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Bernalillo County participates in routine elections audit

Elliott Wood | December 1

On Monday, Nov. 24, election officials from Bernalillo County began their voting system check after last month's general election. A post-election audit is required by law for every county in the state and carried out in association with a third-party auditor. Zlotnik and Sandoval, the auditor hired by the state this year, assigned a set number of precincts to each county for review by hand-count. Due to the size of its population, Bernalillo County is typically assigned "the lion's share" of those precincts, Bernalillo County Bureau of Elections Administrator Nathan Jaramillo said. This year, 22 of 70 total precincts were selected from Bernalillo.

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Student orgs introduce roaming recycling cart at football tailgate

Penelope Loyd Sment | November 24

It is easy to imagine the type of waste that is generated at a University of New Mexico football tailgate, with aluminum cans, plastic bottles and cardboard usually sent directly to the landfill. This season, a group of students from environmentally-focused student organizations across campus are banding together to make recycling easier than ever for Lobo fans by debuting a roaming recycling cart at home tailgates. The cart began roaming on Nov. 15 at the Lobo football tailgate to collect and manage the recyclables people had on-hand during the event.

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University seeks community input on next UNM president

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | November 24

As the search for the next University of New Mexico president continues, members of the community were invited to give their input on what qualities they would like to see the next president embody. Held on Nov. 18 and 19 — the first in UNM’s Student Union Building, and the second in the Domenici Education Center on the Health and Sciences campus — staff, faculty, students and community members presented their perspectives on the investigation to members of the search firm Isaacson, Miller, which the University has contracted to conduct the search.

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State and Tribal leaders urge feds to keep Chaco Canyon protections

Addison Fulton | November 24

New Mexico delegation and local tribal leaders gathered to reaffirm their commitment to protecting public lands, firmly stating, “Chaco Canyon is not for sale.” On Friday, Nov. 21, Sen. Martin Heinrich (D) hosted a press conference alongside Sen. Ben Ray Luján (D) and Rep. Melanie Stansbury (D), where Gov. Myron Armijo of Santa Ana Pueblo spoke at the Indian Pueblo Culture Center to discuss the U.S. Department of the Interior’s recent moves to repeal Public Land Order 7923, which protects land near Chaco Canyon, including a 10-mile buffer zone, from oil and gas development. In late October, President Donald Trump’s administration notified several tribal leaders about plans to revoke the 20-year ban on oil and gas development across roughly 336,000 federal lands near Chaco Canyon, according to The Associated Press.

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Keller earns key endorsement as runoff fast approaches

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | November 20

With the Albuquerque runoff elections just weeks away, incumbent Mayor Tim Keller has earned an important endorsement in his race against former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. The New Mexico Working Families Party announced its endorsement of Keller on Thursday, Nov. 20, after its initial endorsement of former U.S. Attorney for the District of New Mexico, Alex Uballez, during the regular election.

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City Council unanimously passes historic traffic ordinance

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | November 17

The Albuquerque traffic code has remained nearly unchanged since 1974, but is now being updated after a unanimous city council vote in the wake of multiple pedestrian and bicycle traffic accidents, including one that killed 19-year-old cyclist Kayla VanLandingham, who was struck by a car at a bike crossing near Carlisle Boulevard. The ordinance intends to update the traffic code to improve protections for bicyclists, pedestrians and other vulnerable road users, Albuquerque District Seven City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn — who sponsored the ordinance — said during a City Council meeting on Nov. 5. VanLandingham’s grandmother, Diana Zamora, spoke about her granddaughter's death during public comment at the meeting.

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How Albuquerque’s publicly funded elections work

Penelope Loyd Sment | November 17

In city elections where raising tens of thousands of dollars is common occurrence, Albuquerque participates in a program which seeks to democratize campaign fundraising. The system uses public financing to allow candidates to run for office without the financial burden typical in elections. This tool was a common feature in this year’s Nov. 4 municipal elections, with many candidates financed by the city. Mayoral candidate and incumbent Tim Keller and City Council candidates, incumbent Renée Grout from district nine, incumbent Tammy Fiebelkorn from district seven, incumbent Dan Lewis from district five, incumbent Klarissa Peña from district three, Ahren Griego and Daniel Levia from district one were all publicly financed this election.

