Mayor-elect ponders city hall changes

ALBUQUERQUE (KRQE) - Richard Berry will be Albuquerque’s first Republican mayor in 24 years, and when he takes over many fixtures at City Hall could get the boot.

The mayor-elect told KRQE News 13 Wednesday he has not decided which department heads will stay or who will be replaced.

But his comments the day after his upset victory suggests most city department heads are auditioning to keep their jobs.

When he declared victory at about 11 p.m. Tuesday Berry celebrated briefly, and then got down to business.

“I'm going to take off my jacket, we're going to roll up our sleeves,” Berry told a ballroom full of supporters. “And we're going to get to work on behalf of Albuquerque.”

Then the mayor-elect left the stage, went to his hotel room and stayed up until 4 a.m. making a list of what needs to be done before he’s sworn in Dec. 1.

Priority No. 1?

"Making sure I surround myself with top-notch people and trying to identify those people,” he said.

While Berry did not mention names, Albuquerque Police Department Chief Ray Schultz would appear to be under the greatest scrutiny because Berry’s campaign focused on fighting crime.

And on the morning after his election Berry continued to talk about getting tough on the type of crime that many in the city say shakes their sense of security.

“We're going to make it very difficult to sell stolen property in Albuquerque,” Berry told reporters at an event at the Unser Racing Museum. “I think that's important; property crime is a real issue.”

Berry also formed a transition team saying it will take a month before deciding who will have a role in a new administration.

“There are people at the city who do tremendous work," he said. "Those people I look forward to working with.

"I'll certainly have some changes that I make. Anytime you have a new administration, you have some changes.”

But some of the Mayor Martin Chávez’s people could get a break. On Wednesday Berry had lunch and got some advice from the man he’ll replace after outpolling him 44-35 percent and avoiding a runoff in the three-candidate race.

“We talked certainly some of the personalities, and we talked city finances and some of the things that are going to be on his desk Dec. 1,” Chávez after the Nob Hill lunch.

Former state Sen. Richard Romero finished third in the mayor race with 21 percent of the approximately 83,000 votes cast. While the race was officially nonpartisan, Berry is a Republican state representative, and Chávez and Romero are both stalwarts within the Democratic Party.

For complete election returns in the mayor and council races and on bond issues and ballot questions visit the KRQE.com Election page .