Mayor Tim Keller Convenes First of its Kind Transition Capstone Event

ALBUQUERQUE, NM – Mayor Tim Keller convened 500 Albuquerque residents today for the Transition Capstone Event, bringing city government to the community.  Participants came together at the Albuquerque Convention Center, bringing their ideas to the forefront on a variety of topics ranging from public safety to jobs to arts and culture.  

“Folks were able to bring their concerns, solutions and ideas to this event and collaborate with others interested in the same topics. It was encouraging to see so many people from the community coming together to talk about ways to make our City better,” stated Mayor Keller.

Participants who signed up to be part of the transition process gave input in more than 13 critical issue areas including: Arts and Culture; Behavior Health; Citizen Engagement and 311; Education (Cradle to Career); Environment; Equity and Inclusion; Housing and Homelessness; Integrated Development Ordinance (IDO) and Neighborhoods; Jobs; Public Finance; Public Safety; Sick Leave Ordinance; Humane treatment of animals; and Transit and A.R.T. 

The event served as one of the final pieces of the 60-day transition process which Mayor Keller put in place as a result of having the shortest transition in City government history.  Mayors historically have had a 60-day transition period before taking office. However, due to a run-off election Mayor Keller created a transition period that continued past day one to ensure that his administration was able to assess government efficiencies and effectiveness in a thoughtful manner. 

“In order to build a city government that is truly responsive to the people, we turned government inside out and brought it into the community to get input,” continued Mayor Keller.

The event was the first of its kind in Albuquerque, and perhaps the nation, effectively implementing the concept of turning government inside out. The Mayor’s administration will use feedback from the event to produce a report to close out the transition period and move forward with a city government that is responsive to the people. The report will be made public when it is complete.