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Rebecca Betzen
Rebecca Betzen is running for election to the Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education to represent District 3 in New Mexico. Betzen is on the ballot in the general election on November 4, 2025.[source]
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
Four seats on the Albuquerque Public Schools school board in New Mexico are up for election on November 4, 2025.
Albuquerque Journal's Noah Alcala Bach wrote, "The balance of power between the two primary factions that make up the Albuquerque Public Schools board is on the ballot this November."[1]
Eight candidates are running in the four districts. Those candidates are:
- In District 3, incumbent Danielle Gonzales and Rebecca Betzen are running. A third candidate, Isaac Flores, withdrew and endorsed Betzen, but remains on the ballot.[2]
- In District 5, Brian Laurent and Joshua Martinez are running. Incumbent Crystal Tapia-Romero did not seek re-election.[3]
- In District 6, David Ams and Warigia Margaret Bowman are running. Incumbent Josefina Dominguez did not seek re-election.[3]
- In District 7, incumbent Courtney Jackson and Kristin Wood-Hegner are running.
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."[4]
In 2021, three candidates aligned with the business community and one candidate backed by the teachers' union won.[5][1] Of the seven-member board, three candidates are affiliated with the business community and three are affiliated with the teachers' union. One is not affiliated with either side.[4]
The Albuquerque Chamber of Commerce endorsed Gonzales, Jackson, Ams, and Martinez.[6] The Albuquerque Teachers Federation endorsed Betzen, Bowman, and Wood-Hegne. The union did not endorse a candidate for District 5.[7]
Another issue in the election is the performance of the district's superintendent, Gabriella Blakely. The candidateshave been 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.[1]
The Albuquerque Public Schools district covers 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.[8]
In addition to school board elections, Albuquerque is holding 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
The general election will occur on November 4, 2025.
General election for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education District 3
Incumbent Danielle Gonzales, Rebecca Betzen, and Isaac Flores (Unofficially withdrew) are running in the general election for Albuquerque Public Schools Board of Education District 3 on November 4, 2025.
Candidate | ||
 | Danielle Gonzales (Nonpartisan) | |
 | Rebecca Betzen (Nonpartisan) | |
| Isaac Flores (Nonpartisan) (Unofficially withdrew) | ||
| ||||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Endorsements
Betzen received the following endorsements. To send us additional endorsements, click here.
- U.S. Rep. Melanie Ann Stansbury (D)
- State Sen. Katy Duhigg (D)
- Frmr. State Sen. Dede Feldman (D)
- State Sen. Linda Lopez (D)
- State Sen. Cindy Nava (D)
- State Sen. Debbie O'Malley (D)
- State Rep. Janelle Anyanonu (D)
- State Rep. Joy Garratt (D)
- State Rep. Dayan Hochman-Vigil (D)
- State Rep. Debra Sariñana (D)
- State Rep. Elizabeth Thomson (D)
- State Rep. Elizabeth Torres-Velasquez (D)
- Bernalillo County Comm. Barbara Bacca
- Albuquerque City Councilor Tammy Fiebelkorn (Nonpartisan)
- Frmr. Albuquerque School Board Cand. Isaac Flores (Nonpartisan)
- Bernalillo County Comm. Eric Olivas (D)
- Middle Rio Grande Conservancy District Vice Chair Colin Baugh
- Working Families Party
- Albuquerque Federation of Classified Professionals Local 4129 (AFL-CIO)
- Albuquerque Teachers Federation
- American Federation of Teachers (AFT) Retirees
- Central New Mexico AFL-CIO
- United Academics of the University of New Mexico (UA-UNM)
- Moms Demand Action
- Organized Power in Numbers
Campaign themes
2025
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Rebecca Betzen has not yet completed Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey. Send a message to Rebecca Betzen asking them to fill out the survey. If you are Rebecca Betzen, click here to fill out Ballotpedia's 2025 Candidate Connection survey.
Who fills out Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey?
Any candidate running for elected office, at any level, can complete Ballotpedia's Candidate Survey. Completing the survey will update the candidate's Ballotpedia profile, letting voters know who they are and what they stand for. More than 23,000 candidates have taken Ballotpedia's candidate survey since we launched it in 2015. Learn more about the survey here.
You can ask Rebecca Betzen to fill out this survey by using the button below or emailing Rebecca4district3@gmail.com.
See also
2025 Elections
External links
Footnotes
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 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
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Albuquerque Public Schools, "Nine Candidates File for APS School Board Seats," August 28, 2025
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 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
