Kristin Wood-Hegner
Kristin Wood-Hegner ran for election to the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education to represent District 7 in New Mexico. Wood-Hegner lost in the general election on November 4, 2025.
2025 battleground election
Ballotpedia identified the November 4 general election as a battleground race. The summary below is from our coverage of this election here
Incumbent Courtney Jackson, Rebecca Betzen, Joshua Martinez, and Warigia Margaret Bowman, won elections for four seats on the Albuquerque Public Schools school board in New Mexico on November 4, 2025. As a result of this election, candidates aligned with teachers unions held a majority of seats on the board.[1]
Albuquerque Journal's Noah Alcala Bach wrote before the election, "The balance of power between the two primary factions that make up the Albuquerque Public Schools board is on the ballot this November."[2]
Eight candidates ran in the four districts. Those candidates were:
- In District 3, incumbent Danielle Gonzales and Rebecca Betzen ran. A third candidate, Isaac Flores, withdrew and endorsed Betzen, but remained on the ballot.[3]
- In District 5, Brian Laurent and Joshua Martinez ran. Incumbent Crystal Tapia-Romero did not seek re-election.[4]
- In District 6, David Ams and Warigia Margaret Bowman ran. Incumbent Josefina Dominguez did not seek re-election.[4]
- In District 7, incumbent Courtney Jackson and Kristin Wood-Hegner ran.
To read more about each candidate's policies, click here.
Albuquerque Journal's Noah Alcala Bach wrote, "Historically, the local teachers union, the Albuquerque Teachers Federation, and the metro’s business community power players, the Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of NAIOP, a commercial real estate organization, have been key organizations in the battle for power on the APS board."[5]
In 2021, three candidates aligned with the business community and one candidate backed by the teachers union won.[6][2] Of the seven-member board, three candidates were affiliated with the business community and three were affiliated with the teachers union. One was not affiliated with either side.[5]
The Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce endorsed Gonzales, Jackson, Ams, and Martinez.[7] The Albuquerque Teachers Federation endorsed Betzen, Bowman, and Wood-Hegner. The union did not endorse a candidate for District 5.[8]
Another issue in the election was the performance of the district's superintendent, Gabriella Blakely. The candidates were divided on her performance since her appointment in 2024. Gonzales, Jackson, Ams, and Martinez all expressed varying degrees of support for her. Betzen, Bowman, and Wood-Hegner were more critical of her tenure. Laurent said it was too early to judge her performance, but that the board's decision to extend her contract in 2025 was made too quickly.[2]
The Albuquerque Public Schools district covered Bernalillo County and Sandoval County. In the 2024 presidential election, Kamala Harris (D) won both counties with 59% of the vote and 52% of the vote, respectively.[9]
In addition to school board elections, Albuquerque held elections for mayor, city council, and municipal bonds. To read more about other Albuquerque elections, click here.
Elections
2025
See also: Albuquerque Public Schools, New Mexico, elections (2025)
General election
General election for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education District 7
Incumbent Courtney Jackson defeated Kristin Wood-Hegner in the general election for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education District 7 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ |  | Courtney Jackson (Nonpartisan) | 56.9 | 14,528 |
 | Kristin Wood-Hegner (Nonpartisan) | 43.1 | 10,991 | |
| Total votes: 25,519 | |||
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Endorsements
Wood-Hegner received the following endorsements.
- U.S. Sen. Martin Heinrich (D)
- U.S. Rep. Melanie Ann Stansbury (D)
- State Sen. Angel Charley (D)
- State Sen. Katy Duhigg (D)
- State Sen. Carrie Hamblen (D)
- State Sen. Linda Lopez (D)
- State Sen. Cindy Nava (D)
- State Sen. Harold Pope Jr. (D)
- State Rep. Marianna Anaya (D)
- State Rep. Pamelya Herndon (D)
- State Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D)
- State Rep. Angelica Rubio (D)
- State Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (D)
- State Rep. Elizabeth Torres-Velasquez (D)
- New Mexico Young Democrats
- Albuquerque Federation of Classified Professionals Local 4129 (AFL-CIO)
- Albuquerque Teachers Federation
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Retirees
- United Academics of the University of New Mexico (UA-UNM)
- Equality New Mexico
- Moms Demand Action
- NM Voters First
- Native Vote New Mexico
- OLÉ NewMexico
- Organized Power in Numbers
- Planned Parenthood Action Fund
- Sierra Club Rio Grande Chapter (New Mexico)
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Kristin Wood-Hegner did not complete Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
|
Candidate Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education District 7 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Albuquerque Journal, "Voters reshape political power on APS board, approve $350 million bond," November 4, 2025
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Albuquerque Journal, "Stage is set for Albuquerque Public Schools board race," October 14, 2025
- ↑ KUNM, "TUE: Early voting begins, candidate for APS board suspends bid to represent District 3, + More," October 7, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Albuquerque Public Schools, "Nine Candidates File for APS School Board Seats," August 28, 2025
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Albuquerque Journal, "Here are the candidates for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education," September 2, 2021
- ↑ SourceNM, "Money won seats on Albuquerque’s school board," November 4, 2021
- ↑ Greater Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce, "CHAMPIONS OF EDUCATION: Chamber supports 4 candidates on ballot for Albuquerque Public Schools Board," October 4, 2025
- ↑ Albuquerque Teachers Federation, "Albuquerque Educator Unions Endorse APS Board Candidates," September 2, 2025
- ↑ Associated Press, "New Mexico President," accessed October 15, 2025
