The Way We Were: ‘Politics Isn’t Easy in Grants; Nothing Is Easy in Grants’
By Paul Milan, County Historical Society, for The Beacon: Friday, January 10, 2014
Not too long ago I was having a conversation with two area politicians regarding the last two local elections especially in regards to the problems in locating all of the ballot boxes and one of them said jokingly that, “Nothing is easy in Grants.”
This comment reminded me of a story that appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday, March 5, 1978, written by a reporter by the name of Winthrop Quigley entitled “Politics Isn’t Easy in Grants; Nothing is Easy in Grants.”
Mrs. James Barber, publisher of the Beacon was quoted, “To understand the factions in Grants you have to have a scorecard and update it by the hour.” At this particular time an election was about to take place and the reporter described the article as a report from the battlefield in Grants. The scorecard should read Wells-Zerwas-Bell versus Dannenbaum versus Williams. Mitch Wells, a
businessman and pharmacist, was the mayor; Dave Zerwas was a realtor, a former Grants mayor and a present council member; Ed Bell was the Chief of Police; George Dannenbaum, a juvenile probation officer and former mayor; and Mickey Williams, a former high school counselor, was also running for mayor.
A self-described civil rights activist had constantly filed charges against the Grants Police Department for brutality, which were turned down by the Assistant District Attorney because of lack of evidence. The Wells and Zerwas faction believed that the civil rights activist might be a front for the Dannenbaum faction and if the brutality charges stick the Wells faction would be discredited and it would help the campaign of Mickey Williams, who asserted that he is not a part of the Wells or Dannenbaum factions. Dannenbaum said that Williams had his vote but not his support.
Dannenbaum was quoted, “I lived here when ‘la Raza’ ran this country, the leadership was Republican gentry - landed people, business people, in cooperation with the Santa Fe Railroad - poor people and Anglos were at their mercy.”
Dannenbaum said that the first Democrats were often from Texas, many of them outlaws. Dannenbaum’s first term as mayor was in 1952 and he claimed that he was fired from his job as a teacher for being a Democrat. Before the 1950s Grants was 2,000 mostly Hispanic [people] living on the West side near the railroad tracks and up into the hills. They farmed, logged, and worked for the railroad. Dannenbaum, who was half Hispanic, was one of these people. The reporter wrote, “Politics isn’t easy in Grants, but, then, nothing much is, not driving, not going to school, and not finding a house. And none of them are easy for the same reason nothing is easy in Grants, which is, in a word,uranium.”
Wells was quoted, “Dannenbaum has always has some influence in every election in town, cliques come and go but Dannenbaum has always been there.” At that time Dannenbaum was appointed by District Filo Sedillo as a Probation Officer, which caused an uproar because Dannenbaum operated a topless bar near Ambrosia Lake and his selection caused people to reason that a topless bar owner wasn’t the kind of guy you’d want to counsel juvenile offenders.
Dannenbaum was mayor slightly before Wells and Zerwas came to Grants who were considered a new class of people more of the Chamber of Commerce type, according to the reporter. Wells was quoted as saying that Dannenbaum’s tenure was a complete fiasco, accounts were unfunded, water meters didn’t work and the city was always on the brink of debt. Dannenbaum countered, “My administration was the most efficient administration in the history of the town; I fired deadwood from the city payroll and instituted superior recreation programs.” Wells was considered a brick and mortar man, “sewer and water for everyone,” the streets need widening, and there isn’t enough housing, where even older neighborhoods were without services. Although Wells did not want to run again, no one else would. Wells said, “There is no prize other than to make iy a better town. A lot of people scoff at that.”
Dannenbaum asserted, “You need more than businessmen to run a city. They only understand money problems. They’ve got to understand people problems.” The reporter stated that the opposition charges Wells and Zerwas with conflicts of interest between
their business interest and public interests.
Zerwas who was acquitted of criminal charges stemming from a fight he had with Dannenbaum decided not to run because of the conflict charges. One official, who was not identified, stated that the constant sniping at Grants city government at every council meeting scared people from running for office when Grants needed them the most. Sounds familiar?
The reporter stated that Williams is a bureaucrat who calls Dannenbaum a “pork-barrel politician” and Wells a part of a “built-in power structure,” and he (Williams) is supported by the mining industry and educators.” The reporter concluded, “Nothing is easy in Grants, which needs tolerance for and help from Mexican cattlemen, rowdy miners, downtown businessmen, and bureaucrats.”
Nothing is easy, especially in a town where everything is distorted by the nation’s demand for uranium and by a boomtown’s magnetism for people, all of them clamoring for services the city could only recently provide. During the sixties and seventies the population began to increase and the politics in Grants brought in new mayors from the new citizens. There was a saying that if you were here for at least two years you could run for mayor and win.
