On Friday, June 20 the City Clerk verified that 7 candidates out of 11 total candidates for Mayor successfully gathered 100% of the 3,000 qualifying nominating petition signatures from Albuquerque registered voters. All seven will appear on the November 4 municipal ballot. If no one of the 7 candidates secures 50% plus one of the vote, the two top vote getters will face each other in a run off election which must be held within 45 days of the November 4 election.
All 11 Candidates for Mayor had from April 19, 2025 to June 21, 2025 by 5:00 pm, 64 days, to collect the required 3,000 verified signatures. The seven candidates who have qualified for the ballot gathering more than 3,000 nominating signatures are:
- Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller qualified for the ballot after securing 4,786 signatures, the most of all the candidates.
- Eddie Varela, a retired Albuquerque firefighter and former California fire chief, qualified after securing 3,973 signatures, the second most among candidates.
- Alex Uballez, the former U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico, qualified after securing 3,643 signatures.
- Louie Sanchez, a former police officer and current city councilor, qualified after securing 3,588 signatures.
- Darren White, the former sheriff of Bernalillo County and CEO of cannabis company PurLife, qualified after receiving 3,562 signatures.
- Daniel Chavez, president of Parking Company of America was the very first to qualify for the ballot after securing 3,427 signatures.
- Mayling Armijo, the former director of Economic Development for Bernalillo County and deputy county manager for Sandoval County, qualified after securing 3,370 signatures.
The link to a quoted or relied upon news source is here:
The city link to review the City Clerk’s total raw data tabulations of verified petition signatures and rejected petition signatures for each of the 11 candidates is here:
On July 14, all 7 of the candidates for Mayor file with the City Clerk their fourth Mayoral Campaign Finance report on campaign contributions raised. Following are the total amounts reported by each candidate:
- Tim Keller total contributions: $23,179.57
- Mayling Armijo total contributions: $38,136.65
- Eddie R Varela total contributions: $6,089.96
- Darren White total contributions: $73,999.95
- Alexander M.M. Uballez total contributions: $79,320.46
- Louie Eusebio Sanchez total contributions: $215,741.88
- Daniel Chavez total contributions: $113,875.00
EDITOR’S NOTE: City Councilor Louie Sanchez contributed $160,000 to his own campaign and Daniel Chavez contributed $100,000 to his own campaign.
The link where you can review the candidates finance statements is here:
https://www.cabq.gov/vote/candidate-information/2025-candidates-and-committees-1
On June 20, the City Clerk determined that Mayor Tim Keller was the only candidate to qualify for public finance and he was given $755,946 in city financing for his campaign which has yet to be reflected in Keller finance statements.
The links where you can review the city clerks tabulations for public finance s is here:
MEASURED FINANCE COMMITTEES FORMED TO PROMOTE KELLER, ARMIJO VARELLA CANDIDACIES
Under the City of Albuquerque’s campaign finance laws, a Measure Finance Committee (MFC) is a political action committee (PAC), person or group that supports or opposes a candidate or ballot measure within the City of Albuquerque. Measure Finance Committees are required to register with the City Clerk. Measure finance committees are not bound by the individual contribution limits and business bans like candidates. No Measure Finance Committee is supposed to coordinate their activities with the individual candidates running for office, but this is a very gray area as to what constitutes coordination of activities, and it is difficult to enforce.
The fact that measure finance committees are not bound by the individual contribution limits and business bans like candidates is what makes them a major threat to warping and influencing our municipal elections and the outcome. Any Measure Finance Committee can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money and can produce negative ads to destroy any candidate’s reputation and candidacy.
All Measure Finance Committees must register with the Albuquerque City Clerk, regardless of the group’s registration as a political action committee (PAC) with another governmental entity, county, state or federal. Measure finance committees must also file financial “Campaign Finance Reports” reporting monetary contributions, loans, in kind donations and expenditures. Under existing law, it is illegal for any candidate for office or their campaign committee to coordinate their campaign efforts with any measured finance committee.
Three measured finance committees (MFA) to promote 3 candidates for Mayor have been formed. On July 14 the 3 committees filed finance reports with the City Clerk as follows:
- Safer Albuquerque Committee (Safer ABQ)
Safer Albuquerque Committee (Safer ABQ) is the measured finance committee formed to “advocate for Mayling Armijo’s candidacy for mayor during the Albuquerque 2025 mayoral race and align with values that reduce crime, reduce homelessness, and promote job growth.”
