Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller, along with City Counselor Klarissa Pena and Counselor-Elects Louie Sanchez, Dan Lewis, Tammy Fiebelkorn, and Renee Grout took their oaths of office in a Inaugural ceremony closed to the public Saturday.
Keller, who is entering his second term in office, highlighted the long and storied history of Albuquerque, and his place in that history.
“When I took the oath of office, it said I was the 10th mayor of Albuquerque and I thought to myself, “how could that possibly be?” But of course as Hakiem (master of ceremonies) mentioned, that’s just in the modern form of government for the 70’s. We know that this job, leading the city of Albuquerque has been going on for a lot longer than that. And today, we are here at the start of a new year, the start of a new term, and we are embracing on the new leg of a journey that we have been traveling on for 315 years.”
Looking towards the future, Keller talked about the promise of Albuquerque, and how together, the city is continuing to grow. But he also acknowledged the city is facing historic challenges that will need to be addressed, through “honest appraisal”, if the city is going to reach the promise he sees.
“These are incredibly difficult times, and that promise, as hard as we try and reach it, often feels far away. The rise is violence and addiction and homelessness in cities all across America have deeped the ingrained challenges that we face right here at home. And some of the challenges we faced for generations. This is the terrain we must master to pursue Albuquerque’s promise.”
Keller said the goals of his administration this term are to find real and lasting solutions to the issues Albuquerque faces. These solutions include the opening of the Gateway Center to provide shelter and health services for those experiencing homelessness.
In an effort to fight growing crime, Keller announced the city will be implementing $80 million in crime fighting tech, set to come online this winter.
And finally, the city government will be moving to 100% renewable energy in the next 5 years, becoming one of the first 5 large American city governments to do so.
Keller is hopeful he can continue to build off the foundation set by his first term as mayor, and help build towards the future he sees for Albuquerque.
“Although the road ahead is indeed difficult, we’ve established a foundation that we’ve never had before. A foundation that we here today can use to see through the progress that we need.”