City council candidate Abel Otero announces end of his campaign

Oct. 23—City Council candidate Abel Otero announced Monday he would no longer be "actively campaigning" for the District 6 seat.

Otero's announcement — on X, formerly known as Twitter, and in a letter on the Journal's editorial pages — comes after a Journal report published late last week detailing that he had not served time in prison despite citing his incarceration on the campaign trail.

In his letter, he detailed a history of trauma.

"To explain to myself all of the pain and suffering I had been through, I convinced myself that I had been to prison," Otero wrote.

Otero wrote he would be focusing on his mental health after ending the campaign. He added he didn't want campaign volunteers to be exposed to criticism on his behalf.

Otero is not officially dropping out of the District 6 race, and his name will remain on the ballot.

"This has been a lifelong dream of mine, to run for office," Otero told the Journal. "I want to fulfill that dream by voting for myself."

Otero said he would like his supporters to have the opportunity to vote for him, although he offered an endorsement for another District 6 candidate.

"If they choose not to vote for me, then I would give my support to Nichole Rogers," he said.

Otero had based his campaign on what he called "lived experiences," which he said included serving time in prison.

In a campaign video and on his campaign website, Otero said he was incarcerated. He also wrote in response to a Journal candidate questionnaire about a felony conviction he received more than 25 years ago after struggling with addiction.

In the Journal's story published last week, a representative for the state Corrections Department said no record existed that Otero ever spent time in an adult New Mexico corrections facility. Additionally, no juvenile cases against him were found on file with the New Mexico Administrative Office of the Courts, according to an office spokesperson.