Mayor Tim Keller made history tonight, defeating former Sheriff Darren White to become the first Albuquerque mayor to win three straight four-year terms since the city adopted its current mayoral system in the mid-1970s.
With all of the absentee and early votes cast, Keller emerged with an early 58%-41% lead according to unofficial results from the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office.
Keller’s win capped a monthlong runoff focused on crime, homelessness and the city’s direction after his eight years in office. No mayor has won three consecutive terms under the current system; former Mayor Martin Chávez served three terms, but not back-to-back.
“We’re gonna be taking the city into a new decade,” Keller told City Desk ABQ just before polls closed. “We want to see fewer, much, much fewer people on the street. We want to see folks getting help and into housing, and we want to see a safer city, a city where people all over in every neighborhood feel safe to go out and to walk around and shop.”
Turnout appeared to top 128,000 voters, approaching November’s 134,000, according to county clerk data.
The runoff followed Nov. 4, when no candidate cleared 50%. Keller led with 46,991 votes (36%) and White had 40,783 (31%). The 44,400 voters who backed five eliminated candidates — led by former U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez at 18% — became central to both campaigns.
Keller held advantages in polling and fundraising. An October GBAO poll for Ascend ABQ PAC showed him ahead 45% to 38%.
As the only publicly financed candidate, he raised $377,973, while White relied on private fundraising. Political action committees spent more than $236,000 in the runoff. Ascend Albuquerque spent $101,167 supporting Keller.
Groups backing White — the Albuquerque Coalition for Transformation and National Association of REALTORS Fund ($101,847), Change ABQ ($9,950) and New ABQ ($23,504) — spent $135,301, according to city campaign finance reports.
Crime and homelessness defined the campaign. Keller cited falling homicides and expanded services, saying, “real change takes time.” White called homicides “a crisis, not a comeback” and pledged to remove tent cities “on day one.”
Keller will be sworn in Jan. 1 for a four-year term through 2029.
Albuquerque residents must like a Mayor who cares more for Everyone else but the Americans…. So sad, just sucks I couldn’t vote being I live in Paradise Hills they say we aren’t in the district which makes no sense… Darren White should’ve Won… We Needed Change….But no back to the “Old”
I’m so excited to see homeless encampments flourish for four more years (eight, twelve)?
More proof that abandoning Albuquerque and New Mexico back during the COVID lockdown fiasco in 2020 was absolutely the right move. Beautiful place, incredibly stupid and short sighted people. I wish I could blame the politicians, but after living there for 28 years, it is abslutley the voters’ fault. Cograts ALbuquerque, your race to the bottom is complete.
So much to love about this city but every day brings me closer to calling it quits and moving out. Unfortunately, the whole country seems to be headed to government elected by uninformed, emotional voters.
Thank you for the article.I respect the opinions above. If you don’t vote, you can’t expect change.
Puzzled that SmartTX left NM for Texass and is still complaining.
I cannot wait for the day I get out of this third world toulet. This used to be a lovely place to live, ’til the progressives ruined it.
Abq does need work. A lot of it. But electing a Trump sycophant is not going to move the work in the right direction. We’ve seen with Trumps’ 2nd, disastrous term in office that crackdowns don’t bring submission, they bring protests and division. His cruelty to people of color and particularly immigrants of color is blatantly racist, regressive and nonproductive. White is speaking along those same lines. Scary.