Jesse Jones, Author at City Desk ABQ

Everything Albuquerque voters need to know about the December runoff

Albuquerque voters will head back to the polls Dec. 9 to decide the mayoral race between the incumbent Democrat Tim Keller and the Republican challenger Darren White and two city council races in Districts 1 and 3. The city charter required a runoff because no candidate got more than 50% of the vote in the […]

A mom’s mission: After losing her daughter in a cycling crash, ABQ mom convinced city council to make traffic laws better for bikes, pedestrians

Days after 19-year-old Kayla Vanlandingham was struck and killed while cycling across Carlisle Boulevard in July, her mother, Melinda Montoya, met with District 7 City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn to ask, “How do we make things better for others?” That question sparked a four-month push that ended Wednesday, Nov. 5, when the Albuquerque City Council unanimously […]

The runoff strategy: Keller plans bipartisan outreach in runoff — while linking White to Trump

Editor’s note: As the dust settled on Tuesday night’s election, City Desk reached out to both mayoral candidates headed to the Dec. 9 runoff election to ask how they plan to forge a path to a majority following a deeply divisive general election. On Thursday, we shared responses from Darren White. Today, we feature Mayor […]

White trails in polls and money—but says 65% of Albuquerque voted for change

Editor’s note: As the dust settled on Tuesday night’s election, City Desk reached out to both mayoral candidates headed to the Dec. 9 runoff election to ask how they plan to forge a path to a majority following a deeply divisive general election. Today, we share responses from Darren White. On Friday, we will include […]

And then there were two: Keller, White head to December runoff for mayor

Mayor Tim Keller and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White are headed to a December runoff after no candidate secured the majority needed to win outright Tuesday. Keller led at 36% and White at 31% with a majority of votes counted at 10 p.m. Since Albuquerque adopted its current mayoral system in the mid-1970s, no […]

Union-backed candidates win 2 of 4 APS board seats, shifting board balance

Teacher union-backed candidates won two of four Albuquerque Public Schools board races Tuesday, with Rebecca Betzen defeating board president Danielle Gonzales and Warigia Bowman winning in District 6. Business-backed candidates held onto seats in Districts 5 and 7, capping the most expensive school board election in district history. The results shift the balance of power […]

Dem. Telles and GOP Neal headed to runoff for Westside council seat

Voters in Albuquerque’s Westside District 1 can keep their campaign yard signs up for another few weeks. Dem. Stephanie Telles and GOP’s Joshua Neal will face off in a December runoff for the District 1 City Council seat after no candidate won a majority Tuesday in the four-way race for the central Westside district. With […]

Lewis wins re-elect, dampening Dem plans for council pickup

City Councilor Dan Lewis held his District 5 seat Tuesday, defeating Democratic challenger Athenea Allen in a contest Democrats had hoped would help flip control of the council’s conservative majority. With all 687 precincts partially reporting in District 5, Dan Lewis led with 5,869 votes, or 53%. Athenea Allen had 5,143 votes, or 47%. Lewis, […]

Fiebelkorn, Grout easily win council re-election

City Councilors Tammy Fiebelkorn and Renée Grout won reelection Tuesday, with Fiebelkorn running unopposed in District 7 and Grout defeating challenger Colton Newman in District 9. District 7 In District 7, incumbent Fiebelkorn appears to have easily won reelection with 11,853 votes as of 10:00 PM Tuesday, though write-in votes for challenger Jaemes Shanley had […]

Peña misses 50% mark to avoid runoff in District 3 race

City Councilor Klarissa Peña missed the 50% threshold needed to avoid a December runoff Tuesday, with 58% of District 3 voters choosing other candidates in a three-way race that will likely pit her against challenger Teresa Garcia. With all 687 precincts partially reporting in District 3, Klarissa Peña led with 2,602 votes or 42%. Teresa […]