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Just when you thought elections were over, here we go again. Beginning March 1, candidates for mayor and city council can begin hounding you for donations and volunteer slots. The negative attack ads and mailbox flyers will soon follow. That’s because this coming November, the mayor and five of nine City Councilors (all three Westside seats and Districts 7 and 9 in the mid-Heights and far Southeast sector) are up for election.
Even though the decisions made by city leaders impact us much more on a daily basis than what happens in Congress, almost no one votes in city elections.
At The Paper. we want to help change that.
As we covered Bernalillo County Sheriff Manny Gonzales as a possible mayoral candidate a few weeks ago, we now cover Mayor Tim Keller. Mayor Keller is running for re-election and is hoping his work on equity, opportunity and sustainability have earned him another four years; but are voters fed up with crime, homelessness and slow police reforms?
We talked to Democrats and Republicans alike about the mayor’s record for the past four years, and what he needs to do to appeal to voters if he runs for re-election. We found a few surprising takes from both sides.
This week we look back at Keller’s last four years and what it will take for him to win four more. If other candidates emerge, we’ll cover them, too. After that, we’ll start profiles of city councilors on the ballot and the challengers who step up to oust them.
The Paper. is a community paper. If you think we aren’t fair or have a different take, share it by emailing editor@abq.news. We just might feature it in one of our future issues.
By the time we get to November, you’ll have a whole library of profiles, stories, endorsements and critiques you can use to make your decision.
Pat Davis, Publisher
Tierna Unruh-Enos, Managing Editor