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It wasn't much of a surprise.
An Albuquerque mayoral debate aired Wednesday night on KOAT-TV uninterrupted for one hour. It pitted the four highest-polling candidates — Mayor Tim Keller, City Councilor Louie Sanchez, former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico Alex Uballez and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White — against each other. The candidates fielded questions from staff from the Journal, KOAT and KKOB.
Crime and homelessness issues dominated the debate, and the challengers essentially teamed up against Keller, arguing he has mismanaged the city for the last eight years and the city needs a change in direction. This isn't surprising, as our polling has shown that crime and homelessness are the biggest issues on the minds of voters — and it isn't even close.
Some of my takeaways from the debate:
• Keller's got the recognition and baggage that come with having done the job for eight years.
He took heat from both sides. On some issues, Uballez tried to flank Keller to the left. He accused the mayor of being cruel to homeless people, saying that the city sweeps homeless encampments and throws away people's belongings and identification cards, making it harder for them to get back on their feet. Uballez mentioned that he talked to a homeless person who had a parent's ashes thrown away during a sweep. That put Keller on the defensive.
"We do not throw away IDs. And if we do by accident, those people are held accountable. We do not sweep; we clean," Keller said.
That left the door open for White, a Republican, who accused Keller of not enforcing existing laws, like camping on the streets.
"Some say, 'Well, that's cruel.' You know what's cruel? If you're a family that lives in that neighborhood where all these tent cities are, or you're a business that's struggling to survive in that environment," White said.
The exchange highlighted Keller's predicament: If he makes an argument to appeal to Democrats, then he's attacked by White and Sanchez for being too liberal. If he tries to appeal to his base, Uballez is there to counter.
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• Uballez is sharp.
He looked good on the stage and articulated his points. I expect he will be mayor some day if he wants the job, but he's got an uphill battle to win enough Democratic votes against Keller this cycle.
• White will get the conservative vote.
He was effective at getting his messaging across. He wants more broken-windows style policing instead of relying on civilians to assist officers and technology like speed cameras. He'll also be heavy handed on homeless people who refuse services. Voters who want that approach have their candidate.
• There's not much room for Sanchez.
Keller and Uballez will get liberal voters. White will get conservative ones. That doesn't leave much room for Sanchez to extend his share.
• It was kind of depressing.
Albuquerque is the biggest city in New Mexico, home to a mountain range, hike and bike trails, parks, arts, sports, industrial sectors like aerospace, advanced manufacturing and directed energy. We have a military base, a national lab and health care systems, not to mention award-winning restaurants. But the people vying to lead it spent much of the debate talking about human waste, drugs, trash and crime. Of course that's what voters want addressed, but it would be nice to hear some optimism and plans for economic development in our city.
What's next?
There's still some time for the candidates to win over the 37% of likely voters that a Journal Poll last month found were undecided.
The Journal will be hosting a debate, which will feature questions from the Journal, KOAT and KKOB, at 2 p.m. Wednesday. It will be streamed live on the Journal's website at https://www.abqjournal.com/mayor25/ and by our partner outlets. That debate will also include candidates Mayling Armijo and Eddie Varela, who were not included in last week's debate. (They are polling at 1% and 2%, respectively.)
Additionally, if you'd like to compare the candidates' positions side-by-side, turn the page. Today we're publishing questionnaires the candidates submitted to the Journal. The responses, as well as other election coverage, are alsoavailable online at https://www.abqjournal.com/election/.
