OPINION: Telles will be a voice for small business

Growing up in Albuquerque, I always knew this city was home. I’ve spent more than 20 years in the coffee business, starting with a mobile coffee truck in the San Francisco Bay Area. After 15 successful years there, I felt called back to Albuquerque, the city I love and the community that shaped me.

Today, I’m the proud owner of Catalyst Coffee on the West Side, and I’ve continued my mobile roots with the Catalyst Coffee Sprinter Truck, which many of you have seen at our local farmers’ markets. One of the biggest reasons I wanted to bring my business back home was the promise of a smaller city that welcomed and supported small business owners.

But the reality has been more complicated.

In the Bay Area, I saw firsthand how major corporations and tech giants faced far fewer barriers than small business owners like me. I hoped for a different experience in Albuquerque. When I opened Catalyst Coffee in 2021, during the uncertainty of the pandemic, I knew it wasn’t a typical time to judge what doing business here would truly be like. Still, I believed our city’s economic development structure would make it easier for small businesses to get licensed, open and thrive.

Lately, that hasn’t been the case. Costs for small businesses keep rising, including licensing costs, while large corporations continue receiving city tax breaks. It’s starting to feel all too familiar, like the same San Francisco dynamic I chose to escape.

Small business owners need a champion at City Hall, someone who understands how policy decisions on budgets, taxes and red tape directly affect us. That’s why I’m supporting my friend and fellow West Sider, Stephanie Telles, in the runoff election for City Council District 1.

Telles is ready to get results for small businesses. With her background as a certified fraud examiner and forensic accountant, she knows how to ensure our city budget works for all of us, not just the well-connected few. She understands that eliminating waste can free up resources for programs that help local entrepreneurs grow and hire.

As director of the Government Accountability Office at the New Mexico State Auditor’s Office, Telles helped uncover $250 million in unemployment insurance overpayments and put in place stronger controls that prevented another $172.9 million in fraud. These are real results, exactly the kind of leadership and accountability Albuquerque needs.

I want someone like Telles advocating for me and for every small business across our city. If you live in City Council District 1, west of the river from Central to Paseo del Norte, I hope you’ll join me in voting for Stephanie Telles in the runoff election on Dec. 9.

Our local businesses deserve a voice at City Hall. Telles is that voice.