CLEVELAND, October 12 — BLET members in New Mexico will soon have an organized voice in their state’s political process once again. The BLET New Mexico State Legislative Board will be reestablished in November, thanks to the hard work of many BLET members throughout the state.
Brother Pat Lynch, Legislative Representative of BLET Division 446 (Belen, N.M.), is serving as Chairman after his Division initiated the petition to reestablish the Board, which dissolved in 2001. He and Rick Switzer, Local Chairman of Division 811 (Clovis, N.M.), spearheaded the drive to reestablish the board.
Brother Lynch said the membership of Division 446 and Division 811 voted over 90 percent in favor of establishing a new Legislative Board.
“It was an amazing show of support by our state’s two largest divisions,” he said. “All of our Division officers and members showed strong support for our desire to work on health, safety and political issues for our membership. New Mexico is always a bellweather state, and our membership needs be politically active.”
Overall, there are nearly 450 BLET members in New Mexico belonging to five different Divisions: 15 and 400 in Albuquerque; 446 and 791 in Belen; and 811 in Clovis.
Brother Lynch said reestablishing the Board would not have been possible without the hard work and dedication of all BLET members in New Mexico, especially Brother Switzer. He also thanked several other individuals, including: National President Dennis R. Pierce; Vice President and National Legislative Representative John Tolman; Texas State Legislative Board Chairman Terry Briggs; Colorado State Legislative Board Chairman Jim Wilmesher; Florida State Legislative Board Chairman Dave Lavery; BNSF (former AT&SF) General Chairman Alan Holdcraft; and his wife Barbie.
President Pierce thanked Brother Lynch and Brother Switzer for their dedication to reestablishing the New Mexico State Legislative Board.
“State Legislative Boards serve an important role in our organization by giving our members a voice in state capitals throughout America,” President Pierce said. “I thank Brother Lynch, Brother Switzer, and all BLET members in New Mexico for their hard work and offer my sincere congratulations on their success.”
BLE members in New Mexico wishing to contact their new State Legislative Board may do so by contacting Brother Lynch by email BLET446@earthlink.net. He also said the Board is planning to launch their own website sometime before the end of the year.