This has been a rough year for elderly politicians. But the contributions of former county clerk and county commission member Lynn Ellins, who died recently at the age of 87, should serve as a reminder of the valuable role older leaders play at the local level.
Ellins will be best remembered as the first county clerk in the state to have the courage to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples in 2013. As he explained at the time, Ellins wasn’t trying to make a social statement about same-sex marriage. He was simply trying to apply the law as he and his staff believed it to read.
“The state’s marriage statutes are gender neutral and do not expressly prohibit Doña Ana County from issuing marriage licenses to same-gender couples,” he said. “Any further denial of marriage licenses to these couples violates the United States and New Mexico constitutions and the New Mexico Human Rights Act.”
The issue had been tied up in the courts, but the move by Ellins proved to be decisive. More than 40 couples received their licenses the first day, with marriage ceremonies conducted by former county public information director Jess Williams, who had routinely performed the same ceremony each Valentine’s Day for other couples.
The U.S. Supreme Court settled the issue in 2015.
Ellins had already established a distinguished career in law and politics before moving to Las Cruces. He had been legal counsel to a New York State Senate committee, a member of the University of Colorado Board of Regents and deputy Colorado secretary of state, along with working in private law in both New York and Colorado.
In 2002, both County Clerk Ruben Ceballos and Chief Deputy Clerk Aurelio Enriquez were arrested on criminal charges related to their mishandling of the primary election that June. They faced 14 charges including improper shredding of absentee ballots, demanding illegal fees and conspiracy. Ceballos was convicted of five felonies.
The county commission then turned to Rita Torres, who had been clerk before Ceballos, to step back into the position. But by then, her age was an issue. At 76, health problems prevented Torres from working full days and she reportedly had trouble staying alert during meetings.
I don’t know if the sad state of affairs in that office had anything to do with luring Ellins back into public service. What I do know is that his two terms as clerk, from 2009 to 2016, brought a level of professional competency to the office that had been sorely lacking before his arrival.
Ellins was then elected to the county commission in 2018, and served as chairman for two years. He ran for re-election in 2022 when he was 85. Democratic primary voters in District 1 decided fairly that age was getting to be an issue, and nominated Christopher Schaljo-Hernandez, who would go on to win the seat.
Ellins wasn’t a typical politician. He was never a great orator, and that got worse as he grew older. His smile was never phony, and I never saw him slap a back. At times it seemed like he might have been more comfortable in his old jobs, working behind the scenes to solve problems.
But he provided critical leadership on local issues for nearly two decades. He brought integrity to our elections and respect to all of the offices he held. And he had the humanity to end the wait for couples who were eager to begin the rest of their lives together.
Walter Rubel can be reached at waltrubel@gmail.com.
