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Remy inherited Heartbreaker’s famous eye.

While there are still questions to be answered regarding the ABQ mayoral race and city council seats, this web site will pivot a little and look into the issues raised during my campaign in greater depth. We will go forward and present common sense perspectives from the trenches in Albuquerque. Please join us for the conversation.

The voters of Albuquerque’s District 7 have spoken.

My intention was to issue this statement as soon as Bernalillo County published the final vote count for Tuesday’s race.   That has not happened.  Though their report quantifies Councilor Fiebelkorn’s unequivocally solid victory with a reported 85.12% of the vote, it appears on the BernCo.gov site that I had zero write-ins (not actually the case).  It is perhaps a final parting signal to me by the election eco-system (City clerk, County clerk, Party organizations, much major and minor media, social media commentariat) that “yes, we will permit you to run as a Write-in, but do not presume to be worthy of the credibility or respect given candidates on the ballot”.

I have no regrets for having made the effort; in fact, it was a privilege to become acquainted with more of the extraordinary citizens who make up our community, across a wide spectrum of political persuasions and professional endeavors.  Their support and encouragement was a constant source of inspiration and motivation which I will forever treasure.  Any shortcomings of the campaign were the result of my personal naivety and limitations; certainly not the talents, energy, commitment and generosity of those who were behind me.

While we appear to be headed in the direction of maintaining “status quo”, Albuquerque still faces the challenges that motivated me to “jump in” to the Council race:

• an un-remedied crisis of street homelessness with pervasive negative consequences for all aspects of urban civic life
• decaying and commercially collapsing major corridors screaming for a future vision
• splendid neighborhoods (with few exceptions), under threat from an unaccountable bureaucracy of redefinition and plundering by private equity investors with NO reference nor deference to residents and stated principles of the city’s Comprehensive Plan
• a funded project to redefine the vast NM State Fairgrounds site standing at the crossroads of our major issues, with potential to be the consequential catalyst for transformation of an entire quadrant of Albuquerque, or simply another inadequately conceived and executed boondoggle (think ART).

I will continue to be as engaged as I can be with as many aspects of our community and its remarkable citizens.  Through every channel available I will advocate for and seek community consensus around common sense and practical solutions to problems and fostering of opportunity in Albuquerque.

When called for, I will be a resistance fighter against the misleading and the misguided. Anyone who has known Albuquerque for 40 years or more knows we are at a precarious tipping point.  The magnificence and uniqueness so eloquently described by V.B. Price in Albuquerque – A City At The End Of The World was its deserved potential, not its guaranteed destiny.

If I have learned anything during this past year of “civic education” it is that the “real stuff” of consequence for Albuquerque is not done by government; it is done by the countless representative organizations, non-profits, skilled professionals, hard workers, builders and businesses.  Government, through its active agencies, should be dedicated to and focused on enabling them to deliver their best while protecting the community.

This is not a time to “go gentle into that good night”.  I’ll see you in the trenches.

Please contact Jaemes if you can hold a sign at a polling station in District 7 tomorrow. Polls are open from 7am to 7pm. If you can take an hour shift, that would be great. Call or text 505.352.4509.

Many, many thanks to all who have helped this campaign. Your support has been greatly appreciated and is deeply valued.

District residents received the following campaign mail from Fiebelkorn. A D7 neighbor has some words in support of Jaemes Shanley.

Dear Neighbors,

As residents of Albuquerque, we all want a city that is safer, more affordable, and more responsive to the people who live here. Unfortunately, Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn’s record over her term does not reflect the kind of leadership our community needs.

While she presents herself as a progressive problem-solver, her policies have too often produced the opposite of what they promised — more division, higher costs, and a city struggling with the same or worse issues than before. I respectfully urge voters to choose new leadership for District 7.

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1. She does not listen to both sides of the story

A city councilor’s duty is to represent everyone–not just those who agree with them politically. Time and again, Tammy Fiebelkorn has shown unwillingness to consider alternative perspectives or compromise.

• She dismissed legitimate community concerns as “anti-growth,” instead of engaging in real dialogue about balanced solutions.

When an elected official stops listening to her constituents and instead pushes an ideological agenda, trust is lost — and collaboration breaks down.

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2. She has failed to address Albuquerque’s housing crisis

Fiebelkorn often claims to champion affordable housing, but her record tells another story.

• Instead of expanding real pathways to homeownership, her initiatives have focused on regulatory experiments and rental restrictions that will drive up costs and reduce housing supply.

After several years in office, housing has not become more affordable — it has become harder to find and more expensive to rent or buy. Her approach has not delivered measurable improvement for working families or for those struggling to keep a roof over their heads.

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3. She has not made our city safer

Public safety remains one of Albuquerque’s most urgent challenges. Yet under Fiebelkorn’s tenure, we have seen little progress on reducing crime or improving enforcement.

• She has not supported strong measures to address the growth of illegal encampments, property crime, and public safety threats in our neighborhoods.
• Instead, she has prioritized policy statements and resolutions that sound good on paper but offer no concrete results on the streets.

Our residents deserve visible, accountable action on crime — not abstract policy gestures. A safer city requires practical solutions, not just good intentions.

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4. Her policies have worsened the homelessness crisis

While compassion for unhoused people is essential, Fiebelkorn’s policies have arguably made the problem worse.

• By opposing stricter enforcement against illegal encampments, she has allowed public spaces, parks, and sidewalks to become unsafe or unusable for families and businesses.
• Her focus on long-term studies and task forces has delayed immediate action to connect people to treatment, shelter, and mental health support.

Albuquerque now faces more encampments, not fewer–a clear sign that her strategy is not working. We can and must do better, with policies that are both compassionate and effective.

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5. We need leadership that unites and delivers results

District 7 deserves a councilor who listens to the community, builds consensus, and delivers measurable progress on safety, housing, and quality of life.

Tammy Fiebelkorn’s record shows a pattern of ideology over practicality, policy over people, and promises over performance. After several years in office, our neighborhoods are not safer, housing is not more affordable, and our city’s challenges have deepened.

It is time for a new voice — one focused on results, respect, and responsiveness.

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For these reasons, I urge my fellow residents to vote against Tammy Fiebelkorn’s re-election to the Albuquerque City Council.

Our city deserves leadership that listens, learns, and leads with balance, not partisanship.

Check out these short testimonial videos made by District 7 residents in support of Jaemes. Early voting ends Saturday, November 1. Election Day is Tuesday, November 4. Please write in Jaemes Shanley for City Council.

Linda

Leslie

Tammy Fiebelkorn has decided that a write-in candidate who runs on issues, seeks dialogue with every element of the community, and hustles to fund a campaign donor-by-donor “is NOT someone we want on Albuquerque City Council.”

What she is really saying is I am entitled to my Council seat and the only democratic process acceptable is unquestioning fealty to my obvious virtue. Any challenger is the pawn of greedy corporate interests and should be ignored. Said another way, “We don’t need no damn democracy!”.

Sorry Tammy; like the individuals and organizations with which you assiduously avoid engagement, or the 3,000 to 5,000 unhoused people living on our streets you choose to just leave there, I am not going to disappear. There is too much real priority work needed urgently in Albuquerque to surrender to your commitment to the status quo.

Tammy has not responded to a single specific public criticism of her positions and performance in office (street homelessness, commercial corridor decay, residential neighborhood re-zoning, unquestioning support for the Gateway System, indifference to the State Fairgrounds redevelopment project and to small business). Instead, in an email to the District, she chooses to paint me and my campaign as a “dirty money” operation backed by $250,000 in PAC funding for “attack ads”. Maxing out volume on performative virtue signaling, Tammy levels a barrage of prevarications to try and undermine a challenge to the incumbency to which she feels entitled.

So,…let me set the record straight. Tammy’s campaign sits atop $57,251 of taxpayer-funded public financing, earned by collecting $2,500 in 500+ donations before July 7. My campaign has received, as of October 25th, $15,186 from individual contributions of which my own personal contribution is by far the largest. The maximum an individual or organization can contribute to my campaign, other than me as candidate, is $2,000.00. The maximum an individual or organization can contribute to my campaign, other than me as candidate, is $2,000.00. The campaign finances of every election candidate are available to the public at https://campaignfinance.cabq.gov/#/index.

