SENATE MEMORIAL 86

53rd legislature - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - second session, 2018

INTRODUCED BY

Pete Campos

A MEMORIAL

HONORING REPRESENTATIVE NICK L. SALAZAR AND RECOGNIZING HIS OUTSTANDING SERVICE AND LEADERSHIP TO NEW MEXICO.

     WHEREAS, after forty-six years as a state representative for district 40, Nick L. Salazar is retiring at the end of 2018; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar was first elected to the house of representatives in 1972 in a district that covers parts of Colfax, Mora, Rio Arriba and San Miguel counties; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar is New Mexico's longest-serving legislator and is among the ten longest-serving members of any legislature in the country; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar is a recognizable figure, wearing a fresh carnation in his lapel during every legislative session day for the last forty-six years — truly a dapper and genteel gentleman; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar was born April 18, 1924 in the small town of Chamita, one mile west of the Pueblo of San Juan in New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, after graduating from high school, Representative Salazar enlisted in the United States air force; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar attended the university of New Mexico and the university of California-Santa Barbara; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar began his political career as a commissioner for Rio Arriba county; and

     WHEREAS, in June 1967, during his tenure as a county commissioner, Representative Salazar was held hostage for a few hours by Reies Lopez Tijerina in the infamous Rio Arriba county courthouse raid in Tierra Amarilla; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar retired from Los Alamos national laboratory, where he had a career as a fusion and thermonuclear researcher, and he remains active as a member of the Los Alamos national laboratory board; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar also farms and ranches; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar was the chair of the house rules and order of business committee from 1999 to 2014 and in 2017 and a member in 2016; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar has been a member of the house agriculture and water resources committee from 2017 to 2018 and the house appropriations and finance committee from 1977 to 1978, 1983 to 1984 and 1986 to 2018; and

     WHEREAS, during his tenure, Representative Salazar also served on the house consumer and public affairs committee; the house energy and natural resources committee; the house health and government affairs committee; the house health, government and Indian affairs committee; and numerous other standing committees; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar also served on many interim committees as a member and chair, where his many years on the Indian affairs committee allowed him to travel and visit with tribal communities and become an even stronger advocate for Native Americans; and

     WHEREAS, when Representative Salazar was first elected, he discovered that seniors did not have a champion helping them; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar then began to spearhead a process to set aside funds each year in the budget to build up support services for New Mexico's seniors, and he has been a strong advocate for senior citizen programs and is proud to have championed this cause; and

     WHEREAS, Native American issues have been at the forefront of Representative Salazar's support from the beginning of his legislative tenure; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar has been a staunch supporter of education throughout his career, supporting funding to advance all of New Mexico's colleges and universities; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar's support for education has been most evident in his unfailing, long-term support for northern New Mexico college, formerly northern New Mexico community college, ensuring adequate funding for the programs and its facilities in both Espanola, New Mexico, and its main constitutional campus in El Rito, New Mexico; and

     WHEREAS, telecommunications, technology research and universal health care are other issues embraced by Representative Salazar; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar and his wife, Maria Ana Abeyta, have three children: Yvonne, Earl and Gregory; and

     WHEREAS, Representative Salazar's children are dismayed that their strict father has turned into such a "marshmallow" with his three grandchildren and five great-grandchildren; and

     WHEREAS, with his retirement, Representative Salazar will end a proud and illustrious career as a public servant;

     NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE SENATE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that Representative Nick L. Salazar be honored and lauded for his many years of public service and dedication to the residents of New Mexico, for the causes he championed, for the lives he affected and for the many people he touched; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Representative Nick L. Salazar.

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