On October 15, this blog reported on the  emergence of Republican support  for Democrat City Councilor Louie Sanchez in the 2025 Mayor’s race. It was reported that former State Republican Party Chairman Harvey Yates, President of the New Mexico Business Coalition Carla Sonntag and former Republican Mayoral candidate Michelle Garcia Holmes, who is also the former Chief of Staff to former Attorney General Gary King, have thrown their support behind Democrat City Councilor Louie Sanchez for Mayor.

Michelle Garcia Holmes is a retired APD police officer. She in particular has been very aggressive in opposing Darren White and pointing out all of his political baggage and his controversial history. Garcia Holmes has said White cannot win in a runoff with Tim Keller. She has taken to social media encouraging Republicans to vote for conservative Democrat Louie Sanchez believing he can ultimately defeat progressive  Democrat Tim Keller.

THE NEW MEXICO BUSINESS COALITION 

The New Mexico Business Coalition (NMBC) is a statewide nonpartisan, pro-business, conservative organization. NMBC focuses on  improving the business environment for companies. The organization engages in promoting a conservative business agenda including promoting right to work laws, opposing increases in the minimum wage, opposing increases in taxation and opposing city zoning laws viewed as detrimental to economic development. The organization is considered highly supportive of law enforcement holding law enforcement appreciation events. The organization is known to get involved in municipal, county  and legislative races going so far as to sponsor debates between candidates. For more information, you can visit  NMBC website:  https://nmbizcoalition.org/ 

Carla J. Sonntag is the President and CEO of the New Mexico Business Coalition. She submitted the following guest opinion column for publication on www.PeteDinelli.com. Sontag was not compensated for her column and it is being published as part of ongoing reporting in the 2025 Albuquerque Mayor’s race.

EDITOR’S DISCLAIMER The opinions expressed in the opinion column are not necessarily those of www.PeteDinelli.com with no endorsement expected to be made of any candidate in the Mayor’s race by the blog.

“Albuquerque Needs A New Mayor, A New Direction

BY:  Carla J. Sonntag. President and CEO of New Mexico Business Coalition

The Albuquerque mayor’s race is one of the most critical issues facing our entire state at this time. We need new leadership, and the consensus of the business and community leaders I’ve met with is that the best opportunity to achieve that is with Louie Sanchez.

ALBQUERQUE’S  DECLINE UNDER MAYOR KELLER

There’s a saying that, as Albuquerque goes, so goes the state, and it has often been proven true. Albuquerque has the largest centrally located population and is home to the main airport, the state’s only trauma center, and most of the state’s medical facilities.

Once a shining light for New Mexico, Albuquerque has become an unmitigated disaster. Among other things, KOB4 reported that Albuquerque ranked 20th among the world’s most dangerous cities. Local businesses are closing because of the high crime and lack of police protection.

Those choosing to stay are cleaning up human feces, hypodermic needles, and trash because of those camping illegally on their properties. Many are replacing windows, doors, and copper stripped from their electrical systems. All this and more because Mayor Tim Keller allows criminals almost unfettered free rein.

The situation in Albuquerque is so dire that the governor had to send in the New Mexico National Guard to help protect us. Unfortunately, we are still not safe, and the problems have not been corrected. Keller encourages the homeless to move here through his lack of law enforcement and lax policies.

The growth of the homeless population in Albuquerque’s streets is not by accident, nor is it due entirely to New Mexicans. Data shows over 21% of the homeless in Albuquerque are from out of state.

Keller has spent over $300 million of taxpayer money on homeless initiatives, but we’ve seen no improvement. Our tax dollars continue to pour down an endless hole.

Economic development in Albuquerque is minimal. Why would an existing business want to invest more when they are struggling to maintain what they currently have invested? Luring new companies here is challenging due to the city’s high crime and unfriendly bureaucracy.

THREE MAIN CONTENDERS FOR MAYOR

The good news is we have a mayor’s election currently underway. The bad news is that Mayor Keller is seeking a third four-year term. He has had the past 7.5 years to address the very issues he campaigned to fix, and yet, they’ve only gotten worse.

The bigger challenge is that we’ve got a broad field of mayoral challengers who will split the vote – unless the people of Albuquerque unite to obtain better leadership. Most people in Albuquerque agree that the city is headed in the wrong direction, but the ‘Anyone but Keller’ plan is a path to Keller’s re-election.

There are six people actively campaigning for mayor of Albuquerque, and a seventh who has suspended his campaign, but will still appear on the ballot. This race comes down to three leading contenders: Tim Keller, Darren White, and Louie Sanchez.

Tim Keller, the incumbent, has destroyed our beautiful city through increased drugs, homelessness, and a lack of law enforcement. In addition, his management is costing businesses dearly through increased taxes and unresponsive service delivery.

