Albuquerque mayoral hopeful Patrick Sias, who some have called Albuquerque’s George Santos, will not be on the ballot this November.
Sais has been disqualified from the Albuquerque mayoral race after failing to submit the required number of valid signatures on his nominating petition, according to the New Mexico Bureau of Elections.
Sias submitted his declaration of candidacy and petition pages on Sept. 2, but a review by the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office determined that he did not meet the requisite threshold of 3,000 completed signatures required to run for Mayor of Albuquerque.
“Mr. Patrick Sias did not meet the requisite number of completed signatures on his nominating petition pages to meet the required threshold of 3,000 to run for City of Albuquerque mayor,” said Nathan Jaramillo, Bureau of Elections Administrator. “Therefore, he was subsequently disqualified to be a candidate by the Bernalillo County Clerk’s office.”
The disqualification comes after Sias’ candidacy had already drawn scrutiny for false biographical claims on his campaign website.
In August, City Desk ABQ reported that Sias’s campaign website falsely claimed he was “Elected to City Council” in 2018 and that he “earned his degree in Political Science from the University of New Mexico,” among other fabricated credentials.
The investigation found that Sias had never been elected to the city council, with no municipal elections held in 2018, and that he actually attended PIMA Medical School, not UNM. His website also featured endorsements from individuals whose names and occupations changed between different pages of the same site.
When confronted by City Desk about the false information, Sias blamed “youngsters” who built his website and said he was unaware of the fabricated claims until contacted by City Desk ABQ. The pattern of false biographical claims drew comparisons to former New York Representative George Santos, who was expelled from Congress for similar fabrications.
Sais’ campaign site no longer has false claims about his education and political experience, but still features the same endorsements.
Sias is no stranger to New Mexico politics, having run unsuccessfully for Albuquerque mayor as a write-in candidate in 2021, finishing last among four candidates. He also lost races for State House District 26 in 2022 and 2024.
Under New Mexico Statute NMSA 1978, §1-22-10, filing officers are responsible for determining whether candidates are registered to vote in the appropriate jurisdiction and whether nominating petitions contain sufficient valid signatures. The 3,000-signature requirement for mayoral candidates represents a significant threshold designed to demonstrate substantial community support.
The disqualification removes Sias from consideration for Albuquerque’s top municipal office, which oversees the state’s largest city with a population of more than 560,000 residents.
In related municipal election news, Jaemes Shanley has qualified as a write-in candidate for Albuquerque City Council District 7. Shanley faces incumbent Tammy Fiebelkorn in the Nov. 4 election.
On his campaign site, Shanley outlined a seven-point platform calling for council members to prioritize issues based on their citywide impact, make fact-based decisions, communicate proactively with constituents before voting, commit to ordinances that measurably improve problems, conduct rigorous due diligence, demand accountability for major expenditures and maintain an unwavering commitment to making Albuquerque economically thriving, socially cohesive, sustainably managed and visually consistent with its heritage.
The mayoral race features several candidates, including incumbent Tim Keller, who is seeking an unprecedented third term, along with former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White, retired Fire Chief Eddie Varela, former U.S. Attorney Alex Uballez and City Councilor Louie Sanchez, among others.