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $120,080.00
- Total Expenditures: $61,321.63
- In-Kind Contributions: $0.00
- In-Kind Expenditures: $0.00
- Current Cash Balance: $58,758.30
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Tracy, Katrina $40,000
- Armijo, Chauling Mary $40,000
- Four Winds Mechanical HTC/AC Inc $40,000
- Rolison, Charles $80.00
- CIPGAW: Committee to Elect Eddie Varela Mayor of Albuquerque
CIPGAW: Committee to Elect Eddie Varela Mayor of Albuquerque is the measured finance committee which has been formed “for the purpose
to Elect Eddie Varela Mayor of Albuquerque.”
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $7,500.00
- Total Expenditures: $5,524.83
- In-Kind Contributions: $ -0-
- In-Kind Expenditures: $-0-
- Current Cash Balance: $1,975.00
- Current Debt Balance: $-0-
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Day, Bradley William $7,500
- ASEND ALBUQUERQUE MEASURED FINANCE COMMITEE
Ascend Albuquerque is the measured Finance Committee which has been formed for the sole purpose “to support the election of Tim Keller as Mayor of Albuquerque.” On July 14, 2025, Ascent Albuquerque filed it fourth financial disclosure statement as required by the City’s election code. Following is a summary of the Financial Report for Ascend Albuquerque:
COMBINED FINANCIAL TOTALS
- Total Contributions: $101,700.00
- Total Expenditures: $26,175.68
- In-Kind Contributions: $ -0-
- In-Kind Expenditures: $ -0-
- Current Cash Balance: $75,524.32
- Current Debt Balance: $0.00
TOP CONTRIBUTORS
- Western States Regional Council of Carpenters, United Brotherhood of Carpenters & Joiners of America: $20,000
- New Mexico Building and Construction Trade Council: $20,000
- Fresquez Concessions Inc: $15,000
- Sangre De Cristo Hotel Investment LLC $10,000
- IBEW PAC Voluntary Fund $10,000
The city link to review the Financial Disclosure Statement for Ascend Albuquerque is here:
SEPTEMER 2 ONLY DAY FOR WRITE IN CANDIDATES TO FILE
Although the time frame for candidates to announce and qualify for the ballot for Mayor has come and gone, there is still an option for people to declare as write in candidates. In 2023, the New Mexico Legislature enacted a law that allows for write in candidates in all regular local elections which includes municipal elections. The link to the statute is here:
https://law.justia.com/codes/new-mexico/chapter-1/article-22/section-1-22-8-1/
A person desiring to be a write-in candidate for Mayor must file with the Bernalillo County Clerk a declaration of intent to be a write-in candidate because it is the Bernalillo County Clerk who oversees the election and counts the ballots under the Local Election Act. Write in candidates are given only one day to file a “declaration of intent to be a write in candidate” for Mayor. The City Clerk’s Candidate Calendar published on the City Clerk’s web page states the filing date for write-in-candidates is Tuesday, September 2.
The “declaration of intent to be a write in candidate” must be accompanied by a nominating petition containing the same number of signatures required of candidates for Mayor which is 3,000 signatures. Under the law, a write-in candidate is considered a candidate for all purposes and provisions relating to candidates in the Local Election Act, except that the write-in candidate’s name shall not be printed on the ballot nor posted in any polling place.
City of Albuquerque nominating petition forms to collect signatures to nominate a candidate for Mayor as a write in candidate may be obtained from City Clerk Ethan Waston whose email address is ewatson@cabq.gov. The City Clerk’s office is located in the Plaza Del Sol Building, 600 2nd St NW, Albuquerque, NM 87102 and the phone number is (505) 924-3650.
Instructions on how to use the petitions can be found at this link:
How to use the Petition Form for Mayoral Candidates
There are examples of petitions on the City Clerks training page which can be found here:
https://www.cabq.gov/vote/training-videos
EDITORS NOTE: Alpana Adair, who failed to secure qualifying nominating signatures and the qualifying $5.00 donations, is now claiming she is a write in candidate. Adair will have to file her declaration to be a write in candidate with the Bernalillo County Clerk on September 2 and also submit 3,000 verified nominating signatures from registered voters who reside within the city limits.
