As Albuquerque runoff election approaches, Uballez still withholding Keller endorsement

SANTA FE — Despite falling short of reaching Albuquerque’s mayoral runoff election this year, Alex Uballez could still have an impact on the race’s outcome.

Uballez finished third in last month’s election with about 19% of the votes cast. His campaign targeted younger, progressive voters, and he received as much as 60% of the votes cast in one University of New Mexico precinct.

After the results were announced on election night, Uballez urged his backers not to support Darren White but stopped short of endorsing incumbent Mayor Tim Keller. White and Keller are the two mayoral candidates running in the Dec. 9 runoff election, after Keller got 36% of the vote and White about 31% in a race that featured seven candidates on the ballot.

Since Election Day, Uballez has met twice with Keller but has continued to hold back a possible endorsement after Keller balked at some of his conditions.

Among other demands, Uballez has asked Keller to commit to eliminating homeless encampment sweeps, expanding rental assistance and working with tribal groups to protect Albuquerque’s petroglyphs, according to sources familiar with the discussions.

Uballez, who has thrown his support behind city council candidates Stephanie Telles and Teresa Garcia in two separate runoff races, said Monday it’s largely up to Keller whether or not to embrace those positions.

“He needs to give us the tools to inspire people,” said Uballez, who stepped down as U.S. attorney for New Mexico in February at the request of President Donald Trump.

“I think it’s silly to walk away from 25,000 votes,” added Uballez, referring to the number of voters who backed him in the Nov. 4 Local Election.

But Keller indicated in a statement late Monday that he’s not inclined to agree to the demands just to get Uballez’s backing.

“We had productive meetings and identified a great deal of common ground, but we made it clear that we will not engage in quid pro quo endorsements for his support or anyone else’s,” Keller said.

Uballez acknowledged some of his supporters will likely vote for Keller, a fellow Democrat, in the nonpartisan runoff election regardless of whether he endorses him, but said many of them do not currently feel excited about casting a ballot.

“There’s a lot of them that don’t want to vote at all,” Uballez said.

Since the field was winnowed to a two-man race, Keller and White have both launched hard-hitting TV ads criticizing each other’s records.

Keller’s campaign indicated Monday it would readily accept Uballez’s backing, but also said the runoff election is not about “personalities or endorsements,” but rather the direction of the city.

“We would welcome Alex Uballez’s support, along with that of all former candidates, as part of the broad coalition of Democrats, Republicans, independents, elected leaders, labor unions, and community organizations already standing with Mayor Keller to keep Darren White’s Trump-style politics out of Albuquerque,” Keller campaign manager Neri Holguin said in a statement.

Meanwhile, several nonprofit organizations also backed Uballez’s campaign and representatives from those groups attended the recent meeting between Keller and Uballez.

Four of those organizations issued a joint statement Monday that described the meeting as productive but not definitive.

“The majority of the people of Albuquerque reject Darren White’s outdated and ineffective approach; but to turn them out to vote again in a runoff, they need to be catalyzed by a bold and comprehensive vision from the mayor that does more than defending what has been and points to the better that would be possible if they come out to cast a ballot again,” the nonprofit groups said.

The organizations issuing the statement were: Organized Power in Numbers, New Mexico Native Vote, New Mexico Working Families and Organizers in the Land of Enchantment, or OLÉ.

Early voting for Albuquerque’s runoff election is set to begin Dec. 1 and run through Dec. 6. The first day for absentee ballots to be sent out to eligible voters who requested them is Tuesday.