New Mexico lost a giant in public service this week. Bill Fulginiti, director of the Municipal League for more than 40 years, was a big guy whose presence was felt every time he entered a room. But more significantly, his absence will be felt throughout the state.

Fulginiti, who died Wednesday, was a recipient of the Governor’s Distinguished Public Service Award, New Mexico Distinguished Public Administration Award, Outstanding Young Man of America, and New Mexico Library Amigo Award, among other honors. He served two terms on the board of the National League of Cities, directed the New Mexico Tax Research Institute, was vice chair of the New Mexico Finance Authority and Water Trust Board, and served on too many task forces to list.

He helped launch the New Mexico Self Insurers Fund and the National League of Cities Mutual Insurance Company, where he later served as chair, and initiated the first bond pool for New Mexico cities to allow them to access  national bond markets and save money on interest rates. His more recent work on the state capital outlay process greatly helped reduce the number of idle projects.

He was, according to others who walk the corridors of the Roundhouse, a “force to be reckoned with,” whose endorsement or dismissal of a bill could make or break legislation. But he was also known for his honesty and integrity, his willingness to work with “newbies” to help them understand the process and the policy, and the hundreds of meatball subs he and his wife, Pat, made for legislative staff every session.

Before Fulginiti, New Mexico’s municipalities were a quiet voice in the legislative process. After Fulginiti took over the Municipal League, that voice grew to include statutory membership on numerous state boards. Since 1977, his name has appeared in more than 260 news articles in the Santa Fe New Mexican archives.

Fulginiti spent most of his adult life in public service. Before he joined the New Mexico Municipal League in 1977, he served in the Air Force for eight years and as assistant executive director for legislation at the Pennsylvania League of Cities, where he implemented the organization’s legislative program. He earned his master’s degree in public administration from the prestigious Pennsylvania State University.

He was, to say the least, committed, not just to the cities and towns he represented, but to the people of New Mexico and to public service in general. Fulginiti recognized that being part of the process mattered, whether the participant was an influential organization or an individual. He advised all New Mexicans to participate, good advice no matter who you are or what issues are important to you.

“Go to city hall,” he once said. “Go to the city council meetings and participate. You know governance is not just those people sitting on that city council. Governance is the people working with them, together, to make it work for their cities.”

Representative Patricia Lundstrom, executive director of the Greater Gallup Economic Development Corporation, has served in the New Mexico Legislature representing McKinley and San Juan counties since January 2001. She is chairwoman of the House Appropriations and Finance Committee and vice chairwoman of the Legislative Finance Committee. She is also a member of the House Transportation, Public Works and Capital Improvements Committee.