by Jeremy Hunt
Daily Lobo
There were no tight races in Tuesday's City Council election.
Rey Gardu§o took District 6 with almost 49 percent of the votes, defeating Kevin Wilson, Joanie Griffin and Blair Kaufman.
District 6 encompasses the University area.
Get content from The Daily Lobo delivered to your inbox
Incumbent Brad Winter held onto the District 4 seat with more than 80 percent of the votes, beating out Paulette de'Pascal.
District 4 covers an area north of Montgomery Boulevard and east of I-25.
City Council President Debbie O'Malley kept her seat in District 2 with about 72 percent of the votes, defeating Katherine Martinez.
District 2 covers the North
Valley.
Residents of District 9, which covers the Four Hills area, kept Don Harris in office.
About 65 percent of the votes were against Harris' recall, the second recall in Albuquerque's history.
Trudy Jones ran unopposed and took the District 8 seat.
District 8 covers the far Northeast Heights.
All 10 bond issues on the ballot passed, including $45 million for street improvements, $12 million for public safety, and nearly $38 million for parks and recreation.
There were five proposed city charter amendments, including one to prevent city officials from taking campaign contributions from businesses contracted by
the city.
The only amendment that did not pass would have given councilors a raise from their salary of about $9,000 a year to about $29,000 a year.
Gardu§o said he will represent the UNM community by getting it involved in local politics.
"The students have a unique situation," he said. "A lot of them are from here. Some of them are not. I'd like to make sure that everybody feels like they're a part of the city."
Gardu§o said he wants residents to tell him what needs to be done in District 6.
"It's not what Rey Gardu§o thinks it needs - it's what the people in the district have told me they need to have happen," he said. "We need to make sure that all of those people who want to be part of this process are given the opportunity."
Winter said it was humbling to win by such a large margin.
He said he plans to focus on improving public safety in
Albuquerque.
"We don't have enough officers on the street," he said. "We keep losing officers, and the crime rates have risen."
O'Malley did not return calls Tuesday night.
