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President Bill Clinton and Albuquerque Mayor Martin Chavez (Photograph courtesy of the Chavez mayoral campaign)
Albuquerque’s municipal elections are non-partisan, which means there aren’t party primaries to determine who will be on the ballot, and a person’s party affiliation isn’t listed next to their name on the ballot.
But the mayor’s race all of a sudden sure feels like a primary—a Democratic one.
In the wake of the Albuquerque Journal poll last week that showed Berry in the lead and the two Democrats basically neck in neck just behind him, the specter of a run-off in the mayoral race has all of a sudden injected Democratic party politics into the race.
State Senator Tim Keller characterized the current moment as akin to a primary in a statement last Friday urging Democrats to the polls to vote their conscious, and then to unite behind the winner should there be a run-off:
The numbers reality for Dems is that we have the equivalent of a Democratic primary. If you’re tired of all the negativity, and tired of politicians, there is clarity: vote for sure, pick a Dem based on your conscious, save your vehemence for the runoff against the GOP, and unite behind the Dem winner after Tuesday.
Incumbent mayor Marty Chavez capped a week of Democratic endorsements with an automated call to Albuquerque Democrats last night by none other than President Bill Clinton urging support of Chavez:
Your mayor and my friend, Marty Chavez, is one of the good guys. It’s because of his leadership and vision that even in these tough economic times, Albuquerque is on the right track and headed in the right direction. It’s why I’m strongly endorsing Mayor Marty Chavez for re-election and urging you to support him on October 6th.
And Keller’s call for Democrats to get out and vote, and to then unite behind the winner in the event of a run-off, followed an endorsement for Richard Romero by a bevy of progressive Democratic state legislators and city councilors that included Keller:
There is a progressive alternative. We know both Democratic candidates. We trust Richard Romero. He has the stature, the character and the values to lead Albuquerque in the right direction. …We stand with Richard Romero, a longtime fighter for progressive issues who we can count on. He’s what Albuquerque needs.
All in the final week of our non-partisan Albuquerque mayor’s race, when not a whisper from the Democrats had been heard before.
Just to refresh, the Republican party has been active in the race from the outset, from helping Berry to speaking out in tandem with him on issues.
