Which runs better — the city of Albuquerque or the state of New Mexico?

For city voters, it's not even close. By a wide margin, they say it's the city.

Fifty-three percent of registered, likely voters chose Albuquerque compared with 12 percent who picked the state. Sixteen percent said neither is well-run.

There was no shortage of theories about why voters responded the way they did.

Mark Valenzuela, who took over the city's chief financial officer position after serving in the state's Legislative Finance Committee, said government bottom lines could be a factor.

"The city is much more conservative and realistic about its budgets," Valenzuela said.

Sen. Dede Feldman, D-Albuquerque, said the preference for city government is about the more direct relationship people have with the city. She said people don't notice or appreciate paved highways, funding for education or the state National Guard as often as services people see every day.

"The services from the state are more subtle than what they get from the city," she said.

Brian Sanderoff, president of Research and Polling Inc., said people often side with what they are most familiar with. City services such as garbage pickup are more visible than many state services, even though it is the state that provides schools, courthouses, prisons, many roads and critical health services.

"I think more people are touched by the city on a day-to-day basis than are touched by the state," he said.

Jim Baca, former Albuquerque mayor and state land commissioner, agreed, saying many state services might be too distant in daily awareness to be appreciated.

"It's kind of like how everyone hates Congress, but always re-elect their congressman," he said.

The Journal Poll found:

• Younger voters were more likely than older ones to pick the state.
• There was little variation along political party lines. Republicans, Democrats and independents all said the city was doing a better job than the state.
• Republicans and self-described conservatives were more likely than other groups to say neither government is well-run.
• Self-described liberals were more likely to side with the state than conservatives and moderates.
• Hispanics were more likely to pick the state than Anglos, but a majority of both groups preferred city operations.

State woes

Things haven't been so rosy at the state level.

Legislators and the Governor's Office are battling over whether to cut public school funding because of a budget deficit of at least $430 million, and the number could go higher.

The city of Albuquerque, by contrast, cut its budget without employee layoffs or major cuts in service in the past year.

Former Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil Giron was indicted in a money-handling case recently. In recent years, two former state treasurers and former state Sen. Manny Aragon were convicted of corruption-related charges.

Gov. Bill Richardson's administration was the subject of a yearlong, federal pay-to-play investigation. No indictments were sought, and Richardson said all along that neither he nor anyone who worked for him did anything wrong, but the U.S. attorney said in a letter that the procurement process had been corrupted and that the lack of indictments should not be viewed as exoneration.

Sanderoff said the high-profile state corruption cases could have an effect on public sentiment toward state government.

"Part of (voter response) could be a reflection on some of the pay-to-play allegations and the pay-to-play convictions," he said.

The Journal Poll is based on telephone interviews with registered voters in Albuquerque from Sept. 22-24. The margin of error for the full scientific sample is plus or minus five percentage points.

Voters were asked, "Which do you think is better run?"

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