APS District 6 Race Tight

In other races, voters kept two incumbents in place — Lorenzo Garcia and David Peercy — and decisively approved two school funding questions.

Robbins and Duran were running in a four-way race for the East Mountains and Northeast Heights district 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.

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 over which she has presided, and that it’s too close to know the outcome until later in the week.

She said the results will be formally certified Friday, after her office canvasses them. That means counting provisional ballots and reviewing all the returns for errors. It does not mean a full recount. Toulouse said after the results are certified on Friday, losing candidates have the option to go to court and ask for a recount.

Voters approved two 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.

Specifically, one question authorized the district to sell $200 million in bonds, and the second question asked voters for $168 million in direct property tax revenue.

Robbins, who has been on the board for one term after unseating longtime board member Mary Lee Martin four year ago, was calm Tuesday night.

“I guess we have to wait until they come up with a final tally,” Robbins said.

Duran could not be reached for comment.

Robbins and Duran each claimed about one-third of the votes cast in the District 6 race, with Maes and Gonzales Carver splitting the remaining third.

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.

Garcia, who will begin his second term when new board members are sworn in March 6, said he hopes to keep working on issues he has pushed in his first term, particularly closing the achievement gap and making schools welcoming for families from different cultures.

“I want to make sure we have a plan for the way we implement dual language and bilingual education, I don’t feel like it’s very consistent,” Garcia said. “We really need to make sure the relationships are proactive and not reactive in terms of the organizational culture.”

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.

Peercy, who will also begin his second term, said he believes APS has set a strong foundation in the past four years, with sound financial stewardship and good academic programs in place. He said he believes those programs will come to fruition during his second term in the form of academic gains.

“We’re going to keep pushing. There’s more to do and I’m looking forward to being part of that,” Peercy said.

“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.

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 were on the ballot but Christina McKee did not campaign and threw 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.