TUE: Albuquerque mayoral runoff, council races inspire mixed feelings among voters, + More
By KUNM News
December 9, 2025 at 8:06 AM MST
Albuquerque voters head to the polls for the mayoral runoff election
-Jeanette DeDios, KUNM News
Tuesday is a runoff election day in Albuquerque for two city council districts and the mayor.
On the northeast side of town, there were mixed reviews on who voters wanted to lead the city. While near the University of New Mexico, voters who selected the current mayor, Democrat Tim Keller, were still divided about that choice.
At a polling station on Paseo del Norte, Ken Zengara, a small business owner, said he sees Republican challenger Darren White as a change in direction and leadership to help tackle the city’s issues.
“Crime is a number one issue, I think, and helping the homeless and getting them off the street,” he said. “And different leadership in the police force and managing the city budget.”
Josh Fierro is an IT support technician and said he will also be voting for White because Keller has had two terms and he’s seen a lack of safety.
“I have an eight-year-old daughter. I don't feel comfortable going out to restaurants, parking lots,” he said. “It's not safe to drive, a lot of uninsured motorists, just the lack of law enforcement.”
Some voters say they’re lukewarm on Mayor Keller, but not enough to switch. Abigail Townsend, a barista, said issues like abortion, LGBTQ+, and civil rights are on the line and she does not trust the GOP to make decisions on those.
“I don't want a Republican to be our mayor ever,” she said. “I'm not the biggest Tim Keller fan, but in between that and Darren White, I'd much prefer Tim Keller.”
Donna Ziggler, a medicare advocate said she voted for Tim Keller because White isn’t the change Albuquerque needs.
“I'm hoping he'll stick to some of his campaign promises and work on things like the drug problem and the homeless problem here. But I also don't think that letting ICE run rampant in our city is going to fix anything, either,” she said.
At the UNM polling site, Ryan Dinger, 39, said that he’s voted in almost every election since he turned 18, and today was not one he could sit out.
“This election is pretty important,” Dinger said. “There’s like two candidates that have very different visions for Albuquerque, so I felt coming out today was pretty important.”
Starting off her voter journey was Ari Rosner-Salazar, who turned 18 after the general election a month ago. This has been the moment she’s been waiting for for a long time.
“I’ve always really wanted to vote. I’ve been really interested and motivated to be a part of our political system and try and help for change, I have a lot of really strong opinions,” she said. “And I know voting is one of the things we can tangibly do to help.”
She and Dinger both voted for Keller.
“I know it's not perfect, but I do think the city is moving in the right direction in terms of the economy and I’ve definitely seen growth,” he said.
Rosner-Salazar said she and her roommate both had issues with the current mayor, but still voted for him.
“While we didn’t like a lot of Keller’s policies, specifically in the runoff – a lot of Keller’s homeless sweeps I felt were not very good – we voted for him in contrast of White’s poorer policy,” she said.
The Albuquerque Journal reported early voting turnout has been robust, with about 83,000 voters casting early or absentee ballots, compared to nearly 75,500 early and absentee votes ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
Ziggler said that if people don’t exercise their right to vote, it may be taken away.
“Because so many people don't realize that these rights were fought for, especially for those of us that are either female or people of color, they wouldn't have tried to keep us from voting if our voice didn't matter,” said Ziggler.
In addition to the mayoral race, voters in Southwest Albuquerque and the West Side can vote in the runoff for their city councilors.
Polls are open until 7 pm and as long as you are in line by that time, you can still vote. Find a polling place here.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
Valencia County clerical error causes major property tax billing error
Julia Dendiner, Valencia County News-Bulletin
In Los Lunas, an error in the property taxation system has resulted in a delay of this year’s bills. A clerical error in the Valencia County Assessor’s office resulted in residents receiving shocking property tax bills in November.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports the mistake inflated property valuations, and the bill reflected those inaccurately high totals. Valencia County Assessor Celia Dittmaier told the News-Bulletin she entered the incorrect property valuation amount for the village of Los Lunas by setting the residential valuation at more than $2 billion rather than the $200-plus million that would have been accurate.
After the error was noticed, corrected valuations were sent to the state Taxation and Revenue Department on Nov. 12, and the county received the corrected mill rates on Nov. 25.
However, a software issue is resulting in a delay in publishing new bills. Since there is already a 2025 tax roll in the county’s software system, replacing the incorrect valuation data with the correct is a complicated process. Until the corrected numbers are entered, new tax bills cannot be created and sent out.
