Newly Elected Albuquerque and Bernalillo County Leaders Sit Together to Talk Priorities and Collaboration

The Albuquerque City Council and Bernalillo County Commission are two hugely powerful legislative bodies that serve largely the same people. That means overlapping, interconnected issues: a housing shortage, homelessness on the rise, Immigration and Customs Enforcement showing up locally, and unmet needs around mental health and substance use treatment.

But the two governments remain distinct and independent. And on top of that, each has elected new leaders to set their agendas this year. So, what does that mean for their shared constituencies?

That question prompted me to ask newly elected council President Klarissa Peña and commission Chair Adriann Barboa to come on In Focus together, rather than separately, to discuss their priorities.

It’s not the first time the two longtime public servants have met — both are Chicanas from the southside of Albuquerque (though Peña is from the Southwest and Barboa, the Southeast) who advocated even before being elected to office for youth development, gang intervention, infrastructure and behavioral health. In fact, they go way back in this work, and that history comes up in our interview. This is, however, the first time the two have sat for an interview together, let alone as the leaders of their respective legislative bodies, and in their final terms in office.

With their differing jobs and, at times, politics, I wasn’t sure they’d be into this notion of a joint interview. But I was wrong. They both quickly agreed, thinking it was a cool idea and opportunity. I hope you’ll find it to be one, as well.

I couldn’t help but ask the leaders about a years-long conversation that’s lost some momentum recently around consolidating the two governments for efficiency’s sake. They both paused, then laughed, before Barboa finally qualified the question as a “hot button.”

You’ll hear their positions on that idea before we reset into the reality of where the two legislative bodies stand today — distinct but overlapping — and where the two new leaders with what I might call distinct but overlapping politics and perspectives stand on the biggest issues facing the state’s biggest metro area.

– Nash Jones, NMiF Host