Local Government Archives

District 6 City Councilor Nichole Rogers looks on as the Albuquerque City Council voted down her proposed rental protection ordinance on Jan. 21. (Jesse Jones)

“A complete betrayal”: Council rejects enforcement of renters rights against predatory landlords

Albuquerque renters will not receive local protection from excessive fees after the City Council rejected an ordinance Wednesday that would have enforced the state’s Senate Bill 267 in limbo. The 5-4 vote leaves the law, which caps application fees at $50 and limits late fees to 5% of rent, unenforced at the local level. Since […]

Samantha Sengel, Albuquerque’s chief administrative officer, talks with Arts and Culture Department Director Shelle Sanchez during the City Council meeting Wednesday, Jan. 21, where councilors unanimously reappointed her to the position.

Who runs Albuquerque day-to-day? Meet the city’s reappointed CAO

When your trash is picked up, a pothole disappears or you spend an afternoon at the BioPark, you’re seeing the work of Samantha Sengel even if you don’t know her name. The Albuquerque City Council unanimously reappointed Samantha Sengel as chief administrative officer (CAO) Wednesday. The city’s most powerful non-elected position oversees 6,000 employees and […]

Sandoval Signpost

National security urgency meets local alarm as Project Ranger breaks ground

by Kevin Hendricks January 21, 2026January 25, 2026

Dozens of state and local officials made the expedition on Wednesday to a windswept dirt lot west of Rio Rancho for the groundbreaking of Project Ranger, a 1,000-acre solid rocket motor manufacturing campus that will be the largest in the United States, according to Castelion executives, and will produce components for hypersonic missiles. Gov. Michelle […]

Frustrated by delays, Council proposes fix for contentious City Hall Q&A

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to include information about a new Q&A process proposed to replace the repealed agenda item, if passed, as well as reactions from councilors. The mayor’s administration and Council President Klarissa Peña have a plan to make the most frustrating and contentious parts of the council meetings more useful […]

City promised fraud reports in 15 days, still waiting after 300

A months-long fight over transparency erupted at Albuquerque City Hall last fall after nine Inspector General fraud investigations were completed. Of those investigations, the public has only seen two final reports; four remain unreleased and one was formally rejected. The controversy began in April when the Albuquerque Accountability in Government Oversight Committee deferred six reports, […]

Fred Hashimoto was sworn in as Corrales mayor on Jan. 2. (Courtesy photo)

Local Government

The future with Fred

by rodd cayton city desk abq January 15, 2026January 9, 2026

Fred Hashimoto’s mayoralty of Corrales is starting to take shape. Hashimoto, who was sworn in Jan. 2, told the Corrales Comment he has been preparing for the job by meeting with various local organizations and with councilors and others in village government. “I’ve spent the last two months meeting with a lot of people,” he […]

Pictured is Bernalillo County’s administrative headquarters, at 415 Silver Ave. SW downtown Albuquerque. (Jesse Jones)

Local Government

Bernalillo County moves to regulate AI data center expansion

by Lauren Lifke January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

With Project Jupiter, a controversial campus of data centers slated for Doña Ana County, in the works, the Bernalillo County Commission took a first step Tuesday toward imposing some of the state’s strictest regulations on data center development, introducing a resolution that would tie taxpayer-funded incentives to aggressive hiring, wage and environmental standards. Sponsored by […]

Adriann Barboa was elected as the new chair of the Bernalillo County Commission at its Jan. 13 meeting. (Jesse Jones)

Local Government

New leadership takes the gavel in Bernalillo County

by Lauren Lifke January 14, 2026January 14, 2026

The Bernalillo County Commission elected the new chair and vice chair of the commission in its first meeting of the 2026 calendar year, where Adriann Barboa took over as the commission chair with Frank Baca as her vice chair. The commission voted 5-0 for Barboa to take over the gavel from outgoing chair Eric Olivas. […]

Inside the push to save Albuquerque’s aging Main Library

The Albuquerque Bernalillo County Library Advisory Board has raised $925,000 in pledges from state, city and county officials to replace the Main Library’s 50-year-old heating and cooling system, bypassing traditional district boundaries. The board still needs $1.6 million to reach its $2.5 million goal. The 100,000-square-foot downtown library relies on a 1975 “air handler” system […]

Sweeping zoning changes affecting about 160,000 Albuquerque properties head next to the City Council’s Land Use, Planning and Zoning (LUPZ) Committee amid sharp disagreement over what’s changing and whether residents received adequate notice. (Roberto E. Rosales)

160,000 properties in Albuquerque could get a zoning change, here’s what you need to know

Sweeping zoning changes affecting at least 160,000 Albuquerque properties head next to the City Council’s Land Use, Planning and Zoning (LUPZ) Committee amid sharp disagreement over what’s changing and whether residents received adequate notice, according to 2023 U.S. Census data. The Integrated Development Ordinance Biennial Update, approved by the Environmental Planning Commission in November, includes […]