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Thursday, March 13, 2008

Two-Time Mayor Supports Edgewood

By Lee Ross
Mountain View Telegraph
    With his face on two billboards, both of them for car dealerships, it's probably safe to say the town of Edgewood's business community will be sad to see Howard Calkins go.
    Calkins' last day as mayor was Monday, when Robert Stearley was sworn in.
    In a long history with the town, Calkins admitted to having made a few mistakes over the years, but said the errors don't bother him much.
    "If you can learn by your mistakes, they're OK," he said. "I believe in God, and I said, 'Thy will be done,' ... there will be other doors opened."
    Calkins said he is proud of the town. He said there have been several important businesses opened in Edgewood, listing Smith's, Walgreens, McDonald's and NAPA Auto Parts.
    "I think we did it in fairness. There wasn't politics involved," he said. "We had a good council, and the majority of them I got along with fine."
    He said the town of Edgewood has always been something of a group effort.
    "I'm a 'we' man, not an 'I' man," Calkins said, repeating a slogan he's used often. "Nothing happened here that 'I' done."
    Having served part of two terms, his time as mayor was somewhat atypical.
    While he was a town councilor, Calkins was first appointed mayor in September 2000, when Edgewood's first mayor, Larry Keaty, stepped down.
    Calkins said he didn't want to be mayor at first, but Keaty persuaded him.
    "He said, 'You understand how to make this work,' '' Calkins said in an interview in the Edgewood Wal-Mart on opening day.
    At the time all the councilors but one, then-Councilor Robert Stearley, approved Calkins' appointment.
    After serving for 31/2 years, Calkins ran against Stearley for mayor in 2004, and Stearley won— at first.
    In a decision that took several years, the actual vote count was shown to be a tie between Stearley and Calkins.
    The tie was decided by a game of chance, which Calkins won. He had the two cards— a seven of diamonds and a 10 of hearts— framed and kept them in his office during his second run as mayor.
    Another totem of office Calkins collected was part of a donkey's jawbone, which was given to him by Councilor Rita-Loy Simmons in 2007.
    Simmons said she gave him the jawbone because he kept people from talking for too long, which kept town meetings brief.
    In his most recent term he was mayor for just under a year-and-a-half.
    As opposed to the 2004 results, the most recent vote was far more decisive: Calkins got 204 and Stearley 399. Regardless of the election results, the 83-year-old veteran of Edgewood politics was positive.
    "I'm proud of the fact that, in spite of election turnout, I have a lot of friends," he said. "I want to return some of the good these people did for me."
    Looking to the future, Calkins said he wants to get involved with Wildlife West Nature Park, do something with the town's Parks and Recreation Department or work with the Edgewood Chamber of Commerce.
    As evidence of his deep roots in the Edgewood community, Calkins said he remembers when you could count the houses in Edgewood on "both hands and feet."
    "You traded cows; you traded pigs; you traded sheep," he said, referring to the time when the area was very poor.
    Now, with the Wal-Mart open, Calkins said he sees Edgewood growing and growing.
    "This is going to be the beginning of many other businesses," he said. "A few more businesses in here, I won't go to Albuquerque. ... This area is going to draw people from a 60-mile radius."
    With a trademark smile, which always seems to spread across his whole face, Calkins said, "I wish the town luck."