Challengers take on three-term incumbent in District 3 City Council race

Two challengers in City Council District 3 hope to unseat incumbent Klarissa Peña, who is seeking her fourth term in the Nov. 4 contest.

Pena's opponents are Christopher R. Sedillo, 62, who retired in 2007 after serving 26 years in the U.S. Navy, and Teresa Garcia, 37, who serves as chair of Albuquerque's Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission. All three identify as Democrats.

Peña, 58, is running on her record and lists a roster of projects completed or in progress during her 12-year tenure and those she wants to fulfill in a fourth term.

Among the highlights is the Southwest Public Safety Center at 98th and Amole Mesa SW, which she said is the first fire station built in Albuquerque in 20 years and the first to combine facilities for police, Albuquerque Community Safety and community rooms.

Her challengers point to a lack of retail and job opportunities in the Southwest Albuquerque district and criticize Pena's advocacy for the Route 66 Visitor Center, which has yet to regularly open.

"We need to make sure that we create jobs in the district where people in the community can actually live in the district, work in the district, and thrive in the district," Garcia said in a phone interview. "My community doesn't have that option right now."

Garcia describes herself as a first-generation Mexican-American, which gives her a connection to the Hispanic-majority district with a large immigrant population.

District 3 has a neighborhood Walmart at 98th and Sage SW, a Mexican meat market and a second Mexican grocery store just outside the district, in addition to fast-food restaurants, Garcia said.

Garcia also criticized the Route 66 Visitor Center, which she says lies too far west of District 3 to provide a community resource.

"The center has cost taxpayers $13 million with ongoing maintenance costs," Garcia said. "It is a visitor center that the community does not have access to. I have not been inside because it's not accessible. It's taxpayer money gone to waste."

Sedillo called District 3 a "food desert" with a single neighborhood Walmart. He also described the district as "unsightly west of 98th Street" with trash, poor landscaping, and overgrown weeds. Too many West Side roads are in poor condition, he said.

Sedillo also said the Albuquerque Police Department needs new leadership and to "hire professionals from outside the state" to recommend changes in the department.

He also criticized the Route 66 Visitor Center, which he said was "mismanaged. "Instead of making money, it's costing taxpayer money every day," he said.

Peña rejected the criticism, saying the Route 66 Visitor Center has led to development at 98th and Central SW, including warehouses on Central Avenue.

"It's really done what it set out to do, and that was to spur economic development in the area," Peña said. She rejects the criticism that the visitor center is too far west, noting that it's "nine miles, nine minutes from Downtown," and closer to Downtown than Balloon Fiesta Park.

In her Journal questionnaire, Peña described her economic development strategies leveraging the Route 66 Visitor Center "as a unique catalyst for District 3's economic growth" to support businesses along Central Avenue.

The $13.1 million Route 66 Visitor Center, located west of Albuquerque at Atrisco Vista and Central, was built with state, city and county dollars. The building was incomplete at the time of the official ribbon cutting in September 2022.

Bernalillo County donated the building to the city in February 2024.

Peña also has served as a past executive director of the West Central Community Development Group, which was contracted to operate the Route 66 Visitor Center from June 2023 to February 2024. Peña's husband was a past board member of the WCCDG.

Peña also disputed what opponents describe as a lack of retail in District 3, noting her advocacy for the Las Estancias retail center at Coors and Rio Bravo SW, at the southern edge of District 3, which includes a Walmart Supercenter and dozens of other stores and restaurants.

Other accomplishments Peña cited include the West Gate Community Center, four new city parks, new traffic signals at 98th and Gibson SW and 250 new streetlights in the district, with 200 more planned.