The Albuquerque City Council recently voted to prohibit city leaders from imposing any future vaccine mandates for city employees, but that decision was vetoed by Albuquerque mayor Tim Keller.

According to KRQE News, the Albuquerque City Council voted 5-4 in favor of the ban.

"I agree that, you know, I think people should have the right to, you know, decide whether they want to be vaccinated or not," Councilor Klarissa Peña said, according to KRQE News. "But when we take away that ability and that flexibility into the future not knowing what the future holds, that’s just a little concerning."

Although the vote passed the city council, Mayor Keller vetoed the decision and tweeted, "council needs to be flexible to keep employees and the community safe.”

This debate stems from Keller attempting to mandate the COVID vaccine for all city employees, something that was vetoed by the council.

Council members stated that they would address a mandate again in the event of another global pandemic crisis. The city of Albuquerque never implemented a COVID vaccine mandate for city employees during the pandemic.