He Did It Again: Stats Show Keller Swept All Nine ABQ City Council Districts In Mayoral Re-elect; Did The Same In '17, Plus: Ranked Choice Voting For Council Contests? And Spending The State's Big Surplus

Mayor Tim Keller has a lot to be proud of from his sweeping November 2 re-election victory. Not only did he handily defeat challengers Manny Gonzales and Eddy Aragon but he did it going away, winning in all nine city council districts. 

It was the second time he achieved the feat. He also swept all nine districts in the 2017 mayoral runoff when he captured 62 percent of the vote in a two way contest with Republican Dan Lewis.

We reported to our radio and blog audience during the election that Keller's 56 percent win seemed to be across the board, but now we have the numbers (thanks to political consultant Sisto Abeyta) to back that up. 

Keller blew the doors off in liberal SE Heights District 6, racking up his best percentage in any district as he garnered 75 percent of the vote, an impressive feat in a three way contest. 

His second best finish was in North Valley/Downtown District 2 where he scored 73 percent. In Valley District 3 he won with 49 percent. 

Keller has to be pleased with his victory in Westside District 5. While Republican Dan Lewis was defeating incumbent Dem Cynthia Borrego, Keller won the threw way mayoral contest with 46 percent.

Even in NE Heights Districts 4, 8 and 9, which have a conservative lean, Keller managed 50 percent of the vote in 4, 51 percent in 8 and 50 percent in 9.

Back on the Westside in District 1, while Councilor Lan Sena, who was appointed by Keller to fill a vacancy, was getting a thumping from Louie Sanchez, Keller felt no pain. He took the district with 52 percent.

Of course when it comes to ABQ mayoral races, past results are no guarantee of future performance. Since the modern form of government began in 1974 no mayor has ever gone on to higher office. 

THE RUNOFF TRAIL

Meanwhile, with one week to go until the December 7 runoff elections in City Council Districts 7 and 9. . . 

After we said on the Monday blog that Attorney General Balderas endorsed Dem Rob Grilley in the  District 9 runoff but had not endorsed progressive Dem Tammy Fiebelkorn in Distinct 7, an "endorsement alert" popped up in the afternoon on Fiebelkorn's social media.

Balderas endorsed her and cited her experience in working to reduce domestic violence, saying the city needs councilors with "hands-on" experience working with law enforcement. Fiebelkorn is the president of Positive Links, a nonprofit "dedicated to educating the public about the link between animal abuse and human violence and providing training to domestic violence workers. . ." 

A number of readers have expressed support for ranked choice voting instead of conducting low turnout runoff elections when no candidate gets 50 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting. The ranked choice method where voters rank all the candidates would settle the matter Election Night without the expense of a runoff and campaigns that are hard-pressed to get close attention 

There could be a compromise for the new City Council to consider: Keep the runoff election for the office of Mayor but go to ranked choice voting for the council seats.

WHAT TO DO?

What to do with the largest projected surpluses in state history? One idea suggested here was tax rebates--significant ones for middle and low income New Mexicans. Reader Karl Kiser tries to throw cold water on that one:  

I must take issue with tax rebates. Much of this money should go to offset the bad effects of oil and gas production. Too many companies produced negative environmental outcomes and the damage is ongoing. Many companies are bankrupt and will provide no funds for remediation. This includes damage to air, water and land. Priority should go to the most dangerous sites. 

I would look to clean up spills, cap old wells, offsetting the water effects of climate change (the state engineer recently resigned because of a lack of resources), enforcement of methane leaks (not enough inspectors plus the San Juan Basin shows a large methane spot from the air), and I could go on. 

Then there's that $3.7 billion in federal infrastructure money about to be let loose. Former ABQ Mayor Marty Chavez has been named by MLG to supervise the vast sum. All those in favor of blowing up Chavez's phone, say "Aye!"

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(c)NM POLITICS WITH JOE MONAHAN 2021