By Rodd Cayton
Voters in Albuquerque will choose five city councilors this fall. Only two people have Voters in Albuquerque will choose five city councilors this fall. Only two people have announced they’re running, but there’s still plenty of time, two more months, for residents to decide to seek seats.
There is a process for anyone who wants to run to become an official candidate and it’s all laid out in city ordinances.
To officially become a declared candidate, a person must:
- File a declaration to seek elected office;
- Submit a bank account confirmation;
- File a designation of representatives form; and
- Register with the City of Albuquerque’s Campaign Finance Reporting System.
Any candidate who wants to qualify for public financing — both announced candidates are doing so — must also file a Declaration of Intent to Seek Public Financing.
Cristobal Rocha of the city clerk’s office said any candidate can start campaigning at any time, but fundraising can only be done within a limited window. That starts with the April 27 beginning of the public financing exploratory period in early March and runs through June 1.
Next is the public financing qualifying period, during which each candidate must collect $5 donations from a minimum of 1% of the voters registered in the district that the applicant candidate wishes to represent. That starts June 2 and ends July 7. Those contributions must be gathered only during the qualifying period.
Privately financed candidates can raise money at any time following the previous election for that district. However, candidates who opt into public cannot raise cash (beyond their own subject to limitations) outside of the exploratory period without being disqualified from public funds.
July 7 is also the deadline for a council candidate to submit the signatures of at least 500 registered district voters to the Office of the City Clerk. They can start collecting signatures June 2. During the qualifying period, all candidates submit their petitions each Tuesday and they are stored in a vault at the city clerk’s office.
Write-in candidates, whose names do not appear on the ballot, also must file with the county clerk’s office.
July 21 is the deadline for council applicant candidates to file their declarations of candidacy with the city clerk’s office. The City Clerk will submit the collected petitions and declaration to the County Clerk, who is required to notify the City Clerk within three days of which candidates are qualified.
The City Clerk will certify council applicant candidates who are eligible under the city’s Open and Ethical Elections Code on July 27 and distribute funds to participating council candidates on July 30. The city treasurer’s office will distribute the payments electronically to the candidates’ campaign accounts.
Aug. 26 is the deadline for privately financed candidates to file their declarations of candidacy with the county clerk’s office.
Sept. 2 is filing day for write-in candidates and the last day for certified candidates to withdraw.
Candidates may start displaying signs Sept. 5. The county will begin sending absentee ballots to voters whose applications have been approved on Oct. 7, which is also the first day for absentee in-person voting at the County Clerk Annex.
Early voting takes place from Oct. 18 to Nov. 1 for the Nov. 4 election. If the election ends with no candidate receiving a majority of the vote, the top two finishers will advance to a December runoff election.
Anyone running for a council seat must reside in the district that seat represents.
Diane Gibson served on the City Council from 2013 to 2021. She urged those considering running for council to expect to put in a lot of hours on the campaign trail, and to continue doing so if elected.
“It’s not the hardest job I’ve had,” Gibson said. “But I put more time into it than any job I’ve had, and I’ve worked all kinds of jobs.”
She said that while campaigning, she knocked on a lot of doors, sometimes in the snow, to meet voters when she didn’t have much name recognition.
Gibson said potential candidates should also think about their reasons for seeking office.
“If it’s for some little pet project or for self-aggrandizement, we’ve got enough of that,” she said. “More than ever, we need local representation we can trust. “Most people don’t trust Washington.”