De Baca, Ezequiel Cabeza, 1864-1917

Ezequiel Cabeza De Baca (November 1, 1864 – February 18, 1917) was the first Hispano elected for office as lieutenant governor in New Mexico's first election. His term as lieutenant governor was followed by his election as the second elected governor of New Mexico. This term was brief as he died shortly after taking office. He was the state's first elected Hispanic governor, and the first governor born in New Mexico after its annexation by the United States.

Born in Las Vegas, New Mexico Territory, he studied at Las Vegas College there, working as a railroad mail clerk and in real estate before becoming an influential journalist and editor of the Spanish-language newspaper La Voz de Pueblo. De Baca served as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 1900. In 1912, after New Mexico became a state, he became its first Lieutenant Governor, serving from 1912 to 1917. In this office, he was influential in developing New Mexico's first state constitution which includes specific language about providing bilingual education to all citizens.

De Baca did not want to pursue elected office to run for Governor but was vigorously lobbied by the party and ultimately consented. Although his failing health prevented him from taking a significant part in his own campaign, he was elected the Governor of New Mexico on November 7, 1916. Inaugurated on January 1, 1917, he was sworn into office on his sick bed in St. Vincent Sanitarium in Santa Fe, with only a score of persons attending. De Baca died in office weeks later, on February 18, 1917.