With about nine months until Albuquerque’s municipal election, the first official candidate emerged Tuesday morning.
Mayling Armijo, the executive director of a nonprofit business lending organization, announced her run for Albuquerque mayor Tuesday. She told City Desk ABQ that she decided to run to challenge Mayor Tim Keller, who has said he would seek a third term, but has yet to make a formal announcement.
“I just didn’t see anybody else jumping in and I knew that we couldn’t do another four years of this current administration…I’m gonna throw myself out there,” Armijo said.
The city’s mayoral election is on Nov. 4 and Armijo is the first candidate registered. She said she’s a registered Democrat, but the city’s municipal elections are technically nonpartisan. According to her campaign website, Armijo is “proud daughter of an immigrant and a Hispanic veteran small business owner.” She is the executive director of the Elevated Lending Certified Development Company, a nonprofit that helps businesses find financing. Armijo is also the former director of economic development for Bernalillo County and former deputy county manager for Sandoval County.
She said crime has “riddled the city” and “inhibited our quality of life,” and business owners are being ignored.
Businesses are struggling,” Armijo said. “The crime, specifically the property crime, is impacting businesses in ways that a lot of us don’t see. Insurance rates are going up, the cost of doing business is going up, and right now, this administration isn’t doing anything about it…Nobody’s acknowledging the struggles that they’re going through. They need to be acknowledged because it’s the businesses and the gross receipts tax and the taxes that they pay that make the city run. It’s almost like we forgot that.”
According to the website, Armijo also plans to create a two-term limit for mayors, which she said would ensure the administration “remains accountable, innovative and truly representative of Albuquerque’s future.”
Armijo told City Desk ABQ that running for mayor is “life-changing” because she is a private person, but knows she is “doing the right thing.”
“If I’m lucky, somebody smarter and better will run, but it doesn’t seem to be that lucky, so I’m here,” Armijo said. “That’s kind of the challenge is you want people to be part of the change and be excited about living here and making it better. I feel like I’m that person, I know I’m that person.”
Armijo opted not to use public funds to finance her campaign and will instead rely on private donations.
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