Policymakers mourn death of former state Sen. Bill O'Neill
Albuquerque Mayor Tim Keller called O'Neill — a published poet, novelist and playwright — the state's "poet public servant."
O'Neill, who was diagnosed with metastatic prostate cancer more than a year ago, died Monday at age 68.
"He leaves his own special mark on all who worked with him and on the many New Mexicans who he helped," Keller said in a statement.
Born in rural Ohio, O'Neill's path to New Mexico politics was a winding one. As he told Pasatiempo's Ania Hull in late 2024, that path involved stints playing football at Cornell University, working on an asphalt crew, hopping freight trains in Montana and, ultimately, serving Albuquerque's incarcerated and homeless populations.
He was instrumental in establishing Dismas House, a residential program in Albuquerque that helps men on parole reintegrate into their communities.
U.S. Rep. Melanie Stansbury, D-N.M., remembered O'Neill in a statement Monday as "a poet, a playwright, a legislator, a humanitarian and a proud college footballer."
"For those who knew Bill, he loved to share a good story and a good laugh," Stansbury said. "And as a fellow Cornelian, he was always ready to regale you with a good old Big Red football story."
O'Neill, a Democrat, served Albuquerque's North Valley in the state House of Representatives from 2009 to 2013. He represented the area in the state Senate from 2013 through 2024.
During his time in the Legislature, he championed major legislative reforms to New Mexico's juvenile justice system, including prohibiting life sentences for young offenders.
He fought for bills that created geriatric and medical parole procedures and prohibited private employers from inquiring about criminal convictions on initial employment applications.
In a statement posted on social media Monday, Bernalillo County District Attorney Sam Bregman called O'Neill "a true renaissance man" and a "fearless" advocate for his chosen causes, including criminal justice reform.
"I was fortunate to call Bill a friend, and his presence will be deeply missed," Bregman wrote.
The state Senate Democratic Caucus issued a joint statement on O'Neill, saying, "His legacy will be remembered through the countless lives he touched and the policies he advocated through his dedicated service in the Legislature."
On occasion, O'Neill's two worlds intermingled: Among his legislative achievements was the establishment of the New Mexico Poet Laureate program, which now serves as a model for other states to emulate.
"Senator Bill O'Neill lived a life many of us only dream of living," House Speaker Javier Martínez wrote Monday in a memorial Facebook post, recalling tales of the former senator's days playing college football and train-hopping, fighting for second chances for people after incarceration and penning poems.
"He was a man without an ego," Martínez wrote. "He was a man who loved public service."
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