Mayor Billy Elbrock says residents were a little slow to welcome him to the village of Chama, New Mexico.
“I've been in Chama for 31 years. I like to say that they're just starting to accept me,” Elbrock said. “When I first came to town, I married into the town. My wife was a lifelong resident of Chama. And when I first came to town, that was a pretty close-knit community that didn't particularly like outsiders.
“I didn't go hardly anywhere unless she was with me," he added. "... But it's a lot different now. It's come a long way in the in 30 years, a lot of new people have moved in and it's a lot different than what it used to be.”
The northern New Mexico community is also his home and Elbrock, 70, plans to retire and live the rest of his life there. He was appointed mayor in August 2017 and elected to a full four-year term in March 2018.
He is completing his term as mayor after serving as a town trustee, vice president of the Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce, liaison between the village of Chama and the Planning and Zoning Committee, liaison between the village of Chama and Rio Arriba County, and founder and member of the local high school athletic booster organization. Also, when he found time, hew was a hunting safety instructor.
He also has been a member of the Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad Commission for a decade.
Elbrock and his wife, Josephine, own Fina’s Diner in Chama and have been in the restaurant business for 26 years.
Elbrock works for the federal Bureau of Reclamation as the manager of Elephant Butte Dam in Truth or Consequences, New Mexico. He’s been with the agency for 31 years.
“Tourism is a big part of our community. The Cumbres & Toltec Scenic Railroad is a big draw,” he said. “We have a great snowmobiling area. A lot of snowmobilers come in the wintertime. It's excellent elk and deer hunting. We have a lot of hunters that come; they'll start around the first of September and they hunt until mid-December.”
Chama is in the southern Rockies, at 7,860-feet elevation, with majestic views of scenic peaks and brilliant gorges. It’s an area steeped in the history of multiple cultures blended with natural beauty.
In a previous interview published by the New Mexico Tourism Department, Elbrock called Chama a “photographer’s dream” abounding with vistas, wildlife and activities that can make it a special destination for visitors.
The Chama Valley Chamber of Commerce considers the area a “best-kept secret” where the crowds are smaller but the attractions are grand. It’s been the location for numerous movies and TV shows, including John Wayne’s “The Cowboys,” “Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade” and “Wyatt Earp.”
Chama has a population of around 1,100, Elbrock said, with about 844 registered voters. Another 600 to 700 people visit on a regular basis. When Elbrock leaves office in March, he will have served almost 14 years. He is proud of what he has helped accomplish for the place he has called home for more than three decades.
“The village was owed in past-due utility accounts about $45,000," he said. "And one thing that I vowed to get was to collect that money, and I did between myself and my city clerk, we collected that $45,000. Right now, at the course at the end of the billing cycle, there's going to be four or five that are delinquent.”
He also has focused on the town’s infrastructure.
“Our biggest infrastructure is, of course, water, sewer and streets,” he said. “We just got a capital improvement funds from the Legislature of $900,000 to do some upgrades on our water system. And I believe we got about $1.6 million, I think, to do sewer upgrades.”
He also became tired of seeing “a bunch of old dilapidated buildings in town” and worked to remove them. A sheriff’s posse that comes to Chama every year to ride and enjoy the scenery and environment was a factor, as one member donated $25,000 to the village’s Clean Green Fund.
“We have been using [the money] to tear down buildings and clean up the town,” he said. “I'm really proud of that.”
Elbrock said others did most of the work, and he credits them for much of the success.
“I have an excellent staff, they have done an excellent job,” Elbrock said. “I work just part time. I work 300 miles away. My staff runs the village, keeps me informed of everything going on, and I'm really proud of my staff. My council is a good council. We work good together.”
There are some goals he didn’t reach.
"We need something that will carry us over [through the year],” he said. “Through the wintertime, the hunters and the snowmobilers do a pretty good job, but we need something stable, something that would give jobs to our citizens. I just don't know what that is. I don't know what we can attract to come to rural northern New Mexico and start a business, but I wish we could come up with something.”
Elbrock said there is another improvement he still hopes happens.
“One thing we need is an event center. I had hoped to get something through the Legislature,” he said. “Probably not going to happen in my term. I hope that whoever succeeds me continues working on getting an event center.”
Elbrock is originally from Animas, N.M., on the New Mexico-Arizona border, just north of Mexico.
"My family, we have a family ranch down there, about 20 sections or 12,000 acres,” he said.