Senator benefited city, state

My lifelong friend and advocate. He changed my life.

I met Pete when he was running for City Council with Harry Kinney and Johnny Gurule in 1966. I was working for Larry Gordon in the city Health Department on housing and neighborhood renewal projects. Pete was interested in how to fund major Downtown renewal projects. I was promoted to the City Manager’s Office under G. B. Robertson and given the task of finding out what Albuquerque had to do to apply for Downtown urban renewal money. HUD was anxious to have Albuquerque participate in its programs and laid out the steps to qualify for Downtown renewal. I wrote the initial qualifying application — Workable Program for Community Improvement — and a prospective application for Downtown renewal. Pete, Robertson and Gordon oversaw and guided me through the bureaucracy and pockets of opposition. Pete enlisted Sen. (Clinton) Anderson, who personally lobbied his friend LBJ to approve what was the largest downtown renewal grant to that date. In late 1967 HUD announced the approval of the downtown renewal grant along with a neighborhood public housing and Model Cities Program grant.

Pete maintained the necessary array of business community support led by PNM’s George Schrieber and federal support for the effort. Land was cleared for the Hyatt Regency, Civic Plaza and the Convention Center, along with other commercial buildings. I was given the option of being the public housing director or Model Cities Program director. I chose the Model Cities Program, for its use of multiple federal funding sources applied to neighborhoods appealed to me.

The city’s first kindergarten program, New Futures Program, the South Broadway Cultural Center, alcohol treatment and drug treatment projects and various parks and infrastructure projects, all under my direction and Pete’s leadership, were initiated. The programs remained supported by Pete and resulted in the substantial improvement in the lives of people living in the city’s core.

Rex Allender was chosen to head the Downtown renewal project, Jose Valdez led the Kirtland Addition renewal effort and Damacio Salazar headed the leased public housing project.

I worked under Pete again in the late ’70s as coordinator of a joint office for the New Mexico congressional delegation in Washington, D.C. I spoke with Pete about six weeks ago on the telephone and we reminisced about our years together.

Pete’s impact in helping communities in New Mexico is apparent as one travels through the state. He relished his role in bringing home the bacon, and ranks high with U.S. Sens. Dennis Chavez and Anderson, in meeting the needs of the state.