On Feb. 24, 1983, the well-known columnist Howard Bryan wrote a story that was told to him by Joe Diaz, Bernalillo County Attorney who was from Grants. Two Grants’ men picked up a hitchhiker near Rio Puerco on their way to Grants. Before they reached Grants the driver stopped the truck and told him to get out. The other passenger was surprised and said, “We’re almost to Grants, so why don’t you take him the rest of the way?” The driver explained, “This bum is liable to stay in Grants and get himself elected mayor. I don’t want people pointing to me on the streets and saying, ‘He’s the SOB who brought him to town.’” Bryan stated, “I choose to believe this one, it’s too ‘New Mexican’ to be a fabrication.”
Grants was not the only town in the area that has its political stories. Josephine Barela writes in her book, “Ojo Del Gallo” (San Rafael) about a political incident that happened in 1888. Captain Dumas Provencher and his brother-in-law, Father Brun, were appointed to supervise the election. That night, as Provencher watched the tallying of the votes, it was said that the other election officials had pulled chairs back, a shot rang through the window; and Provencher was killed. Provencher had refused to allow two Indians to vote because they were not eligible and one of them was suspected, but the evidence was circumstantial. There was strong evidence of an organized conspiracy not only to murder Provencher and two election officials, but to destroy poll books as well. It was felt that the life of an innocent man had been taken because the precinct had gone Democratic.
One story that I remember, told by Joe Diaz, happened during one of the elections in Grants between two campaigners who were outside of the polling site. One of the campaigners accused the other of campaigning too close to the polls, which resulted in a fight. One of the combatants was injured and sued the other. The injured person insisted that the court proceeding be conducted in
Spanish. The attorney asked the defendant what did the accuser say to provoke the incident; and he answered, “Cabron panzon, te voy a dar en la Madre.” The interpreter without hesitation translated literally, “You big bellied Billy goat, I am going to give you in the mother.”
During the sixties there were occasions when the Sheriff’s Department would call us at the [Grants State] Bank requesting than we store the ballot boxes in the bank’s safe. I also remember a shooting in a San Fidel Bar after an election, which was reported as a political battle.
Editor’s Note: Paul Milan contributes to the Beacon’s history column and is a longtime resident of Cibola County. Milan’s father, Salvador Milan, was the Village of Milan’s first mayor.
By Paul Milan, County Historical Society, for The Beacon: Friday, January 10, 2014
Not too long ago I was having a conversation with two area politicians regarding the last two local elections especially in regards to the problems in locating all of the ballot boxes and one of them said jokingly that, “Nothing is easy in Grants.”
This comment reminded me of a story that appeared in the Albuquerque Journal on Sunday, March 5, 1978, written by a reporter by the name of Winthrop Quigley entitled “Politics Isn’t Easy in Grants; Nothing is Easy in Grants.”
Mrs. James Barber, publisher of the Beacon was quoted, “To understand the factions in Grants you have to have a scorecard and update it by the hour.” At this particular time an election was about to take place and the reporter described the article as a report from the battlefield in Grants. The scorecard should read Wells-Zerwas-Bell versus Dannenbaum versus Williams. Mitch Wells, a
businessman and pharmacist, was the mayor; Dave Zerwas was a realtor, a former Grants mayor and a present council member; Ed Bell was the Chief of Police; George Dannenbaum, a juvenile probation officer and former mayor; and Mickey Williams, a former high school counselor, was also running for mayor.
A self-described civil rights activist had constantly filed charges against the Grants Police Department for brutality, which were turned down by the Assistant District Attorney because of lack of evidence. The Wells and Zerwas faction believed that the civil rights activist might be a front for the Dannenbaum faction and if the brutality charges stick the Wells faction would be discredited and it would help the campaign of Mickey Williams, who asserted that he is not a part of the Wells or Dannenbaum factions. Dannenbaum said that Williams had his vote but not his support.
Dannenbaum was quoted, “I lived here when ‘la Raza’ ran this country, the leadership was Republican gentry - landed people, business people, in cooperation with the Santa Fe Railroad - poor people and Anglos were at their mercy.”
Dannenbaum said that the first Democrats were often from Texas, many of them outlaws. Dannenbaum’s first term as mayor was in 1952 and he claimed that he was fired from his job as a teacher for being a Democrat. Before the 1950s Grants was 2,000 mostly Hispanic [people] living on the West side near the railroad tracks and up into the hills. They farmed, logged, and worked for the railroad. Dannenbaum, who was half Hispanic, was one of these people. The reporter wrote, “Politics isn’t easy in Grants, but, then, nothing much is, not driving, not going to school, and not finding a house. And none of them are easy for the same reason nothing is easy in Grants, which is, in a word,uranium.”
