Mayoral candidates talk big issues in debate as election nears

Albuquerque’s six mayoral candidates took to the debate stage Tuesday to tell voters how they would address hot-button issues like crime, homelessness and economic development if elected in November.

Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller is currently the highest polling candidate at 29%, according to a new Journal Poll. However, a greater share of projected voters are undecided at 37%.

Tuesday’s debate gave candidates an opportunity to win over those key undecided voters.

All but one of the ballot-qualified candidates debated live in front of the business community at the Sheraton Uptown as a part of the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP) event.

Before the event, candidate Daniel Chavez said in a statement that he was suspending his campaign after drawing 1% of projected voters in a Journal Poll.

Crime

The biggest problem facing Albuquerque is crime, at least according to the majority of polled voters.

Keller said using technology and civilian support staff, as the Albuquerque Police Department has done during his term, is the best way to fight crime.

“We know what to do and we just have to keep doing it,” Keller said.

Opponent and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White disagreed. White said he would cut down on what he called the “bloated” executive rank of the Albuquerque Police Department to free up funds to hire more boots-on-the-ground officers. White said he would cap higher-ups in the department at 15 officers.

White also said he would open up the prisoner transport center to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, standing in stark contrast to the mayor’s current “immigrant-friendly city” policy.

The prisoner transport center oversees the transport of those accused of crimes from APD custody to the Metropolitan Detention Center or other destinations. White said that giving ICE access to the center would stop those already in the country illegally from committing more crimes.

Other candidates, such as Navy reservist Mayling Armijo and City Councilor Louie Sanchez, said if elected they would hire a new police chief.

Former U.S. attorney and candidate Alex Uballez said more effective police investigations, a unified county dispatch center and proactive policing were paramount to lowering crime.

“It doesn’t matter if you catch 90% of the people who do something wrong (if) you can’t detain them and sentence them,” Uballez said.

Moreover, former Albuquerque firefighter and candidate Eddie Varela decried juvenile violence and vowed to put in place a citywide curfew for minors beginning at 11 p.m. if elected.

“It’s not the youth of yesterday — where they were just out there having a good time. We have killers and murderers out there,” Varela said. “We’re going to put a stop to it and we’re going to hold parents responsible.”

Homelessness

With the number of people living on the streets doubling since the pandemic, concern about the issue is growing among Albuquerque voters.

A Journal Poll indicates that 47% of voters see homelessness as the city’s biggest problem.

All six candidates agreed that the city is struggling with its homeless population, which stands around 2,700, but that’s where consensus stopped.

Keller touted the Gateway Network, a system of city-run shelters and services for homeless people. If reelected, Keller said he would open hundreds more beds at the facilities.

His opponents called the Gateway’s price tag and efficacy into question.

Most candidates, including Varela, Armijo, Sanchez and White said they would direct APD to enforce an ordinance that bans camping in public spaces, something they said is not happening under Keller.

“We don’t need reform, it’s already there. We just need to enforce,” Armijo said.

White criticized more than just the Gateway Center and enforcement, saying that infrastructure changes like installing new bus stops along Central to decrease loitering is a waste of taxpayer dollars.

“Mayor, it’s the homeless, not the furniture,” White said.

Uballez said he would focus on behavioral health and transitional housing like that offered at the Gateway, although he said he did not agree with how the shelter system was being managed.

“We don’t have to choose between who’s ineffective and who’s cruel,” Uballez said.

Economic development

In front of a ballroom jammed with Albuquerque’s business leaders, candidates debated the city’s economy and how to improve it.

Keller looked back over his tenure as mayor, citing key partnerships he forged between local government, higher education and private industry.

He pointed to the University of New Mexico’s interest in opening a Downtown campus and Central New Mexico Community College stationing its film school at the Railyards. That’s just the beginning, Keller said.

Keller said he will work to position Albuquerque as a national leader in future technologies such as quantum computing and nuclear fusion.

Some of those industries are already choosing Albuquerque. Last week, Pacific Fusion announced plans to put a $1 billion research and development facility at Mesa del Sol on the city’s south side.

Conversely, multiple candidates said the plight of small business owners is being ignored by the city.

Sanchez said that the city needs to “prioritize existing businesses.”

“When you drive up and down Central with the 100th-year anniversary approaching, all we see is boarded-up buildings, no left turns,” Sanchez said.

Though businesses closing is problematic, Armijo said the biggest issue is businesses inability to open or expand in Albuquerque due to a lack of efficiency in the city’s planning and zoning department. As a former director of economic development at Bernalillo County, Armijo said she has the expertise to reorganize and maximize efficiency.

“Here’s the kind of words I don’t appreciate: ‘We’re working on it. It’s getting better. We’ll get there. I need more time,’” Armijo said. “Every time you don’t have a permit, somebody’s not working, (gross receipts tax) is not going into the economy. That’s how the city should be thinking about making money — is you spending it.”

In response, Keller said he was handed an outdated system and his staff have managed to lower permitting wait times since April. This year, the average wait time for commercial permits is 37 days, down from an average of 98 days last year, according to a city news release.

Multiple candidates, including Varela, White and Sanchez also said that crime was a major deterrent for prospective businesses and said the best way to push the economy forward was to address public safety.

To close out the debate, Keller criticized his opponents’ platforms, which he said were based on complaints and not solutions.

“It’s easy to blame the problem,” Keller said. “It’s easy to talk about what we want to do and how bad our city is. It’s hard to actually try and problem solve and fix it. That’s what I’ve been doing every day.”