Election 2023 — Parent's rights take center stage in race for APS District 4 seat

In what has so far been a quiet race, one issue has taken center stage in the contest for Albuquerque Public Schools’ District 4: parent’s rights.

Only two candidates, Heather Benavidez and Stephen Cecco, are competing for the school board seat that represents the International District and much of Nob Hill and Uptown.

While the two generally have not publicly sparred, they’ve at times made strong comments or taken hard stances on the issues of parental rights in education and of providing a space for students to learn about their own identities.

Benavidez, who’s been endorsed by the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, appears to be the race’s frontrunner if one looks only at campaign finances. As of the first reports, filed in mid-October, she’d raised the third-most of any school board candidate with more than $29,000 — more than four times the amount raised by her opponent.

A former magistrate judge who ran unsuccessfully in 2022 for state treasurer, Benavidez has run on her record of public service and her advocacy for people with developmental disabilities.

“Every child has a right to a public education where they feel comfortable, where they learn in a safe environment, one that prepares them for college or a career when they graduate. I am running to protect that right,” she said during a late-September candidate forum.

Supported by the local chapter of Moms for Liberty, Cecco has thus far run a relatively low-profile campaign and declined to respond to a Journal questionnaire or to be interviewed about his platform.

Still, he’s focused the public comments he has made on improving student outcomes, often speaking in support of APS’ new strategic plan to do so.

“I really want to help bring the school system up,” he said during the forum. “We need to get out of the basement. That’s where we are.”

Cecco’s also made a point of proving he would fight for parents’ rights if elected.

To a question during the candidate forum asking his opinion on school districts dictating the types of materials available to students in school libraries, Cecco walked a line between “the kids need to be able to express themselves” and “the teachers should have some flexibility in what they’re teaching.”

Those comments, however, were dialed back from ones he made to the Journal in late August, when he said, generally referring to the state education system, that “they’re taking parents’ rights away, which is completely against anything that I believe in.”

“A young kid, especially a middle-school child, can’t figure out what flavor ice cream they want. And they’re supposed to be given the job of figuring out their gender? That’s sick,” he added at the time.

About a week after those comments were published in the Journal, Benavidez, during the candidate forum, took a hard, defensive stance on culture war issues without singling out Cecco.

“I’m against book banning and opposed to any policy that’s going to harm our LGBTQIA students,” she said. “I trust our educators and will make sure they have the resources they need to do their jobs. Our children have a right to a public education where they learn and grow in a safe environment.”

In a Journal questionnaire, though, she also sought to strike a balance between supporting parents’ right to be involved in their children’s education and deferring to the expertise of educators within their own classrooms to be able to “develop lesson plans based on the approved curriculum.”

Legal issues

In 2009, Cecco pleaded guilty to driving while intoxicated. He originally was also charged with careless driving, which was dismissed as part of a plea agreement, according to the electronic case file. Cecco was sentenced to unsupervised probation and community service. His case was later dismissed.

In 2010, Cecco also filed for bankruptcy during a civil case filed by a credit card company against him and Ameristar Mortgage Group Inc. (of which he was formerly the president) over an unclear amount of money the credit card company said was owed to it.