Sweatshirt-gate? In Albuquerque, homeless residents in pro-Keller clothing sparks intrigue

In the final run-up to Albuquerque's mayoral runoff election, photos of homeless people wearing yellow sweatshirts have become an unlikely political flashpoint.

Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller's campaign on Sunday accused his challenger Darren White's supporters of being behind the sweatshirts that feature the phrase "I ♥ Tim Keller" emblazoned on the front.

In a social media post, Keller's campaign said using unhoused people as political props is "disgraceful" and called on White to condemn the incident.

White's campaign manager on Monday denied the campaign's involvement in the incident, which was first spotlighted by a blog affiliated with the Rio Grande Foundation, a Libertarian-leaning think tank.

The sweatshirts first popped up on Albuquerque's streets Wednesday, according to several people wearing them.

By Monday, the bright yellow sweatshirts dotted East Central, with dozens of people wearing the sweatshirts to protect against the biting cold. For some, the yellow hoodie was their only protection from the wind chill that day.

"It sucks (expletive)," said Nikki Rankin, as a bead of snot dripped from her nose. "But I took it because I had nothing."

Despite the text, which she saw as a "publicity stunt," Rankin said she accepted the hoodie because she had lost other clothes in a city encampment sweep last week and was unable to get anything out of storage over the holidays.

Other people living on the streets said that the sweatshirts were passed out in front of a local smoke shop on East Central, though no one recognized the people who had done so. Rankin also said she didn't recognize who had passed out the sweatshirts, or why they did it — but she had a hunch.

"They only did it for publicity, to screw the other guy over," Rankin said of the sweatshirt hanging from her thin frame.

But who is trying to sabotage who is unclear, with both campaigns denying involvement and no group yet claiming responsibility.

The photos that would begin the political controversy were originally sent to Paul Gessing, the president of the Rio Grande Foundation. On Monday, Gessing said he believes the person who sent him the photos also distributed the sweatshirts.

He said he could not disclose the person's identity, but said he believes the intent behind the sweatshirts is to draw public attention to Keller's handling of homelessness-related issues.

Albuquerque real estate executive Doug Peterson, who has clashed with Keller's administration and provided office space for White's campaign, said Monday he did not distribute the yellow sweatshirts and does not know who did.

Homelessness has emerged as a key issue in this year's mayoral race in Albuquerque, amid a recent increase in Albuquerque's unhoused population.

Keller and White have sparred over the subject during recent televised debates, with the mayor saying White's plan to remove all homeless encampments could be a "mass casualty event" if enacted during winter.

He also said he would continue his administration's efforts to improve addiction and housing services if reelected to a third four-year term as mayor.

For his part, White has repeatedly criticized Keller's handling of Albuquerque's homeless population, which increased to nearly 3,000 individuals earlier this year, according to a point-in-time count.

Specifically, White said during a recent KOAT-TV/KKOB/Journal debate that Keller had let homeless individuals "do whatever the hell they want" while negatively impacting local businesses and families.

Meanwhile, the New Mexico Republican Party on Monday accused Keller's campaign of being behind the sweatshirt distribution scheme, despite the mayor's condemnation of the plot.

"Using the homeless as political pawns is a new low for Tim Keller and shows just how tone-deaf he is," said state GOP chairwoman Amy Barela. "This stunt is not only a slap in the face to all of the homeless people in Albuquerque, but to every voter who wants to live in a city where homelessness, crime, and drugs are not out of control."

In response, Keller's campaign accused the state Republican Party of spreading a "baseless allegation" and said Keller supporters were the first to report the sweatshirts.

In a KRQE-TV debate Monday evening, moderators asked the candidates face-to-face who was behind the stunt. Both denied involvement for a second time.

"Listen, there is somebody, obviously, a citizen, that is so frustrated with your policies, Mayor, that they used this as a means to express their frustrations," White said.

Keller, in turn, described the sweatshirts as a predatory political ploy and called on White to condemn whoever is behind them.

Despite the political maelstrom, on Albuquerque's streets many of the people who wore the sweatshirts Monday had only one thought about the garment — it kept them a little bit warmer.