John Burroughs (governor)

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For other people named John Burroughs, see John Burroughs (disambiguation).

John Burroughs
18th Governor of New Mexico
In office
January 1, 1959 – January 1, 1961
LieutenantEd V. Mead
Preceded byEdwin L. Mechem
Succeeded byEdwin L. Mechem
Member of the New Mexico House of Representatives
In office
January 1, 1957 – January 1, 1959
Personal details
Born(1907-04-07)April 7, 1907
Robert Lee, Texas
DiedMay 21, 1978(1978-05-21) (aged 71)
Portales, New Mexico
Political partyDemocratic
ResidencePortales
ProfessionBusinessman

John Burroughs (April 7, 1907 – May 21, 1978) was an American politician, educator, and businessman who served as the

18th governor of New Mexico. Burroughs, a Democrat, served one-term and is remembered for honest government and introduction of the concept of a state Personnel Act to improve the quality of state workers and limit somewhat the effect of political patronage.[1]

Early life and education

Burroughs was born in

Animal Husbandry,[2][5] and later took graduate courses at Colorado State University
.

Career

He obtained his teaching certificate and, after several years of teaching agriculture in the New Mexico cities of Los Lunas and Clovis,[5] went to work for an oil company located in the latter.[5] In 1942 he entered the food processing industry.[5] Eventually, he founded the "Cotton Oil Mill and Peanut Mill Company", which had branches in San Antonio, Texas, and Portales, New Mexico. His Texas plant made peanut butter.

A first time representative in the New Mexico legislature from Portales in 1957, Burroughs defeated incumbent Governor Edwin L. Mechem by less than one percent of the vote (103,481 to 101,567).[6]

As governor, Burroughs stressed financial responsibility and pressed state officials to recover funds due and owing to the state. He created the New Mexico Department of Development incorporating the Tourist Bureau, the Economic Development Commission, and

Clint Anderson.[7] He ran again for governor in 1966, receiving the Democratic pre-primary convention endorsement, but was soundly defeated in the Democratic primary by Gene Lusk.[8] Burroughs retired from politics, but still served on the New Mexico Finance Board under governors Bruce King and Jerry Apodaca.[5]

References

Specific
  1. ISBN 0-8263-4128-4
  2. ^ a b La Ventana (JPG). 1929. p. 146. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  3. ^ La Ventana (JPG). 1929. p. 212. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  4. ^ La Ventana (JPG). 1929. p. 284. Retrieved August 22, 2008.
  5. ^ a b c d e f Staff (May 22, 1978) "Ex-Gov. Burroughs dies; funeral services pending" The New Mexican p. 1
  6. ^ Irion, Frederick C. (March 1959) "The 1958 Election in New Mexico" The Western Political Quarterly 12(1)(pt.2): pp. 322–327, p. 325
  7. ^ Harrison, Will (1962) "Inside the Capital" Albuquerque Tribune January 12, 1962, p. D-9
  8. ^ Holmes, Jack E. (1967) Politics in New Mexico University of New Mexico Press , Albuquerque, NM, pp. 258–259, OCLC 1014145
General
  • Sobel, Robert and Raimo. John (1978) "Burroughs, John (1907–)" Biographical Directory of the Governors of the United States 1789–1978 (Four vols.) Meckler Publishing, Westport, CT,
    ISBN 0-930466-00-4

External links
Party political offices
Preceded by Democratic nominee for Governor of New Mexico
1958, 1960 		Succeeded by
Political offices
Preceded by
Edwin L. Mechem
Governor of New Mexico

1959–1961 		Succeeded by
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