The ABQ City Council run-off election being held today in District 6 in the SE Heights will mainly be watched for the impact it could have on Mayor Keller's administration. 

Both candidates--Nichole Rogers and Jeff Hoehn (pronounced Hain)--are Democrats but Hoehn has already declared on the blog that "Keller and Rogers are working hard to mischaracterize me" which means Hoehn will be more independent of the Democratic Mayor than Rogers who previously worked in his administration. 

Keller's campaign manager, Neri Holguin, is handling the outside PAC supporting Rogers so it's no secret that the Dem Mayor has a clear preference. 

The Council recently overrode a pair of Keller vetoes dealing with air quality issues, managing to get 6 of the 9 council votes necessary for the overrides. (And 7 votes on one of them). If the District 6 seat goes to Hoehn the odds increase that such overrides could be more common.

Despite progressives dominating state politics, the ABQ Council is an island of moderates and conservatives amid a sea of progressives. 

There are four Republican councilors but Democrat Louie Sanchez often votes with them, effectively giving the conservatives a 5 to 4 Council majority, just one shy of that six needed to override vetoes. 

That is Keller's major challenge going forward and as he preps to run for a third term in 2025.

Hoehn says he is a "progressive Democrat" like Rogers but he accepted $2,000 in campaign contributions (our first reporting had it at $1,500) from conservative Republican Councilor Trudy Jones. That makes her one of Hoehn's largest campaign contributors. 

It's true that the Council is officially nonpartisan, but unofficially it is not and District 6 is the most liberal Dem district of them all. The revelation about Jones giving to Hoehn may have slowed his momentum.

Also, Hoehn's ties to the development community, which Rogers' supporters have called into question, because of the RECPAC, comprised mainly of  real estate developers, officially endorsed Hoehn December 1 and has pumped money into the race for Hoehn. 

Dem consultant David Alcon thinks Rogers is the frontrunner going into the election because "Hoehn did not go negative enough." Her baggage included failing to properly register with the state a nonprofit PAC she founded. She was also criticized for having personal financial problems in years past.

This is a small election. In the first round of balloting in November Rogers came out on top 40 to 32  percent with 7,395 votes cast. The runoff resulted when no candidate in the four person field managed the needed 50 percent. 

There is usually a sizable drop off in voter participation in a runoff so a drop below 6,000 votes today could be in store. 

The polls are open until 7 p.m. tonight at these locations. Voters must live in District 6 in order to be eligible to vote. 

GUNS AT SESSION

Gov. Lujan Grisham threw a stick of dynamite into the upcoming 30 day legislative session Monday when she said she will ask lawmakers to consider legislation on assault weapons:

Lujan Grisham said she will propose novel legislation for New Mexico that would mirror a new federal proposal aimed at limiting the damage inflicted by assault weapons. The idea is to limit a shooter’s ability to fire off dozens of rounds in seconds and keep them from being able to attach a new magazine to keep shooting.

There will be much huffing and puffing over the proposal in the short session but chances of passage of such a bill here or in DC are remote. But more gun control is near and dear to MLG so off they go.

DATELINE DUBAI

Dubai

The Guv also says she will ask lawmakers for $500 million for this water project:

New Mexico would underwrite development of a new source of water by buying treated water that originates from the used, salty byproducts of oil and natural gas drilling, and help preserve its freshwater aquifers in the process. . .The idea is to create a government-guaranteed market for the commodity — treated water — and attract private enterprise to build desalinization and treatment facilities, securing new sources of water for industrial applications. The administration hopes to make the water available to businesses ranging from microchip manufacturers to hydrogen fuel producers that separate the element from water in an energy-intensive process. The initiative from Lujan Grisham would set water purification standards and purchase treated water that originates from oil fields as well as the state's vast natural underground reservoirs of brine. 

What microchip manufacturers? We have a downsized Intel here and that's it. Hydrogen fuel? That one has already bombed at the Roundhouse. 

They say the scheme was announced by MLG during that climate conference in Dubai which leads to the question: what the heck is in the water over there?

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.