Should the future of Albuquerque's red-light camera program be left in the hands of voters? One city councilor is making a push to try to get that to happen, and the mayor is not completely ruling out the idea. Since its inception roughly six years ago, the red-light camera program has been a highly contested issue among city leaders and drivers, but it has never been put to a public vote. City councilor Dan Lewis is trying to change that. He has a proposal that would allow voters in October to decide whether to continue the program. "All of the decisions have been made by politicians on this program," Lewis says. "So it's time for the people to decide, it's time for the people to choose whether they want this program or not." Mayor Richard Berry is remaining neutral about the idea of sending the program to the ballot. He's not opposed to it, but also, not committing to it, and will wait to see if the bill ever reaches his desk. Some drivers say the program is fine now that it's in a reduced state. The Mayor got rid of several cameras after a UNM study showed the program actually makes some intersections more dangerous. Other drivers, can't wait to see it on the ballot. Cat Breese was hit and injured by a driver who ran a red-light. Despite that, she still would vote for scrapping the program. "The voters elect the mayor, don't they?" Breese pointed out. "So why not make the decision to keep the red lights or not?" Her friend, Lisa Caragol agrees. She is one of the many recently slapped with a red-light camera ticket. "I think putting it to vote would be a good idea," says Caragol. " I think if it was put to vote it would be done away with, which would be a good thing." At Monday night's city finance meeting, councilors will decide whether to extend the red-light camera contract with Redflex, the Arizona-based company that runs the program. They'll also vote on Lewis' ballot proposal.
