-= NMSU PANORAMA - Winter 2006 =- Aggie Legislators: Aggies are a Presence in the State Legislature

Aggie Legislators

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Aggies are a Presence in the State Legislature

By Mary A. Benanti '84

As any alum knows, when Aggies get together good things happen.

When they get together at the state Legislature, good things happen for New Mexico.

Currently there are 20 New Mexico State University alumni serving in the citizen Legislature set to convene in January for the 2006 session. They come from every corner of the state, which makes sense because - as everyone at NMSU knows - the state is the university's campus. Interestingly enough, they aren't all graduates of political science courses. They come from colleges and disciplines as diverse as arts and sciences and agriculture, English and engineering.

For the new session, 19 percent of the Senate and 17 percent of the House attended NMSU. Of that number, seven are from Las Cruces and three from the Roswell area. The rest serve from Albuquerque, Farmington, Gallup, Tularosa, Carlsbad, Alamogordo, Hatch and Aztec.

At least two, Reps. Joni Marie Gutierrez, D-Doña Ana, and Candy Spence Ezzell, R-Chaves, are legislative freshmen who shared their experiences with students in the class taught by Gov. Bill Richardson and former Gov. Garrey Carruthers, now vice provost for economic development and dean of the College of Business at NMSU. Gutierrez and Ezzell share a respect and a passion for public service. Gutierrez has a degree in horticulture and is a landscape architect. Ezzell is a rancher.

Incidentally, Gutierrez now holds the seat once held by her godfather, J. Paul Taylor, another NMSU alum who has become a legend in southern New Mexico.

Rep. Andrew Nuñez, D-Doña Ana, has been in the Legislature six years and is planning to run again. Nuñez, who earned a bachelor's and a master's degree in animal science, was formerly assistant to the dean in the College of Agriculture at NMSU.

"I left a good-paying job for a non-paying job," Nuñez says of his decision to run for the Legislature. "It took a lot of thinking."

But Nuñez says he saw things that needed to be done and issues that needed to be addressed. At the time he felt there were few legislators with an agriculture background. He believed the field needed better representation.

Gutierrez says one makes the decision to serve in a citizen Legislature knowing there is a $144 per diem but no paycheck.

"I've seen legislators living very frugally while in session," she says.

But she would encourage people considering public service to do so and to get involved in issues early on.

"Volunteer," she advises. "See all the different people out there and see the different issues day to day. I love my district. I identify with the people I represent and believe I'm a lot like the people of my district."

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