The Gallup Independent has a story about former longtime Gallup, N.M., mayor Eddie Munoz, who died Wednesday.
Munoz could boast one important legacy: He fought hard to address alcohol abuse problems by Gallup’s residents.
It was 1989 and Munoz had begged, pleaded and done everything he could to get as many people as possible to join in on a march to Santa Fe to bring awareness to state legislators of the problem that Gallupians were facing with alcohol abuse.
Munoz decided that if it was a march, he would walk every step of the way to Santa Fe.
So each night of the eight or nine days it took to walk the 218 miles, Mosher and others watched as Munoz’s foot got worse and worse until by the end, most of the skin seemed to be scraped off on one side of his right foot.
He refused to listen to anyone who suggested he get in a car and ride for part of the journey. This was his chance to show the state government how serious he felt about the need to help the town he loved, and no pain would stop him.
By the time, Munoz and the 60 or so others who started the journey got to Santa Fe, the marchers numbered 3,000 or so, and their sacrifice and dedication convinced the legislators to close down the session for a couple of hours and listen to what the people of Gallup had to say.
On Thursday, many people around town were saying that this was Munoz’s finest hour.
As a result of the march, the legislature approved a series of bills that would provide for a city election to close down drive-up windows (it passed), create a liquor excise tax and provide the seed money for the establishment of the Nanizhoozhi Center.
Those who lived in Gallup during that time will remember that the decision to have the march and publicize Gallup’s alcohol problem wasn’t met with universal approval.
Many in Gallup were upset that because of Munoz, Gallup was getting stuck with the name of “Drunk City USA.”
But Mosher said Munoz didn’t care.
“He never wavered in his belief that something had to be done,” Mosher said. “He cared more about Gallup than about just anyone I know.”
In order to get support for the march and his other liquor initiatives, Munoz would threaten to put up billboards at the entrance to Gallup saying “Welcome to Drunk City, USA. Drive here at your own risk.”
And if that is what it took to get people to sit up and notice, he probably would have gone up and done that, Mosher said.
He didn’t have to, of course.
I’ve talked to and read accounts by veteran Route 66 travelers who concurred that Gallup was an embarrassment for many years, with drunks walking up and down Route 66. It was a place where the stereotype, “drunken Indian,” was distressingly visible.
That situation started to improve dramatically starting in the 1990s, and now Gallup is a more spic-and-span city that’s inviting to travelers. I didn’t know until today that Munoz was largely responsible for that change. I’m just glad his accomplishments weren’t forgotten.