Who Was J. Paul Taylor? Former Las Cruces legislator, advocate dies at 102

Former Mexican politician and Las Cruces legislator, Paul Taylor has passed away. He was aged 102.

Taylor was born in 1920, in Chamberino, New Mexico, and graduated from New Mexico State University.

Taylor represented the Las Cruces area from 1987 to 2005 and earned the name “Conscience of the Legislature.”

The veteran politician had suffered a heart attack few weeks before his demise.

“You would be hard-pressed to find an individual as passionate about the people, culture and communities of New Mexico as J. Paul Taylor.

“For my own part, I consider him to be a friend and mentor who demonstrated the true heart of a servant, always striving to make New Mexico a better place to live for future generations. I have no doubt that the compassion and integrity he demonstrated throughout his 102 years of life will be felt for hundreds of years to come”, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham had said in a tribute statement.

Taylor’s home, located on the historic Old Mesilla Plaza, has been converted to a historical property and named the Taylor-Mesilla Historic Property.

Aside from politics, Taylor was a lover of the arts.