Personnel Matters, A Lot

At the crowded March 21 meeting, Councilor Craig Loy’s ordinance setting fines for drivers running red lights passed, as did Councilor Tina Cummins’ ordinance bringing Albuquerque residential building codes in line with water conservation standards now required by state codes. During public comment, nine representatives of city unions spoke about the Labor Relations Board “taking years” to decide cases and said the city had a double standard in treatment for workers and management.

But first—not just a witness for the prosecution, but the prosecution itself. A recent “Council Watch” mentioned the court martial of Maj. Catherine Kaus, who commanded an Ohio National Guard unit transporting fuel from Kuwait into Iraq, for “scrounging spare parts and abandoned vehicles for her command.” I was contacted by First Lt. Anthony J. Salazar, who identified himself as Kaus’ prosecutor. Objecting to media depictions of Kaus as a hero, Salazar said she “directed her soldiers to steal vehicles from other units … strip them … and abandon the stolen vehicles” and showed disdain for the units thus robbed. Salazar said, “Maj. Kaus had the opportunity to get more equipment legitimately and she chose the easy, sleazy route.”