SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 12

56th legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - first session, 2023

INTRODUCED BY

Joseph Cervantes and Micaela Lara Cadena and Gail Chasey

 

 

 

 

 

A JOINT MEMORIAL

EXPRESSING THE SORROW OF THE LEGISLATURE AT THE PASSING Of FORMER REPRESENTATIVE J. PAUL TAYLOR, THE "CONSCIENCE OF THE LEGISLATURE".

 

     WHEREAS, John Paul Taylor y Romero was born in Chamberino on August 24, 1920 and departed from this world on February 12, 2023, surrounded by his family and caregivers; and

     WHEREAS, born a little after World War I, in his one hundred two years, J. Paul Taylor lived through some of the most significant and pivotal times in modern American history, including the Great Depression and World War II, both of which shaped what has become known as the greatest generation; the Manhattan project; the space race with Russia and Neil Armstrong's walk on the moon; the assassinations of John and Bobby Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr.; the enactment of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 and federal Voting Rights Act of 1965; the right of American Indians to vote in New Mexico; the Vietnam conflict; perestroika; both the building and the destruction of the Berlin wall; the North American Free Trade Agreement; the dawning of the information age; New Mexico's quartocentenario; and September 11, 2001, when the world changed; and

     WHEREAS, descended on his mother's side from Juan de Cabeza de Vaca, a soldier who came to what is now New Mexico with Coronado in 1540, J. Paul Taylor had an abiding love for history; and

     WHEREAS, he was quoted in a newspaper article as saying, "I was always interested in history. From the fifth grade, I knew I wanted to be a history teacher."; and

     WHEREAS, he earned his degree in history from what is now New Mexico state university and, after the war, worked for the Las Cruces public school district as a teacher, principal and administrator for more than thirty years; and

     WHEREAS, J. Paul, as he was affectionately known in the roundhouse, served house district 33 in Dona Ana county from 1987 to 2005 and served on multiple health and human service interim and standing committees during his eighteen-year career, as well as education, voters and elections and twelve years on house appropriations and finance, where he fought for people-focused budgets; and

     WHEREAS, J. Paul was the embodiment of Rooseveltian democratic ideals and was a tireless advocate for those less fortunate, particularly children and seniors; and

     WHEREAS, he earned the sobriquet "the conscience of the legislature" for his unwavering commitment to social justice; and

     WHEREAS, another of his passions was New Mexico's cultural history; in 2004, as chair of the 2003 reorganization committee, he shepherded through the legislature the elevation of the office of cultural affairs to the cabinet-level cultural affairs department, along with three other departments: aging and long-term services, veterans' services and Indian affairs; and

     WHEREAS, as a man who dedicated his long life to public service, his accolades, awards and honors are too long to catalog in a memorial, but they included legislator of the year, legislator of the decade and similar awards in 1989, 1991, 1992, 1996, 1998 and 2002; he received an honorary doctorate from New Mexico state university in 1985 for his "...exemplary service as an educator, civic leader, Hispanic historian, architectural conservationist, antiquarian and builder of libraries in his native New Mexico; and for his unselfish and visionary leadership to education, museums, and diverse other public institutions..."; and he may be the legislator most lauded by his peers, as they have passed at least four memorials recognizing and praising him; and

     WHEREAS, like his awards, his service on myriad boards and commissions is also too lengthy to list, but in addition to serving on the board of regents of the museum of New Mexico, the board of trustees of the national Hispanic cultural center and the Branigan center in Las Cruces, he served on numerous other historical, arts, charitable and civic organizations; and

     WHEREAS, the state's J. Paul Taylor juvenile detention center, New Mexico state university's J. Paul Taylor social justice symposium and the charter school J. Paul Taylor academy have been named in his honor; and

     WHEREAS, the generosity of J. Paul and his beloved wife, Mary Daniels Taylor, has no better example than when they, with their family's support, decided to give one final magnificent gift to the people of the state they loved. The Taylors donated their national historic home and property in Mesilla and their Spanish colonial, Mexican and New Mexican art collections to the cultural affairs department to be a permanent cultural monument and historic site; and

     WHEREAS, Representative J. Paul Taylor will be remembered in the New Mexico legislature as a statesman and a gracious and honorable gentleman, un gran caballero, and it is the legislature's fervent hope that New Mexicans for generations to come will visit Mesilla and the Taylor Reynolds Barela Mesilla historic site and know how this extraordinary citizen served his state with unparalleled dedication and distinction;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that it officially and personally mourn the passing of the great gentleman from Dona Ana county and that it express its sorrow, heartfelt sympathy and sincere condolences to the family members of Representative J. Paul Taylor on the passing of their father, grandfather and great-grandfather and to his loving caregivers and friends; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the legislature express its sympathy and condolences to the community members of Mesilla who have lost not just a loved and honored citizen, but someone who has been a presence throughout most, if not all, of their lives; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to the family of the Honorable J. Paul Taylor.

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