COMMENTARY AND ANALYSIS
Mayor Tim Keller is seeking a third consecutive four-year term despite the fact he has a very low approval rating. Keller’s approval rating is believed to be in the 30% to 33% range based on past polls. Notwithstanding Keller’s low approval ratings, he will likely make it into a run off, either first or second, because of his loyal base of progressive Democrats he has relied upon every single time he has run for office including New Mexico State Senate, New Mexico State Auditor and twice as Mayor.
The fact that Keller is the only candidate to secure $755,946 in public finance and a measured finance committee that has raised another $101,700.00 to promote him for a grand total of $857,646 is a testament of the power of incumbency and is clear evidence Keller is running against a very weak field of candidates given that Keller was the only one to qualify for public finance. Given the involvement of two well-known, respected progressive Democratic fundraisers, the measured fiancé committee will likely raise thousands more to promote Keller and to tear down his opponents.
Some politcal pundits and columnists are saying that if Keller’s opponents are unable to raise sufficient campaign donations, there is a possibility that Keller could capture 50% of the vote and avoid a runoff election between the top two finishers. That is likely wishful thinking. Keller will need every penny of his public finance and the measured finance committee promotion to deal with his low approval ratings as the campaign drags on over the summer and into the fall and his opponents hit him hard on the issues until November 4.
Mayor Keller is a known quantity with extremely low approval ratings and no amount of money spent on his behalf to get him elected to a third term may be enough to reform his image in the eyes of voters who have simply had enough of him and his self promotion ways with very little results to point to. Notwithstanding, all of Keller’s opponents are relegated to scrambling for private financing unless they are wealthy enough to self-finance. Only Daniel Chavez is believed to be able to self finance.
FINAL COMMENTARY
Eight years of Tim Keller as Mayor has been more than enough. Simply put, Albuquerque needs a new Mayor. Keller is completing 8 years as Mayor and he is still struggling with the very issues he dealt with 8 years ago: high violent crime rates, drugs, the homeless crisis and a corrupt APD. Things have not gotten any better under his leadership and some would say the city is worse off today than when he was first elected in 2017. What can he really accomplish with another 4 more years when he has had 8?
“ANY ONE BUT KELLER”
There exists a serious undercurrent of dissatisfaction with all 7 candidates, especially Mayor Tim Keller. Although City Hall observers and political pundits are saying the election is Keller’s to lose, what they fail to take into account is the “any one but Keller movement”. It can also be called “Keller Fatique” which is what happened with “Chavez Fatique ” when Democrat Mayor Marty Chavez attempted to seek a third consecutive four year term in 2009 and he lost to Republican Richard Berry. Simply put, people want change.
The “any one but Keller movement ” comes into sharp focus when the local news stations publish stories on FACEBOOK where Keller is interviewed at length about his candidacy and literally hundreds of public comments are made that are all negative and berating Keller for his failure to address and solve the city’s problems. Candidates who are running for city council and who were going door to door to collect nominating signatures and $5.00 for their own candidacies reported they were encountering strong anti-Keller sentiment at the doors with them being asked questions if they support Keller for reelection.
It is doubtful any of the 6 running against Keller will be able to raise the kind of money that will be spent to get Keller elected to a third term. But that may not matter given Keller’s high negatives. No amount of public finance money spent by Keller and the Ascend Albuquerque MFC may be able to overcome his high negatives and reform his image. Simply put, Keller has overstayed his welcome and voters want change. Hope springs eternal that over the course of the campaign that one of the six running against Keller will in fact raise enough money to emerge as a viable candidate and succeed in removal of an entrenched politician.
Given the overall dissatisfaction and disappointment with the six candidates running against Keller, and the overall voter dissatisfaction with Keller himself, there is a chance that there will be one or more write in candidates that could take advantage of the “any one but Keller movement”. There is still time to collect the 3,000 signatures needed to be a recognized write in candidate and to file a declaration of candidacy as a write in on September 2.
It’s fully understood that write in candidacy’s are considered long shots, but given the nature of the times and voter dissatisfaction in general with city hall, success could be achieved by a write in candidate. With the new state law, community leaders, neighborhood associations, civic organizations, activists and those in the business community who are dissatisfied with the 7 candidates now still have the option to recruit one of their own of like mind.
If not, it is likely we will have another 4 years of disastrous policies, either under Mayor Tim Keller as he continues with his disastrous policies or one of the 6 others running against him who will implement their own disastrous policy’s.
The link to a related article is here: