2005 Albuquerque mayoral election

The 2005 Albuquerque mayoral election took place on October 4, 2005. Incumbent Mayor Martin Chávez ran for re-election to a second consecutive term, and third term overall. Chávez faced four challengers: City Council President Brad Winter, City Councilor Eric Griego, former State Secretary of Transportation Judy Espinosa, and environmental planning commission member David Steele. Though Chávez's ex-wife, Margaret Aragón de Chávez, considered running against him,^[1] she ultimately declined to do so.

During the campaign, Espinosa was disqualified from the ballot for submitting insufficient signatures. Though a district court judge initially allowed her to appear on the ballot, the city appealed to the New Mexico Supreme Court, which upheld Espinosa's disqualification but allowed her to seek additional signatures. Espinosa instead ended her campaign, concluding that she did not have enough time to gather enough signatures.^[2]

The election was the first one since 1995 to require a runoff election if no candidate received 40 percent of the vote. The city charter required runoff elections, but a district court judge struck down the requirement in 1997, concluding that it violated the state constitution.^[3] In 2004, voters approved a constitutional amendment allowing municipalities to require runoff elections.^[4]

Chávez ultimately won re-election by a wide margin, winning 47 percent of the vote to Griego's 26 percent and Winter's 25 percent, becoming the first mayor in city history to win two consecutive terms.^[5]