DARREN WHITE’S POLITICAL BAGGAGE

Darren White has significant name recognition. White also has troublesome political baggage that will be used against him in a runoff election.  White’s political baggage spans decades and includes the following:

In 1995, Governor Gary Johnson appointed White to head the New Mexico Department of Public Safety, which oversees the New Mexico State Police. While serving as cabinet secretary, the New Mexico State Police Officers Association voted 243 – 31 “No Confidence” against White. The state police officers accused White of failing to properly supply them with vehicles and equipment, which was an officer safety issue.

White had a very sudden and dramatic parting of the ways with Governor Gary Johnson, resigning as Secretary of the New Mexico Department of Public Safety after Governor Johnson announced his support for marijuana legalization.  Later in 2007, when the legalization of medical marijuana was introduced in the NM Legislature, White was vehemently opposed to it and aggressively lobbied against it.

When Susana Martinez became governor, Darren White completely reversed himself on the legalization of medical marijuana.  White secured a state license from the Martinez Administration to sell medical marijuana with multiple locations in the state. What matters here is not necessarily the legalization of marijuana but doing a complete about-face in the pursuit of personal wealth.

In 2002, White was elected Bernalillo County Sheriff and reelected in 2006.  As Bernalillo County Sheriff, Darren White helped TruTouch Technologies secure a sole-source contract for $379,995 to “supply alcohol screening and testing prototype equipment.” White notified the County Commission that “the Sheriff’s Department fully supports the Sole Source contract award to TruTouch Technologies of Albuquerque.” White was also running for US Congress at the time, and received campaign contributions from TruTouch officers during a prohibited time frame.

On December 1, 2009, Mayor Richard J. Berry appointed Darren White to serve as the Chief Public Safety Officer at the Albuquerque Police Department (APD), the highest law enforcement position in the city of Albuquerque. White was given a vote of no confidence by the APD union because he unilaterally took away the take-home vehicles for APD sworn officers. White also blocked pay increases negotiated in good faith by the union. APD morale plummeted under White’s leadership, and APD ranks dropped from 1,100 to about 950. During his tenure as Chief Public Safety Officer, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its investigation of APD for excessive use of force, leading to the DOJ consent decree.  

Many seem to have forgotten another problematic thing Darren White did when he was Chief Public Safety Officer. He thrust himself into APD’s investigation into the 2010 death of prominent Civil Rights and Defense attorney Mary Han. She was often at odds with both the APD and the Bernalillo County Sheriff’s Department, including when White was Sheriff.  An Attorney General investigation later found that APD mishandled the investigation and the large number of APD personnel given access to Han’s home, including Darren White, “materially interfered with the investigation process.”

On July 15, 2011, Darren White announced his “retirement” from the city, a little more than a week after he showed up to the scene of a car crash involving his wife, where he took her from the scene and then drove her to the hospital. APD first responders never gave White’s wife a blood test, even though a police report indicates she showed signs of impairment. White’s resignation came shortly after a City Council meeting in which a five-person committee voted to start compiling a list of outside investigators who could be called on to review White’s actions during his wife’s car accident.  After intense public backlash and another no-confidence vote from APD officers, White was essentially forced to “retire” by Mayor Berry.

 White also claimed Florida as his primary residence since 2022 to obtain a $50,000 property tax benefit, but continued voting in New Mexico. After declaring his candidacy for mayor and the Florida residency issue was made public, White took steps to correct what he called an ‘inadvertent error’.

LOUIE SANCHEZ VIABLE ALTERNATIVE

There is a real, viable alternative to both Keller and White: Louie Sanchez. Louie Sanchez retired after 26 years with APD. He is a business owner and is currently serving on the ABQ City Council. He consistently votes to put the needs of ABQ residents above political positions. As a former supervisor with APD, Sanchez has been the most vocal councilor in confronting APD Chief of Police, Harold Medina. Given the DWI Unit scandal, the vehicle crash Medina was involved in, and other issues, Sanchez has openly called for Medina’s firing.

KELLER WANTS WHITE IN RUN OFF

Here’s the red flag in this race: the Keller camp wants the runoff to be between Tim Keller and Darren White. Why? They feel confident that they can defeat White in a runoff because of all the above political baggage and more.

Keller and friends do not want the runoff to be against Louie Sanchez. How do we know this? Keller’s operatives have openly discussed the plan, and we are seeing it play out.

Keller supporters are attacking Louie Sanchez while saying virtually nothing about White. They are trying to ensure White makes the runoff because that is their defined path to Keller’s victory.

There is a groundswell of support building behind Louie Sanchez because he is seen as the best opportunity to take back our city. A solid strategy and unified effort can produce a victory for Albuquerque and the state.

