[C-U Smokefree] Obituary of a supporter from Las Cruces, NM

[Scott P Hays]

The obituary below was sent to me by a friend from Las Cruces (now at the CDC).  I interviewed council member Haltom for our Clean Indoor Air ordinance research back in 1999.  Note carefully what he says about it, and you should also know that Tommy Tomlin, quoted in this article, was a key council opponent of the ordinance and was the only "no" vote on a 6-1 final vote for passage. Please try to forgive Tomlin for hypocrisy (we understand).

Knowing what he (and Tomlin) says after a city passes a smokefree ordinance is what inspires me to keep going. Hopefully it will have a similar effect on you and all of us.

CU Smokefree!
Scott


Former city councilor Haltom dies of cancer                                                      
 By Christopher Schurtz                                                                           
 Apr 12, 2005, 12:01 am                                                                           
                                                                                                  
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 John Haltom, a former city councilor who founded the government department at NMSU and played a  
 key role in the creation of Las Cruces' city charter, died Sunday at the age of 83 in Dallas     
 after a four-month battle with cancer.                                                           
 Haltom's family, friends and former colleagues in city government recalled a man who spoke       
 bluntly as an elected official, but one whose position always seemed clear.                      
 "You always knew where he stood. I think that's important with elected officials, and you always 
 got that with John," said former city commissioner Woodie Jenkins.                               
 Jenkins, who instigated the creation of a city charter while a commissioner, said Haltom was     
 pivotal in crafting it and making it a reality.                                                  
 "He did an outstanding job in developing the charter," said Jenkins. Although Jenkins is on a    
 charter update committee, he said the document stands up well after 20 years.                    
 Councilor Steve Trowbridge described Haltom as "quite feisty," a sometimes stubborn councilor    
 respected by political adversaries and allies.                                                   
 "When John Haltom spoke, people really listened," Trowbridge said.                               
 Trowbridge said Haltom regularly took politically unpopular stances against subsidies to         
 development and big business, adding he and fellow councilor Tommy Tomlin "were like brothers.   
 They were very loyal to each other."                                                             
 Tomlin said Haltom "came to a conclusion with study. It wasn't just a knee-jerk reaction to      
 things. He was an intelligent man who thought things through."                                   
 When Haltom left office at the end of 2001 after 14 years as District 6 councilor, he told the   
 Sun-News the charter wasn't his proudest moment in city government.                              
 That would have been the indoor smoking ban, still in place, that prohibited smoking in          
 restaurants and other public places.                                                             
 "When John first brought the issue up, very few of us gave little chance of it ever being        
 adopted. And he kept fighting for it," Tomlin said.                                              
 "Still, there are people coming up to me saying, 'The best thing the council ever did was the    
 smoking ban.' Every citizen of Las Cruces benefits from that courageous stand taken against all  
 odds," Tomlin said.                                                                              
 Haltom's 33-year-old son Matt said his father had been sick with pancreatic cancer for about     
 four months. He said true to form, his dad, before descending into a coma, said last week he was 
 going to die Sunday.                                                                             
 "That was just like dad. He did it on his own terms," he said.                                   
 That included stepping down from his position as government department head in the mid-'80s to   
 spend more time with his wife of 35 years and his kids.                                          
 "He did everything he could to be there for us," Matt Haltom said. "The thing about dad, it      
 wasn't what he said to you, it was his living by example. You didn't want to live in a way that  
 he'd be disappointed with you."                                                                  
 Going through various letters from former colleagues from Las Cruces and Fort Worth, where he    
 helped draft that city's charter that's still being used, Matt Haltom said he's gained a new     
 appreciation for his father's life.                                                              
 "It was interesting to see how many lives he touched," Haltom said.                              
 A native of Stephens, Arkansas, Haltom was a WWII veteran who served in the U.S. Army Air Corps  
 and flew his last combat mission more than 20 years later in Vietnam as a U.S. Air Force         
 reservist.                                                                                       
 Later in life, Haltom received his Ph.D. in government from the University of Texas at Austin.   
 He taught government at TCU from 1956 to 1970 and was active in the civil rights movement.       
 "In my mind, he is forever lecturing better than anyone," said Suzanne Coleman, a former student 
 and speech writer, in a statement issued by Haltom's family.                                     
 District 6 Councilor Ken Miyagishima succeeded Haltom in 2001 after Haltom decided not to run    
 again.                                                                                           
 "He was a no-nonsense type of councilor and was very tenacious in his stands," Miyagishima said, 
 saying he would have never run against him. "I had nothing but the utmost respect for that man.  
 "It's a loss to our community and the constituents he served. My prayers and well wishes go out  
 to him and his family," Miyagishima said.                                                        
 Retired pharmacist Ralph Gutierrez said he got to know Haltom in the mid-'80s when he chaired a  
 resident-led group that successfully fought the proposed sale of what was then Memorial General  
 Hospital.                                                                                        
 "Anything I ever did with John, I was always impressed with his thoroughness, studying the       
 background of any situation," Gutierrez said. "He could see both sides of a problem, and without 
 hesitating on it would eventually make the right decision. As far as I'm concerned, he never did 
 make a bad decision. And Mrs. Haltom supported him 150 percent."                                 
 Rose Garcia, executive director of the housing agency Tierra del Sol, said she got to know       
 Haltom after his failed bid for county commission in the mid-'80s.                               
 She said she helped him get more in tune with the community after the defeat, and he rebounded   
 in 1987 by winning his council seat with 72 percent of the vote at the age of 65.                
 "One of the things I appreciated about him was he was always open to learning," Garcia said. "He 
 was one of a kind. I feel like he belongs to us."                                                
 Garcia said Haltom "was one of the few of us willing to sacrifice his time, even in his later    
 years, when he could have retired and play golf. I feel really fortunate to have known him."     
 Haltom's family is planning a memorial service here in early May. In lieu of flowers, they are   
 requesting donations be made to the Doña Ana County Humane Society.                              
                                                                                                  
 Christopher Schurtz can be reached at cschurtz at lcsun-news.com                                    
                                                                     

Scott P. Hays, Ph.D.
Research Scientist
Center for Prevention Research and Development
Institute of Government and Public Affairs
University of Illinois
Champaign, Illinois  61820

email: sphays at uiuc.edu
phone: 217.244.2616
fax: 217.244.0214