ALBUQUERQUE — Mayor Martin Chavez asked a judge to overturn a city charter limiting his tenure to two consecutive terms, but voters in the close three-way race may impose their own limit and deny him an unprecedented fourth term.
Residents of New Mexico’s largest city go to the polls Tuesday. On the ballot are Chavez, state Rep. Richard Berry and former state Senate President Pro Tem Richard Romero.
Chavez has seen support slip in recent weeks as Berry and Romero have hammered him on crime, the budget, his working relationships and what the challengers call a “political machine” at City Hall.
Chavez — who would be the first mayor to serve a third consecutive term should he win — touts his record on economic development, planned growth, public transportation, solar energy and green building, a 311 city information line and fiscal responsibility. Chavez also was mayor from 1993 to 1997.
“There couldn’t be a starker contrast this year at the polls,” he said. “That’s why I’m running.”
