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Name: Dan Lewis
Political party: Registered Republican. Albuquerque City Council races are nonpartisan.
Age: 55
Education: Secondary Teaching Degree, Wayland University, 2007 MDIV, Southwestern Theological Seminary, 1996 B.A., Grand Canyon University, 1992.
Occupation: Executive Director, APANM (Asphalt Pavement Association of New Mexico).
Family: Married to Tracy Lewis, 2 children, 5 grandchildren
Relevant experience: Named a “Top CEO” by Business First, creating high-paying private-sector jobs at Desert Fuels, one of “New Mexico’s Top 100 Private Companies” (Albuquerque Business Journal), and one of the “Fastest Growing Companies in the U.S.” (Inc. Magazine). Elected to the Albuquerque City Council in 2009, 2013, and 2021.
Campaign website:Lewis4ABQ.com
1. What is the biggest issue facing the city of Albuquerque today, and how would you address it?
Albuquerque is plagued by unprecedented crime. I work with the NW Area Command to ensure neighborhood watches on every street in the district. I ensure that uniformed officers and marked police cars are proactively policing in every neighborhood and enforcing every law. I will not allow lawlessness in District 5.
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2. What is your strategy for improving public safety?
Fund the police. Make it policy for APD to enforce all laws and respond to all crimes from loitering to homicides. Reverse the executive orders that made Albuquerque a sanctuary city for illegal immigrants who commit crimes. Hold the administration and APD brass accountable for their failed leadership.
3. Under what circumstances, if any, would you support raising taxes?
I don’t support raising taxes and never have. We have funds to finance public safety, expand our tax-base with new businesses, help home-grown businesses thrive, create jobs, and increase gross receipts through a growing economy. The mayor has raised taxes and fees every year with nothing to show for it.
4. What specific industries should the city target with economic development incentives?
The best economic development is community development. Ensure a safe and fair place for business and job creation. Focus on strengths – help our home-grown businesses expand such as our creative economy, directed energy, big data, health and bio-sciences, data visualization, and other industries with great potential for exponential growth.
5. What are your economic development strategies for boosting small, local businesses?
Eliminate small business regulatory licenses and fees charged by the City. Reduce restaurant fees and eliminate food truck fees. Our regulatory ordinances and our small business office should be entirely focused on helping small businesses start, grow, and thrive in the city.
6. What steps would you take to increase affordable housing and address a growing homeless population?
I sponsored 0-25-69 passed by the Council this year that changed all major corridors in the City to permissive use zoning – allowing multi-housing & duplexes. The Council approves over $60 million dollars per year for homeless services including housing vouchers. We are compassionate, but we should not allow lawlessness.
7. When it comes to mental health and substance abuse issues, which services would you prioritize under a new state behavioral health law?
The Council directs tens of millions of dollars each year to drug treatment centers, youth prevention programs, and detox and treatment services. These programs must deliver measurable outcomes, remain accountable to the public, and coordinate closely with state efforts to ensure resources are maximized and effective.
8. Do you support Albuquerque’s current immigration policies in light of the U.S. Department of Justice’s determination it is a sanctuary jurisdiction? How would you instruct local law enforcement to work with federal immigration officials?
Mayor Keller’s executive orders turned Albuquerque into a Sanctuary City. I believe federal law enforcement should have access to our police transfer center, regardless of race or nationality of those arrested. Even the Obama Justice Department requested this access—yet Keller denied it, undermining safety and cooperation with federal partners.
9. What large infrastructure projects would you push for in the city's next capital implementation program?
Over four years, District 5 has seen $150 million in infrastructure investment—roads, parks, medians, and the historic $64 million Unser & Paseo widening that starts this Fall. The new $15 million Northwest Multigenerational Center is underway, with a city pool and city library funded in the next CIP.
10. What plans do you have to raise the quality of life for Albuquerque residents?
Real quality of life starts with safe neighborhoods and a city government that ensures good return on tax dollars, rapid emergency response times, low energy and water rates, clean public spaces and streets, and an accountable city government.
11. What specific metrics would you use to gauge your success?
Success is measured by results: completed roads, parks, and facilities that improve daily life in Northwest Albuquerque. My office is recognized as the most responsive at City Hall, turning constituent concerns into action. Effective leadership means listening, delivering, and ensuring visible progress that residents notice and appreciate every day.
12. What differentiates you from your opponents?
Proven leadership and deep roots in our community. Created local jobs as a business owner. I understand how City Government can both hurt and help job creation. For 25 years, I’ve fought for the West Side, raising my family here, showing up every day, delivering real results for our neighbors.
13. Name one issue not mentioned in the questions above that you would plan to tackle.
I will lead the effort to clean up the Petroglyph National Park that borders District 5 and is the largest urban national park in the country. I will ensure that it’s clean, protected, and create the access needed for our residents to fully partner with the park and enjoy it.
Personal background
1. Have you or your business, if you are a business owner, ever been the subject of any state or federal tax liens?
No
2. Have you ever been involved in a personal or business bankruptcy proceeding?
No
3. Have you ever been arrested for, charged with, or convicted of drunken driving, any misdemeanor or any felony in New Mexico or any other state?
No
