Montoya, Joseph Manuel, 1915-1978

<p>Joseph Manuel Montoya (September 24, 1915 – June 5, 1978) was an American politician and member of the Democratic Party who served as the lieutenant governor of New Mexico (1947–1951 and 1955–1957), in the U.S. House of Representatives (1957–1964) and as a U.S. senator from New Mexico (1964–1977).</p>

<p>Montoya was born in Peña Blanca, New Mexico. His parents, Thomas and Frances Montoya, were Roman Catholic descendants of eighteenth-century Spanish settlers to New Mexico. He received his early education in public schools in Sandoval County and graduated from Bernalillo High School in 1931. He continued his education at Regis College in Denver, Colorado. In 1934, he began law school at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C..</p>

<p>In 1936 at age 21, while Montoya was still at Georgetown, he became the youngest representative in the history of the state to be elected to the New Mexico House of Representatives. In 1938, Montoya graduated from law school and was re-elected. The following year, he was elected the Democratic majority floor leader.</p>

<p>A liberal Democrat who spent almost 40 years in public service, Joseph M. Montoya was a 20-year veteran of New Mexico state politics before he came to Congress, and a Cold Warrior who supported U.S. global efforts to contain communism. Within that context, Montoya served his constituency by soliciting federal funds for defense and social programs in New Mexico. His longtime colleague Manuel Luján, Jr., said, “Senator Montoya was exactly what every public servant should be—a true servant of the people who elected him. No person was too insignificant … and no problem brought to him by a constituent was ever too small for him to try to solve.”</p>

<p>Joseph Manuel Montoya was born on September 24, 1915, to Tomás and Frances de La Montoya, in Peña Blanca, Sandoval County, New Mexico. Tomás was a county sheriff, and Frances taught elementary school. Montoya attended parochial elementary schools. When Tomás became sheriff of Sandoval County around 1929 or 1930, the Montoya family moved to Bernalillo. Montoya graduated from Our Lady of Sorrows High School in Bernalillo, New Mexico, and from Regis College in Denver, Colorado, in 1934. Then he moved to Washington, D.C., where he worked for the U.S. Department of Labor and attended Georgetown University Law School, earning an LL.B. in 1938. In 1940 Montoya married Della Romero, a nurse. The couple had three children: Joseph II, Patrick, and Linda.</p>

<p>In 1939 Montoya returned to New Mexico full time and gained admission to the bar. His public service had been underway since 1936, when he became one of the youngest members to serve in New Mexico’s house of representatives (he was elected at age 21). After his re-election in 1938, he served as majority leader from 1939 to 1940. In 1940 Montoya won a state senate seat, which he held for five years (1941–1946). He also served as majority whip and chairman of the judiciary committee. He was elected lieutenant governor in 1946 and served from 1947 to 1951. In 1950 Montoya ran against Antonio Fernández in the Democratic primary for an At-Large U.S. House seat. After failing to topple the incumbent, Montoya spent a year away from politics, but in 1952 he was re-elected to the state senate. After one term (1953–1954) he was re-elected lieutenant governor in 1954; he served two terms (1954–1957) before running for the U.S. House.</p>

MONTOYA, Joseph Manuel, a Representative and a Senator from New Mexico; born in Penablanca, Sandoval County, N.Mex., September 24, 1915; attended Regis College, Denver, Colo.; graduated from Georgetown University Law School, Washington, D.C., in 1938; admitted to the bar in 1939 and commenced the practice of law in Santa Fe, N.Mex.; elected to the State house of representatives in 1936, reelected in 1938, and was majority leader in 1939 and 1940; member, State senate 1940-1946, and served as majority whip; lieutenant governor 1947-1951; unsuccessful candidate for election in 1950 to the Eighty-second Congress; member, State senate 1953-1954; lieutenant governor 1955-1957; elected as a Democrat to the Eighty-fifth Congress, April 9, 1957, by special election, to fill the vacancy caused by the death of Antonio M. Fernandez; reelected to the three succeeding Congresses and served from April 9, 1957, until his resignation November 3, 1964, having been elected as a Democrat to the United States Senate, November 3, 1964, to complete the unexpired term of Dennis Chavez for the term ending January 3, 1965, and at the same time elected for the six-year term ending January 3, 1971; reelected in 1970 and served from November 4, 1964, until January 3, 1977; unsuccessful candidate for reelection in 1976; died in Washington, D.C., June 5, 1978; interment in Rosario Cemetery, Santa Fe, N.Mex.