In the second part of our series on the six Albuquerque mayoral candidates, KUNM’s Daniel Montano talks with Mayling Armijo, who would be the first female mayor here if successful. She was the Economic Development Director for Bernalillo County and is an officer in the Navy reserves. She is currently the executive director of the Elevated Lending Community Development Corporation. She said both familial and personal experiences with crime and other issues in the city drove her to run.
MAYLING ARMIJO: I just wanted so much change for our city, and I was sitting around with family, and we were talking about it, and it was just a moment where I was like, ‘I’m gonna do this, like I can do this.’ And, so I did. So we were all in, all of a sudden. I want to say it was a culmination of events that happened to my family, whether it was crime or dealing with city bureaucracy, that we’re just like, ‘We need a change. We can’t do another four years of somebody who isn’t really taking our city in the direction that we need it to.’ As a result, I just came to the conclusion that I was going to be the best candidate.
KUNM: So speaking of being the best candidate, you’ve got plenty of experience leading things. I’d like to hear a little bit about how your experience both as Economic Development Development Director for Bernalillo County, and also your experience in the Navy, and how you think that might help you as mayor, if that gives you any specific unique advantages. …