Longtime legislator Pauline Eisenstadt passes away

Pauline Eisenstadt, the first woman in New Mexico history to serve in the state legislature and in the state senate, passed away Sunday at the age of 84.

Services are planned to be held at 2 p.m. at The Neighborhood in Rio Rancho on April 27.

She was born on New Year’s Eve, Dec. 31, 1939, in New York City, and raised in Miami, Fla. She obtained a bachelor’s degree from the University of Florida in 1960, and her master’s at the University of Arizona in 1964.

She taught in Arizona before moving to New Mexico with her husband Mel, who she married Nov. 20, 1960; he was later the municipal judge (1980-90) in Corrales. They had two sons, Todd and Keith. Mel passed away Feb. 14, 2019, at the age of 88 after an extended bout with cancer.

The couple met in Orlando, Fla., and after they were wed, moved to Arizona, where he studied for his doctorate at the University of Arizona – and both became enchanted with the Southwest. Eisenstadt became a professor at the University of California-Santa Barbara, and served as faculty chaperone for students protesting U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.

The family moved to Puerto Rico in 1969, where Mel joined the engineering department at the University of Puerto Rico for three years, then decided to return to the U.S. Mel was admitted to the University of New Mexico Law School, while Pauline, a former teacher and social worker, became the founding director of Energy Consumers of New Mexico, a non-profit which advocated for regulation of utility rates.

The family moved to Corrales in 1974, where Mel designed an adobe home to maximize its view of the Sandia Mountains. After a heart attack at the age of 48, while driving his sons back from a southern Colorado ski trip in 1979, he refocused his professional life to dedicate time also to writing novels and making jewelry.

Eisenstadt was the first woman to serve her constituency, many of whom resided in Rio Rancho, in the state House and Senate. Eisenstadt was in the House (District 44) from 1985-93 and then one term (1997-2000) in the Senate (District 9). (Her dual feat has since been duplicated by Sen. Linda Lovejoy (D-Crownpoint).

She stayed busy in Santa Fe, serving as a legislator on the Consumer & Public Affairs, Education, Higher Education, Human Needs & Services, Judiciary and Legislative Council committees. She also served stints as the chair of the Majority Caucus, Rules & Order of Business and the Subcommittee on Children & Youth.

Within the Land of Enchantment, she was the president of the Sandoval County Women’s Association (1979-81), League of Women Voters and the Rio Rancho Rotary Club. She served on boards at various times for the Corrales Historical Society, UNM Family Development Program and Anti-Defamation League, and was a co-founder of New Mexico First.

She was chairwoman for the U.S. Department of Energy Consumer Advisory Council, and was a host/producer from 1992-94 of a biweekly public affairs program on KOAT-TV.

Outside of New Mexico, she was a delegate to the Democratic National Platform Committee at the 1984, Democratic National Convention.

After she wrote her book, “A Woman in Both Houses; My Career in New Mexico Politics,” was published in 2012 by UNM Press, former New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, who passed away last year, said he “always had great respect for (her) integrity, honesty, and leadership,” and her book did “a great job of conveying her character, her concerns, and her profound affection for our state and its citizens.”

Former state Lt. Gov. Diane Denish said Eisenstadt’s biography “offers a unique view from a seat in both the House and the Senate. … a poignant memoir of one of New Mexico’s woman legislator pioneers. Pauline is a true role model for aspiring women leaders in our state and beyond and this book shows us why.”

“We are saddened to hear of the passing of former senator Pauline Eisenstadt,” said Rio Rancho Public Schools Superintendent Sue Cleveland. “Senator Eisenstadt provided vital aid to Rio Rancho Public Schools in the early years of our history and was a very strong advocate for the district. She was fundamental in the passage of many pieces of crucial legislation that helped shape the district into what it is today.

“Her dedication to New Mexico’s youth and to public education will never be forgotten, and her efforts will continue to positively affect our state for generations to come.”

Former Rio Rancho Mayor Tom Swisstack had fond memories of Eisenstadt, whom he said, “was instrumental in helping fund renovation (at meadowlark Senior Center).

“On a personal; note,” Swisstack added, “I was a (county) commissioner when Pauline was a driven representative and senator on what she believed in, which was fueled by her passion and persistence. She was great in finding the balance in representing her different areas in her district.”

A few years ago, in an interview with the Observer, Eisenstadt said she always worked hard for her districts, and always wanted to hear both sides of every issue.

“I always said, ‘I will work on this issue,’ not ‘I will solve the problem,’” she said. “What I learned was, if you can’t get it one way, you can get it another.”

She never took herself too seriously, either. “You can’t lose sight of the fact that you’re like everybody else. I enjoyed it and I worked hard at it,” she said, proudest of her efforts to get Paseo del Norte built.