Ex-Democratic party chief enters mayoral race
Colón is seventh to join crowded field
Amid a mariachi band, a cash bar and a crowd of a thousand people clamoring for green chile hummus, the former chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico entered Albuquerque’s mayoral race.
Brian Colón announced his candidacy Wednesday night at the Hotel Albuquerque, at an event hotel staff said had taken nearly two months to plan.
“We’re going to work hand-inhand to rebuild this city,” said Colón. “We are no longer going to talk about being on the bottom of the good lists and the top of the bad.”
Colón, an attorney, cited economic development and reform of both the police department and the public school system as his top priorities should he be elected. He proposed creating a “Chief Education Officer” position, who would work with the superintendent on education reform policies.
Caroline Buerkle, a spokeswoman for Colón, said his campaign has raised over $200,000 so far.
Colón has long been a fixture of the Albuquerque political scene. In Diane Denish’s 2010
gubernatorial bid, Colón ran alongside as the Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. They lost to Susana Martinez and John Sanchez, respectively. Prior to that, Colón served as the chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico.
Colón has also served as a president of the University of New Mexico Alumni Association. After earning his undergraduate degree from New Mexico State University, he attended the UNM School of Law and has practiced law in Albuquerque for about 16 years, according to his campaign.
Whether Colón will emerge as the frontrunner in the race to succeed two-term Republican Richard Berry remains to be seen. There is no incumbent on the ballot for the first time in two decades, and a dozen individuals have either declared their intention to run or said they are seriously considering entering the race.
Those who have already announced their candidacy are state Auditor Tim Keller, a Democrat; City Councilor Dan Lewis, a Republican; retired police detective Michelle Garcia Holmes, an independent; former Bernalillo County Commissioner Deanna Archuleta, a Democrat; Old Town resident Stella Padilla, a Democrat; and talk radio host Eddy Aragon, an independent.
Others who have expressed interest: County Commissioner Wayne Johnson, a Republican; Elan Colello, a Democrat and CEO of a virtual reality company; Scott Madison, a Democrat who works with the nuclear weapons program at Kirtland Air Force Base and Sandia National Laboratories; Susan WheelerDeichsel, an independent and founder of the civic group Urban ABQ; former City Councilor and prosecutor Pete Dinelli, a Democrat; and City Councilor Ken Sanchez, a Democrat who’s also weighing a campaign for Congress.
Albuquerque’s mayoral race is nonpartisan, and there will be no primary election to narrow the field. If no one candidate receives 50 percent of the vote on Oct. 3, a runoff election will be held in November with the top two vote-getters.