The New Mexico State Senate has a new member. Senator Theodore “Ted” Barela of the Town of Estancia was sworn into office today, Friday, April 17, 2015 at the Estancia Community Center.
As a State Senator, he said he will focus on keeping rural communities vital and finding solutions to the challenges they face as they lose population. “I want to put a cork in a leaking barrel,” Senator Barela said. “I want to find solutions to why the rural communities are drying up and residents are moving out.”
He said a priority is to protect small businesses and to help keep them in business in rural New Mexico. “I want to provide the best opportunities for small communities to stay vital, while managing their growth. Job opportunities and good education for our children are paramount to our success and viability,” Senator Barela said.
Senator Barela is currently a projects manager for Bohannan Huston, an engineering firm out of Albuquerque.
He retired as an Area Projects Manager at the New Mexico Department of Transportation (NMDOT) in 2013 after working for NMDOT for 26 years. As a project manager he was responsible for administering and overseeing contracts worth millions of dollars.
Throughout his career with NMDOT, he worked on and managed many highway construction projects along I-40 including being the lead inspector for many of the flyovers and bridges on the massive Big-I construction project 15 years ago.
Barela was born and raised in the Town of Estancia and has been very active in the community. He served as Mayor of Estancia from 2008 to 2013.
He is active with the Estancia Rotary Club Scholarship program and its annual Pumpkin’ Chunkin’ Festival where he builds pumpkin launchers for the chunkin’ contest to see how far a pumpkin can be chunked.
Barela is also active in the RESPECT program which teaches high school seniors real life skills and self defense skills as they transition from peaceful rural communities to face the challenges of living and going to college in larger cities. His wife, Janice Barela, founded the program in 2007 which also awards scholarships to high school graduates. He said he is proud that its first scholarship recipient is graduating from New Mexico Tech next month.
He and Janice have three children and five grandchildren.
Barela graduated from Estancia High School in 1984.
Barela, a Republican, was appointed by the Governor to fill the vacant seat in Senate District 39 which is comprised of portions of six counties: Bernalillo, Santa Fe, Lincoln, San Miguel, Torrance, and Valencia.
The communities in or bordering District 39 include: Santa Fe, Eldorado, Las Vegas, Moriarty, Estancia, Rio Communities, Carrizozo, Alto, and Capitan and Willard.
The 42-member Senate is now comprised of 18 Republicans and 24 Democrats. All 42 are citizen legislators, they are not paid positions.
Senator Barela was sworn-in to office by the Honorable Steve Jones, Magistrate Pro Tem.