d like to share an article, book, podcast, video, or another piece of media that impacted you, email us at [email protected] with a link and a quick note about why you want to share it.
1. “After 29 Years on Death Row, Barry Jones Was Dumped at a Bus Station. But He Was Finally Free,” The Intercept
Pull quote: "Two months later, Arizona voters elected a new attorney general, with Democratic candidate Kris Mayes defeating her Republican opponent by just a few hundred votes — one of the closest margins in state history. For Arizona’s death row, the result was literally the difference between life and death."
2. “How much did Congress lose by defunding the IRS? Way more than we thought,” The Washington Post
Pull quote: “For every additional dollar spent auditing people in the top decile of the income distribution, the government can expect to get 12 times that amount back.
Twelve! As any tax-dodging billionaire can attest: It’s pretty hard to beat that return on investment."
3. “Meet the youth attempting to hold Montana to account on climate,” High Country News
Pull quote: “Even if it’s not stated outright, young people hear that their generation must fix the [climate] crisis, and if they don’t, no one knows what will happen next, but it will be worse than anything they’ve experienced so far."
4. “Looming Otero hospital merger with Catholic group could slash reproductive health access," Source NM
Pull quote: “Just because I need medical assistance to start the family of my dreams, does not mean that I’m any less worthy of human dignity or that I’m any less human."
5. “Indian Child Welfare Act Upheld,” What a Day (Podcast)
Pull quote: “You know, from the founding, this country has acknowledged and embedded into the law the unique relationship that it has with native nations, whether that’s in the constitution and treaties and court precedent and laws that Congress passed. And the plaintiffs were asking the Supreme Court to set literally all of that aside. And the Supreme Court said no."
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Help Abby Foster's campaign collect petition signatures! | |
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Abby recently announced she's running for City Council 4 challenging Republican Brook Bassan. Let's help get her on the ballot with enough petition signatures! If you live in City Council District 4 (see map here: https://www.abby4abq.com/district-4) please go online to sign her petition here (https://petitions.cabq.gov/abby-christine-foster).
We have until July 10 to collect over 500 nominating petition signatures. If you want to join us or walk your neighborhood, please call, text or email Penelope @ [email protected] or 505-506-9986.
Our doorknock schedule is:
Wednesdays & Thursdays, 5:30pm-7:30pm
Wednesday, June 21 & Thursday, June 22
o Barstow Park, 7907 Barstow St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Wednesday, June 28 & Thursday, June 29
o Heritage Hills Park, 7015 Ventura Ave NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Wednesday, July 5 and Thursday, July 6
o Sister Cities Park, 6407 McKinney Dr NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Saturdays: June 24, July 1, and July 8, 9:30am-12:30pm
o Jade Park, 6402 San Francisco Rd NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
Sundays: June 25, July 2, and July 9, 4pm-7:30pm
o Stardust Skies Park, 4301 Pennsylvania St NE, Albuquerque, NM 87109
[email protected]
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Jeff Hoehn Petition Signing at Empire Board Game Library | |
City Council District 8 Canvass with Idalia Lechuga-Tena | |
Gathering for Loretta Naranjo Lopez | |
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Saturday, June 24, 2023
Marie Fox, 401 13th Street NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102
Gathering for Loretta Naranjo Lopez for City Councilor to help her qualify for Public Financing.
Walk from 10 to 12 noon and 6 pm to 8 pm. Maps, Petitions and Booklets for $5 to qualify for Public Financing will be provided.
https://www.lorettaforcitycouncilor.com/events
[email protected]
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Saturday District 8 Canvass with Idalia Lechuga-Tena | |
Dinner with Nichole Rogers for City Council | |
West Side Dems - Monthly Meeting | |
BernCo Mountain Dems 1st Thursday Speaker Meeting | |
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Join us as Charlene Pyskoty, former Commissioner of District 5, teaches us about the job of County Commissioner; especially the job of mixing Albuquerque with the needs of the mountains, the eastern unincorporated area of Bernalillo County. It’s more than you think!
Rock Canyon Cider/Carnuel Land Grant Hall
340 NM-333, Tijeras, NM 87059
[email protected]
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A Time to Celebrate One of Our Own | |
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There are many reasons to be thankful for during the summer months, starting with the unofficial start of the season: Memorial Day, honoring the fallen who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces, Independence Day, and later, Labor Day, honoring and recognizing the American labor movement and the works and contributions of laborers to the development and achievements of the United States.
There is yet another reason to be thankful during this time — our own Ivan Pfeifer! Very few realize the dedication Ivan has to the Community. Here are just some of the organizations that benefit from Ivan’s work:
West Side Dems [WSD]
Adelante Progressive Caucus
Democratic Party of Bernalillo County
Environmental Justice Caucus (initial setup)
Fuerza Unidas Caucus
Veterans & Military Families Caucus
Now, how do we celebrate this wonderful man?! A group of friends has arranged a Birthday Party on Sunday, July 9th from 2-5pm at O’Niell’s Pub, located at 4310 Central Ave, SE in Albuquerque. Appetizers and non-alcoholic beverages will be served. Come and join in the celebration and raise a glass to Ivan!
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Help us grow our social media presence | |
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Our social media team has been working hard since January 2023 to create eye-catching, informative TikTok videos about Democratic accomplishments in New Mexico. These videos are pushed to other platforms, including Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.
We've gained 349 followers thus far, but we need to reach 1,000 TikTok followers in order to improve page functionality. You can help!
- Click on the video to check out all our awesome content
- Give us a follow!
- Share with your networks
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Go-to websites for BernCo politics | | | | |
