Shendo: Only American Indian in race says he has most experience

Kate Nash | The New Mexican

5/17/2008 - 5/18/08

The bigger-name candidates in the contest to represent New Mexico's 3rd Congressional District have incessant TV ads, slick fliers and 30-second radio spots.

Benny Shendo Jr. also might have some of those before the campaign is said and done. For now, though, he's using something else to get the word out about his candidacy, something a little more his style.

That's the talking circle, a traditional American Indian gathering to exchange ideas. These events happen, he said, when a person wants "to have a get-together, have a talking circle. We visit with them for an hour, an hour and a half, share their stories."

The idea reflects Shendo's campaign approach. He meets with people in small groups, sometimes in remote places. He has traveled to more than 100 communities so far.

Shendo got to some of those places — outposts such as Waterflow, Dulce, Tohatchi — through another traditional Native American activity: running.

During a weeklong running tour of the district, he racked up an average of 15 miles a day on foot and even more by bicycle. He chose to carry his message on foot, he said, to honor the way information once was shared from village to village.

His physical fitness isn't the only thing that sets him apart in this political race.

He's the only American Indian and would be the first elected to Congress from New Mexico. He also says he's got more experience in various levels of government than his opponents.

At the New Mexico Democratic Party's pre-primary convention, Shendo received 16.4 percent of the vote, third behind Ben Ray Luján and Don Wiviott.

To win the primary, he's got to reach out beyond the Native Americans who seem his natural constituency, which is something Shendo said he's been doing his whole life. "I've worked over the course of my career — at the University of Colorado, at (The University of New Mexico) and at Stanford — with very diverse groups of people," he said.

"From the educational sector, the private sector, the (Kellogg) foundation, to nonprofits, moving issues forward — I think that has probably been my biggest strength."

The 43-year-old isn't a known entity in New Mexico politics, although his most recent job was in Gov. Bill Richardson's administration as the first Cabinet secretary for the Department of Indian Affairs.

Many might not know much about that department, Shendo said. He joked that because his name and agency didn't draw much attention, that meant he was doing a good job.

While his work at the department didn't grab big headlines, he was focused on projects like helping remote parts of the state get running water and electricity.

Shendo said his biggest challenge as a Cabinet secretary was parceling out what little money was available each year. "Every time capital requests came in, they would come in at millions," he said. "We may only have 5, 10 million dollars to invest. And when you've got $40 million in requests, you know you're not going to accomplish all of that."

Lack of money is something Shendo said he experienced firsthand growing up, although he said he didn't feel poor in his family, which farmed corn, chile, beans, squash and other crops. "I never knew we were poor in the way you would define poor," he said.

If elected to Congress, Shendo said, he would advocate for youth programs. "My youth program was before daybreak to sundown, working the fields, taking care of our sheep, taking care of our cattle, taking care of our fields," he said. "That was my childhood, and I learned the value of hard work."

Shendo's interest in government and politics started when he was a college student at the University of Colorado in Boulder.

At the time, he was involved with such topics as divestment in South Africa and what to do about Rocky Flats, the now-defunct weapons production facility near Denver.

He later raised two children, made it through undergraduate studies and took some law classes before going into university administration.

He served as an assistant dean of students at Stanford University in Palo Alto, Calif., and later managed the Native American Programs at UNM.

Along the way, Shendo was appointed as both 1st and 2nd lieutenant governor of Jemez Pueblo.

Shendo said his time working for the pueblo — and his days growing up there — helped inform his perspective.

"I can still picture myself taking a wheelbarrow through the villages, giving away food, and that's what our life is about," he said, referring to times when his harvest was more successful than that of his neighbors.

"It's not how much you accumulate," he said. "It's how much you give away that is a measure of a person."

Contact Kate Nash at 986-3036 or knash@sfnewmexican.com. Read her blog, Green Chile Chatter, at www.sfnewmexican.com.

Benny Shendo Jr.

Age: 43

Education: Bachelor of Science in organizational management from the University of Colorado in 1987. Fellow of the W.K. Kellogg National Leadership Program in 1997

Career experience: Worked as senior manager in the Native American Programs at The University of New Mexico. Co-founder of the San Diego Riverside Charter School at Jemez Pueblo. Assistant dean of students at Stanford University

Political experience: Served as Cabinet secretary of the state Department of Indian Affairs Former 1st and 2nd lieutenant governor of Jemez Pueblo

Personal: Born in Jemez Pueblo. Oldest male of eight children. Single father of two grown children. Native language is Towa. Likes running

Ever arrested? No

Web site: www.bennyshendojr.com