Jesse Jones, Author at City Desk ABQ

Women now hold the majority of Albuquerque City Council seats as Peña takes presidency

A month after nearly losing her Albuquerque City Council seat, Klarissa Peña is back at the helm. The council elected Peña president in a 5-4 vote over Joaquín Baca. The same five councilors — Peña, Dan Champine, Renée Grout, Dan Lewis and outgoing President Brook Bassan — voted to install the new leadership. In separate […]

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 […]

Firefighters agreed to the Sheriff’s drug testing demands but still can’t fly

Sheriff John Allen said he removed Bernalillo County firefighters from the Metro Air Support Unit because they refused to meet his drug testing standards, but county records show firefighters agreed to those same standards in July and the sheriff still has not allowed them back on the unit. Allen quietly pulled firefighters from the helicopter […]

New female-majority council to pick president, consider veto override in first 2026 meeting

The Albuquerque City Council is scheduled to choose a new council president and vice-president at its first meeting of the year tonight, a day after Mayor Tim Keller’s historic third consecutive inauguration and swearing in five councilors, including one newcomer. Stephanie Telles, who won the December runoff in District 1, joins returning councilors Klarissa Peña […]

What Alex Uballez discovered about Albuquerque politics (and himself) running for mayor

“To move to a world in which so much operates off of power, off of money, off of favors and relationships that circle around power — to see it up close is different…” Six weeks after finishing third in Albuquerque’s crowded mayoral race, Alex Uballez sat down with City Desk on the patio outside Ex […]

Who showed up to vote in ABQ? Data shows City’s runoff election defied voter fatigue

Correction, Dec. 22, 2025: An earlier version of this story contained significant errors in district-level turnout figures. The story incorrectly stated that District 3 cast 13,908 ballots and had the highest turnout, and that District 7 had the lowest turnout. District 3 precincts actually cast 7,075 total ballots, the lowest of any council district. District […]

Crime down, trust low: Medina exits APD after rocky 5 years

Albuquerque Police Chief Harold Medina will retire Dec. 31, ending a five-year run defined by controversy. Medina announced his decision on Wednesday and told APD commanders during his final staff meeting on Tuesday, according to a city press release. His tenure included a crash that seriously injured a civilian, a City Desk investigation that found […]

Council president seeks investigation into city attorney in latest chapter of lawsuit between council, mayor enters 2nd year

Albuquerque City Council President Brook Bassan is asking investigators to determine whether City Attorney Lauren Keefe violated conflict-of-interest rules by siding with Mayor Tim Keller’s lawyers in a months-long legal dispute over fire department staffing. The council voted unanimously Monday to add the investigation request to the Jan. 5 agenda for formal consideration, following a […]

Council forces budget transparency after year-long fight with Keller administration

After a year of negotiations and resistance from the Keller administration, the Albuquerque City Council voted 8-1 Monday night to overhaul how the city builds its $1.5 billion budget and require the mayor to give council more insight into how programs and staff perform. The changes introduce new transparency rules designed to provide residents with […]

National Guard quietly “winding down” APD aid this week

Six months after National Guard troops began assisting the Albuquerque Police Department in an unprecedented move, the city confirmed Tuesday the program is winding down this week — though officials never publicly announced the conclusion of the more than $2 million effort. Asked by City Desk, APD spokesman Gilbert Gallegos confirmed in an email late […]