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Haaland visits UNM, speaks to students

Addison Fulton | November 17

On Tuesday, Nov. 11, the University of New Mexico College Democrats hosted former U.S. Interior Secretary Deb Haaland, who conversed with students about her history and current gubernatorial campaign. In addition to being the first Native American Cabinet secretary in the nation’s history, Haaland is an alum of UNM, having completed both her undergraduate and law degrees at UNM. She shared with students some of her personal history, as well as information about her current gubernatorial run. Haaland started by sharing that she first ran for lieutenant governor in 2014, a year in which Democrats lost decisively, with Republican Susana Martinez winning the governorship. Haaland then ran for state Democratic party chair, she said.

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UNM LEAF launches campaign after release of UNM Sustainability Strategic Plan

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | November 10

The University of New Mexico released its first comprehensive Sustainability Strategic Plan on Oct. 28, and with it came a launch of campaigns from students organizing with UNM Leaders for Environmental Action and Foresight. UNM sophomore and Director of Projects for UNM LEAF Caitlyn Bizzell said she and other members, along with more student groups, participated in the creation of the Sustainability Strategic Plan. In a statement to the Daily Lobo, UNM Office of Sustainability Director Anne Jackle praised student involvement in the plan.

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Keller, White head to mayoral runoff election

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | November 10

Election Day has come and gone, but voters will soon have to return to the polls to cast their ballots for a second time this year. The Albuquerque mayoral race is headed to a runoff election between incumbent Mayor Tim Keller and former Bernalillo County Sheriff Darren White. The election will be held, with early voting taking place from Dec. 1 through 6. In the regular election, Keller won first place with 36% of the vote, and White came in second with 31%; a runoff is triggered if no candidate passes the 50% margin needed to win.

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UNM launches first comprehensive Sustainability Strategic Plan

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | November 10

After over a year of preparation and planning, the University of New Mexico announced its first comprehensive Sustainability Strategic Plan to organize the University’s sustainability goals into two main areas, on Oct. 29. The plan's two focuses are transforming campus operations and building sustainability engagement and culture. The first section of transforming campus operations contains measurable goals and objectives to create greater sustainability on campus, and the second section focuses on building culture and community within the University. The Director of UNM’s Office of Sustainability, Anne Jakle, said the first steps in the creation of the plan were to gather a baseline of data and to learn what the University community’s priorities are.

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First segment of ABQ Rail Trail now open

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | November 10

The first segment of the Albuquerque Rail trail opened to the public on Oct. 25, welcoming visitors to the trail which connects the Sawmill District to Tiguex Park. The following weekend, the Rail Trail was filled with dogs in costume for the inaugural “Howl-a-Day of the Dog” pet parade on Nov. 1. Uncertainty of the Rail Trail’s future began after the project kicked off, when Albuquerque lost $11.5 million in federal grant money, followed by a city lawsuit against the Trump Administration on Oct. 31, arguing that the grant was withdrawn “abruptly and without significant justification,” Metropolitan Redevelopment Agency Operations Manager Sarah Supple wrote in a statement to the Daily Lobo. The city will continue to invest in the Rail Trail through local and state partnerships as the legal process moves forward, with the Central Crossing segment still on track to open next year, Supple wrote.

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Lobo food pantry feeds students during shutdown

Maria Fernandez and Jaden McKelvey-Francis | November 10

In light of federal funding for the anti-hunger Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program lapsing on Nov. 1, many people are looking for other sources to find food. For University of New Mexico students, the Lobo Food Pantry can be one of those resources. The pantry is primarily student-run and allows students with a UNM ID to take up to 10 pounds of items, including fresh produce, canned goods and hygiene items per day, the Director of UNM’s LoboRESPECT Advocacy Center, Lisa Lindquist, said. “Our biggest thing that we try to think about is we want people to feel comfortable using this space. What we see a lot are students saying, ‘Well, other people deserve it more than I do.’ And the truth is that that's just not true, that's a myth. Anybody who needs its food should come in and use it,” Lindquist said.

