The seven candidates for Mayor who have qualified for the November 4 ballot are:
- Tim Keller, Incumbent Mayor
- Mayling Armijo,the former director of Economic Development for Bernalillo County and deputy county manager for Sandoval County.
- Eddie Varela,a retired Albuquerque firefighter and former California fire chief.
- Darren White,the former sheriff of Bernalillo County and CEO of cannabis company PurLife.
- Alex Uballez,the former U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico
- Louie Sanchez,a former police officer and current city councilor.
- Daniel Chavez,president of Parking Company of America.
On July 14, all 7 of the candidates for Mayor were required to file with the City Clerk their fourth Mayoral Campaign Finance report on contributions and expenditures. Following is a summary review of those reports:
- TIMOTHY KELLER
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- TOTAL CONTRIBUTIONS: $23,179.57
- Total Expenditures: $16,314.66
- In-Kind Contributions: $1,396.25
- In-Kind Expenditures: $248.16
- Current Cash Balance: $6,864.91
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Keller, Tim $2,500
- Garcia Realty $2,500
- Keller, Timothy $650
- Porte, Oroana $615
- Wellborn, Charles/Jeanette $500
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for Mayor Tim Keller:
Mayor Tim Keller lists 28 contributors for a total of $23,179.57.
Mayor Tim Keller’s 4th financial statement fails to report that he has qualified for $755, 946 in public finance. On June 20, the City Clerk determined that Tim Keller was the only candidate to qualify for public finance in the amount of $755,946. The following are the processed public finance qualifying donations for Tim Keller verified on Friday June 20:
- Required Qualifying Contributions: 3,780
- Verified Qualifying Contributions: 4,046
- Rejected Qualifying Contributions: 361
- Remaining Qualifying Contributions Needed: -0-
- Percentage of Verified Qualifying Contributions Met: 100%
- MAYLING ARMIJO
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $38,136.65
- Total Expenditures: $35,327.84
- In-Kind Contributions: $2,257.72
- In-Kind Expenditures: $0.00
- Current Cash Balance: $2,808.81
- Current Debt Balance: $15,175.65
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Armijo, Mayling $15,000
- Armijo, Chaling $6,000
- Tracy, Katrina $6,000
- Four Winds Mechanical $6,000
- Green Castle Media Inc $1,508
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for MAYLING ARMIJO:
Mayling Armijo lists 28 contributors for a total of $38,136.65.
- EDDIE VARELA
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $6,089.96
- Total Expenditures: $4,600.36
- In-Kind Contributions: $2,300.00
- In-Kind Expenditures: $300.00
- Current Cash Balance; $1,441.90
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Varela, Eddie R. $2,827
- Angie Custom Designs $1,300
- Stewart, Chester & Diane $1,000
- MDG Entertainment $500
- The Grill $500
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for EDDIE VARELA:
Eddie Varela lists 29 contributors for a total of $6,089.96 in contributions.
- DARREN WHITE
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $73,999.95
- Total Expenditures: $57,081.77
- In-Kind Contributions: $14,329.16
- In-Kind Expenditures: $25.00
- Current Cash Balance: $16,918.18
- Current Debt Balance: $20,000.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- White, Darren $20,000
- White, Darren $8,765
- Morrison, Gregory $5,000
- Morrison, Grady $5,000
- Doug Peterson Investments $1,700
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for Darren White:
Darren White lists 429 contributors for a total of $73,999.95 contributions
- ALEXANDER M.M. UBALLEZ
- Total Contributions: $79,320.46
- Total Expenditures: $27,960.76
- In-Kind Contributions: $88.70
- In-Kind Expenditures: $0.00
- Current Cash Balance: $51,359.70
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Colon, Aleli $2,407.27
- Murphy, Haley $2,407.27
- Cox, Diane $1,203.22
- Gomez, Gabriela $1,200.00
- Maldonado, Agnes $1,000.00
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for Alexander M.M. Uballez:
ALEXANDER M.M. UBALLEZ lists 307 contributors for a total of $79,320.46 in contributions.
- LOUIE EUSEBIO SANCHEZ
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $215,741.88
- Total Expenditures: $34,115.55
- In-Kind Contributions: $1,000.00
- In-Kind Expenditures: $0.00
- Current Cash Balance: $181,626.33
- Current Debt Balance: $152,500.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Sanchez, Louie $150,000
- Sanchez, Louie $10,000
- Peterson Properties $6,000
- Thomas P. Tinnin $6,000
- Alarid, Vanessa $6,000
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for Louie Eusebio Sanchez:
LOUIE EUSEBIO SANCHEZ lists 106 contributors for a total of $215,741.88 in contributions.
- DANIEL CHAVEZ
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $113,875.00
- Total Expenditures: $100,979.87
- In-Kind Contributions: $0.00
- In-Kind Expenditures: $0.00
- Current Cash Balance: $12,895.13
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Chavez, Daniel $100,000
- Chaves, Karthleen $6,000
- Peterson Properties LLC $6,000
- Bataglia, Ava $1,000
- Martin, John Bradley $600
- Perterson, Douglas $200
Click here to review the financial disclosure statement and to download all filed contributions and filed expenditures for Daniel Chavez:
Daniel Chavez lists 9 contributors for a total of $113,875.00 in contributions.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Originally, the candidates who made the ballot and who were privately financed candidates were:
- Mayling Armijo
- Daniel Chavez.
