Two Albuquerque City Council candidates will appear on the November ballot after a judge rejected legal challenges to their petition signatures, clearing the way for ballot printing to begin next week.
District 1 candidate Stephanie Telles and District 3 candidate Teresa Garcia faced lawsuits claiming they failed to collect the required 500 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. The challenges were filed by attorney Jacob Candelaria, who argued some signatures were submitted past the collection deadline.
A judge ruled in favor of both candidates, determining they had collected signatures within the proper timeframe of 70 days before election day. The decision gave Telles just enough valid signatures to qualify.
During the hearing, Candelaria voluntarily dismissed the case against Garcia, which the judge approved.
“I feel an overwhelming amount of gratitude,” Telles said after the ruling. “I am grateful to the hundreds of West Siders whose engagement earned my place on the ballot because their voices matter.”
Telles said she maintained confidence in the judicial process throughout the challenge.
“Judge Allison’s ruling confirmed what we knew all along: we had the signatures, we did the work, and intimidation tactics by political insiders don’t hold up in court,” she said.
Garcia characterized the legal challenge as “a desperate attempt by entrenched politicians to control who gets to run for office” and said her campaign collected more than 500 qualifying signatures from neighbors through door-to-door outreach.
“From day one, I knew this lawsuit was nothing more than a desperate attempt by entrenched politicians to control who gets to run for office,” Garcia said in a statement. “That’s the kind of corruption and insider politics that has held our community back for 12 years.”
Both candidates framed the court victory as validation of campaigning efforts.
“This is a win for grassroots campaigns and for Albuquerque voters,” Telles said.
Garcia said the ruling represents “a victory for all of us” and emphasized her campaign’s community organizing efforts.
“Thanks to the dedication of our incredible volunteers, we knocked on over 2,000 doors and gathered more than 500 qualifying signatures from my neighbors to secure a place on the ballot,” Garcia stated.
The legal challenges had threatened to disrupt ballot preparation, but with the cases resolved, election officials can proceed with printing ballots for the November election.
Both candidates are now set to compete in their respective district races, with Garcia facing incumbent opponent Klarissa Peña and Christopher Sedillo in District 3 and Telles facing a trio of challengers for the open District 1 seat.