Outside groups waste no time raising big bucks for city runoff elections

Business groups, labor unions and a handful of individual donors wasted no time writing more big checks in the first two weeks of the four week city runoff election sprint to Election Day. Campaign finance reports show that outside groups deposited more than $51,000 in new contributions from the day after regular elections ended, Nov. […]

Democrat Louie Sanchez endorses Republican Joshua Neal for his open city council seat

City Councilor Louie Sanchez, a registered Democrat who has often agitated Democrats by aligning with a conservatives on the council, says a young Republican candidate running in his open Westside seat is his choice for someone who will “collaborate across party lines.” Sanchez announced on social media Thursday that he was endorsing Republican Joshua Neal […]

What’s in a name? City Council blocks administration from rebranding Juniper Flats apartments as “Gateway”

The Albuquerque City Council unanimously approved Resolution R-25-201 Nov. 5, preserving the “Juniper Flats” name for the 204-unit, 55-and-older senior apartment complex under renovation at 25 Hotel Circle NE in District 9. Though part of the city’s Gateway Network, the measure ensures Juniper Flats remains distinct from the Gateway shelter system, providing permanent, affordable housing […]

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 […]

More people voted for the BioPark’s baby hippo name than voted in all 3 Westside city council seats

ColumnistsPat Davis is the founder and publisher of citydesk.nm.news. He is a recovering politician having served eight years as an Albuquerque City Councilor and, in another life, served as a police officer and nonprofit organizer. On the same day the official city election tallies were being counted, the ABQ BioPark released its own stunning election […]

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 […]

Same-day voter registration boosts turnout for local elections

By Noah Gollin, NM Political Report — Almost 6,000 voters used New Mexico’s same day voting process to participate in local elections statewide on Tuesday. About half of those exercised that option in Bernalillo County where a competitive mayor’s race and contested council and school board races drew higher-than-normal turnout for local elections. Voters who […]

Candidates spend big in final weeks of city elections

With one week left before Albuquerque’s municipal elections, Mayor Tim Keller is spending down his taxpayer-funded warchest as he floods local airwaves with campaign ads and remains ahead of his opponents in last minute spending. An analysis of city campaign finance reports by City Desk found that last Keller shelled out $94,000 for television spots […]

How a city councilor finally located Jayvon Givan’s remains after hitting dead ends with APD

Albuquerque City Councilor Nichole Rogers spent weeks trying to locate the remains of Jayvon Givan, hitting dead ends, until she asked Councilor Joaquín Baca for help. Baca found the remains in “literally five minutes,” Rogers said during the council meeting Monday, Oct. 20. The discovery comes more than two weeks after City Desk reported that […]

Maestas vows continued fight for accountability in State Auditor reelection bid

New Mexico State Auditor Joseph Maestas officially announced his reelection bid on Tuesday, vowing to continue what he described as a “fight for accountability, transparency, and innovation in New Mexico’s public entities and officials.”  Maestas, a Democrat, touted in a campaign press release a first-term record that he described as uncovering millions of dollars of […]