After meeting with and interviewing me, to know my positions on issues of concern to their members, two representative organizations have contributed the $2000 maximum allowed, the Apartment Association of New Mexico (AANM), and the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors (GAAR).  Both of these groups play a vital role in our community and are doing actual work every day to deliver safe, quality, and affordable housing to every resident of Albuquerque.  The evidence of their effectiveness can be seen in the quality of most of our residential neighborhoods which stand in stark contrast to the commercial and human calamity along our corridors, ineffectively addressed by city government during the past 4 years. It is worth reading the statement published Friday on the GAAR website in response to Tammy’s ridiculous calumny.
https://www.gaar.com/blog/article/setting-the-record-straight-realtors-are-community-partners-not-dirty-money

“Attack ads” are campaign messages designed to generate negative emotion toward an opposing candidate by falsely insinuating they stand for abhorrent policy positions and values. The only attack ad this D7 Council race has seen is Tammy’s message Friday. Utter nonsense, simplistic, and typical tactic of the divisive politics that is paralyzing progress in our City and our nation. I’ve seen no evidence of PAC funded “attack ads” though Tammy appears to consider any suggested alternative to her reign, like “Write In Jaemes Shanley“, to be an attack ad. Earning the support of GAAR and AANM required only one major act on my part, to listen and engage in dialogue. I do that wherever I can, on any subject of importance or relevance to Albuquerque. That is where I gain real insight into important issues and priorities and, above all, am made aware of the huge number and high quality of fellow citizens who both care and act daily to make Albuquerque a better city. This process, I have also learned, is alien to Tammy Fiebelkorn, whose reputation for unwillingness to engage in dialogue, unless one is part of her coterie of pet project collaborators, is widespread in District 7 and the community at large.

Clearly well financed with our money, incumbent, on the ballot, and sitting snugly in the bubble of her performative progressivism that feels no obligation to make real progress, Tammy does not consider organizations or individuals that challenge her to be other than “conservative and MAGA-leaning”.  In spite of her incuriosity, Tammy would do well to read my article “The Audacity of Contempt”, published on Pete Dinelli’s blog site April 7th.
https://www.petedinelli.com/2025/04/07/jaemes-shanley-guest-opinion-column-the-audacity-of-contempt/.

If Albuquerque were a better and healthier city today than it was four years ago, I would not be running for City Council. On November 4th, the voting citizens of Albuquerque will rightfully determine if they prefer the status quo or a pivot toward real progress. The only VOTER ALERT that should be going out to them is please get to the polls and make your voice heard.

Click the below to read the guest column by Jaemes at Pete Dinelli’s blog.

Jaemes Shanley Guest Opinion Column: “No Matter The Election Outcome, We Must Fix This!”; COMMENTARY: Write In Jaemes Shanley For District 7 City Council

We learned of a letter circulated in support of Jaemes Shanley for City Council. It is a wonderful statement. We are humbled by and grateful for the support. Please read:

Why You Should Support Jaemes Shanley

1. He’ll bring accountability and business discipline to City Hall.
Jaemes believes the Council must prioritize issues based on impact, rely on facts rather than rhetoric, and demand measurable results before approving costly programs or ordinances.

2. He wants to revitalize Albuquerque’s struggling business corridors.
After surveying 3,800 properties along major streets like Central, San Pedro, and Menaul, Jaemes found that 21% of commercial buildings are closed or abandoned. He knows empty storefronts breed crime, discourage investment, and erode neighborhoods — and he has a plan to attract and support locally owned small businesses to bring those corridors back to life.

3. He supports responsible housing growth and homeownership.
Jaemes advocates converting underused commercial spaces into higher-density, attainable housing that helps residents take their first step toward homeownership — without government overreach like rent control proposals that would stifle investment and reduce supply.

4. He’ll confront real problems — not ignore them.
From the city’s $300 million “unhoused industrial complex” that has failed to deliver results, to the alarming state of our Rio Grande water supply, Jaemes will push for data-driven action and transparent accountability.

Thanks to your generosity and belief in our campaign, we are able to send a post card to residents in District 7. Take a look: