Albuquerque vs. Phoenix governance and population

With efforts underway in the City of Albuquerque to change to a City Manager/weak mayor form of government (which Phoenix has), there has been a good deal of back-and-forth in the media comparing Phoenix and Albuquerque.

Advocates of the governance change say Albuquerque’s “strong mayor” system is hurting the City while others say that is not the case. We don’t have a position on that governance issue, but DO want to see a vote and robust debate on the issue, especially if one of the focal points is the superior growth of Phoenix relative to Albuquerque.

We believe that the primary difference is the massive difference in economic freedom and educational freedom with Arizona being more economically-free than New Mexico.  If New Mexico (or Albuquerque) wants to compete with Arizona (or Phoenix) it must change the Legislature and elect better governors in ways that emphasize economic growth and educational freedom.