Originally, the candidates who made the ballot and who were public financed candidates were:
- Mayor Tim Keller
- Eddie Varela
- Darren White
- Alexander M. M. Uballez
- Louie Eusebio Sanchez
Mayor Tim Keller was the only candidate to secure public finance and his six opponents are all now privately financed candidates. Louie Sanchez, Darren White, Daniel Chavez, Mayling Armijo have all made significant personal contributions to promote their candidacies. The biggest question is if Keller’s six opponents will be able to match to any degree Keller’s extreme financial advantage to run viable campaigns.
PUBLIC FINANCE FAVORS INCUMBENTS
Albuquerque’s public finance system has come under sever criticism in the Mayor’s race as favoring incumbents who have high name identification and a volunteer network. In the Mayor’s race, public finance candidates had to collect 3,780 donations of $5.00 to the city from registered voters to qualify for the city to give them $755,946 in city financing for their campaigns. The time frame to collect both nominating petition signatures and $5.00 qualifying contributions was the same and it was from April 19, 2025 to June 21, 2025, a mere 64 days.
Originally 8 out of 11 candidates for Mayor declared themselves to be “public finance” candidates and they were Alpana Adair, Alexander Uballez, Darren White, Tim Keller, Louis Sanchez, Edie Varella, Patrick Sais and Adeo Herrick. Soon, 7 of the 8 candidates abandoned their efforts to qualify for public finance. Only Mayor Tim Keller qualified for public finance and was given $755,946 in city financing for his campaign.
Alpana Adair withdrew from public finance after collecting only seven verified $5.00 contributions. Patrick Sais withdrew after collecting only two.
Eddie Varela withdrew after collecting 95 of the 3,685 donations or 3%. Varela had this to say:
“I was of the belief that [public finance] would help just a regular guy or gal run for office and would be a great benefit to everybody. … I don’t believe that anymore. I believe it’s flawed, and it needs to be revisited.”
On May 30, former United States Attorney Alexander Uballez abruptly ended his efforts to seek public finance. Uballez said this:
“I’m the fourth candidate to make this decision. When the only candidate who appears on track to qualify for public financing is the incumbent, it’s a clear sign that this isn’t working as it should.
On June 2, City Councilor Louie Sanchez became the fifth candidate to withdraw from public finance and become a private financed candidate.
https://www.cabq.gov/clerk/documents/sanchez-withdrawal-as-an-applicant-candida
Sanchez said this of his withdrawal from public finance:
“One of the things that I’ve found out about public finance is that it’s extremely difficult. When you get into the realm of public financing, there is a lot of things that play in. We’re noticing that in this day and age, not everybody has a five-dollar bill, our volunteers don’t have change. … Since it’s online, or the online link, it takes several times or several tries to get the cumbersome process going.”
On June 8, former Bernalillo County Sherriff Darren White became the sixth candidate to withdraw from public finance by filing with the city clerk a withdrawal notice. White said this:
“Despite our tireless grassroots efforts, it became clear that we would not be able to meet the remaining 1,800 qualifying $5 donations within the two-week deadline. … The only person who has qualified for [public finance] in the past two elections is Tim Keller. And so what does that tell you? It tells you that the system is, as I said, it’s an incumbent protection plan.”
The Keller campaign said qualifying for public financing isn’t supposed to be easy. In a statement, Keller took issue with all his opponents’ claims that the public finance rules favor incumbents. Keller said this in a statement:
“Complaining that public financing doesn’t work is like blaming the ref because you can’t hit your free throws — it’s not the system’s fault you’re falling short. The real issue isn’t the rules; it’s a lack of grassroots support, campaign credibility, and the organizational strength to lead.
FINAL ANALYSIS
The fact that only incumbent Mayor Tim Keller qualified for public finance this election year is clear evidence that the public finance system has been set up for candidates to fail and that it favors incumbents. The fact that the 4 incumbent City Councilors were also the only ones who qualified for public finance is further evidence that the system favors incumbents and discourages opposition.
Some have argued, especially Mayor Keller and his staunchest supporters that public finance is a system that is “supposed to be hard”. Keller and his staunchest supporters are essentially saying public finance is designed to “weed out” candidates who are incapable of mounting serious campaigns or who have little or no political support. But building political support by newcomers to the political process is what political campaigns are all about and that can only accomplished with adequate funding.
Increases to the amount of public finance over the years were done to allow public finance candidates to compete with private financed candidates. But the problem is the system allows candidates to publicly finance and then allows their supporters to just turn around and set up measured finance committees so they can have the best of both worlds which is something Mayor Tim Keller and his enablers have perfected.
Making it so hard that no one qualifies for public finance but incumbents is a mockery of the purpose and intent of public finance which is to encourage qualified people to run who cannot afford to run and who are not independently wealthy and who are not politically connected.