APS' only school board incumbent running for reelection is the far and away fundraising frontrunner

School board candidates

While the only incumbent fighting to keep her seat on the Albuquerque Public Schools board far outraised and outspent every other candidate in the field, teachers-union endorsed candidates were faring better than they did in 2021, campaign finance reports filed last week show.

District 2 incumbent Peggy Muller-Aragón, who’s been on the board since 2015, raised over $50,000 and spent over $21,000, mostly on campaign consultants.

But whereas the four Albuquerque Teachers Federation-backed candidates during the first reporting period of the last election cycle averaged around $17,800 in fundraising, the union’s three picks this year averaged over $30,200.

In 2021, business-backed candidates largely beat out rivals endorsed by the union. This year, the ATF has said it aims to keep candidates it has endorsed in the District 1 and District 4 seats, and is trying to flip the District 2 seat.

Muller-Aragón‘s largest single donations came from the campaign committee of her treasurer Robert Moss, also a managing partner at her husband’s law firm and a failed candidate for a state House seat in 2022, and The New Beginnings LLC, which provides habilitation services for people with developmental disabilities.

Both gave Muller-Aragón $10,000, also the largest single donations of any of the races. Moss also made another $500 contribution to the campaign.

Muller-Aragón was flanked by District 2 rival Ronalda Tome-Warito, who raised $33,000; District 4 candidate Heather Benavidez, who raised over $29,000; and District 1 candidate Robert Trujillo, with about $28,600.

All three candidates’ largest contributions came from the ATF and American Federation of Teachers New Mexico, who each gave all three candidates $5,000.

District 1 candidate Janelle Astorga raised $14,375 in an almost even split between individual and political action committee contributions. District 4 candidate Stephen Cecco received much of his almost-$6,600 from individual donations.

Adrian Nogales, a teacher competing for the District 2 seat, received contributions totaling to $999.99 from just one source: his own campaign committee.

District 1 candidate Verland Coker did not appear to have campaign finance filings listed as of Friday afternoon. A New Mexico Secretary of State spokesperson said in an email that Coker “just has not filed the most recent report,” and that “if he remains non-compliant we will attempt to … reach out to him to ensure he files.”

Altogether, the candidates spent almost $59,700, according to the reports.

Other highlights of the reports include:

• Astorga raised at least $5,500 of her total $14,375 from unions. None of those contributors, however, included teachers unions.
• Muller-Aragón saw the largest amount of “other” contributions, which include those from businesses, with over $13,500. But “other” contributions to Trujillo, a contractor, made up 29% of his fundraising total — the largest proportion of all candidates.
• Current District 4 board member Barbara Petersen and her political committee have given the most of all sitting board members, contributing almost $2,850 in total — almost $600 each to Tome-Warito and Trujillo, and over $1,680 to Benavidez.