The relationship between the nine member ABQ City Council and Mayor Mayor Tim Keller has grown increasingly rocky as Keller has assumed more power and the Council has felt slighted and sometimes bullied by the executive who is now seeking an unprecedented consecutive third term. 

Despite having a working 5 to 4 conservative majority--four Republicans and one conservative Democrat--the Council's bark has been worse than its bite when it comes to the 11th Floor where Keller presides at downtown Government Center. Most of what he has wanted he has received albeit with intermittent adjustments by the Council.

Keller has issued at least 12 vetoes since the current Council was seated in January 2022 with the Council overriding four of them for a success rate of 33%. But the vetoes have been over low-key and often procedural matters matters that have not engaged the public. 

Keller's relationship with the Council has gone downhill but he was successful with his first Council in passing the major items of his agenda that included acquiring the Gateway Center for homelessness, approving a tax increase for public safety and reorganizing the city in a more progressive fashion by establishing departments such as an Office of Equity and Inclusion. 

CRIME STRUGGLE 

It is the city's struggle with crime where Keller is most vulnerable and where the Council has been ineffective in placing blame on him. They have not had the appetite to take him on for fear of coming across as soft on crime and anti-police while facing a public that has been reluctant to pin the cause not only on Keller but on their own councilors.

That circumstance does not appear to be in for any dramatic change as a result of elections in five of the nine Council districts this November. Our observers report the most likely outcome appears to be a Council slightly more aligned with Keller or should another Democrat succeed him. 

That's due mainly to the race in District One in the city's Valley and Westside where conservative Democratic Councilor Louie Sanchez, the most vocal Council critic of Keller, is giving up his seat to run for mayor. His most likely successors are either Ahren Griego or Daniel Leiva, both Democrats and not seen as holding animosity for Keller or being conservatives.

Presuming Keller is re-elected (he has six challengers) and one of those two District One candidate wins, the Council could return to a 5 to 4 moderate/liberal majority, diminishing the odds of overriding mayoral vetoes. 

OTHER COUNCIL RACES 

Buchanan Farmer

Another race closely watched is District 9 in the far Northeast Heights that includes the affluent Four Hills Neighborhood but also many low and middle income neighborhoods. 

The seat is held by Republican Councilor Renee Grout. Her chief challenger is progressive Dem Melani Buchanan Farmer. The district, once heavy Republican, has been getting competitive. In 2021 Grout won a runoff election with 51.7 percent of the vote. If Buchanan Farmer resists going too far to the left, she could score an upset, putting the Council deeper into Dem territory. 

Along those lines she recently made note of the layoffs (up to 500) at Sandia National Labs, the district's largest employer:

When hundreds of jobs at Sandia National Labs are at risk, silence from our elected leaders is unacceptable--especially from a City Councilor whose district includes the Labs. Renee Grout, a vocal Trump supporter, has said nothing about the looming layoffs--cuts that follow Trump’s proposals to slash funding for renewable energy. This isn’t just a budget shift. It’s hundreds of Albuquerque families facing uncertainty. And we’re getting silence from the very people elected to fight for us. .

Grout did not respond to an email inquiry about the layoffs. She is not alone in her silence. The state's Democratic congressional delegation, the Governor and Mayor Keller have all been mum about the bad Sandia news. Still, the issue hits the pocketbook, a critical one for voters of all stripes.

In other Council races as the City Clerk posts the final candidate roster, District 3 ABQ Valley Dem Councilor Klarissa Pena is seeking a fourth term and in a position to win.

In District 5 in the northwest incumbent Republican Dan Lewis is in a lively race with Dem Athenea Allen, wife of Bernalillo County Sheriff John Allen. Consultants say Lewis is favored but the race merits attention. 

In District 7 progressive Dem Tammy Feibelkorn drew no opposition.

This is the Home of New Mexico Politics.