A Wonderful Life: Political power player

Fabián Chávez Jr. has held his own as a state and national lawmakers, following in the footsteps of his father

Ana Pacheco | For The New Mexican

5/12/2008 - 4/30/08

By the time Fabián Chávez Jr. was 14, he knew what it took to get elected to public office in New Mexico.

"I drove people to the polls for my father so they could vote," he says. His father, Fabián Chávez Sr., was a ward chairman. The early tutelage from his father, who was the first Democrat elected county assessor in Mora County in 1916, contributed to the younger Chavez's successful 44 years in politics. "My father used to say, 'Don't work to get people to like you. Work to get them to respect you. And then they'll like you.' "

His father's sage advice is woven throughout a newly published biography about Chávez, Taking on Giants, Fabián Chávez Jr. and New Mexico Politics. Written by David Roybal, the book spans almost a half-century in the public and private life of one New Mexico's most prominent politicians. This Friday, from 5 to 6 p.m., Chávez and Roybal, an Albuquerque Journal columnist and former New Mexican writer, will be at Garcia Street Books for the biography's launch.

Fabián Chávez Jr. began his political career in 1951 as a Democratic representative in the state Legislature. In addition to serving in the House and Senate, Chávez held many positions in state government, including director of tourism, director of economic development and state insurance superintendent. He also served on the national level as assistant secretary of commerce and director of travel and tourism under the Carter administration in 1977.

Although Chávez's national accomplishments were significant, the impact of his political work in the state is what many New Mexicans remember today. "In 1946, I visited towns in the eastern part of the state that had signs in the windows of barbershops and restaurants that said, 'No Negroes or Mexicans allowed,' " Chávez recalls.

After this eye-opening experience, the young politician sprang into action upon election to public office. One of his first tasks was helping to get a bill passed that made it illegal to discriminate for reasons of race, color or creed. This legislation led to the integration of public schools.

As a state senator, Chávez also worked to reform the judicial courts when he was the chairman of the special Judicial Systems Study Committee. "It was a rotten court system. If the judge did not find you guilty, he wouldn't get a fee," he says. "Under the new rules, judges were paid a salary so they didn't have to depend on that fee."

Chávez was born in Santa Fe on Aug. 31, 1924, at Marian Hall in the old St. Vincent Hospital. He was the third youngest of 10 children born to Fabián Chávez Sr. and María Nicolasa Roybal, and the first child born in Santa Fe after the couple moved here from Wagon Mound in 1923.

Although he was the third youngest, he was named after his father when his oldest brother, Manuel Ezekiel, suggested the baby carry their father's name. A few days after the birth of Fabián Jr., Manuel Ezekiel left for the seminary. "I didn't meet my oldest brother until 14 years later," Chávez says.

Manuel Ezekiel's name was changed when he became a Franciscan priest, and he became well-known as Fray Angélico Chávez, one of New Mexico's foremost historians as well as a priest, writer and poet.

Like Fabián Jr., many of the Chávez children inherited their father's leadership qualities. His twin siblings, Rumaldo (Cuate) and Nora, were known for the work they did in Santa Fe. "Everybody knew my brother Cuate, who was a city judge for 27 years. During the Depression, my sister Nora helped to develop a community concert series for Santa Fe and after World War II became superintendent of the Santa Fe County schools," he says.

Chávez was married to Coral Jeanne Rustenbach for 52 years. The couple met in 1949 and dated for five years before marrying in 1954. She died of heart failure in 2006. Chávez dedicated the book to his wife; part of the inscription reads, "Coral Jeanne, it was a lifelong dance!"

When not sharing his political views, Chávez spends time with his daughter, two grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. He also volunteers as a tour guide at Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, where he was baptized.

As Chávez says, "My life has come full circle. When I was 14, I memorized everything in the Palace of the Governors and would give tours for 50 cents. I was so proud to tell tourists about New Mexico and how Santa Fe was founded before Plymouth Rock."

Ana Pacheco is the founder and publisher of La Herencia, a culture and history magazine (www.herencia.com). Her weekly tribute to our community elders appears every Tuesday.