{"id":28282,"date":"2011-04-11T00:57:22","date_gmt":"2011-04-11T06:57:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=28282"},"modified":"2011-04-12T00:57:16","modified_gmt":"2011-04-12T06:57:16","slug":"remembering-rep-jeannette-wallace","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2011\/04\/remembering-rep-jeannette-wallace\/","title":{"rendered":"Remembering Rep. Jeannette Wallace"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Rep. Jeannette Wallace presenting her last bill, with a container of candy she shared with others sitting on her desk in front of her. (Photo by Tom Taylor)<\/p><\/div>\n

Jeannette Wallace<\/a> kept candy on her desk to share with others. She spent this year\u2019s legislative session working tirelessly in spite of the fact that she was lugging an oxygen tank around the Roundhouse. And she wore bright-colored tennis shoes that caught everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n

The state representative from Los Alamos died Friday, The Associated Press<\/a> reported. She was 77. Funeral services are pending, but a service will likely be held Thursday.<\/p>\n

Asked to talk about Wallace, many of her colleagues mentioned things like her \u201cheart of gold,\u201d a quote from Rep. David Chavez<\/a>, R-Los Lunas, and her \u201ctenacity in trying to do her job for her district,\u201d a quote from Minority Leader Tom Taylor<\/a>, R-Farmington.<\/p>\n

Others talked about the shoes, which Chavez gave Wallace during the session.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe shoes! Rep. David Chavez purchased a great pair\u2026 for the distinguished gentlelady from Los Alamos during the session, and she wore them,\u201d Rep. Alonzo Baldonado<\/a>, R-Los Lunas, wrote in an e-mail to NMPolitics.net.<\/p>\n

Chavez said he was wearing a pair of orange and red running shoes one day and Wallace told him she liked them and wanted a pair. Chavez bought her running shoes that were mostly yellow.<\/p>\n

\u201cI said she had to wear them for the rest of the session, and she did \u2013 she wore them every day,\u201d Chavez said.<\/p>\n

Wallace struggled through the session, which ended last month, and was even hospitalized briefly in mid-February. The Los Alamos Monitor<\/a> reported that she had fluid in her lungs.<\/p>\n

The newspaper reported in a separate article<\/a> that Wallace \u201csuccumbed to various illnesses.\u201d The representative, who had served since 1991, will lie in state at the Roundhouse, the Monitor reported.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>

Rep. Jeannette Wallace with Rep. David Chavez during this year\u2019s session. She is wearing running shoes Chavez gave her \u2013 shoes she wore every day for the remainder of the session. (Courtesy photo)<\/p><\/div>\n

\u2018A loss for all of us\u2019<\/h3>\n

Wallace, a Republican, was liked and respected by colleagues from across the political spectrum. She and House Speaker Ben Luj\u00e1n<\/a>, D-Namb\u00e9, had a close relationship.<\/p>\n

From the Monitor:<\/p>\n

\u201cLujan described Wallace during an interview Saturday as not only \u2018a great legislator but a great friend.\u2019 \u2018Los Alamos lost a great representative because while she was very cognizant of the needs of the state of New Mexico, she always made sure the needs of Los Alamos were taken care of\u2026 the entire Legislature is deeply saddened by her loss and we will miss her very much,\u2019 Lujan said.\u201d<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Javier Gonzales, chairman of the Democratic Party of New Mexico, tweeted<\/a> that New Mexico \u201clost a great public servant.\u201d Rep. Dennis Kintigh<\/a>, R-Roswell, told NMPolitics.net that Wallace was \u201ca very gracious lady.\u201d Rep. Conrad James<\/a>, R-Albuquerque, called her \u201ca valuable and knowledgeable member of our caucus,\u201d and said she \u201cwas a big help to me on the House Appropriations and Finance Committee.\u201d<\/p>\n

Gov. Susana Martinez<\/a> said Wallace will be \u201cdeeply missed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cJeannette dedicated two decades of her life to serving New Mexico in the state Legislature,\u201d Martinez said. \u201cShe was a tireless advocate for the people of Los Alamos, Sandoval, and Santa Fe Counties \u2013 committed to public service even as her health was fading over the past few months. \u2026 Representative Wallace\u2019s passing is a loss for all of us who have had the pleasure to work with her.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Jeannette Wallace kept candy on her desk to share with others. She spent this year\u2019s legislative session working tirelessly in spite of the fact that she was lugging an oxygen tank around the Roundhouse. And she wore bright-colored tennis shoes that caught everyone\u2019s attention.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[107],"class_list":["post-28282","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news-and-analysis","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28282","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=28282"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/28282\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=28282"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=28282"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=28282"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}