The News-Bulletin reports Valencia County Treasurer Ron Saiz has sent a letter to mortgage companies asking them to hold off on paying the property tax bills for borrowers until they receive the corrected bill.
Saiz told KUNM Tuesday that the county is continuing to work with its software provider, and that corrected bills will be sent out when the process is complete, but county staff do not yet know the date on which new bills will be sent.
Saiz said that in the meantime, due dates are being waived, and property owners can call the county office to receive their correct information.
The News-Bulletin reports an investigation into how the error occurred was authorized by the Valencia County Commission at a special meeting on Nov. 24 and is ongoing.
Mayoral runoff drives strong early, absentee voting - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
Robust early voting turnout suggests strong interest in the outcome Tuesday of a feisty runoff contest between incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and challenger Darren White.
West Side voters also will decide two Albuquerque City Council races in Districts 1 and 3 when they head to the polls Tuesday.
About 83,000 voters, nearly 23% of eligible Albuquerque voters, cast early or absentee ballots as of midday Monday, according to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office.
That number exceeds the nearly 75,500 early and absentee votes cast in advance of the Nov. 4 election, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc.
“We’ve had a robust turnout for early and absentee voting,” Sanderoff said Monday. “We should have total votes cast similar to the Nov. 4 election.”
Helping drive turnout is a choice this year between two experienced and well-known candidates who hold markedly different positions on a variety of issues, Sanderoff said.
“The fact that they’re well known and the fact that they’re so different from each other contributes to the high turnout,” he said. “These are people who really come from different perspectives, different styles, different policy positions. And so the voters have a real choice here.”
Voters will have 50 voting locations available on Tuesday — fewer than the 74 sites available for the regular city election.
Polling sites will be available at Manzano High School, Sandia High School and Rio Grande High School, but other high school locations will not be available. However, many elementary and middle schools will host polling locations.
In the Nov. 4 regular election, Keller received 36% of votes cast compared with 31% for White in a six-way contest. White said his campaign was pleasantly surprised that he trailed Keller by only 5 percentage points.
Two City Council seats also are up for grabs on Tuesday. They are:
Turnout was robust in the regular election. Nearly 135,000 votes were cast in the Nov. 4 mayoral race, according to unofficial election results, or about 37.1% of registered city voters. That surpassed the 32% turnout mark from the city’s last mayoral election in 2021.
Albuquerque’s last mayoral runoff election in 2017 brought out 28.7% of eligible city voters. That year, a total of 96,864 votes were cast in a runoff between Keller and City Councilor Dan Lewis. Keller won his first term as mayor in that contest with 62% of the vote to Lewis’ 38%.
US Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren criticize Blackstone over proposed TXNM Energy purchase - Hannah Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
A group of progressive, East Coast U.S. senators is criticizing Blackstone Infrastructure’s proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy Inc., saying the deal isn’t in the public’s best interest.
U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., cited concerns regarding the private equity firm’s interest in purchasing publicly traded utility companies in a joint letter on Thursday to Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, claiming the acquisition allows the firm to “profit from rising energy demands at the expense of consumers.”
“Investors have typically viewed utility companies as reliable investments with a guaranteed rate of return,” read the letter from the three members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “But now, amidst rapidly rising energy use from (artificial intelligence) data centers and other strains on the grid, Wall Street investors and private equity firms appear to be taking advantage of utilities’ regulated-monopoly status to rake in excess profits.”
The proposed acquisition, filed in August with state regulators, would take TXNM Energy, one of the state’s only publicly traded companies, private. TXNM is the parent company of Texas-New Mexico Power Co. and Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest electricity provider.
Defending its proposed purchase of TXNM, a Blackstone spokesperson wrote to the Journal that long-term private capital enables utilities to invest in projects that can strengthen and decarbonize the grid.
These investments ensure that customers receive “reliable, affordable power — without the pressure of short-term quarterly metrics,” the spokesperson said. “Private investors have been investing in utilities for more than 20 years, and any transaction must undergo a robust regulatory process and demonstrate clear benefits to consumers to gain approval from local, state and federal regulators.”
The letter, in part, asked Blackstone if it plans to raise electricity prices for PNM and TNMP, and if it will reduce the workforce to meet “investor targets” if its purchase is approved by state regulators. The senators asked Blackstone to respond to their questions by Dec. 18.
