The Mayordomo’s Daughter

Where Are the Brujas?

August 16, 2004

Once there were three Brujas—Butchie, Trudy, and Fabi—who, in order to reform county government, got involved in local politics and turned themselves into local legends. They petitioned for grand jury investigations, created a new and more openly democratic party, and worked to elect what many observers consider a fairly progressive county commission. Since then, Fabi Romero has joined the private sector and is currently setting up a manufacturing company dedicated to the construction of affordable housing units and Butchie Denver has dedicated herself to county planning (see Horse Fly, July 15), joining committees to help revise the comprehensive plan and the subdivision regulations.

Meanwhile, Bruja Trudy Valerio Healy, Mayordomo Juan I. Valerio’s daughter from Ranchos de Taos, became involved with the campaign to elect Governor Bill Richardson. After Richardson’s election, she was appointed to the transition team for the Office of the State Engineer (OSE) and the Interstate Stream Commission (ISC). Subsequently, Trudy says she attended inaugural balls and told anybody who would listen that she wanted an appointment to the State of New Mexico Water Trust Board. Thanks to support from Lt. Governor Diane Denish; Barbara Richardson, the governor’s wife; and, probably, Ernie Ortega, an influential politico in Santa Fe, the governor consented.

At her confirmation in front of the state senate in 2001, Trudy was supported by more than 30 people, including Representative Bobby Gonzales and Secretary of State Rebecca Vigil-Giron. Senator Carlos Cisneros said, “Trudy could be doing anything else in the whole world but she wants to help New Mexico.” In front of the press and the assembled multitudes, long-time senate power broker Manny Aragon “got up and hugged me,” said an elated Trudy. The senate confirmed the mayordomo’s daughter’s appointment to the Water Trust Board and Trudy got to work. She credits local water maven Ron Gardiner with giving her a crash course in state water issues.

Trudy & the Roundhouse
The Water Trust Board, like Trudy, was in its political infancy that first year, 2003. Trudy says it became obvious to her that the Water Trust Board needed to be involved with the Interstate Stream Commission and Office of State Engineer, which were initiating the state water plan. The ISC is basically involved in contracts that affect state and federal water compacts while the OSE deals with water inside the state. Healy says, “Nobody would trust or support the state water plan if it was composed solely of the ISC/OSE without active representation by all water users.” They included, she says, cities, acequia associations, the large agricultural irrigators, game and fish interests, the 33 counties, the Eight Northern Pueblos, the Navajos, as well as general surface and ground water users.

Healy successfully lobbied legislators to make the Water Trust Board a part of the state water plan, which included $10 million from mineral extraction taxes for funding projects. Initially, Trudy says, “They [the opposition] didn’t have a vision” and “disagreed, until they saw it in print.” After the 2003 session, the OSE, ISC, and the Water Trust Board met to formulate a state water plan.

During the 2004 legislative session, Healy successfully lobbied for a second water bill that provided for initiating a fund to be seeded by private donors and administered by the New Mexico Finance Authority on behalf of the Water Trust Board to help acequia projects. Healy says she wanted to create a fund for water similar to a land trust fund for open space. “New Mexico is way behind other states in providing a way for parciantes, private donors, or foundations to give seed money that can be matched by federal and state dollars for land or water projects,” said Healy. “For instance, an acequia association may not have the 20 percent matching funds needed for loans. But this way, donors could provide the match and the state or the feds could do the rest.”

Healy noted proudly that her water bill was the only one that passed during the 2004 legislative session. She laughs and says, “It passed unanimously. Of course, it didn’t cost the state any money either. The bill allows donors to earmark money for loans, for instance, to repair acequias or educate association members about water rights transfers or water banking.” But acequia association members must apply to the Water Trust Board like all other applicants. The applications will be scored and evaluated. Healy also mentions that the new funding sources focus on “sources” of water and not just “storage or conveyance.” She adds, “we need to fund the restoration of watersheds, recycling facilities, and conservation, not just end users.”

Healy credits her ideas to experience and the fact that “I don’t think like a bureaucrat.” When she and her first husband, Bob Knox, worked on the big ranches up around Cimarron, she was exposed to Allen Savory’s holistic land restoration methods. Recently, her family’s Healy Foundation sponsored a retreat for New Mexico agencies with Gunter Pauli, an expert in adapting technology to create sustainable environments. At the retreat, Pauli demonstrated how Albuquerque could capture drinking water from a series of cold water pipes that induce condensation without depleting surface or ground water. Pauli has already created a similar system for one of the Hawaiian Islands, according to Healy.

An Historic Moment
In her position on the Water Trust Board, Healy represents surface water users throughout the state. She’s one of the policy makers who are trying to create new ways of recharging aquifers, for instance. Healy says she’s fighting for small or poor communities that don’t have representation. New Mexico water policy is at an historic moment, says Healy. The state has a water plan that reinforces cooperation among farmers, environmentalists, and urban interests. She notes that the demise of the “use it or lose it” policy means that water rights owners, whether big irrigators or small parciantes on acequias, are no longer subject to losing their water rights—thanks to a bill passed by Senator Carlos Cisneros.

Commenting on local water issues, Healy, who is on the steering committee for Taos County’s regional water plan, said, “We got the town $675,000. What the county is doing is so important. The county could leverage funds, too, but they haven’t applied.” She added, “We’ve got to hurry. The rest of the state depends on our watershed. The timing is good. With this governor we’ve got a short window of opportunity, a chance to preserve our water. Richardson understands the importance of the north. We’ve got good representation right now in Santa Fe.”