ABQ city councilors set to debate campaign finance changes

The next mayoral and City Council election is not until next year, but Albuquerque city councilors are already debating how much public money some council candidates should receive for campaigning. 

During the council’s Sept. 16 meeting, Councilor Joaquín Baca introduced a proposal to “clean up” campaign finance sections of the city’s charter. 

Council candidates currently receive $1 per registered voter in the respective districts they’re running in. Mayoral candidates receive $1.75 per registered voter in the entire city. 

Baca is proposing raising the amounts by $0.25, meaning council candidates would receive $1.25 and mayoral candidates would receive $2 per registered voter. His proposal is also pushing for a new contribution limit for candidates who are privately financed. 

“No privately financed candidate shall, for any one election, allow total contributions, including in-kind contributions, from any one person with the exception of contributions from the candidate themselves of more than $2,000 for Council Candidates and $6,000 for Mayoral Candidates,” the legislation states. 

The city clerk would adjust the contribution limit based on the consumer price index for all urban consumers beginning January 2027 and every two years after. 

A memorandum from Mayor Tim Keller suggests that because of increases in mayoral and council salaries, “privately financed candidates could potentially have higher contribution limits compared to those in other municipalities.” 

During the Sept.16 meeting, Councilor Klarissa Peña moved to change Baca’s proposal and suggested setting a base amount of $55,000 for publicly funded council candidates, regardless of the number of registered voters in their district. 

Council President Dan Lewis was against the idea and said there is a very large separation between districts as far as the amount of voters. 

“I agree with the desire to be equitable, I am just not sure if this is equitable,” Lewis said. “We’re just throwing out a number… I am just opposed to it just because of the logic behind it, not the intent.” 

Baca agreed with Lewis and said changing how much candidates receive at a flat rate is inequitable. While Peña’s proposal failed on a 3-6 vote, the debate is expected to pick back up on Oct. 7.