The senators claimed other acquisitions, like Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners’ 2014 takeover of Upper Peninsula Power Co., increased customers’ electricity bills. That deal raised bills by nine cents more compared to the average rate of other investor-owned utilities in the Michigan area, the senators’ letter said.
A PNM spokesperson said electricity rates would continue to be set by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Blackstone did, however, say it would include $105 million in rate credits over four years, which could lower the average residential customer bill by 3.5%. The private equity firm also said it would retain PNM’s local workforce and keep the utility’s headquarters in the state.
PNM, which serves roughly 550,000 customers, is no stranger to power strains when it comes to growing communities and data center development.
Last week, the Bernalillo County Planning Commission approved applications on a special use permit and sector plan amendment for PNM’s North Albuquerque Acres Substation Project. The utility has been working to build the infrastructure, used as a means to deliver power to surrounding neighborhoods, for nearly eight years as the area continues to grow.
But the letter also touched on Blackstone’s data center business, which operates under the banner QTS Realty Trust. “Blackstone is seeking to buy the utility companies that power (data centers) — raising additional affordability concerns for consumers.” The letter cited an International Energy Agency report claiming electricity demand worldwide will increase by 130% by 2030, in large part due to the power that data centers require.
Like other parts of the U.S., New Mexico is seeing a demand for data centers — and an interest from large companies.
A Doña Ana County data center campus, under the name Project Jupiter, was named one of five sites in the $500 billion Stargate Project in September, led by OpenAI and Oracle.
At least two other companies have eyed New Mexico to house data center operations, including Wyoming-based Zenith Volts Corp., with an 8,400-acre site in Chaves County, and Texas-based New Era Energy & Digital Inc., which wants to put a 3,500-acre campus in Lea County.
Asked in August about the relationship between Blackstone’s data center business and its planned purchase of TXNM, a spokesperson said there “is absolutely no connection” and that its “proposed investment in TXNM Energy is solely because of our conviction in the company, its management and the future growth of the economies of New Mexico and Texas.”
Startup with hopes to build outer space power grid names Albuquerque as HQ - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
A startup that seeks to build the first-ever power grid in outer space has selected Albuquerque as its headquarters, the state Economic Development Department announced Monday.
Mantis Space, a Georgia-founded company backed by venture capital, plans to build orbital infrastructure capable of powering satellites and lunar operations, according to a news release. The new Albuquerque headquarters and research and development facilities are expected to generate as much as $480 million in economic impact over the next 10 years, the release said. Company officials expect to create more than 200 jobs with average annual salaries of more than $180,000.
Company officials say they chose Albuquerque after a national search and weighed factors such as quality of life, access to talent and available economic incentives. The state is awarding the company $2.5 million under the Local Economic Development Act and Albuquerque is awarding it $500,000.
“Albuquerque exceeded nearly all our criteria for our highly competitive selection and offered an extremely competitive package that was ultimately the key,” Mantis Space CEO Eric Truitt said in a statement. “We look forward to working together to make New Mexico a national leader in both space and advanced energy innovation.”
The state Economic Development Department in a release said orbital infrastructure is expected to pave the way for “off-planet data centers and manufacturing.”
High-tech projects have increasingly announced plans to open in New Mexico. In September, local officials approved plans for Project Jupiter, a campus of data centers planned to support the tech giants OpenAI and Oracle. That same month, Pacific Fusion, a California-based fusion energy company, announced plans to build a $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in Albuquerque. And in November, a California-based hypersonic missile company announced plans to open a 1,000-acre manufacturing plant in Sandoval County.
The state Economic Development Department in early December released a 158-page report that calls for further growth in science and technology fields including quantum systems, advanced energy and aerospace.
“New Mexico is rapidly becoming an anchor for our nation’s most advanced industries, as today’s exciting announcement demonstrates,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “With our world-class research institutions, unmatched talent, and growing network of innovative companies, our state is literally shaping the future.”
-Jeanette DeDios, KUNM News
Tuesday is a runoff election day in Albuquerque for two city council districts and the mayor.
On the northeast side of town, there were mixed reviews on who voters wanted to lead the city. While near the University of New Mexico, voters who selected the current mayor, Democrat Tim Keller, were still divided about that choice.
At a polling station on Paseo del Norte, Ken Zengara, a small business owner, said he sees Republican challenger Darren White as a change in direction and leadership to help tackle the city’s issues.
