Keller sweeps high dollar race to be ABQ’s next mayor

State Auditor Tim Keller landed strong in his bid to be Albuquerque’s next mayor, sweeping up just under 62 percent of the vote last night in an election with large turnout for Albuquerque — 29 percent. Keller ran a largely positive campaign, emphasizing along the way grassroots support for his campaign. The only candidate in the race who went for public financing, he raised 6,000 small donations of $5 early in the year to qualify for public funding. He noted in his victory speech the positive nature of his campaign, saying he had “rejected division.”

His positive campaign overcame negative ads charging he was soft on sex offenders and numerous ethics complaints filed by his political opponents. As a publicly financed candidate he was in the middle of the pack financially, in what was the most expensive mayoral race in Albuquerque, ever.

ABQ immigrant and refugee leaders: Relationship with next mayor is critical

As Albuquerque heads into a runoff election next week to choose its future mayor, local immigrant and refugee advocates stress that having a positive relationship with Albuquerque’s next mayor is very important to the wellbeing of their communities. New Mexico In Depth spoke with leaders of four nonprofit organizations who work with immigrants and refugees about what’s at stake as the city nears the final vote on who will be its next mayor. A range of issues were mentioned: family unity, worker’s rights and skills development, safety, and breaking down institutional racism perpetuated by city practices and policies. All stressed the need for a mayor who cares about immigrants and refugees. Andrea Plaza, Encuentro and Fabiola Bawden, El Centro de Igualdad y Derechos

“The leadership in the city sets the tone for the attitude and approach to working with the immigrant community, and if that tone is a positive one, then the business community can fall in line, the educational community, the health community,” said Andrea Plaza, executive director of Encuentro, an organization that provides education and skill development for immigrants.

Three years after attack, urban Indian population remains vulnerable

ALBUQUERQUE – With cuts and bruises on his face, back and shoulders, Jerome Eskeets frantically told police about the violent assault he barely survived the night before. In his 30s, Eskeets had been sleeping in an empty lot on Albuquerque’s west side with friends and relations, Allison Gorman and Kee Thompson, who like Eskeets were Diné, as members of the Navajo Nation call themselves. Soon after talking to Eskeets, police found Gorman’s and Thompson’s bludgeoned bodies. The 2014 crime shocked Albuquerque, the state and occasionally made national news as the cases against the three defendants eventually arrested in the brutal killings — youths Alex Rios, Nathaniel Carrillo and Gilbert Tafoya — worked their way through the court system. Three years later, the judicial system is nearing an end to the case.

Candidates question value of Mayor Berry’s ‘groundbreaking’ ABQ crime report

The “groundbreaking research” Albuquerque Mayor Richard Berry commissioned on crime — the city’s No. 1 issue — may sit on a shelf unused when his successor takes office Dec. 1. Why? The two candidates headed for a mayoral runoff election next month, two-term Republican city councilor Dan Lewis and Democratic state Auditor Tim Keller, said the information about crime concentration likely won’t guide their crime-fighting plans if elected.

Albuquerque progressive voters show up on election day

Albuquerque progressive voters came out in force yesterday, giving State Auditor Tim Keller, a Democrat, just shy of 40 percent of the vote among eight competitors in the city’s mayoral election. Keller will face off in a runoff election Nov. 14 against Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis, who came in second with 22.93 percent. The two were frontrunners in a race shaped early as a battle between a lone publicly financed candidate — Keller — backed by small donors, labor and progressive organizations, and three privately financed candidates who together raised almost $2 million — Lewis, County Commissioner Wayne Johnson and attorney Brian Colón. Turnout was higher than the city has seen in well over a decade, around 25 percent.

ABQ political groups spending down in final stretch to election day

Heading into the final weekend before Albuquerque’s municipal election on Tuesday, some independent political groups have spent most of the total money they’ve collected while others haven’t spent any, according to a review of financial reports filed today. It’s possible that an influx of money will enter the race in the final hours before the election, with associated attack ads, robocalls, and mailers. But here’s a rundown of the money to date reported by the 2017 measure finance committees — how much they’ve raised and how much they still have on hand to date. Albuquerque Coalition for a Healthy Economy and Realtors Association of New Mexico Education Public on Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, has raised $218,247, with $51,016 remaining in its account heading into the weekend. This group was created to oppose the sick leave ordinance.

Money out, Money in: Candidates return money to city contractors, then their owners give

Albuquerque bans contributions to candidates for elective office from businesses or individuals who make money from city contracts, but that doesn’t prevent owners of those companies from giving to candidates in a different way. The practice is on stark display in a recent campaign report filed by mayoral candidate Brian Colón, who returned contributions from several companies with city contracts on September 12 and then accepted contributions from the owners of those companies about a week later. Owners are allowed to give as individuals or through other companies they own. In his report filed September 22, Colón showed he had returned contributions from contractors identified previously to him by KOB Channel 4, reported by KOB on September 19. The report also reflected that Colón had accepted contributions from the owners of those companies, as either individuals or through their other companies.

Second Santolina backed group goes after ABQ council candidates

A new Santolina backed political committee popped up an electronic billboard and sent out mailers on Albuquerque’s west side late last week to support the re-election bid of City Councilor Ken Sanchez. Energize Albuquerque filed a campaign report showing a $20,000 contribution from Western Albuquerque Land Holdings, the company seeking to create a massive master planned community in far west Bernalillo County that would be called Santolina. Over the past two weeks, another committee backed in part by Santolina developer Jeff Garrett, called Make Albuquerque Safe, blanketed the city with negative ads against mayoral candidate Tim Keller. Both Energize Albuquerque and Make Albuquerque Safe are helmed by Denise Romero, Chairperson, and Donna Taylor, Treasurer. NM In Depth reached out to Donna Taylor, whose email is listed on the committee report, and Garrett, to ask them why they support Sanchez.

UPDATED: Santolina developer behind sex offender ads against Tim Keller

It doesn’t get much darker in the annals of Albuquerque negative political campaigning. More than a week ago, a mysterious group began running an ad on the city’s television stations. The first image is of State Auditor and Albuquerque mayoral candidate Tim Keller, quickly followed by a dark figure wearing a hoodie. “Sex offender” in bold red letters flashes on the screen before cutting to a backlit child riding a bike. Billboards later sprung up in the city.

Video: Federal sting draws responses in ABQ mayor’s race

Criticism of a massive undercover drug- and gun-crime sting spilled into the Albuquerque mayoral race last week, when candidates were pressed about a 2016 federal law enforcement operation that netted a disproportionate number of black people. It was a serious question, made all the more serious by the man asking: Joe Powdrell, a longtime local activist past president of the local chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), which sponsored the Sept. 8 forum. The operation has drawn community and legal scrutiny for alleged racial profiling and for scooping up many who did not fit the “worst of the worst” profile trumpeted by federal officials after New Mexico In Depth investigations. Picking up on the alleged racial targeting, Powdrell asked the candidates “where your head is at in terms of this biased policing.”

Only three of the seven candidates who attended the forum addressed the sting directly.