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Candidate for APS board suspends bid to represent District 3
Candidates for the District 3 seat on the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education, Isaac Flores, left, and Danielle Gonzales participate in a candidate forum on Sept. 10. Flores has since suspended his campaign.
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Isaac Flores, a candidate for the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education, has suspended his campaign. He was running to represent District 3, which covers the city’s north-central and northwestern corridors.
“I think it’s super important right now that we consolidate our efforts to make sure that we defeat an unfit incumbent,” Flores told the Journal on Tuesday.
The 27-year-old threw his support behind Rebecca Betzen, the teachers’ union-backed candidate seeking to unseat incumbent and Board President Danielle Gonzales.
“This decision was 100% my decision. I thought it over, and I truly believe that consolidating those efforts is how we’re going to actually win and put the values that I care about on the board,” he said.
Gonzales was elected in 2021 and backed by the business community, which has historically battled the teachers’ union for board control. Flores had the backing of neither faction.
“When you run for your community, you focus on the issues, and you focus on what’s more important in terms of your values,” Flores said. “Ultimately, for me, the decision came due to the fact that with three people in the race, that leaves open a probability that the incumbent would win.”
For her part, Gonzales’ campaign pointed to the results she has delivered over the past four years she has served on the APS board.
“Our community deserves results, not politics. I’ll keep challenging the status quo and fighting for strong schools, better outcomes, and real accountability for our kids,” Scott Forrester, campaign manager for Gonazles, wrote in a statement.
Because he missed the date to remove himself from the ballot, Flores’ name will remain on it.
