Friday, December 31, 2010

Older Boomers Pass Torch to Martinez

For all the talk of change under the Susana Martinez administration, one significant demographic has drawn nary a peep.
The older Baby Boomers have passed the leadership torch in New Mexico’s state government. The Boomers are those born between 1946 and 1965. The older group, say those over 60, were the ones responsible for The Sixties and communes in northern New Mexico.
The torch passing didn’t come without a fight. Diane Denish, age 60+, was the Democrats’ candidate for governor. Outgoing Gov. Bill Richardson is over 60.
Martinez is 51. She’s still a Boomer, but is 13 years younger than the oldest ones.
As of this writing, Martinez has appointed 13 cabinet members. The average age is 51. Jose Garcia is the oldest at 65, which makes him a year too old to be a Baby Boomer. Only one other cabinet appointee, Yolanda Berumen-Deines at Children Youth and Families, is over 60. Two of the appointees are in their 30s, young enough to be children of Garcia, Berumen-Deines, and the several appointees in their upper 50s.
The Boomers in their 60s still have plenty to contribute. But, overall, the demographic switch is good. Maybe this younger group really can change New Mexico.

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