Albuquerque City Council has confirmed Cecily Barker as the city’s first female police chief. It also took a big step by approving the appointment of Raul Bujanda to the newly created role of Executive Director of Public Safety.
Mayor Tim Keller picked Bujanda for the role. He’s a retired FBI agent and investigated the DWI corruption scandal where some Albuquerque Police officers were taking bribes to get cases dismissed.
At the April 20, 2026 city council meeting, council members welcomed Bujanda into his new role where he will oversee the police department, the fire department, and the community safety department. He’ll also supervise the Office of the Superintendent for Police Reform.
The appointment didn’t come without pushback. During public comment, Grace Dukes criticized the administration for hiring a man to oversee three women running other agencies.
Another speaker, Lisa Christopherson raised concerns about how the city could afford a position with such high pay as the city is enacting budget cuts.
“We're cutting from transit, and we're cutting from everybody else,” Christopherson said. “And we want to spend $187,000 on one position to do what?”
The city said this money would come from a vacant administrative position in the Mayor’s office.
So what does an executive director of public safety actually do?
Bujanda explained his new position is about bridging gaps between departments so the heads of fire, police and community safety can focus on their jobs.
“I'm focusing on taking all the other things, the administrative pieces, the things that we need to follow through,” Bujanda said. “So that they can be more effective, and then we can make sure that we have the outcomes that we're trying to achieve.”
Bujanda said these departments will still act independently, but his main goal is to take things off their plates.
“I'm the biggest fan and at the same time, I'm making sure that the things that they can't address that I'm addressing for them,” he said.
He also said he wants to improve communication and relationships among the departments and with outside entities, like the courts and the District Attorney’s office.
“Every agency, name your agency within the state, wants to do the right thing, and they are doing it,” Bujanda said. “But sometimes we're doing it in silos, so the end result is not as effective as it can be.”
University of New Mexico political science professor Tim Krebs studies urban politics. He pointed out that Mayor Keller won an election where the major issue was public safety and quality of life.
“I think it's really important that with this third term that there is this sort of change,” Krebs said. “Change in leadership a new approach to build on the efforts that the mayor has made in his last two terms. I think it's important for him to step forward and to do something bold.”
Krebs said that he thinks the appointment of Bujanda is strategic, and that Keller is setting the tone for his third term.
“[It] is a multifaceted issue involving, obviously crime fighting, but also issues related to homelessness and these issues of mental health and substance abuse,” Krebs said.
Even if city departments start to work better together, Krebs said what matters is whether the community feels safer.
“The public doesn't care that much about the internal workings of city government and how the institutions are designed to get results,” Krebs said. “The public experiences the results on a day-to day-basis.”
Bujanda agreed.
“If I still walk up to someone in a year from now, and things haven't changed much or if they're still saying that they still don't feel quite safe as they would like to, then I'm missing the mark,” Bujanda said.
Bujanda was approved unanimously, but City Council Member Dan Lewis, who is often at odds with the mayor, offered a caveat.
“At some point we need to see some real results,” Lewis said,
You can find the full description for the executive director of public safety job here.
