Longtime director sets eyes on retirement after navigating 'difficult waters' at Roundhouse

May 25—A book of classic quotes from The Godfather mob drama sits prominently in the center of the coffee table in Raúl Burciaga's office at the state Capitol.

Burciaga, director of the Legislative Council Service, the drafting and legal research agency for the Legislature, said one quote in particular comes in handy from time to time. It's from the second movie in the trilogy.

"Sometimes when staff complains, has concerns or this, that or the other ... I say, 'This is the business we've chosen,' " he said. "It's not pretty. We make sausage."

After nearly 24 years of sausage-making at the Legislative Council Service, including 14 years as director, Burciaga, who turns 69 next month, is getting out of the business.

He is set to retire in August.

"Something I'm proud of that, honestly, it's humbling — it's an honor, but it's also humbling — I'm only the fourth director of the Legislative Council Service in its 73-year history," he said.

"It truly is an institution," he added. "It's a small agency, so to speak, but there is just a wealth of information that is housed in this agency, in this office, and what we do."

Former state Rep. Daymon Ely, D-Albuquerque, called Burciaga a "very smart lawyer" with "great analytical skills."

"Probably the most important quality of a director is to be even-tempered because you're going to be situations that are going to be high stress, and you have to keep your cool, and you also have to keep the respect of [lawmakers] who disagree with one another," he said. "Raúl was able to pull that off. That is not an easy thing to do, and he made it look easy."

Ely said Burciaga, who manages a staff of about 60, is kind to his employees.

"Those are tough jobs because you're dealing with people's egos every day and oftentimes, legislators want to run right over the staff," he said. "You're in an awkward position where you've got to defend your staff while at the same time be accountable to the same legislators, and Raúl was able to do that and protect his staff. It was a really cool balancing act. It's going to be a hard act to follow."

The search for a new director is underway. Applications are due May 31.

Burciaga counts getting through the coronavirus pandemic with virtual sessions and committee meetings, as well as remote work, among his biggest challenges — and accomplishments.

"I can't take the credit; a lot of people pulled together to get that done," he said. "Yes, we had hiccups. We had some issues here and there and the like. But we got through it, and I think that's been one of our biggest achievements."

While the agency is nonpartisan, he said the Legislative Council Service is "biased" when it comes to protecting the Legislature.

"We do not want the judiciary or the executive encroaching into our branch, and I make that very clear to staff," he said. "I remind the legislators as appropriately and diplomatically as I can that they should not give up any power. If you look at any state constitution, the [legislative] is always the first branch mentioned because it's the one closest to the people."

While he occasionally turns to The Godfather quotes on staff matters, he said a quote from former council service assistant director Dick Folmar has been kind of his "guide" and "Bible." The quote, in part, reads "that the first step on the road to totalitarianism has always been the destruction of the representative branch."

"I've always used that because there is a lot of focus on chief executives, whether it be the president or governors," said Burciaga, whose office is just down the hall from Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham's.

"I get that. I understand that. But laws and appropriations start at the legislative branch," he said. "They set the policy. They decide how money should be spent. And if you do away with that, then you're just left with a totalitarian."

A first-generation U.S. citizen whose parents were both from Mexico, Burciaga was born and raised in El Paso. He described his childhood as "unique," essentially growing up at a Jewish synagogue where his father was the longtime caretaker.

"They had an apartment for him, and they offered him free room," he recalled. "They said, 'If you move in here, take care of the building — janitor, custodian, caretaker, etc. — you've got this apartment for your family.' So, my father worked there for 37 years, and we grew up Roman Catholic ... living in a Jewish center."

The experience gave him a "tremendous appreciation" for Judaism, said Burciaga, who attended Catholic school and whose parents were devout Catholics.

Burciaga said he initially set out to be a mathematician.

"I had a tremendous respect for mathematics, and I started at [the University of Texas at El Paso] majoring in that," he said.

Burciaga eventually changed course and moved to Albuquerque in 1983.

"I went to night school basically. Chapman University had a satellite campus in Albuquerque, so I finished my degree [in health sciences] there," he said.

Burciaga, who was working in middle management at Blue Cross and Blue Shield of New Mexico at the time, then decided to attend law school.

"I went to law school in my 40s," he said. "I really had no intention of litigating. I was more interested in policy work, and I just thought the law was a good discipline to do that from."

When he was getting ready to graduate from law school, he said he interviewed with Paula Tackett, who was the Legislative Council Service director at the time, and landed a job as a bill drafter.

Burciaga, who had previously interned with the New Mexico Attorney General's Office, thought it would be a temporary gig. He recalled running into a former law school student who was working for the council service while he was an intern.

"I asked him what he did. ... He said, 'We draft legislation, and we staff interim committees.' I told him, 'That's great. Good for you. That sounds interesting.' Inside I thought to myself, 'Damn, that sounds boring,'" he said. "Fast forward, 24 years later, here I am."

After passing the bar exam, Burciaga served as a staff attorney.

"In my fourth year, Paula Tackett offered me the position of assistant director for drafting services," he said, adding his previous management experience and maturity likely factored into her decision.

He served in that role from 2004 to 2010. When Tackett announced her retirement in 2010, the Legislative Council, the agency's oversight body, appointed Burciaga director.

"They just decided not to do a search, and they appointed me, I think, largely based on Paula's recommendation," he said.

Tackett, now a regent at the University of New Mexico, said relationships between individual lawmakers became a little more frayed and communication between the two chambers of the Legislature seemed less collaborative after she left amid increasing polarization.

"He had to navigate those difficult waters, which was a huge job," she said.

Tackett called the job incredibly demanding, saying being director comes with not only 112 bosses but myriad responsibilities.

"How has he done? He's still standing," she said. "He's done an amazing job, and he's still standing."

Senate President Pro Tem Mimi Stewart, D-Albuquerque, said in a statement Burciaga's nearly quarter-century with the Legislative Council Service is going to leave the Legislature "with some very big shoes to fill.

"As the director of LCS he's given us the strong leadership and steadfast dedication required to keep the Legislature running smoothly," she said. "From providing us with superb legal guidance to managing everything from bill drafting to building services, Raúl and his mighty team have really delivered for New Mexico."

Tackett said Burciaga is "very thoughtful" and handled the job with "great grace" — remarks echoed by Ely.

"Raúl, for me, was a go-to guy," Ely said. "I was the House parliamentarian, and if it hadn't been for Raúl and his staff, frankly, I never would have gotten through that. They were good at not only analyzing a situation but anticipating situations that would come up. That's a rare skill."

House Speaker Javier Martínez, D-Albuquerque, said Burciaga brought greater transparency and accessibility to the Roundhouse.

"Over the past two and a half decades, his thoughtful leadership has enabled New Mexico's state lawmakers to do the people's work in the people's house," he said. "From one kid from the borderlands to another, I am deeply grateful to Raúl for his dedicated service to our state and our Legislature."

Burciaga said he had made a commitment to himself to retire by 70.

"There are other things I want to do," he said. "My [two] kids are grown and gone. My wife [of 38 years] is retired. I'd like to be able to do some traveling, maybe take some classes, maybe teach a class, not a lot. I will stay busy. I just decided it was my time."

Follow Daniel J. Chacón on Twitter @danieljchacon.