by Mark Schaaf
Daily Lobo
When Bruce King was in seventh grade, he knew he would be governor of New Mexico someday.
A former governor told King's class that one of them could eventually be governor.
"He looked around and said, 'Well it might as well be me," said Gary King, Bruce King's son and candidate for the state attorney general.
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Regents, top administrators and state politicians, including Gov. Bill Richardson, were among the nearly 150 people on hand for the Governor Bruce King Archives and Reading Room dedication Thursday at the UNM School of Law.
On his 82nd birthday, the former governor was the last of several speakers of the afternoon - and he also gave the shortest speech.
"All of those who came before me did an outstanding job, and I just want to say ditto to all they said," King said.
Richardson commended the Board of Regents, the state Legislature and donors for making the Archives and Reading Room possible.
"Bruce King was, and is, New Mexico, and we're all proud of him," Richardson said. He called King "New Mexico's John Wayne."
King's archives consist of more than 900,000 items, including about 2,000 photographs.
The project began more than four years ago when King decided to donate his archives to the UNM School of Law.
Construction of the reading room, which is 1,000 square feet, began in August. Funding for the room came from the Legislature and from private donors.
Legislators appropriated $274,000 for the project and $40,000 was raised in donations.
The process of indexing the collection is expected to take about three years.
Suellyn Scarnecchia, dean of the UNM School of Law, said the facility is the best reading room on campus.
"As someone said to me, when you walk into this reading room, you know you're in New Mexico. You know you're in the West," Scarnecchia said.
After serving in the House of Representatives, including three terms as speaker, Bruce King was first elected governor in 1970 and was the first person to serve three terms in the state's highest office.
Kay Marr, a member of the committee which helped organize the archives and reading room, highlighted some of the former governor's accomplishments while in office. She said King's tenure was one of the most progressive periods in state history.
She said King made education one of his top priorities. Under King, New Mexico became the first state to ensure that every child got an equal opportunity for education, Marr said.
Besides Richardson, some of the politicians at the dedication included Attorney General Patricia Madrid and several state representatives, judges and UNM regents.
Scarnecchia also read a letter from Richard Bosson, chief justice of the state Supreme Court.
"The entire judiciary and legal profession thanks you from the bottom of our hearts," Bosson wrote.
Law student Paco Perez said the ceremony means a lot to the law school.
"I thought it was a great way to honor the governor, and a tremendous showing with all these really prestigious people," Perez said. "I feel blessed that we're going to have that here."
