OPINION: Keller is the right choice on Dec. 9

Our campaign was about delivering results for working families, protecting the most vulnerable, respecting our tribal neighbors and building a city that works for us all.

I ran because people are frustrated that Albuquerque feels stuck. That is why most of us voted for change on Nov. 4. The anger and apathy are real; and this is exactly what candidates like Darren White count on. White knows that when people grow disillusioned, cruelty can masquerade as change. It is a trap, one that turns our frustration into a weapon and moves us backward.

So while we deserve better, we cannot lose sight of the fact that worse is possible.

White’s record makes that clear. Under his watch, the Albuquerque Police Department was defined by a culture of aggression and excessive deadly force, a crisis that cost lives, shattered public trust and forced the city into a decade of federal oversight, let alone tens of millions of dollars in reform costs.

He is alleged to have interfered in law enforcement matters, from removing his former wife from a DWI investigation to compromising the death scene of civil rights attorney Mary Han. He earned a rare rebuke of his own rank-and-file through a vote of no-confidence from the State Police Officers Association. And after resigning in protest over marijuana legalization, he went on to make millions in the marijuana industry. This is a career defined by a disregard for the law, for the officers that served under him, and for the public he was sworn to protect.

As mayor, White would return Albuquerque to the worst mistakes of its past: cutting core public services, criminalizing homelessness and mental illness, turning our immigrant neighbors over to the Trump administration, and inviting new scandals that put his interests above the city’s needs.

That is not the change we voted for.

That’s why, on election night, I made it clear: Our work now is to keep White out of City Hall. That night, between our campaign and Mayor Tim Keller’s, a majority of voters chose a forward-looking vision — one rooted in real solutions like Albuquerque Community Safety, investment in prevention and intervention, services and treatment for the unhoused and zoning that allows smart people-centered growth.

While we may have disagreed about how to best achieve these goals, we cannot be complacent about the goals themselves.

Our true challenge in this runoff is not that voters will choose White, but that they will choose to stay home. Our work now is to inspire those who are angry and apathetic — not just to vote against regression but to vote for a future grounded in dignity, shared success and protecting our neighbors. Keller is now the only candidate whose plan keeps us on a path toward that future.

This election will shape the conditions in which we work together to build our city over the next four years. Our charge is clear: Keep Darren White out of City Hall. Then keep organizing after Election Day so that Keller delivers for the people of Albuquerque.

We vote to create the conditions to demand a government that protects immigrant neighbors, strengthens public safety, treats the unhoused with dignity, honors tribal consultation and sacred sites, provides rental assistance and tenant protections and adopts community-benefit agreements so working-class residents have a voice in our city’s growth.

This campaign has shown me something I have always believed: Albuquerque’s greatest strength is not our politicians, it is our people. It is because of you — our neighbors, our friends, our communities — that we can take on the hard work ahead.

I believe better is possible. On Dec. 9, vote accordingly.