Working to turn in a performance next Tuesday that will get him 50 percent of the vote and avoid a runoff election with expected second place finisher Manny Gonzales, Mayor Tim Keller rolled out a law and order endorsement from Attorney General Hector Balderas. 

Keller could use the AG's conservative/moderate Dem credentials. He owns the progressive vote but if a runoff is forced it will be from Balderas Democrats and the like. The AG said:

In the newspaper's recent poll crime ranked as the top issue for 66 percent of likely voters, similar to the 2017 levels when Keller first took office, demonstrating the stubbornness of the crime crisis. 

Conservative Dem Sheriff Manny Gonzales is touting his endorsements from GOP City Councilor Trudy Jones and former BernCo Commissioner Wayne Johnson in the final days as he woos R voters. Eddy Aragon, the lone Republican on the ballot, is telling voters he will cut the city's record homicide rate in half if they elect him.

Also on the mayoral beat, our Wednesday blog reporting the decision by City Attorney Esteban Aguilar to engage with political consultant James Hallinan over Hallinan's Tweet accusing ABQ Sunport Director Nyika Allen of having an affair with the Mayor drew a variety of comments. 

Aguilar said the unproven accusation--first made without a name attached by Manny Gonzales at a TV debate--constituted "sexual harassment" and that's why he wrote a letter to Hallinan threatening legal action against him if he continued. His argument being that the city must protect its workforce from such harassment. 

But others disagreed with the use of the term sexual harassment, saying what Hallinan could be guilty of is lying but not sexual harassment which Wikipedia defines this way:

It sounds as though there is room for legal argument over the definition of Hallinan's actions. But whatever the case his Tweet shook up the campaign, with Keller supporters arguing that publicly going after the consultant for the PAC supporting Gonzales was the right thing to do and also works politically. One of them wrote:

But most consultants, admittedly mostly male, agreed with analyst Greg Payne that responding to an unfounded Tweet with the full force of city government power only served to highlight the allegation of an affair and put a name and face to it and was unwise politically. 

Several offered the opinion that the incident will likely not have significant impact on the Tuesday vote but that we haven't heard the last of the Keller/Aguilar/Nykia Allen/James Hallinan saga. 

After an initial stumble that saw his Guv website go live while he was still employed as KRQE-TV's weatherman and forcing his sudden resignation, Republican Mark Ronchetti moved to regain momentum with a four minute slickly produced video announcing his '22 GOP gubernatorial candidacy. 

Ronchetti is a media professional so a solid video performance is expected. He delivers one but unlike when he sought the US Senate seat in '20, this time the video had a bit of a feel of a TV rerurn. ("Haven't we seen this one before, Eve?")

He cakewalked into the GOP Senate nomination that no one of political prominence wanted and his six point defeat by Ben Ray Lujan did not destroy him. But the real question is what did that candidacy inspire that would justify a run for Governor? A relatively close showing gives the candidacy enough purpose for the GOP elite but perhaps not yet for the general public.

This time Ronchetti faces candidates (7 of them) with more gravitas but with his statewide name ID and the presumption that he still has a good donor list Ronchetti will start atop the heap. If he is not the outright frontrunner he is the name ID frotnrunner. State Rep. Rebecca Dow is the frontrunner with party activists. The "Stop Ronchetti" movement will now likely consolidate around Dow who is the only hopeful to have initial fund-raising success.  

Ronchetti trotted out the usual topics to appeal to the conservative GOP base. His video was heavy on border security, faulting MLG for pulling back the National Guard and on the high crime ravaging the ABQ metro. The Vermont native faults MLG for her handing of Covid, saying she took away "our freedoms" which appeals to the R's but will be a hard sell if he is the nominee. In a written statement he also cites her mistake in ordering high end groceries for the Governor's Mansion during the pandemic. 

All in all pretty soft hits that will have to be greatly enhanced by whoever is the GOP nominee.

State Dems came with this reaction to Ronchetti's entry: 

Without leadership experience or a record to run on, Ronchetti has taken up a platform of the GOP’s most extreme policies and former President Trump’s most divisive ideas. Ronchetti has praised the former President’s disastrous COVID-19 response, does not believe in climate change, has worked to restrict women’s rights, and supports ripping health care coverage away from 843,500 New Mexicans with pre-existing conditions. 

Abortion, often on the back-burner, could be pushed to the fore next year as courts entertain major changes to laws that are making pro-choice voters extra nervous. If a year from now that is the case, it could be a big driver of turnout for the Dems and leave the R's here with no answers. 

Senior Alligator Republicans alerted us to Ronchetti's intention to run for Governor back on Sept. 1 and we alerted the state, although we expected the entry a little sooner. We took some sharp hits for that prediction, including from Ronchetti's wife Krysty who roasted us on social media (since removed). But our top sources are rarely wrong and here we are with a Ronchetti candidacy--as predicted. Apology accepted, Krysty. 

We'll be back before the microphones of KANW 89.1 FM and kanw.com Tuesday night beginning at 6:30 to count the votes of Election '21. And we'll have some top drawer guests to help call the action. 

ABQ Dem Westside State Rep. Moe Maestas, first elected in 2006, is a fountain of info on the local political scene. Besides the top of the ballot mayoral contest, Maestas will keep us posted on that competition for a westside city council seat featuring appointed Councilor Lan Sena and businessman Louie Sanchez, both Democrats. 

Says Maestas: 

If you say so, Moe. 

Brook Bassan

ABQ NE Heights GOP City Councilor Brook Bassan, who has carved out the rare reputation of being a genuine moderate, will make her first appearance on our long-running KANW Election Night coverage (since 1988) and will provide expertise on the controversial $50 million bond proposal to build a soccer stadium near downtown, local school board races she is closely watching and, of course, who will or won't be joining her on the nine member council after Tuesday's election. 

The nine member council is currently divided between 6 Dems and 3 R's. Will Brook get some GOP company or not? 

Former Dem State Senator Dede Feldman may have retired from the Senate in 2013 but she's busier and more informed than ever. 

The ABQ North Valley resident has just authored her second book about New Mexico politics--Ten More Doors--and she continues to offer punditry on public television as well as advocating for government transparency. She says she'll be advocating for an exciting election night when she joins us Tuesday so be sure to knock on our door.

That's some heavy political weight doing the lifting this go round so stop by KANW Tuesday night. And to our friends in Santa Fe, we haven't forgotten you're also having an important election Nov. 2 and we'll closely follow those results.

Thanks for your continued interest.

Reporting from Albuquerque, I'm Joe Monahan and. . . 

This is the home of New Mexico politics.