0001| SENATE JOINT MEMORIAL 39 | 0002| 42ND LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - SECOND SESSION, | 0003| 1996 | 0004| INTRODUCED BY | 0005| MANNY M. ARAGON | 0006| | 0007| | 0008| | 0009| | 0010| | 0011| A JOINT MEMORIAL | 0012| HONORING THE LIFE OF EDWARD J. LOPEZ, MAJORITY LEADER OF THE NEW | 0013| MEXICO STATE SENATE. | 0014| | 0015| WHEREAS, we are occasionally called to reflect upon the | 0016| lives of individuals who have passed before us and whose lives | 0017| touched ours; and | 0018| WHEREAS, the sudden death of Senator Edward J. Lopez, | 0019| majority leader of the senate, is one such occasion; and | 0020| WHEREAS, Edward J. Lopez began his legislative career in | 0021| the house of representatives, serving ten years as a member of | 0022| the Santa Fe delegation; and | 0023| WHEREAS, in 1983, Senator Lopez was appointed and | 0024| subsequently elected to the New Mexico state senate, a position | 0025| he held until the time of his death; and | 0001| WHEREAS, in 1993, Senator Lopez was chosen by his | 0002| colleagues to be majority floor leader of the senate, a position | 0003| well-served by the senator's calm demeanor, fairness, quick wit | 0004| and knowledge of legislative process; and | 0005| WHEREAS, no one knew as much about state taxation and | 0006| finance as Senator Lopez; he possessed a knowledge and expertise | 0007| that cannot be replaced and will be sorely missed in the senate, | 0008| in the legislature and in the state; and | 0009| WHEREAS, Eddie, or "Cowboy" as many of us called him, was a | 0010| true gentleman, with a quiet politeness, a dry wit, fierce | 0011| loyalty and compassion and graciousness under pressure--qualities that his friends and adversaries alike admired and | 0012| appreciated; and | 0013| WHEREAS, Senator Lopez was a master of the legislative | 0014| process--a man of action, not of talk; a man of few words, but a | 0015| man of his word; a man who held power, but wielded it | 0016| gracefully; and | 0017| WHEREAS, after over twenty years of service in the | 0018| legislature, Senator Lopez remained loyal to the people of Santa | 0019| Fe and New Mexico who could not afford housing or could not | 0020| afford to finance small community projects on their own; and | 0021| WHEREAS, despite the demands of public office and the glare | 0022| of public scrutiny, Senator Lopez always remained a gentleman, | 0023| and he chose to continue his valuable contributions to a society | 0024| that long ago forgot the personal sacrifices that one makes in | 0025| the name of public service; and | 0001| WHEREAS, Senator Lopez set a standard of quiet dignity and | 0002| public service that will long be remembered in the state | 0003| capitol; | 0004| NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE | 0005| STATE OF NEW MEXICO that the remainder of the forty-second | 0006| legislature, second session, be dedicated to the memory of | 0007| Edward J. Lopez, majority leader of the New Mexico state senate; | 0008| and | 0009| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the memory of Senator Lopez not | 0010| fade and that all legislators and all New Mexicans remember the | 0011| importance and the sacrifices of public service and the | 0012| knowledgeable, quiet graciousness with which that service was | 0013| epitomized by Edward J. Lopez; and | 0014| BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that copies of this memorial be | 0015| transmitted to members of Senator Lopez' family and friends. | 0016|  |