Early Voting Has Begun

Posted on by

On Wednesday September 13, 2017 early voting began in the Albuquerque mayoral and city council elections.

There are 12 early voting locations and they will be open from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. from September 13, 2017 to September 29, 2017.

There are eight mayoral candidates and the candidates are as follows:

• Former state Democratic Party Chairman and private attorney Brian Colón.
• Republican Bernalillo County Commissioner Wayne Johnson.
• Republican Ricardo Chaves and founder of Parking Company of America.
• Democrat Augustus “Gus” Pedrotty, recent UNM graduate.
• Independent Susan Wheeler-Deichsel and founder of the civic group Urban ABQ.
• Republican City Councilor Dan Lewis.
• Democrat first term New Mexico State Auditor Tim Keller.
• Independent Michelle Garcia Holmes, a retired Albuquerque police detective.

There are five City Council seats that are on the ballot and they are as follows:

City Council District 1:
1. Three term Incumbent Democratic City Councilor Ken Sanchez, accountant. (Secured public financing)
2. Progressive Democrat Javier Benavidez, co-director of Southwest Organizing Project. (Secured public financing)
3. Independent Sandra Mills, Albuquerque native and retired IBM employee. (Private financed)
4. Independent Johnny F. Luevano, retired Marine Captain and Presbyterian Health plan employee. (Secured public financed).

City Council District 3:

1. First term Incumbent Democrat City Councilor Klarissa Pena (Secured public financing)
2. Democrat Christopher Sedillo, Albuquerque native, retired from navy after 26 years having served as a navy paratrooper and numerous tours of duty in Iraq, Kuwait, Persian Gulf and Viet Nam. (Private financed candidate)

City Council District 5:

1. Republican Robert Aragon, private attorney, NM Board of Finance member. (Private financed cnadidate)
2. Democrat Cynthia Borrego, retired city planner. (Secured public financing)
4. Independent Catherine Trujillo, provider of workforce placement. (Private financed)
City Council District 7:
1. First term Democrat incumbent Diane Gibson, retired Sandia National Laboratories employee. (Secured public finance)
2. Republican Eric L. Lucero, retired New Mexico Army National Guard and Air Force. (Private financed)

City Council District 9:

1. Three term Republican Incumbent Don Harris, private attorney (Secured public finance)
2. Libertarian Paul Ryan McKenny, Air Force veteran, college student, (Private financed)
3. Democrat Byron K. Powdrell, Albuquerque native and general manager of radio station and Albuquerque native. (Private fianced)
The regular election will be held on Tuesday, Oct. 3, 2017 with polls open from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm.

Early voting is taking place at the following locations:

98th and Central (Bernalillo County Rental), 120 98th NW, Suite A5
City of Albuquerque Records Center, 604 Menaul NW, 87107
Office of the City Clerk, 600 2nd NW, 87102
Alamosa Community Center, 6900 Gonzales SW, 87121
North Domingo Baca Multigenerational Center, 7521 Carmel NE, 87113
Don Newton/Taylor Ranch Community Center, 4900 Kachina NW, 87120
Petroglyph Plaza, 8201 Golf Course NW, Suite D1, 87120
Cesar Chavez Community Center, 7505 Kathryn SE, 87108
Los Altos Plaza, 4200 Wyoming NE, 87111
Daskalos Plaza, 5339 Menaul NE, 87110
Caracol Plaza, 12500 Montgomery NE, 87111
Manzano Mesa Multigenerational Center, 501 Elizabeth SE, 87123
To vote in a city election you will need a photo identification (ID).

Acceptable IDs include:

* Government-issued card containing the voter’s name and photo
* Driver’s license
* Student identification card
* Credit or debit card
* Insurance card
* Union membership card
* Professional association card
* City Clerk-issued identification
* Other membership cards with the voter’s name and photo

I encourage everyone to get out and vote for the candidate of your choice.

Also on the ballot is the mandatory sick leave ordinance as well as increasing public financing for candidates for Mayor from the current $380,000 to $630,000.

This entry was posted in Opinions by . Bookmark the permalink.

About

Pete Dinelli was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He is of Italian and Hispanic descent. He is a 1970 graduate of Del Norte High School, a 1974 graduate of Eastern New Mexico University with a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration and a 1977 graduate of St. Mary's School of Law, San Antonio, Texas. Pete has a 40 year history of community involvement and service as an elected and appointed official and as a practicing attorney in Albuquerque. Pete and his wife Betty Case Dinelli have been married since 1984 and they have two adult sons, Mark, who is an attorney and George, who is an Emergency Medical Technician (EMT). Pete has been a licensed New Mexico attorney since 1978. Pete has over 27 years of municipal and state government service. Pete’s service to Albuquerque has been extensive. He has been an elected Albuquerque City Councilor, serving as Vice President. He has served as a Worker’s Compensation Judge with Statewide jurisdiction. Pete has been a prosecutor for 15 years and has served as a Bernalillo County Chief Deputy District Attorney, as an Assistant Attorney General and Assistant District Attorney and as a Deputy City Attorney. For eight years, Pete was employed with the City of Albuquerque both as a Deputy City Attorney and Chief Public Safety Officer overseeing the city departments of police, fire, 911 emergency call center and the emergency operations center. While with the City of Albuquerque Legal Department, Pete served as Director of the Safe City Strike Force and Interim Director of the 911 Emergency Operations Center. Pete’s community involvement includes being a past President of the Albuquerque Kiwanis Club, past President of the Our Lady of Fatima School Board, and Board of Directors of the Albuquerque Museum Foundation.