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Business, Unions Put Thousands Into ABQ School Board Race

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The Albuquerque school board election this fall has six candidates vying for three seats. Candidates have raised tens of thousands of dollars, with the bulk of those campaign contributions coming from businesses and labor unions. 

Incumbent APS District 2 board member Peggy Muller-Aragón had raised more than double any other candidate as of the middle of October. She pulled in nearly $27,000, with major donations from businesses in the manufacturing and energy sectors as well as from NAIOP, a political action committee for real estate developers.

Her opponent, Laurie Harris, raised just under a third of that, about $8500, largely from the American Teachers’ Federation (ATF) and the Central New Mexico Labor Council.

Those unions and others also gave thousands to incumbent Barbara Petersen in APS District 4, who raised about $11,000. Her challenger Verland Coker received just $30. 

In APS District 1, incumbent Yolanda Montoya-Cordova raised about $12,000, including major contributions from ATF and other unions. Her challenger, Madelyn Jones, did not file the required campaign finance report.

Petersen and Montoya-Cordova each also recieved a $1,000 campaign donation from their colleague APS Board Chair David Peercy.

The New Mexico Secretary of State required candidates from districts with over 12,000 students to file campaign finance reports on Oct. 15. Election Day is Nov. 5. 

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Support for KUNM’s Public Health New Mexico project comes from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and from KUNM listeners like you.

Hannah served as news director at KUNM and reported on education, Albuquerque politics, and anything public health-related. She died in November 2020.
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