Current:Home > MarketsEx-New Mexico state senator John Arthur Smith dies at 82-InfoLens
Ex-New Mexico state senator John Arthur Smith dies at 82
View Date:2024-12-23 16:41:55
SANTA FE, N.M. — (AP) — Former New Mexico state Sen. John Arthur Smith, a conservative-leaning Democrat who served southwestern District 35 for more than three decades, died Monday. He was 82.
Smith died at his Deming home, according to New Mexico Lt. Gov. Howie Morales. A cause of death wasn’t immediately disclosed.
Morales said he was notified of Smith’s death early Monday and announced it at the annual meeting of the New Mexico Oil and Gas Association in Santa Fe.
Smith represented Senate District 35 on the borders of Arizona and Mexico from 1989 until 2021 — serving Doña Ana, Hidalgo, Luna and Sierra counties.
He was chair of the Legislative Finance Committee in two-year terms alternating with a House member from 2007 until 2020 and was Senate Finance Committee chair starting in 2008 until his retirement.
Smith was a gatekeeper on state spending as chairman of the lead budget-writing committee.
He also helped expand the state’s multibillion-dollar educational trust fund.
“Every New Mexican owes a debt to John Arthur Smith,” Legislative Finance Committee Chairman George Munoz, a senator from Gallup, said in a statement. “He protected the state’s finances in good times and bad. He faced criticism for being fiscally cautious but it’s because of him that the state weathered downturns that would have crushed other states.”
Smith “was committed to fiscal responsibility while consistently aiming to improve quality of life for all New Mexicans,” Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said in a statement. “Our thoughts and prayers are with his wife, Janette, his family, and the countless individuals whose lives he touched.”
Smith earned a degree from the University of New Mexico in 1966 and got involved in southern New Mexico politics starting in the early 1980s.
veryGood! (27)
Related
- Gisele Bündchen Makes First Major Appearance Since Pregnancy
- Longshoremen from Maine to Texas appear likely to go on strike, seaport CEO says
- Brett Favre Shares He’s Been Diagnosed With Parkinson’s Disease
- Young Dolph was killed in an alleged hit put out by Yo Gotti's brother, prosecutors claim
- NCT DREAM enters the 'DREAMSCAPE': Members on new album, its concept and songwriting
- Lions coach Dan Campbell had to move after daughter's classmate posted family address
- Melania Trump is telling her own story — and again breaking norms for American first ladies
- Passenger killed when horse smashes through windshield during California highway crashes
- Pistons' Ausar Thompson cleared to play after missing 8 months with blood clot
- Hurricane Helene: Tracking impact of potential major hurricane on college football
Ranking
- All the Ways Megan Fox Hinted at Her Pregnancy With Machine Gun Kelly
- Why Margot Robbie and Jacob Elordi’s Wuthering Heights Movie Casting Is Sparking a Social Media Debate
- Longshoremen from Maine to Texas appear likely to go on strike, seaport CEO says
- Julianne Hough Details Soul Retrieval Ceremony After Dogs Died in Coyote Attack
- Mark Zuckerberg Records NSFW Song Get Low for Priscilla Chan on Anniversary
- Survivors of sex abuse at Illinois juvenile detention facilities hope for justice
- Jordan Chiles files second appeal to get her Olympic bronze medal back
- Dancing With the Stars: Find Out Who Went Home in Double Elimination
Recommendation
-
How Kim Kardashian Navigates “Uncomfortable” Situations With Her 4 Kids
-
Colin Farrell's 'Penguin' makeup fooled his co-stars: 'You would never know'
-
See Selena Gomez Return to Her Magical Roots in Wizards Beyond Waverly Place’s Spellbinding Trailer
-
Tropical Weather Latest: Tropical Storm Helene forms in Caribbean, Tropical Storm John weakens
-
How Ben Affleck Really Feels About His and Jennifer Lopez’s Movie Gigli Today
-
O&C Investment Alliance: A Union of Wisdom and Love in Wealth Creation
-
Maryland sues the owner and manager of the ship that caused the Key Bridge collapse
-
The Daily Money: The high cost of campus housing