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How the government shutdown impacts UNM

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | November 3

The University of New Mexico community is bracing itself for the impacts of the federal government shutdown, which has been ongoing for over a month since lawmakers missed the deadline for government funding. UNM President Garnett Stokes sent a campus-wide email on Oct. 6, in which she wrote that the government shutdown may affect University federally funded research projects. UNM Vice President for Research Ellen Fisher and UNM Health Sciences Center Vice President for Research, Hengameh Raissy, addressed the UNM Research Community in a letter with guidelines to prepare for the shutdown on Sept. 29, before the government shutdown.

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What are GO Bonds?

Addison Fulton | November 3

This local election cycle, voters will be asked to consider where city funds should be allocated to a variety of issues and programs on Election Day, Tuesday Nov. 4. General obligation bonds are funding dedicated to improvements to infrastructure and programs such as public safety, parks and recreation, libraries and street maintenance. In addition to the bond questions, there are elections for the City of Albuquerque Mayor’s Office, odd-numbered city council districts, Albuquerque Municipal School Board districts three, five, six and seven, the Central New Mexico Community College Board and the Albuquerque Metropolitan Arroyo Flood Control Authority.

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Speaker hosted by conservative student organization draws tension, protests

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | November 3

For over four hours, approximately 30 people protested against the University of New Mexico chapter of Turning Point USA, a conservative student organization that had a table set up near the Duck Pond on Monday, Oct. 27. Some students debated with members of TP-UNM, while others gathered and chanted. TP-UNM members were promoting an upcoming lecture that occurred on Wednesday, Oct. 29, titled “CRT: Education or Indoctrination,” with guest speaker Stephen Davis, a Turning Point USA contributor and host of the podcast “SMASH with MAGA Hulk.” Students protested Turning Point’s presence on campus, chanting “hey hey, ho ho, Turning Point has got to go.” Some protestors handed out “Lobos Against Fascism” stickers and sang “Bella Ciao,” “This Land is your Land,” “Solidarity Forever” and “John Brown’s Body.”

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ASUNM bill on broadcasting meetings highlights senator attendance issue

Elliott Wood | October 27

A bill on livestreaming meetings that passed during the Associated Students at the University of New Mexico’s full senate meeting on Wednesday, Oct. 22, faced criticism from some senators, and highlighted issues of senator attendance at meetings this semester. Bill #11F, proposed by Senators Daniyal Hussain and Jillian Grandinetti, mandates that all Full Senate meetings be either livestreamed or recorded to “ensure public accessibility.” The method by which the meeting would be livestreamed was left intentionally vague, Hussain said, in order to allow for changes in methodology as they tested different solutions. The bill, which was eventually passed by a vote of 12 yays to two nays, with six abstaining or absent, will take effect next semester.

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Voter turnout expected to rise from last local elections

Wyatt S. Padilla | October 27

If you are planning to head to the polls for this year’s elections to make your voice heard on the local levels of government, you may see a drastic difference between the voting lines compared to just a year ago. Last year’s presidential election sparked massive voter turnout due to high voter enthusiasm, but municipal elections tend to garner less attention, even with the city’s top job on the ballot. Incumbent Mayor Tim Keller and Darren White are the top two candidates who lead this year’s election, according to Research and Polling, a local polling firm based in Albuquerque, published by the Albuquerque Journal.

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Journalist, political commentator discusses Israel-Palestine politics during UNM visit

Leila Chapa and Paloma Chapa | October 27

During his appearance at the University of New Mexico, journalist, political commentator and author of “Being Jewish after the Destruction of Gaza: A Reckoning,” Peter Beinart, spoke on topics ranging from Jewish identity and anti-Zionism, to the Israel-Hamas ceasefire deal and student activism. In the nearly-full Anthropology Building lecture hall on Tuesday, Oct. 21, Beinart took questions from students, staff, faculty and community members. “It was wonderful, it was great. I really appreciated that there were people of different perspectives who asked me challenging questions from different points of view,” Beinart told the Daily Lobo after the lecture.

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Search begins for next University President

Jaden McKelvey-Francis | October 27

With University of New Mexico’s President Garnett Stokes’ tenure coming to an end, the search for the next president has officially begun. During a Board of Regents meeting on Tuesday, Oct. 21, the Board announced that they have taken the first step in finding a replacement for Stokes, who in September announced her intention to resign at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. The Board will soon appoint an advisory committee tasked with carrying out a national search for the next president, according to a UNM press release.