44TH LEGISLATURE - STATE OF NEW MEXICO - FIRST SESSION, 1999

EXPRESSING CONDOLENCES TO THE FAMILY AND FRIENDS OF FORMER SENATOR LOUIS WHITLOCK.

WHEREAS, Senator Louis Whitlock was known as "Mr. Carlsbad" and was the "heart and pulse" of the city, according to friends; and

WHEREAS, he died on August 8, 1998; and

WHEREAS, he was a prominent democrat who vigorously supported the waste isolation pilot project; and

WHEREAS, former secretary of the interior and Idaho United States senator and governor, Cecil Andrus, a close friend, said, "Louis was a genius at figuring out when he had to be soft and tread lightly, but his specialty was in-your-face aggressiveness." Andrus said Whitlock did not understand the word "no" and would not accept it when it came to Carlsbad's welfare; and

WHEREAS, Senator Whitlock was a member of the New Mexico delegation to Washington in 1973, which urged the atomic energy commission to build the waste isolation pilot project to dispose of nuclear waste; and

WHEREAS, he served in the state senate from 1989 to 1992, served as chairman of the state highway commission and as an adviser to four governors; and

WHEREAS, he flew with the army air corps during World War II, worked for the federal aviation administration and was executive director of the Carlsbad chamber of commerce for twenty-one years; and

WHEREAS, one friend said he earned the title "Mr. Carlsbad" because he probably did more for the community than anyone else in the history of Carlsbad; and

WHEREAS, he is survived by his wife Janell and his children Jo, Cindy, Katy and Debbie;

NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF NEW MEXICO that condolences be extended to the family and friends of "Mr. Carlsbad", Senator Louis Whitlock, an outstanding and devoted New Mexican; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a copy of this memorial be transmitted to Janell Whitlock.