{"id":2679,"date":"2008-01-02T18:32:00","date_gmt":"2008-01-03T00:32:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/remembering-ben-altamirano\/"},"modified":"2008-01-02T18:32:00","modified_gmt":"2008-01-03T00:32:00","slug":"remembering-ben-altamirano","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2008\/01\/remembering-ben-altamirano\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Ben Altamirano"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Because I was on vacation when he died, I was unable to devote the attention I would have liked to give to the Dec. 27 passing of former Senate President Ben Altamirano<\/a>. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\n

But I can tell you this: Altamirano was well-respected by his peers and others. He was a devoted public servant whose last great accomplishment was the passage of the minimum wage increase that took effect Tuesday, just days after his death.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Altamirano was 77 and the longest-serving member of the Legislature, having been in office since 1971. He\u2019s survived by his wife Nina Melendrez, his two sons Ben Jr. and Paul, and his daughter Yolanda Manzano.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

His family has asked that donations be made to the New Mexico Heart Institute, located at 502 Elm Street, NE<\/st1:street>, Albuquerque<\/st1:city>, New Mexico<\/st1:state> 87102<\/st1:postalcode><\/st1:address>. Gov. Bill Richardson has ordered flags flown at half staff through sundown on Thursday.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The commissions in the three counties Altamirano represented will nominate replacements, and the governor will choose from among them in making the appointment. The Senate will select a new president when it convenes on Jan. 15.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Click here<\/a> to read about Altamirano\u2019s memorial service in Santa Fe, here<\/a> to read the Albuquerque Tribune\u2019s editorial in remembrance of the senator and here<\/a> to read about possible replacements for Altamirano.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Here\u2019s what some of the state\u2019s leaders had to say about Altamirano:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI am deeply saddened by the passing of a great New Mexican and my dear friend, Benny Altamirano,\u201d Richardson<\/st1:place><\/st1:city> said. \u201cBenny was a true statesman whose soft-spoken demeanor and love for the State of New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> helped earn him the respect of everyone who crossed his path. Benny will be dearly missed. Barbara and I send our condolences to Benny\u2019s wife, Nina, and his entire family.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Senate Majority Leader Michael Sanchez called Altamirano \u201cthe ultimate statesman, a gentleman who always had a smile.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThere wasn\u2019t<\/span> a person he didn\u2019t<\/span> know or a friend he didn\u2019t<\/span> have. He was the type of person who didn\u2019t<\/span> care if you were Democrat, Republican, young or old, he treated everyone the same. I will miss him, not only as a colleague, but as a friend,\u201d Sanchez said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Lt. Gov. Diane Denish called Altamirano \u201ca gentleman\u2019s gentleman.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cOf all the people who could put a calming hand on the Senate, Ben was that person,\u201d she said. \u201cNo one can replace him.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Attorney General Gary King, who served with Altamirano in the Legislature, said New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> \u201chas lost a good man.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cOn behalf of myself and the King family, I wish to convey our deepest condolences to the family of Senator Ben Altamirano. I had the pleasure of working with Ben during my time in the Legislature and I always knew him to be a dedicated public servant,\u201d he said. \u201cHe accomplished a great deal for his constituency in Southern New Mexico<\/st1:place> and was an excellent government representative for the entire state.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

State Democratic Party Chairman Brian Col\u00f3n said Altamirano was \u201calways approachable and welcoming of my visits, as I\u2019m sure he was with all New Mexicans. He will be missed by myself and certainly many others.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Because I was on vacation when he died, I was unable to devote the attention I would have liked to give to the Dec. 27 passing of former Senate President Ben Altamirano. But I can tell you this: Altamirano was well-respected by his peers and others. He was a devoted public servant whose last great […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2679","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2679"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2679\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2679"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2679"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2679"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}