A New Mexico political boss’ legacy lives on — in Maryland

Over my 30 years writing about Maryland, I’ve invariably run into people in the political universe here who, like me, grew up in New York City. Or maybe went to school there. Or lived there at some point in their lives.

It’s been harder, though, to find people in Maryland politics who share a connection to another important time in my life – when I lived in New Mexico in the 1990s.

New Mexico is where I became a parent, so it will always be precious to me for that reason alone. I think about the jaw-dropping beauty of the state every day.

And I did some of my best professional work there, as a staff writer for the alt-weekly Santa Fe Reporter — exposing an oil and gas company’s attempts to rip off taxpayers, giving an insurgent candidate for mayor ammunition to topple the well-funded establishment favorite, and covering notable New Mexico politicians like Bill Richardson, Tom Udall and Gary Johnson fairly early in their careers.

Since I came to Maryland from New Mexico in late 1995, I learned that former Lt. Gov. Kathleen Kennedy Townsend (D) obtained her law degree at the University of New Mexico while her then-husband taught at the St. John’s College campus in Santa Fe (he later moved to the Annapolis campus, bringing KKT to Maryland). And I discovered that former Maryland Attorney General Brian Frosh (D) worked at the start of his career for the New Mexico attorney general’s office.

But those are the only two people I know who shared the Maryland-New Mexico political bond with me. Until now.

Just a few weeks ago, I was delighted and amazed to learn that Brian Naranjo, a retired foreign service officer and a Democratic candidate for the Talbot County Council, is the grandson of a Emilio Naranjo, who was the Democratic boss of Rio Arriba County, New Mexico, from the 1950s through the 1990s. He’s running with the support of Kathleen Kennedy Townsend – whose storied family had close ties with Emilio Naranjo.

The elder Naranjo, who died in 2008 at age 92, was a powerful and controversial figure who ruled the politics of Rio Arriba with an iron first. Over the years he was county sheriff, the chair of the Rio Arriba Democratic Party, a federal marshal in Albuquerque, and a state senator – which is where I got to see him in action.

But more importantly, he was the man to see for political favors in Rio Arriba County for over four decades, if you were looking for a government job, say, or a political appointment, or some kind of favorable decision from local government – or if you were running for higher office.

Famously, Emilio Naranjo campaigned with Ted Kennedy when Kennedy was stumping for his brother John F. Kennedy during the 1960 presidential campaign. Over the years, Naranjo campaigned again with Ted Kennedy, including in 1992, to support Bill Clinton’s White House bid, when I was out there.

Emilio Naranjo wasn’t beloved by everyone. He had political enemies. He was a patrón in the local parlance. Critics accused him of corruption. His deeds and misdeeds could fill a few books.

Brian Naranjo correctly calls his grandfather “the last boss in New Mexico.”

“I see the upside and the downside of that kind of political behavior,” he says.

Yet in a wide-ranging conversation with me, Brian Naranjo said he is running for Talbot County Council with many of the political lessons he learned from his grandfather and his father at the top of his mind.

“I do credit my grandfather for a lot of my instincts,” he said. “I translated it into diplomacy and now I’ve translated it into local politics.”

Brian Naranjo is hardly a political neophyte. He grew up in Montgomery County – his father, Emilio “Milo” Naranjo Jr., the eldest of the political leader’s nine children – came to Washington, D.C., to work for New Mexico Sen. Clinton Anderson (D) and later for NASA, all the while remaining an informal adviser to his father out in New Mexico.

Growing up, Brian Naranjo said, “We always talked politics. I can’t remember a day we didn’t.”

For 32 years, Naranjo applied what he learned to his work as a foreign service officer, through 16 postings on five continents, including stints in Venezuela, Canada, and Mexico.

On the campaign trail, he has talked about wanting to build bridges to poorer residents and communities – similar to the way Emilio Naranjo reached out to the economically impoverished Native American residents at the Santa Clara Pueblo in Rio Arriba County.

“My grandfather focused on Rio Arriba like a laser,” Naranjo said. “I see that as a model for Talbot, at a time when so many Republicans are focused on the MAGA side of the equation.”

Talbot County has become increasingly competitive politically. In 2020, Joe Biden became the first Democratic presidential contender to carry the county since 1964 – winning by 118 votes. Four years later, Donald Trump carried the county by just six votes.

Naranjo’s aggressive criticism of the status quo in Talbot County has brought him some harsh criticism. But he is unapologetic and argues that he’s helping to define the council race. And there too he sees some parallels with his grandfather.

Naranjo recalls his dad telling his grandfather that even with criticism from the local newspaper and some political opponents: “You are still driving the news here. They are reacting to you…Even your enemies can be useful to you under certain circumstances.”

But just as he’s critical of MAGA Republicans, Naranjo said he is also leery of Democrats who veer too far to the left or focus too heavily on national issues.

“When you grow up with Emilio Naranjo as your grandfather, you appreciate a politics that doesn’t exist anymore,” he said. “He grew up in the party of Roosevelt, Truman and JFK.”

Naranjo’s message to voters: “It’s more about pragmatism and solving problems and trying to meet people where they live.”

An extended version of this column appeared on Maryland Matters, which is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network that includes Source New Mexico.