John Dendahl 1938-2013

“TOP-NOTCH FROM A-TO-Z:” Former New Mexico politician and gubernatorial candidate John Dendahl died Saturday at the age of 75.

By Rob Nikolewski │ New Mexico Watchdog

SANTA FE  – John Dendahl, an Olympic-caliber cross-country skier and politician whose way with words was as powerful as the drive he showed on the Nordic track, died Saturday morning in Colorado, according to friends.

The cause of death was unconfirmed but acquaintances said the 75-year-old had recently been diagnosed with a virulent strain of leukemia and had been undergoing chemotherapy treatments.

“I’m getting a little choked up talking about him,” former New Mexico Gov. Gary Johnson told New Mexico Watchdog Saturday afternoon in a telephone interview. “This guy was top-notch from A to Z. He cared about politics, he cared about people. He was first-class all the way.”

Born and raised in Santa Fe, Dendahl attended the University of Colorado and was a member of the 1960 U.S. Olympic Ski tam in the Winter Games in Squaw Valley, Calif. He was later inducted into the University of Colorado Athletic Hall of Fame and the New Mexico Ski Hall of Fame.

Returning to Santa Fe and establishing himself as an executive and later CEO for the Eberline Instrument Corporation as well working for St. John’s College and in real estate and banking, Dendahl made his mark in politics.

While Santa Fe has long been a bastion of liberal politics, Dendahl served as chairman of the Republican Party of New Mexico and also named the Secretary of Economic Development and Tourism.

In 1994, Dendahl ran for Republican nomination for governor but came in third place to Johnson, a political upstart who eventually won the general election and served two terms.

“At that time, I told people, ‘I’m John Dendahl without the edge,’ ” Johnson said.

Despite being primary opponents, Johnson and Dendahl ended up developing a strong political bond.

On Saturday, Johnson recalled how Dendahl — as state Republican Party chair — backed Johnson’s call for decriminalizing marijuana, which horrified many in the state GOP’s socially conservative culture.

“As party chairman he was going to take some heat, and he said, ‘more power to you and I’m here for you,’ ” Johnson said.

The stance eventually cost Dendahl his chairmanship but in 2006, the state party turned to Dendahl  to “take one for team.”

At that time, Republican J.R. Damron withdrew from the race against Democrat Bill Richardson. Dendahl replaced Damron. A hostile critic of Richardson who loved to bash the incumbent, Dendahl lost badly, 68 percent to 32 percent, as Richardson romped to a second term by the largest percentage in state history.

In the campaign, Richardson managed to avoid debating Dendahl, who developed a reputation for biting and sometimes devastating rhetoric that entertained many and infuriated others.

“I said in speech once that the Democrats were throwing spitballs (at Republicans) but John Dendahl was an F-15,” Johnson said.

Johnson went on to say that he thinks Richardson made a mistake avoiding Dendahl on the stump:

“I think (Richardson) would have some terrific medicine handed to him. It would have made him a better candidate (when Richardson failed in his 2008 presidential bid) …. He could have honed his own skills and would have been better prepared for a national campaign.”

Shortly after losing to Richardson, Dendahl and his wife moved back to Colorado.

But he was still taking shots at Richardson. In 2011, he wrote a guest column for Capitol Report New Mexico and New Mexico Watchdog, in which he called Richardson “a pandering liar,” among other things. Click here to read the column in all its acidic glory.

Dendahl is survived by his wife, Jackie, seven children and nine grandchildren.

“He was terrific, fantastic, really smart,” Johnson said. “You could count on him to always make a great, cognitive argument regardless of the subject.”

Contact Rob Nikolewski at [email protected] and follow him on Twitter @robnikolewski