“Crime is a number one issue, I think, and helping the homeless and getting them off the street,” he said. “And different leadership in the police force and managing the city budget.”
Josh Fierro is an IT support technician and said he will also be voting for White because Keller has had two terms and he’s seen a lack of safety.
“I have an eight-year-old daughter. I don't feel comfortable going out to restaurants, parking lots,” he said. “It's not safe to drive, a lot of uninsured motorists, just the lack of law enforcement.”
Some voters say they’re lukewarm on Mayor Keller, but not enough to switch. Abigail Townsend, a barista, said issues like abortion, LGBTQ+, and civil rights are on the line and she does not trust the GOP to make decisions on those.
“I don't want a Republican to be our mayor ever,” she said. “I'm not the biggest Tim Keller fan, but in between that and Darren White, I'd much prefer Tim Keller.”
Donna Ziggler, a medicare advocate said she voted for Tim Keller because White isn’t the change Albuquerque needs.
“I'm hoping he'll stick to some of his campaign promises and work on things like the drug problem and the homeless problem here. But I also don't think that letting ICE run rampant in our city is going to fix anything, either,” she said.
At the UNM polling site, Ryan Dinger, 39, said that he’s voted in almost every election since he turned 18, and today was not one he could sit out.
“This election is pretty important,” Dinger said. “There’s like two candidates that have very different visions for Albuquerque, so I felt coming out today was pretty important.”
Starting off her voter journey was Ari Rosner-Salazar, who turned 18 after the general election a month ago. This has been the moment she’s been waiting for for a long time.
“I’ve always really wanted to vote. I’ve been really interested and motivated to be a part of our political system and try and help for change, I have a lot of really strong opinions,” she said. “And I know voting is one of the things we can tangibly do to help.”
She and Dinger both voted for Keller.
“I know it's not perfect, but I do think the city is moving in the right direction in terms of the economy and I’ve definitely seen growth,” he said.
Rosner-Salazar said she and her roommate both had issues with the current mayor, but still voted for him.
“While we didn’t like a lot of Keller’s policies, specifically in the runoff – a lot of Keller’s homeless sweeps I felt were not very good – we voted for him in contrast of White’s poorer policy,” she said.
The Albuquerque Journal reported early voting turnout has been robust, with about 83,000 voters casting early or absentee ballots, compared to nearly 75,500 early and absentee votes ahead of the Nov. 4 election.
Ziggler said that if people don’t exercise their right to vote, it may be taken away.
“Because so many people don't realize that these rights were fought for, especially for those of us that are either female or people of color, they wouldn't have tried to keep us from voting if our voice didn't matter,” said Ziggler.
In addition to the mayoral race, voters in Southwest Albuquerque and the West Side can vote in the runoff for their city councilors.
Polls are open until 7 pm and as long as you are in line by that time, you can still vote. Find a polling place here.
Support for this coverage comes from the Thornburg Foundation.
Valencia County clerical error causes major property tax billing error
Julia Dendiner, Valencia County News-Bulletin
In Los Lunas, an error in the property taxation system has resulted in a delay of this year’s bills. A clerical error in the Valencia County Assessor’s office resulted in residents receiving shocking property tax bills in November.
The Valencia County News-Bulletin reports the mistake inflated property valuations, and the bill reflected those inaccurately high totals. Valencia County Assessor Celia Dittmaier told the News-Bulletin she entered the incorrect property valuation amount for the village of Los Lunas by setting the residential valuation at more than $2 billion rather than the $200-plus million that would have been accurate.
After the error was noticed, corrected valuations were sent to the state Taxation and Revenue Department on Nov. 12, and the county received the corrected mill rates on Nov. 25.
However, a software issue is resulting in a delay in publishing new bills. Since there is already a 2025 tax roll in the county’s software system, replacing the incorrect valuation data with the correct is a complicated process. Until the corrected numbers are entered, new tax bills cannot be created and sent out.
The News-Bulletin reports Valencia County Treasurer Ron Saiz has sent a letter to mortgage companies asking them to hold off on paying the property tax bills for borrowers until they receive the corrected bill.
Saiz told KUNM Tuesday that the county is continuing to work with its software provider, and that corrected bills will be sent out when the process is complete, but county staff do not yet know the date on which new bills will be sent.
Saiz said that in the meantime, due dates are being waived, and property owners can call the county office to receive their correct information.
