Voters retain three Albuquerque City Council incumbents; Peña headed to runoff

Two Republican members of the Albuquerque City Council fended off challenges from Democratic opponents on Tuesday, while Councilor Klarissa Peña appears headed to a runoff against challenger Teresa Garcia.

In the two-way contest for the District 5 seat, incumbent Councilor Dan Lewis was leading with 54% of the vote over challenger Athenea Allen.

And unofficial results for District 9 in far Southeast Albuquerque show incumbent Councilor Renee Grout leading with 55% of the vote over challenger Colton Newman.

In the City Council contest for an open seat in District 1, unofficial results show Stephanie Telles leading with 36% of the vote to 26% for second-place candidate Joshua Neal. The two appear headed to a runoff.

In District 7, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn defeated her write-in opponent, Jaemes Shanley, with 88% of the vote, according to unofficial results.

Brian Sanderoff of Research & Polling Inc. called all the City Council races at about 9:30 p.m. Tuesday.

The District 1 contest attracted four candidates vying to succeed Councilor Louie Sanchez, a retired police officer and self-described “moderate Democrat,” who chose not to seek a second term and pursued an unsuccessful bid for mayor.

The crowded field included Ahren Griego, a retired Albuquerque firefighter; Neal, a civil engineer; Telles, a forensic accountant and fraud examiner; and Daniel Leiva, a lawyer, city employee and small business owner.

Griego, Telles and Leiva identify as Democrats. Neal did not list a party affiliation.

The West Side District 1 lies north of Central Avenue and stretches nearly to Paseo del Norte.

District 3

Peña, 58, ran on her record and listed projects completed during her 12-year tenure and those she wants to fulfill in a fourth term.

Garcia, 37, who appears headed for a runoff with Peña, serves as chair of Albuquerque’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission.

The third candidate in the race was Christopher Sedillo, 62, who retired in 2007 after serving 26 years in the U.S. Navy.

District 5

The District 5 race featured a contest between incumbent Lewis, who won his fourth term on the council on Tuesday, and challenger Allen, a Democrat and federal security professional.

Lewis, 55, served two terms on the City Council from 2009 to 2017. He vacated the seat to run for mayor and earned a spot in the 2017 runoff election against Tim Keller, who won to secure his first term as mayor. Lewis regained the District 5 seat in 2021 by defeating then-Councilor Cynthia Borrego.

Allen, 46, who is married to Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen, leads security operations at Kirtland Air Force Base, overseeing a staff of 40 at the Air Force Research Laboratory.

District 9

Voters in southeastern Albuquerque chose to retain Grout for a second term, defeating Newman, a Democrat, who manages a substance abuse research center at the University of New Mexico.

District 9, which straddles Central Avenue east of Eubank, spans affluent foothills and Four Hills neighborhoods and much of the International District, where homelessness and drug use are conspicuous.