Challenger takes on first-term city councilor in Southeast Albuquerque

The marked difference between poor and affluent neighborhoods in southeastern Albuquerque is an issue this year in the contest between the City Council District 9 incumbent and her challenger.

Voters face a choice between City Councilor Renee Grout, a Republican seeking her second term, and Democrat Colton Newman, who manages a substance abuse research center.

Council District 9, which straddles Central Avenue east of Eubank, is among the city’s most diverse, spanning affluent foothills and Four Hills neighborhoods and much of the International District, where homelessness and drug use are conspicuous. The district extends north to Menaul.

Newman, 29, is business manager of the University of New Mexico Center on Alcohol, Substance Use and Addictions, which specializes in research into substance use and addictive behaviors. He has a master’s degree in project management from UNM.

Grout, 64, who owns an auto repair business three blocks north of Central Avenue, said she favors a compassionate response to homelessness and substance abuse and points to a list of projects she wants to address in a second term.

Colton Newman

Newman said he wants more equitable distribution of city resources in District 9. The city needs to spend more on lighting and street maintenance in neighborhoods off East Central, he said.

“It’s making sure that the entirety of the district is receiving the same kind of attention and treatment, not just the wealthier, more affluent neighborhoods,” he said.

Newman identified “inequity” as the biggest issue facing the city.

Newman said problems associated with crime, substance abuse and homelessness have worsened in recent years, which he attributes to the shuttering of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs during the administration of former New Mexico Gov. Susana Martinez.

Newman said he wants to make sure the city can measure the effectiveness of Mayor Tim Keller’s Gateway System of Care, a cluster of homeless shelters and social services. The effectiveness of the program remains unclear, he said.

“I would love to work with (Keller) closely and make sure that there are metrics in place with his Gateway Center to make sure that there’s transparency with taxpayer dollars,” Newman said. “I’m always happy to say something isn’t working.”

Newman also said he opposes cooperation between city officials and federal Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents.

“I’m taking a pretty firm stance that I don’t want to see ICE in Albuquerque,” he said. “I think one of the best things about Albuquerque is that we are a very amazingly diverse city. Part of that diversity comes from our hard working undocumented community.”

Renee Grout

As a business owner, Grout says she lives with the consequences of crime and homelessness and has observed an uptick in burglaries this year at her auto repair shop on San Pedro NE, between Central and Lomas.

“I’ve been broken into 13 times in 35 years, seven times in the last year,” she said. “Every day I come in and I have to pick up needles and trash and feces.”

Grout points to a list of projects planned or underway in District 5, including a $13 million expansion of Fire Station No. 12 near Central and Juan Tabo NE, expected to open later this year.

Grout said she was an early advocate for the Gateway Young Adult Center, also called the Young Adult Housing Navigation Campus, at 2424 San Mateo Place NE. The campus, expected to open in February, is intended to provide temporary housing and services for about 40 young adults ages 18 to 25 with the goal of getting them into permanent housing.

“Crime, addiction and homelessness are so closely intertwined they count as one issue,” Grout said in her Journal candidate questionnaire.

Grout expressed optimism that the Gateway System of Care, though “very expensive,” will help provide people with mental health and substance abuse treatment and help get people off the street.

“We need more substance abuse treatment,” she said. “I am hopeful that the Gateway system will help.”

In her questionnaire, Grout said she plans to prioritize infrastructure funding.

“This administration has spent so much money on homeless shelters that our roadway and drainage infrastructure has been left to crumble,” she wrote in response to the city’s capital implementation program. “As the budget chair for FY26, I advocated for our roads, parks, and drainage systems.”