Wells was quoted, “Dannenbaum has always has some influence in every election in town, cliques come and go but Dannenbaum has always been there.” At that time Dannenbaum was appointed by District Filo Sedillo as a Probation Officer, which caused an uproar because Dannenbaum operated a topless bar near Ambrosia Lake and his selection caused people to reason that a topless bar owner wasn’t the kind of guy you’d want to counsel juvenile offenders.
Dannenbaum was mayor slightly before Wells and Zerwas came to Grants who were considered a new class of people more of the Chamber of Commerce type, according to the reporter. Wells was quoted as saying that Dannenbaum’s tenure was a complete fiasco, accounts were unfunded, water meters didn’t work and the city was always on the brink of debt. Dannenbaum countered, “My administration was the most efficient administration in the history of the town; I fired deadwood from the city payroll and instituted superior recreation programs.” Wells was considered a brick and mortar man, “sewer and water for everyone,” the streets need widening, and there isn’t enough housing, where even older neighborhoods were without services. Although Wells did not want to run again, no one else would. Wells said, “There is no prize other than to make iy a better town. A lot of people scoff at that.”
Dannenbaum asserted, “You need more than businessmen to run a city. They only understand money problems. They’ve got to understand people problems.” The reporter stated that the opposition charges Wells and Zerwas with conflicts of interest between
their business interest and public interests.
Zerwas who was acquitted of criminal charges stemming from a fight he had with Dannenbaum decided not to run because of the conflict charges. One official, who was not identified, stated that the constant sniping at Grants city government at every council meeting scared people from running for office when Grants needed them the most. Sounds familiar?
The reporter stated that Williams is a bureaucrat who calls Dannenbaum a “pork-barrel politician” and Wells a part of a “built-in power structure,” and he (Williams) is supported by the mining industry and educators.” The reporter concluded, “Nothing is easy in Grants, which needs tolerance for and help from Mexican cattlemen, rowdy miners, downtown businessmen, and bureaucrats.”
Nothing is easy, especially in a town where everything is distorted by the nation’s demand for uranium and by a boomtown’s magnetism for people, all of them clamoring for services the city could only recently provide. During the sixties and seventies the population began to increase and the politics in Grants brought in new mayors from the new citizens. There was a saying that if you were here for at least two years you could run for mayor and win.
On Feb. 24, 1983, the well-known columnist Howard Bryan wrote a story that was told to him by Joe Diaz, Bernalillo County Attorney who was from Grants. Two Grants’ men picked up a hitchhiker near Rio Puerco on their way to Grants. Before they reached Grants the driver stopped the truck and told him to get out. The other passenger was surprised and said, “We’re almost to Grants, so why don’t you take him the rest of the way?” The driver explained, “This bum is liable to stay in Grants and get himself elected mayor. I don’t want people pointing to me on the streets and saying, ‘He’s the SOB who brought him to town.’” Bryan stated, “I choose to believe this one, it’s too ‘New Mexican’ to be a fabrication.”
Grants was not the only town in the area that has its political stories. Josephine Barela writes in her book, “Ojo Del Gallo” (San Rafael) about a political incident that happened in 1888. Captain Dumas Provencher and his brother-in-law, Father Brun, were appointed to supervise the election. That night, as Provencher watched the tallying of the votes, it was said that the other election officials had pulled chairs back, a shot rang through the window; and Provencher was killed. Provencher had refused to allow two Indians to vote because they were not eligible and one of them was suspected, but the evidence was circumstantial. There was strong evidence of an organized conspiracy not only to murder Provencher and two election officials, but to destroy poll books as well. It was felt that the life of an innocent man had been taken because the precinct had gone Democratic.
One story that I remember, told by Joe Diaz, happened during one of the elections in Grants between two campaigners who were outside of the polling site. One of the campaigners accused the other of campaigning too close to the polls, which resulted in a fight. One of the combatants was injured and sued the other. The injured person insisted that the court proceeding be conducted in
Spanish. The attorney asked the defendant what did the accuser say to provoke the incident; and he answered, “Cabron panzon, te voy a dar en la Madre.” The interpreter without hesitation translated literally, “You big bellied Billy goat, I am going to give you in the mother.”
During the sixties there were occasions when the Sheriff’s Department would call us at the [Grants State] Bank requesting than we store the ballot boxes in the bank’s safe. I also remember a shooting in a San Fidel Bar after an election, which was reported as a political battle.
Editor’s Note: Paul Milan contributes to the Beacon’s history column and is a longtime resident of Cibola County. Milan’s father, Salvador Milan, was the Village of Milan’s first mayor.