Red & green
Chile plates are top pick of license plate collectors nationwide
It’s pretty rare for one state to win America’s Best License Plate Award twice. And on Tuesday, New Mexico pulled it off, taking home 2017’s award for its “Chile Capital of the World” plate. In 2011, the turquoise centennial plate was given the same honor.
While not unprecedented, it’s still quite a feat, according to Automobile License Plate Collectors Association President Cyndi McCabe.
McCabe, who has been president since 2016, said she was impressed with the chile design and all it represented: commerce, cuisine and culture.
She presented the award to John Monforte, acting BRIGHT SPOT Cabinet secretary for the New Mexico Taxation and Revenue Department, along with Jerry Valdez, deputy director of the New Mexico Motor Vehicle Division.
Monforte said the plate represents “what is rightfully ours” by touting the state as the chile capital of the world. “Chile is an important part of our culture,” he said. McCabe was particularly keen on the embossing and the fact that Gov. Susana Martinez vetoed a bill to create a specialty tag, which would have required a $35 fee, because she wanted it to be available to more people.
At the time of the award’s initial announcement in March, the state’s MVD had issued 140,000 chile plates.
New Mexico’s plate went up against 17 others, with Hawaii’s coming in second, followed by Wyoming and
Oklahoma.
The license plates were judged on legibility and overall attractiveness, with ALPCA’s thousands of members from around the world voting for their favorite.
This is the 48th time ALPCA has given out the award, according to McCabe.
“It certainly is a point of pride,” she said.
The chile plate has a spicy history.
State lawmakers raced with neighboring Colorado to be the first state to create a chile license plate.
In March 2017, New Mexico House members agreed to declare an emergency and passed a bill directing the state to create a chile plate.
House Bill 393, sponsored Cathrynn Brown, R-Carlsbad, was approved 58-1, and the proposal was amended to declare an emergency so it could go into effect as soon as it became law.