Darren White

The most prominent Republican in the seven candidate race for ABQ mayor has been busted for misrepresenting his residency and taking a property tax exemption on his Florida home that only Florida residents are eligible for and that he wasn't entitled to. The development could change the complexion of the contest. 

Former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White brushes aside taking advantage of the Florida Homestead Property Tax Exemption to get a $50,000 tax exemption on his Port St. Joe house since 2022, asserting that "voters care more about crime in Albuquerque than property tax technicalities in Florida,"

But do they?

After decades in public service White had already accumulated more than his fair share of political baggage. That includes his forced resignation as ABQ's Public Safety Director under GOP Mayor Berry after intervening in the police investigation of a serious auto accident involving his then wife. (Our comprehensive coverage of that 2011 drama is here.)

There are many other examples of White's public troubles but the addition of the tax scheme of claiming he was a resident of Florida is fresh meat foe his opponents. Besides damaging his integrity, the incident  could slow White' fund-raising as potential donors hesitate over his candidacy. 

White and other candidates tried and failed to qualify for public financing and are now trying to resuscitate their campaigns by going private. City finance reports come out July 14. 

Mayor Tim Keller is the only contender to quality for the $756,000 in public money. Several political consultants we interviewed believe that it will take at least $500,000 for a Keller foe to have a fighting chance, barring any major mistakes by the incumbent. 

Conventional wisdom has had White a favorite to finish second behind Keller and perhaps get in a run-off with Keller.  If no candidate wins 50 percent of the vote at the Nov. 4 election a month later a run-off election would be held between the top two vote-getters. It's no longer clear that White would be the natural to come in second behind the Dem mayor.

UBALLEZ POUNCES 

Keller & Uballez

Dem progressive candidate Alex Uballez could be a beneficiary of the White disclosure if it causes the conservative vote to become even more split. Uballez, a former US attorney, came with this on the heels of the front-paging of White's woes: 

While our neighbors are struggling to afford rent or keep up with property tax, Darren White was avoiding paying his fair share on his beachfront home in Florida. Especially right now, we need a mayor with a track record of serving the public good, not dodging their responsibility to contribute to it. Among a long list of disqualifications, this raises the question of whether this is the quality of leadership we deserve. 

The Journal reported the disclosure of White's now ill-fated tax exemption came first from "an outside source affiliated with a Republican political consulting firm."

We broke the news here last month that well-known national GOP consulting firm Axiom has been signed by Daniel Chavez, the parking lot businessman, who is running as an independent and put up $100,000 of personal funds to ensure he collected enough petition signatures to qualify for the ballot. 

It is not known whether Rockville, MD based Axiom was the behind the scenes player busting White. Those that could benefit from it in addition to Chavez are conservative Democrats Louie Sanchez, Mayling Armijo and retired firefighter Eddie Varela, the only other Republican besides White in the race.

That's music to the ears of Uballez, the other progressive in the race in addition to Keller and who needs all the breaks he can get. A former Sheriff claiming residency in another state that he doesn't have while condemning Keller for being a failure on crime is just that kind of break.

THE BOTTOM LINES 

Houses in Port St. Joe, located on Florida's westside with a population of 4,200, sell for around $500,000, according to Zillow. The $50,000 tax exemption White claimed would save him around $1,000 a year, according to the state. White now rents out the house. 

White received a medical cannabis license during the administration of GOP Gov. Susana Martinez. He served as co-owner and CEO of PūrLife from 2015 until the company was sold in September 2021. The company gave $11,000 to Democrat Michelle Lujan Grisham's 2018 campaign. As Governor she successfully pursued legalization of marijuana that was approved by the legislature in 2021. 

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