The News-Bulletin reports an investigation into how the error occurred was authorized by the Valencia County Commission at a special meeting on Nov. 24 and is ongoing.
Mayoral runoff drives strong early, absentee voting - Olivier Uyttebrouck, Albuquerque Journal
Robust early voting turnout suggests strong interest in the outcome Tuesday of a feisty runoff contest between incumbent Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller and challenger Darren White.
West Side voters also will decide two Albuquerque City Council races in Districts 1 and 3 when they head to the polls Tuesday.
About 83,000 voters, nearly 23% of eligible Albuquerque voters, cast early or absentee ballots as of midday Monday, according to the Bernalillo County Clerk’s Office.
That number exceeds the nearly 75,500 early and absentee votes cast in advance of the Nov. 4 election, said Brian Sanderoff, president of Albuquerque-based Research & Polling Inc.
“We’ve had a robust turnout for early and absentee voting,” Sanderoff said Monday. “We should have total votes cast similar to the Nov. 4 election.”
Helping drive turnout is a choice this year between two experienced and well-known candidates who hold markedly different positions on a variety of issues, Sanderoff said.
“The fact that they’re well known and the fact that they’re so different from each other contributes to the high turnout,” he said. “These are people who really come from different perspectives, different styles, different policy positions. And so the voters have a real choice here.”
Voters will have 50 voting locations available on Tuesday — fewer than the 74 sites available for the regular city election.
Polling sites will be available at Manzano High School, Sandia High School and Rio Grande High School, but other high school locations will not be available. However, many elementary and middle schools will host polling locations.
In the Nov. 4 regular election, Keller received 36% of votes cast compared with 31% for White in a six-way contest. White said his campaign was pleasantly surprised that he trailed Keller by only 5 percentage points.
Two City Council seats also are up for grabs on Tuesday. They are:
- In District 1, Stephanie Telles faces off against Joshua Taylor Neal for the open West Side council district. On Nov. 4, Telles received 36% of the vote to Neal’s 26% in a four-way contest to succeed Councilor Louie Sanchez, who chose not to seek a second term to pursue an unsuccessful bid for mayor.
- In District 3, incumbent Councilor Klarissa Peña faces off against challenger Teresa Garcia. Peña received 41% of the vote to Garcia’s 38% share in a three-way contest. District 3 is located in far southwest Albuquerque.
Turnout was robust in the regular election. Nearly 135,000 votes were cast in the Nov. 4 mayoral race, according to unofficial election results, or about 37.1% of registered city voters. That surpassed the 32% turnout mark from the city’s last mayoral election in 2021.
Albuquerque’s last mayoral runoff election in 2017 brought out 28.7% of eligible city voters. That year, a total of 96,864 votes were cast in a runoff between Keller and City Councilor Dan Lewis. Keller won his first term as mayor in that contest with 62% of the vote to Lewis’ 38%.
US Sens. Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren criticize Blackstone over proposed TXNM Energy purchase - Hannah Garcia, Albuquerque Journal
A group of progressive, East Coast U.S. senators is criticizing Blackstone Infrastructure’s proposed $11.5 billion acquisition of TXNM Energy Inc., saying the deal isn’t in the public’s best interest.
U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren, D-Mass., Bernie Sanders, D-Vt., and Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., cited concerns regarding the private equity firm’s interest in purchasing publicly traded utility companies in a joint letter on Thursday to Blackstone CEO Stephen Schwarzman, claiming the acquisition allows the firm to “profit from rising energy demands at the expense of consumers.”
“Investors have typically viewed utility companies as reliable investments with a guaranteed rate of return,” read the letter from the three members of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee. “But now, amidst rapidly rising energy use from (artificial intelligence) data centers and other strains on the grid, Wall Street investors and private equity firms appear to be taking advantage of utilities’ regulated-monopoly status to rake in excess profits.”
The proposed acquisition, filed in August with state regulators, would take TXNM Energy, one of the state’s only publicly traded companies, private. TXNM is the parent company of Texas-New Mexico Power Co. and Public Service Company of New Mexico, the state’s largest electricity provider.
Defending its proposed purchase of TXNM, a Blackstone spokesperson wrote to the Journal that long-term private capital enables utilities to invest in projects that can strengthen and decarbonize the grid.
These investments ensure that customers receive “reliable, affordable power — without the pressure of short-term quarterly metrics,” the spokesperson said. “Private investors have been investing in utilities for more than 20 years, and any transaction must undergo a robust regulatory process and demonstrate clear benefits to consumers to gain approval from local, state and federal regulators.”
