Strong Women: Soledad Chávez Chacón

Today, I'd like you to meet one of the most significant people in New Mexico political history that almost no one's ever heard of:  Soledad Chávez Chacón.

Why one of the most important?

Because she was the first Hispanic woman in New Mexico to be elected to statewide office, the first woman in the state to serve as Acting Governor, and the first woman in the entire country to be elected as her state's Secretary of State. In 1922.

La Plaza: Priorities. We Don't Haz 'Em.

Photo copyright Wings, 2014; all rights reserved.

When the lead news story in the state is the fact that NMSU has suspended an Aggie guard for his role in a postgame brawl, it's pretty obvious that the priorities of both the state's [alleged] policymakers and its punditocracy are sadly misplaced.

Or nonexistent, even.

The New Mexico Lege concluded its "short session" last week. Sessions alternate: A so-called "full session" occurs each odd-numbered year, which is to say, 60 whole whopping days out of 365. That's it. That's a full legislative session in New Mexico. Even-numbered years, like this year, are limited to 30-day sessions. Fewer days than in the entire month of January.

It's a disgrace.