Yesterday I was brought to tears by the ceremony to honor the first responders to the Ben E. Kieth shooting, so many heroes! We all should be so ever grateful for all the men and women who put their lives on the line for us each and every day!
I love the leadership that Mayor Tim Keller has brought to Albuquerque! Do I have to remind you of the mess that he inherited? The former Mayor and City Council left him a huge lump of coal. The huge budget deficit, Soaring Crime rate, Understaffed Police Force, The horrible ART project, the buses have had to be returned because of failing brakes!!! What a job he and his administration have done to turn the city around!!! PTL!!! Another thing that was pointed out yesterday at the News Conference to honor the first resoponders from the Ben E. Keith shooter incident was how Mayor Keller has helped bring the city and county together to fight crime. One of the best moves by the Mayor was to hire Mike Geier as Police Chief! Chief Geier has done an outstanding job of reshaping our Police Force to be more effective in fighting crime. I am so encouraged! I have been in Albuquerque since 1995, not long I know, but I have never seen this much positive news coming out of City Hall.
There will be rough spots of course, but that is expected in all of our lives. What I see right now is a Mayor that is willing to work with everybody. That is what we need in our cities, counties, states and in Washington D.C.
Below you will find two reports on yesterdays honoring of first responders, first from the Albuquerque Police department and then from the ABQ Journal:
This morning, the first responders from the Ben E. Keith active shooter incident were honored for their quick response and cross-agency teamwork.
Members from the Albuquerque Police Department, Albuquerque Fire Rescue, Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Office, Bernalillo County Fire Department, Albuquerque Ambulance, UNM Hospitals, and New Mexico State Police received challenge coins for their heroics throughout the incident.
Frontier Restaurant and Starbucks donated breakfast burritos and coffee for a reception following the ceremony.
