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NM state Rep. Eliseo Alcon steps down due to health concerns
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A longtime state legislator has resigned due to health concerns.
Democratic Rep. Eliseo Alcon of Milan is immediately stepping down to focus on his health, according to a Monday morning news release.
Alcon is on hospice at home due to ongoing liver cancer, he told the Journal Monday afternoon. His treatment isn't working, and he said his doctors decided "we're just going to see what happens."
"I really don't know where it's going to go," Alcon said.
The incumbent recently won the race to maintain his seat in the 2024 general election.
Alcon has served in the House since 2009. He sponsored or cosponsored nearly 200 bills during his time in the Legislature.
Chair of the House Labor, Veterans’ and Miliary Affairs Committee and a disabled veteran himself, House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement Alcon “helped deliver huge wins for veterans, active service members and all the people of New Mexico.” Alcon in 2019 received a Bronze Star for his service as a combat medic in the Army during the Vietnam War.
House Democrats also highlighted Alcon’s work to strengthen New Mexico’s economy and protect the environment.
“As a veteran and retired magistrate judge, Rep. Alcon brought a remarkably diverse perspective to lawmaking. We will miss him dearly,” Martínez said.
To fill the seat, the Cibola and McKinley County Commissions will each make a legislative nomination to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, according to the news release. It’ll be up to Lujan Grisham to appoint one of those people to carry out the rest of Alcon’s term, which lasts two years.
