School Board Race Too Close to Call

The race for the school board’s District 6 seat is too close to call tonight, with a margin of just two votes separating incumbent David Robbins and challenger Don Duran.

The two were running in a four-way race that included incumbent president Paula Maes and challenger Angela Gonzales Carver. Maes and Robbins, both incumbents, ended up running against each other due to redistricting that consolidated board seats on the east side of town.

In other races, voters kept two incumbents in place and decisively approved two school funding questions.

With all voting centers reporting, 1,209 votes had been cast for Robbins, compared to 1,211 for Duran.
Bernalillo County Clerk Maggie Toulouse Oliver said it is the closest election she has presided over, and that it’s too close to know the outcome until later in the week.

In District 3, incumbent Lorenzo Garcia won out over challengers Leah Persons and Candido Arturo Archuleta Jr. That district includes the North Valley and extends south as far as Albuquerque High.

In District 7, which includes the La Cueva area, incumbent David Peercy beat out challenger Larry Langley by a margin of 56 percent to Langley’s 44 percent.

“Breaking Bad” actor Steven Michael Quezada was unopposed going into Tuesday’s election, and will represent the newly-formed District 5 on the West Side.

Voters approved two APS capital funding questions by wide margins, which will keep property taxes at their current rate and provide the district $368 million for maintenance and renovation of buildings. Some of the money will also be used to upgrade technology as the district moves toward more web-based curriculum.
On the Central New Mexico Community College governing board, Pauline Garcia won a three-way race for District 1, defeating challengers Dan Serrano and Marjorie Germain. In CNM’s District 2, Robert P. Matteucci Jr. handily defeated Ernest Sturdevant with 73 percent of the vote.

In Rio Rancho, board president Don Schlichte won a fourth term against two challengers in District 1. In District 5, associate real estate broker Catherine Cullen won a four-way race with no incumbent. Martha Janssen won the District 3 seat, in which two candidates appeared on the ballot but Christina McKee decided not to campaign and put her support behind Janssen.

In Bernalillo Public Schools, voters passed bond and property tax questions that keep tax rates at their current level and will generate $6.8 million over the next six years for maintenance and technology.