There were no new faces at the Wednesday, Oct. 5 City Council meeting. The day before in the municipal election, incumbent Councilors Brad Winter and Trudy Jones beat two candidates vying for their seats. Councilors Debbie O’Malley and Rey Garduño faced no opposition.City Clerk Amy Bailey gave a brief update on the election. She said there were a few problems with computer networks on election day, but they were handled quickly. The Oct. 4 municipal election was the first to allow folks to vote at any of 49 centers. It was a packed meeting, but noticeably absent were the dozens of people who have regularly showed up to request a Department of Justice investigation into Albuquerque police. Instead, electronic signs and a special tax assessment district for the Volcano Cliffs area drew a few people to the meeting.There was a lot of talk about the electronic sign ordinance but no action. The Council postponed a vote after confusing floor amendments were slung about and attendees expressed a range of opinions on the bright, blinking signs. Some commenters pointed out LEDs use less power. Others said the lights distract drivers. One veterinarian said his electronic signs promote healthy pet messages. The topic will be picked up at a future meeting. Councilors also deferred rolling back the city’s green building code [“Building Code Backpedal,” Oct. 6-12].
Council Watch:
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