OPINION: Why I'm running for reelection

On Dec. 9, voters in District 3 have an important choice to make about the future of our community. After 12 years of serving the Southwest Mesa, I understand the responsibility of this office and the commitment required to deliver real results for families. I am running for reelection because I believe deeply in this community, I believe in the progress we have made together, and I believe we cannot afford to gamble that progress on inexperience, misinformation or political convenience.

District 3 deserves leadership rooted in honesty, accountability and a long record of actually getting things done. That is what I have provided, and that is what I will continue to deliver.

Over the years, we have accomplished milestones that many said were out of reach. The Southwest Public Safety Center — our area’s first new fire station in two decades, and the city’s first combined ACS police, and fire facility — opened because we demanded better public safety resources for our families. The long-awaited Westgate Community Center, now entering its final phase with a gym and expanded recreation areas, is another project I fought for because our youth deserve opportunities and our families deserve places to grow and thrive.

We have installed more than 200 new streetlights, remodeled the Alamosa Library, built two new splash pads, expanded parks and delivered sidewalks, roads, lighting and long overdue improvements to neighborhoods that had been ignored for far too long. These are not promises. These are results.

And there is more work ahead.

But we must be honest about something: Meaningful progress doesn’t happen overnight. Real investment in infrastructure, youth programs, public safety and community development takes time. You cannot manufacture experience with a slogan or substitute it with social media posts. Effective leadership requires showing up, understanding how city government works, building coalitions, and staying committed even when the work is slow or challenging. Our community has fought hard for every step forward, and we cannot risk that momentum on untested candidates who have not been part of our neighborhoods and who are willing to bend the truth to get ahead.

That is not leadership. That is ambition without accountability.

I know this community because I’ve lived here, raised my family here and worked alongside you as a city councilor for more than a decade. I’ve always been honest with you — about our challenges, our victories and the work still ahead. Even when conversations were uncomfortable, you received the truth from me. Leadership requires that. If reelected, you will continue to have my honesty, transparency and commitment every single day.

My opponent, Teresa Garcia, has taken a different approach — one that relies on misleading statements and personal attacks. Voters deserve honesty. When the Albuquerque Journal asked whether she had ever been arrested, she answered no. Public records show otherwise. This is not about revisiting a dismissed case. It is about integrity now. It is about whether someone seeking to represent our community respects voters enough to tell the truth.

District 3 cannot afford leadership defined by dishonesty and inexperience. We deserve better.

I am proud to be endorsed by leaders who know our community well — Congresswoman Melanie Stansbury, Speaker Javier Martínez, Sen. Michael Padilla, Sen. Ben Ray Luján, former Mayor Marty Chávez and many of our labor unions. They know I will continue fighting for working families and delivering for the Southwest Mesa.

But the endorsement that matters most is yours.

This election is about our future. I humbly ask for your vote on or before Dec. 9 so we can continue this progress together.

City Councilor Klarissa Peña represents District 3, the southwest part of Albuquerque.