Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson listens to public testimony during a past board meeting. Benson is urging residents to weigh in before commissioners vote on whether to put a voluntary public financing proposal on the November ballot. (Jesse Jones) Credit: Jesse Jones

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By Jesse Jones, The Paper. — Voters in Bernalillo County may get a chance to decide this November whether their tax dollars should help fund campaigns for county offices.

The Bernalillo County Board of Commissioners will hold a public hearing and final vote Tuesday, Aug. 11, on three companion measures. The package would place a proposed voluntary public financing program for County Commission and countywide candidates, such as sheriff, assessor, treasurer and county clerk, before voters Nov. 3. Commissioner Eric Olivas sponsors the package, which the board advanced unanimously June 23 with Commissioner Walt Benson excused. Benson told The Paper. on Monday that he would have voted against it, although that would not have changed the outcome.

Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson listens to public testimony during a past board meeting. Benson is urging residents to weigh in before commissioners vote on whether to put a voluntary public financing proposal on the November ballot. (Jesse Jones)
Bernalillo County Commissioner Walt Benson listens to public testimony during a past board meeting. Benson is urging residents to weigh in before commissioners vote on whether to put a voluntary public financing proposal on the November ballot. (Jesse Jones) Credit: Jesse Jones

The package includes a charter amendment authorizing an “Open and Ethical Elections Ordinance” alongside two administrative resolutions. The first sets the ballot language for the Nov. 3 election. The second outlines a yearlong design process if voters approve the amendment. Under that plan, the Code of Conduct Review Board would consult experts, research best practices and develop options with nonvoting representatives from the county manager, county attorney and county clerk’s offices. The county manager would also project the program’s six-year budget impact before the board submits final recommendations by Aug. 31, 2027. Public hearings would follow before the county could adopt final rules.

Olivas said the goal is “to limit the influence of large donors, big money, corporate PACs” and give candidates more time to talk with voters. The proposed system would draw from Albuquerque’s public financing program, which has operated since 2005. It allows candidates to receive public funds after collecting $5 qualifying contributions from residents and agreeing to campaign spending limits.

Benson has since raised concerns about the proposal. In a July 19 opinion piece, he called the six-week timeline rushed and pointed to Albuquerque’s program — where Mayor Tim Keller, the only candidate who qualified for public financing, received nearly $756,000 in public funds — as a sign of the potential cost to the county. Benson urged residents to sign up for public comment before Tuesday’s vote, saying the timeline leaves “very little time to explain to voters what the limited language on the ballot would mean on an already crowded general election ballot.” In a press release, he also cited Starlyn Brown, president of the League of Women Voters of Central New Mexico, who questioned asking voters to approve the concept before a cost analysis exists. 

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Jesse Jones is a reporter covering local government and news for The Paper. through a local journalism fellowship from NM Reports.

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