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Wednesday, October 15, 2025More Momentum For Garcia In Santa Fe Mayoral Battle; Newspaper Endorses The Councilor To Succeed Webber, Plus: ABQ Mayoral Money Update: Keller Still In Driver's Seat; Abeyta With Expert Analysis From political correctness to pragmatism. That's what's shaping the race for mayor of Santa as eight candidates compete for voter attention.After eight years of woke progressive leadership from Mayor Alan Webber the city of 90,000 is realizing that problems national in scale show signs of taking hold there and demand much more attention and eeffective management. That narrativecontinues to lead to City Councilor Michael Garcia, 46,who has opened up a polling lead with his somewhat bureaucratic messaging and nose to the grindstone approach to city government. Garcia's weekend endorsement from the Santa Fe New Mexican, which shared concerns that your blog has has often expressed about the City Different's future, puts an exclamation point on Garcia's lead: While East Coast travel magazines remain charmed with Santa Fe. . .the mayoral candidates have been in sync with Santa Fe residents in pointing out systemic problems with public safety, homelessness, housing affordability, roads, parks, utilities infrastructure and overall quality of life. . . only one mayoral choice understands the deep-dive challenges facing Santa Fe and the opportunities to reconnect public policies with the public’s interest. . .(Councilor Michael Garcia has) a penchant for launching into complex discussions on policies and procedures. Does he come across as bureaucratic at times? Yes. But when he makes a point, it’s with a deep understanding of governance. . .If elected, Garcia will learn from Webber’s weaknesses. . .Garcia has the intelligence, courage and integrity to represent all of Santa Fe. Only about 20,000 voters are expected to cast a ballot in the Santa Fe election Nov. 4. While newspaper endorsements don't matter much in larger media markets anymore (many papers no longer do them) in smaller boroughs such as Santa Fe there is a closer relationship with readers and the business community and an endorsement can pack some punch. Again, the larger picture is that fighting battles over the obelisk on the Plaza are out. Confronting a much changed socioeconomic landscape with the tools of government are in. GREENE OBJECTS In reaction to the endorsement of Garcia progressive Dem Santa Fe County Commissioner and mayoral hopeful Justin Greene came with this counterpoint: The Santa Fe New Mexican endorsement reflects the same establishment politics that have held our city back for too long. Leadership and management ability are key. Santa Fe knows the issues--what we can’t afford is more delay and excuses. Our city needs someone who can deliver results and move us forward. Our campaign is about action: tackling housing affordability, addressing homelessness with accountability and compassion, and restoring trust at City Hall. The momentum we’re seeing across every district shows that voters are ready for change--and that’s exactly what I’ll deliver as mayor. ABQ MAYOR MONEY
The most important of the money numbers updated in the ABQ mayoral race by the city Tuesday come from ABQ Mayor Tim Keller--the front-runner--who reports $281,000 in cash on hand for the final three weeks of Campaign '25. He reports spending a total of $476,000 of the $757,000 he had to start after becoming the sole candidate to qualify for public financing. The latest reports cover the period September 9, 2025, to October 13. Keller is on the air with a large TV buy. He still has enough cash for more TV, more digital ads and mail. That's the three major legs of a complete media campaign and he is the only candidate as of today who has the resources to do one effectively. Republican Darren White reports he has cash on hand of $154,000. He also reports a $20,000 personal loan to get there. He reports total fund-raising of $270,000 and expenditures of $117,000. Peterson Properties came with a $5,000 contribution. Louie Sanchez reports just $68,000 in cash, has raised a total of $307,000 including a $150,000 personal loan. Jewelry Market and Supply gave him $6,000. Alex Uballez reports reports $110,000 in cash on hand, raised $194,000 and spent $138,000. Mayling Armijo reports $58,000 in cash on hand and raising $137,000 total. Eddie Varela reports just $8,4000 in cash and reported raising $22,000 of which $10,000 came from a personal loan. The numbers give Keller plenty of elbow room for media buys. There is also a PAC out there supporting him that reported in September having $120,000 in cash. We await updated numbers. White has enough money for some more TV but key Republicans like Harvey Yates, business leader Carla Sonntag and former GOP mayoral candidate Michelle Garcia Holmes are supporting conservative Dem Louie Sanchez, making it difficult for him to raise money and get the party behind him. Meanwhile, a consultant with ties to the Keller camp says White has not been up on broadcast TV--meaning KOAT, KOB, or KRQE--but does have a cable buy on Fox News. ABEYTA ANALYSIS
To beat White out for second place Sanchez probably needs more than double the cash he has now, a big push to increase Hispanic turnout in his ABQ westside Council district; a targeted campaign to appeal to higher educated Hispanics citywide and then combine those groups with the Republican support that is coming his way and hurting White. With that expert analysis in mind the mayoral race still seems headed for a Keller-White run-off, with Keller likely being stopped short of the 50 percent to avoid aa run-off election between the two top vote-getters on December 9. Abeyta adds that progressive Democrat Alex Uballez would be the biggest threat to Keller in a run-off by eating into his Democratic base. He says the second biggest threat would be Councilor Sanchez who could unite the Hispanic vote. Keller is seeking an unprecedented third term. That is uncharted territory. Fatigue and dislike of the incumbent can't be discounted and could still make the race more volatile in the final stretch. Tonight at 7 four of the six candidates--Keller, White Uballez and Sanchez--will engage in the only live televised debate of the campaign. It will air on KOAT-TV. Mayling Armijo, the only woman candidate on the mayoral ballot, has been excluded by the station because of poor polling numbers. Ditto for Republican Eddie Varela. This is the Home of New Mexico Politics. |
  
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