Voters who truly want Tim Keller replaced must consider all the information provided and the consequences of a Keller victory if they ignore it. He will continue with his failed policies, and the city will continue to decline.

I, along with many from the business community, encourage voters to elect Louie Sanchez as Mayor on November 4!”

ALBUQUERQUE JOURNAL POLL REVISITED

On Sunday, September 28, the Albuquerque Journal published the results of an opinion poll on the  2025 Albuquerque’s Mayor race.  The poll was conducted by  Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc whose President is Brian Sanderoff. Research & Polling Inc is the exclusive polling company for the Albuquerque Journal. For at least the 40 past years, it has polled in New Mexico political races and it is considered the “gold standard” and one of the four top politcal pollsters in the country for is history of accuracy.

Following are the poll results:

• Tim Keller:               29%
• Darren White:          16%
• Alex Uballez:            6%
• Louie Sanchez:        6%
• Mayling Armijo:        1%
• Eddie Varela:            2%
• Daniel Chavez:         1%
• Undecided               37%
• Decline To Say         2%

TOTAL:                            100%

Tim Keller’s total 29%  poll number was broken down  as being 43% registered Democrat, 8% being registered Republican and 28% being registered Independent.

Darren White’s 16% total poll number was broken down as being 5% registered Democrat, 35% being registered Republican and 9% being registered Independent.

The 37% total of the “undecided or don’t know” voters was broken down as consisting of 35% registered Democrat, 36% registered Republican and 47% registered Independent.

Brian Sanderoff, the President of Research and Polling who conducted the poll, offered the following assessment of the poll in an Albuquerque Journal article:

According to the Journal poll, crime and homelessness are top Albuquerque voters’ minds, with drug abuse and trafficking listed next. The poll found 53% of Albuquerque voters cited crime as the biggest issue facing the city. Homelessness followed behind and was cited by 47% of surveyed voters as their top concern, followed by Drug/Opiod abuse at 6% and illegal drugs at 5%.

Although the Albuquerque Journal Poll found that Mayor Tim Keller has the  lead in his bid to win reelection to a third term, the poll found that less than half of city voters approve of the job he’s done over the last seven-plus years.  A total of 47% of voters surveyed expressed disapproval of Keller’s job performance, while 42% approved of the way he has handled being mayor. The remaining voters were unsure or declined to say.

The link to the quoted or relied upon Albuquerque Journal article is here:

https://www.abqjournal.com/election/article_bf155bf7-2226-486b-ac34-07ca23e0173b.html

ANALYSIS AND COMMENTARY

City municipal elections are classified as “nonpartisan” and for that very reason party affiliations of the candidates are not provided on the ballot. Notwithstanding, it’s common knowledge that the major parties do in fact get involved with the elections for Mayor and City Council on any number of levels, including providing volunteers for canvassing, donations and endorsements of all kinds from elected officials from the same party

The Carla  Sontag guest opinion column is undisputed evidence that City Councilor Louie Sanchez is in fact securing significant Republican support as he runs for Mayor. Confidential sources  have confirmed that  Republican Darren White  has alienated a large segment of the Republican Party.  It has resulted in White not being able to secure  the Republican base and it has had the effect on his fundraising efforts.  Confidential sources have also confirmed that a strong effort is being made within the Republican Party  to ensure a high voter turnout for Louie Sanchez by Republicans. Republican support for Sanchez has the biggest potential of resulting in Louie Sanchez making it into the run off and keeping Darren White out of the runoff.

It’s clear that the 37% total of the “undecided or don’t know” will decide who will be in the run off. The “undecided or don’t know” were evenly broken down with 35% registered Democrat, 36% registered Republican and 47% registered  Independent.

Based on the Journal poll, Democrat  Keller’s support is overwhelming Democrat, Republican  White’s support  is overwhelming Republican and Democrat Uballez’s  support is Democrat.  Democrat Sanchez has a more of a bi-partisan break of  Republican, Democrat and Independent voters. Uballez is pulling support from Keller’s Democrat progressive base but it will not be enough to get Uballez in the runoff with Keller.  Keller’s disapproval of 47% of voters will likely suppress Keller’s vote of the “undecided”  Democrats and Independents  and keeping them from breaking his way  and will have a negative impact on Keller’s final vote.

Early voting commenced on October 18 and ends on November 1. Under Albuquerque’s city charter, the two top finishers in the mayor’s race will face off in a run-off election if the top finisher does not receive 50% or more of the votes cast. If it’s necessary, this year’s run-off election will take place on December 9.

In the final analysis, the only poll that counts and that is 100% accurate is the final vote counted on November 4. Please vote!