Joe Harvey, former New Mexico state senator, dies at 80

HOBBS, N.M. (AP) - Joe Harvey, a former Democratic state senator in New Mexico, who also served as Hobbs city manager for 23 years, died this month.

His family said Sunday he died May 8, at his home in Coeur d’Alene, Idaho. No cause of death was given. He was 80.

Born in 1939 in Spokane, Washington, Harvey moved to Hobbs after serving in the U.S. Army. He worked for Hobbs police and eventually became Hobbs city manager at the age of 28.

Harvey was the youngest city manager in state history at the time.

He was elected to the state senate in 1984 as a Democrat and served two terms. According to the Hobbs News-Sun, he was a member of the Conservation Committee, Finance Committee, Judiciary Committee, Chairman of the Public Affairs Committee and the Rules Committee.