The letter, in part, asked Blackstone if it plans to raise electricity prices for PNM and TNMP, and if it will reduce the workforce to meet “investor targets” if its purchase is approved by state regulators. The senators asked Blackstone to respond to their questions by Dec. 18.
The senators claimed other acquisitions, like Balfour Beatty Infrastructure Partners’ 2014 takeover of Upper Peninsula Power Co., increased customers’ electricity bills. That deal raised bills by nine cents more compared to the average rate of other investor-owned utilities in the Michigan area, the senators’ letter said.
A PNM spokesperson said electricity rates would continue to be set by the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission. Blackstone did, however, say it would include $105 million in rate credits over four years, which could lower the average residential customer bill by 3.5%. The private equity firm also said it would retain PNM’s local workforce and keep the utility’s headquarters in the state.
PNM, which serves roughly 550,000 customers, is no stranger to power strains when it comes to growing communities and data center development.
Last week, the Bernalillo County Planning Commission approved applications on a special use permit and sector plan amendment for PNM’s North Albuquerque Acres Substation Project. The utility has been working to build the infrastructure, used as a means to deliver power to surrounding neighborhoods, for nearly eight years as the area continues to grow.
But the letter also touched on Blackstone’s data center business, which operates under the banner QTS Realty Trust. “Blackstone is seeking to buy the utility companies that power (data centers) — raising additional affordability concerns for consumers.” The letter cited an International Energy Agency report claiming electricity demand worldwide will increase by 130% by 2030, in large part due to the power that data centers require.
Like other parts of the U.S., New Mexico is seeing a demand for data centers — and an interest from large companies.
A Doña Ana County data center campus, under the name Project Jupiter, was named one of five sites in the $500 billion Stargate Project in September, led by OpenAI and Oracle.
At least two other companies have eyed New Mexico to house data center operations, including Wyoming-based Zenith Volts Corp., with an 8,400-acre site in Chaves County, and Texas-based New Era Energy & Digital Inc., which wants to put a 3,500-acre campus in Lea County.
Asked in August about the relationship between Blackstone’s data center business and its planned purchase of TXNM, a spokesperson said there “is absolutely no connection” and that its “proposed investment in TXNM Energy is solely because of our conviction in the company, its management and the future growth of the economies of New Mexico and Texas.”
Startup with hopes to build outer space power grid names Albuquerque as HQ - Joshua Bowling, Source New Mexico
A startup that seeks to build the first-ever power grid in outer space has selected Albuquerque as its headquarters, the state Economic Development Department announced Monday.
Mantis Space, a Georgia-founded company backed by venture capital, plans to build orbital infrastructure capable of powering satellites and lunar operations, according to a news release. The new Albuquerque headquarters and research and development facilities are expected to generate as much as $480 million in economic impact over the next 10 years, the release said. Company officials expect to create more than 200 jobs with average annual salaries of more than $180,000.
Company officials say they chose Albuquerque after a national search and weighed factors such as quality of life, access to talent and available economic incentives. The state is awarding the company $2.5 million under the Local Economic Development Act and Albuquerque is awarding it $500,000.
“Albuquerque exceeded nearly all our criteria for our highly competitive selection and offered an extremely competitive package that was ultimately the key,” Mantis Space CEO Eric Truitt said in a statement. “We look forward to working together to make New Mexico a national leader in both space and advanced energy innovation.”
The state Economic Development Department in a release said orbital infrastructure is expected to pave the way for “off-planet data centers and manufacturing.”
High-tech projects have increasingly announced plans to open in New Mexico. In September, local officials approved plans for Project Jupiter, a campus of data centers planned to support the tech giants OpenAI and Oracle. That same month, Pacific Fusion, a California-based fusion energy company, announced plans to build a $1 billion research and manufacturing campus in Albuquerque. And in November, a California-based hypersonic missile company announced plans to open a 1,000-acre manufacturing plant in Sandoval County.
The state Economic Development Department in early December released a 158-page report that calls for further growth in science and technology fields including quantum systems, advanced energy and aerospace.
“New Mexico is rapidly becoming an anchor for our nation’s most advanced industries, as today’s exciting announcement demonstrates,” New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “With our world-class research institutions, unmatched talent, and growing network of innovative companies, our state is literally shaping the future.”