City of Albuquerque - File #: M-22-4

• File #: M-22-4
• Type: Memorial
• Status: Adopted
• File created: 8/15/2022
• In control: City Council
• Final action: 10/3/2022
• Enactment date: 10/11/2022
• Enactment #: M-2022-003
• Title: Consideration Of An Exemption For The City Of Albuquerque From New Mexico State Statute 3-12-1.1, Which Requires City Council Districts To Be Contiguous (Pe?a)
• Sponsors: Klarissa J. Peña

Date	Action By	Action	Result
10/11/2022	City Clerk	Enacted
10/7/2022	City Clerk	Sent to City Clerk for Signature
10/3/2022	City Council	Passed as Amended	Pass
10/3/2022	City Council	Amended	Pass
9/19/2022	City Council	Accepted with a Recommendation Do Pass
9/12/2022	Finance & Government Operations Committee	Sent to Council with a recommendation of Do Pass	Pass
8/15/2022	City Council	Introduced
8/15/2022	President	Referred

CITY of ALBUQUERQUE

TWENTY FIFTH COUNCIL

COUNCIL BILL NO.       M-22-4                       ENACTMENT NO.   ________________________

SPONSORED BY:  Klarissa Peña

MEMORIAL

title

Consideration Of An Exemption For The City Of Albuquerque From New Mexico State Statute 3-12-1.1, Which Requires City Council Districts To Be Contiguous (Peña) body

CONSIDERATION OF AN EXEMPTION FOR THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE FROM NEW MEXICO STATE STATUTE 3-12-1.1, WHICH REQUIRES CITY COUNCIL DISTRICTS TO BE CONTIGUOUS.

WHEREAS, New Mexico State Statute, NMSA 1978, § 3-12-1.1 requires in part that “members of governing bodies, excluding mayors, of municipalities having a population in excess of ten thousand shall reside in and be elected from single-member districts… Such districts shall be compact and contiguous and composed of populations as nearly equal as practicable”; and

WHEREAS, the National Conference of State Legislatures defines contiguity as “All parts of a district being connected at some point with the rest of the district”; and

WHEREAS, in the 2020 Census, Albuquerque has a population of 564,550 residents; and

WHEREAS, the City Charter established nine City Council districts for Albuquerque; and

WHEREAS, the Rio Grande runs north/south through the middle of the city, and bisects the municipal footprint with only a relatively narrow connection across the two sides; and

WHEREAS, the east-west division is heightened by the few number of Council districts that cross the river; and

WHEREAS, Albuquerque has a unique geography and could benefit from City Council districts that are compact, and meet other traditional principles of redistricting, but the contiguity requirement can be overly burdensome and may not be in the best interest of the City given its unique geographic footprint. 

BE IT MEMORIALIZED BY THE COUNCIL, THE GOVERNING BODY OF THE CITY OF ALBUQUERQUE:

Section 1. The Albuquerque City Council supports the consideration of an exemption to New Mexico State Statute 3-12-1.1 to exempt City Council Districts in Albuquerque from being required to be “contiguous” within 1 (one) mile of the Rio Grande Valley State Park.

Section 2. The City Clerk is directed to transmit copies of this Memorial to the City of Albuquerque State Legislative Delegation.

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