District 1’s new councilor is breaking from tradition before she even takes her first vote

Albuquerque’s newest city councilor is starting with a simple idea: setting up an office in the district she represents.

Stephanie Telles, the new councilor for the city’s Westside District 1, said she asked for office space in her district to make herself more accessible to constituents who struggle to get downtown to City Hall. When she raised the idea with city council staff, “nobody’s ever asked us that before,” Telles said.

Telles, a forensic accountant and fraud examiner, won a Dec. 9 runoff with 60% of the vote to fill the seat vacated by Louie Sanchez, who ran for mayor. Her election gives women six of the council’s nine seats for the first time in city history, joining Brook Bassan, Klarissa Peña, Nichole Rogers, Tammy Fiebelkorn and Renée Grout.

Telles will cast her first votes Monday as the council considers a packed agenda, including a vote on whether to override Mayor Tim Keller’s veto of a budget transparency ordinance. The decision could be Telles’ first test on fiscal accountability, which she has identified as her top priority.

“If we’re looking to invest in new projects and new initiatives that will address public safety in ways that can actually make a difference, we have to make sure that we have the funds to do that,” Telles said. “One of my big things is really to deep dive into what our city budget looks like.”

Transparency and data

To boost transparency, Telles said she wants a public “city checkbook” dashboard that shows vendor payments, tracks contract milestones and scores performance on major projects, giving residents easy access to information without filing records requests.

“A lot of this is obviously public record that can be requested at any time,” Telles said. “But why does the public have to do that extra work to put it all together?”

Telles said she wants contract scorecards that show whether projects stay on scope, meet deadlines and deliver promised results. She said any budget increases should be “tied to proven performance” or come with documented plans to fix problems.

She also said she wants stricter procurement oversight, including public explanations for sole-source or emergency contracts and clearer tracking of contract changes.

In December, the council voted 8-1 on a budget oversight ordinance. Mayor Tim Keller vetoed it Dec. 30, citing City Charter conflicts and urging a conference committee. The measure would require detailed budget documents and give council staff read-only access to financial systems. The council could override Monday with six votes.

Before tackling homelessness, housing and public safety in District 1, Telles said she wants the data first. She said she needs vacancy rates for Albuquerque Community Safety positions and clear data on shelter voucher effectiveness and service use. 

Without access to that information, Telles said, councilors cannot make informed decisions.

“It’s the information to intelligence pipeline,” she said.

On homelessness along the Coors Boulevard corridor, Telles said the Westside Emergency Housing Center shuttle needs improvement. The shelter sits about 13 miles from Central and Coors, and shuttle pickups only go downtown and to the International District.

“If they can’t get there, those services are going to be left unused,” she said.

Telles said her public safety approach starts with meeting basic needs. “When folks have what they need, they’re more likely to be in a stabilized position,” she said. “We don’t want folks to have to seek out harmful community.”

Housing and influence

Telles pointed to her own experience to highlight rising housing costs. 

She and her husband bought their Westside home in 2017 for $170,000. Today, similar homes appraise for $300,000 to $350,000.

“If we were to try to buy our exact same house today, we wouldn’t be able to do it,” she said.

Telles said she is exploring down payment assistance, credit counseling and permitting reforms to make “missing middle” housing more affordable. She also said she wants to identify surplus city and county land for community land trusts and is still gathering information.

As the newest member of the nine-person council, Telles said she plans to build influence through “candor,” “empathy” and finding common ground with colleagues who may disagree with her.

She said she is open to committee assignments where her fraud examination background would be useful and has met with former Councilor Louie Sanchez to review ongoing capital projects, including the Southwest Safety Complex, Cibola Loop facilities and the Ken Sanchez indoor sports complex.

Her six-month goal is simple: “That they were heard and that I was accessible to them, and that the things that are important to them became important to me.”

Telles, the former head of the state auditor’s Government Accountability Office, begins a four-year term representing the central Westside, from Central Avenue north to Paseo del Norte.

At her swearing-in, she quoted her late mother’s prayer book, saying, “Nothing is so strong as gentleness and nothing is so gentle as real strength.”