Mayoral Mechanics: 14 At The Start But Far Fewer At The Finish
There are 14 candidates registered to run for the 2017 Albuquerque mayoral race but political pros have already narrowed the field to three or four candidates who they see as having a realistic chance at replacing Mayor Richard Berry who in December will finish his final term in office.The open seat has drawn a diverse batch of candidates but most are not positioned to either qualify for the ballot and/or raise the necessary funds to conduct a professional campaign. It's easy to toss your hat into the ring but to actually get in there and duke it out takes much more than that.
The first hurdle to cross for the would-be mayors is collecting 3,000 valid signatures from registered city voters. The key word is valid. Many of the signatures collected will be from persons not registered. Consultants say a candidate will need to get about 5,000 signatures to make sure they get the 3,000 valid ones that will guarantee them a place on the October 3 ballot.
