In what was a landslide victory, Tim Keller came away with the win to retain his role as the mayor of Albuquerque.
According to the New Mexico Secretary of State webpage, Keller had 56% of the votes for the win, which amounted to 64,094 votes. Sheriff Manny Gonzales was second with 26% of the vote (29,166 votes), and radio host Eddy Aragon was third with 20,818 votes, or 18%. Patrick Sais was a write-in candidate but did not record a vote.
“I just want to thank you so much for keeping Keller for another four years,” Keller said in a press conference aired on KRQE.com after the race was called.
Keller, talking about a journey to “make our city a better place,” said he intends to work harder and lift up the city. He said this election was about real leadership. He said there is a whole team that helps run the city each day and he thanked them for their help.
“Thank you so much to everyone who is dedicated to that mission,” Keller said at the press conference.
Keller said this campaign was important to tell the truth about what is going on in the city.
According to a report in the New Mexico Sun, each of the candidates agreed that homelessness and crime were the two issues in the city.
Keller was elected mayor in 2017 and one of his main goals was to reduce crime and homelessness rates. While these are still problems in the city, Keller felt he did well in his first term as he increased the police department personnel by 400 officers as well as the budget. During his time in office the city also purchased the Gateway Center which is a $15 million facility providing shelter, food, water and safety.
Gonzales told the New Mexico Sun that homelessness and crime are all connected to the “staggering economy,” which is something Sais agreed with. Sais said that both crime and homelessness are out of control, but it is time for politicians to do something about it instead of just talking.
Aragon said on his campaign website that he has always fought to make both the city and the state of New Mexico a better place to live. He attributed his background in broadcasting, citizen groups, marketing and communications to making him the best candidate.
