Voters in Sierra County have easily approved a tax increase that was critical to the future of Spaceport America.
The unofficial results, with all precincts reporting, are 2,046 votes, or 66 percent, in favor of enacting the tax, and 1,066 votes, or 34 percent, opposed.
“It is a good day in Sierra County, and all I have to say is, ‘Thank you, Sierra County,’” Steve Landeene, the spaceport’s executive director, said in an interview. “They have really made a statement, and that statement is that they want the spaceport and the opportunity for a brighter future for Sierra County and their children.”
Today’s vote means the gross receipts tax in Sierra County will be raised by 1/4 of one percent, which will generate $2.3 million for construction of the spaceport. More importantly, it triggers the creation of a regional spaceport taxing district, which will allow the state to begin collecting a tax in Doña Ana County that will generate an estimated $49 million for the spaceport.
It also means voters in Otero County will likely get to decide whether to raise the tax to help fund the spaceport. County commissioners there said they would put the question to voters in Otero County if voters in Sierra County approved the tax.
And creation of a spaceport taxing district was a requirement tied to $15 million in state funding for the spaceport.
Doña Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley, who helped sell the tax to voters in that county last year, called today “a great day for the people of Southern New Mexico.” He was speaking by phone from a celebration in Sierra County.
“The regional nature of this is something that does not happen in the United States very much,” he said. “The fact that we’ve gotten these communities to coordinate and work together on this will really allow us to move forward in a lot of ways. It’s very special.”
Gov. Bill Richardson credited McCamley last year with leading the charge for approval of the tax in Doña Ana County. Despite a well-funded campaign for approval, voters only narrowly approved the tax there by a 270-vote, 1.6-percent margin.
Turnout in Doña Ana County a year ago was about 18 percent. Turnout in Sierra County topped 42 percent.
McCamley said the increased interest and the ease of passage of the tax in Sierra County may be attributable to the tangible benefits the spaceport would have for Sierra County. The spaceport will be located there, and the county will benefit from gross receipts tax revenue directly generated by the spaceport.
In Doña Ana County, voters were asked to OK the tax based on the notion that the commercial space industry will be drawn to Las Cruces because of its infrastructure and proximity to the spaceport.
“What matters is that it passed in both places. We can get our tax district worked out and move forward,” McCamley said. “It allows us to take one more step forward. This thing is starting to look like reality.”
The next steps
There are still hurdles ahead. Some of the funding for the $198-million spaceport has two conditions that have not been met – the securing of a commercial spaceport license from the Federal Aviation Administration and the signing of a lease with planned anchor tenant Virgin Galactic. Both of those must happen before the end of the year under requirements placed on tens of millions of dollars in funding from the Legislature and Doña Ana County.
Landeene said he’s optimistic, and called the margin of victory in Sierra County “beyond what anyone would have imagined.”
“I’ll take one step at a time, and this was one big step that we needed to get accomplished,” he said. “This is huge. It’s a great night, one filled with emotion.”
Richardson agreed.
“I applaud the people of Sierra County for taking this bold step and providing the most important endorsement of Spaceport America,” the governor said in a news release. “With Sierra County’s support, Spaceport America will become a reality, providing thousands of jobs and a new future for Southern New Mexico.”
Update, April 23, 9:55 a.m.
Lt. Gov. Diane Denish, in a news release, had this to say:
“I commend the voters of Sierra County for seeing the economic-development and quality-of-life gains to be had with construction of the spaceport,” she said. “This is how we grab onto the jobs of tomorrow and ensure our children will be able to stay in New Mexico and earn a good wage. In addition, the spaceport will attract the kind of high-return tourists who will boost our economy statewide.”
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