Teresa Garcia called incumbent Klarissa Peña Thursday morning to concede the City Council District 3 race, reversing course from plans to seek a recount after losing by 68 votes in the Dec. 9 runoff election.
At a press conference at Alamosa Park, Garcia said she cannot ask supporters — including mayoral candidate Alex Uballez and Christopher Sedillo, who ran against her and Peña in the November general election — to raise “hundreds of thousands of dollars for a recount that is almost mathematically certain to return with the same result.”
She later told City Desk the recount would cost an estimated $300,000 to $500,000, though Bernalillo County had not prepared an official estimate, according to county spokesperson Estevan Vásquez. Under the New Mexico State Canvassing Board guidelines, recounting 6,609 ballots would cost about $20,000. That estimate includes a $4,100 flat programming fee and pays for a five-member recount board at $960 per eight-hour day.
“I still have campaign debt that I have to figure out as a single mom how to pay,” Garcia said. “I just cannot put that bill on my community.”
The concession closes one of the city’s closest and most contentious council races. Peña won 3,339 to 3,270 out of 6,609 ballots cast, a margin of 1.03 percentage points.
Garcia announced Wednesday she planned to request a recount. Her 68-vote loss fell just two votes short of the state’s automatic recount trigger, which kicks in at 1% or 66 votes. But the City Charter does not allow automatic recounts in runoff elections, so she would have had to pay for it herself.
“So today I stand here with you, my community, to say that I concede this race,” Garcia said at the press conference. “I have called my opponent to inform her about my concession and express the urgency to deliver for District 3.”
Garcia said she congratulated Peña during the call and told her, “I just hope that you really, truly listen to the needs of our community.”
“She jumped in immediately and was like, ‘Congratulations, Teresa, you know, it was a hard race. I look forward to working with you for District 3,” Garcia said.
Peña confirmed the call in a statement released Thursday afternoon.
“Teresa Garcia called me personally today to concede the race,” Peña said. “I acknowledged the hard work she and her team put into their campaign.”
Peña said she’s “ready to unite District 3 and get back to work” after the close race. She plans to complete the Westgate Community Center, advance Phase II of the Southwest Public Safety Center and support the Route 66 Centennial during her fourth term.
“I look forward to continuing to serve District 3 with honesty, accountability and dedication,” Peña said.
The runoff was triggered after no candidate reached 50% in the Nov. 4 election. Peña finished with 41%, Garcia with 38% and the third candidate, Sedillo, earned 21%. Garcia said voter turnout in District 3 doubled compared with previous elections.
Garcia, a domestic violence survivor and member of the city’s Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault Commission, said she plans to push for automatic expungement for survivors who are falsely arrested and later acquitted.
“I just want to make sure that no survivor ever goes through a re-traumatization like this and endures the re-victimization in this capacity and humiliation, public humiliation,” Garcia said.
She said she will keep attending city council meetings to advocate for District 3.
“This campaign may have ended, but my commitment to District 3 has not and will not,” Garcia said.
Peña will begin her fourth term on Jan. 1, which will make her the city’s longest continuously serving councilor. District 3 covers Southwest Albuquerque, south of Central Avenue across the Southwest Mesa.