New Mexico Rep. Eliseo Lee Alcon, a Democrat from Milan who was reelected to his seat earlier this month, has announced his immediate retirement from the House of Representatives, citing a need to focus on his health.
Alcon said in an interview Monday heās been battling liver cancer for a while but ānow itās just too debilitating.ā He added he was recently placed in hospice care.
āWe fought it as long as we could, so we will just go with it and see what happens,ā he said.
Alcon, a military veteran who received a Bronze Star for his service as a combat medic in the Army during the Vietnam War, was first elected to his House District 6 seat in 2009, according to a statement issued Monday by House Democrats.
āRep. Alcon has been a champion for his community throughout his fifteen years in the Roundhouse,ā state House Speaker Javier MartĆnez, D-°®¶¹app, said in a statement.
āHe helped deliver huge wins for veterans, active service members, and all the people of New Mexico,ā MartĆnez added. āAs a veteran and retired magistrate judge, Rep. Alcon brought a remarkably diverse perspective to lawmaking. We will miss him dearly.ā
Alcon served as chair of the House Consumer and Public Affairs Committee and the House Labor, Veterans and Military Affairs Committee.
Former House Speaker Brian Egolf said the name of the committee was changed to include veterans because of Alconās interest in veteran issues.
Alcon was ākind of like the voice of common sense in the caucusā and was always asking how proposed legislation would help average New Mexicans, Egolf said in an interview Monday. āHe was known to work late into the night, or even wee hours of the morning, to get things done.
āI canāt remember a single time we went to him and needed his help to get something passed where he didnāt say yes,ā Egolf said.
He added, āHeās a solid man and a great Democrat. Itās a big loss for the House not to have him.ā
County com°®¶¹appers in Cibola and McKinley counties will nominate someone to fill the seat vacated by Alcon. Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham will then appoint one of those people to carry out the remainder of Alconās two-year term.
Alcon said Monday heād like to see his daughter-in-law Amanda Kincaid tapped to replace him because she often helped him and is familiar with his priorities.
Retired Rep. Christine Trujillo, who sat next to Alcon on the House floor for the better part of a decade before she retired last year, called the lawmaker a āstand-up personā with an understated sense of humor.
Trujillo recalled they both like to read and shared books about New Mexico history and medieval times over the years.
Though a calm and dispassionate person in public, Alcon was passionate in private about the legislation he carried, Trujillo said.
