A special audit of the dealings of the State Land Office begins today, even as one of five lawmakers who requested the review has withdrawn his support for it.
The land office announced today in a news release that Democratic state Rep. Ray Begaye of Shiprock has withdrawn his name from the letter that sought the formal involvement of state Auditor Hector Balderas. In an interview, Begaye said he has come to respect Land Commissioner Pat Lyons and his staff and is concerned that the controversy that has ensued over
Begaye said that, until the controversy began,
Asked if he believes the controversy is politically motivated, as
Balderas announced in May that he will conduct the audit. The letter requesting the review was also signed by Democratic Reps. Nate Cote of Organ, Mimi Stewart of Albuquerque, Elias Barela of Belen and Thomas Garcia of Ocate and followed an opinion by Attorney General Gary King finding fault with a land lease in Las Cruces.
The AG’s formal opinion related to The Vistas at Presidio land deal on Las Cruces’ East Mesa states that the lease agreement’s method of compensating Philip Philippou’s company for developing the land is “not comprehended by and in conflict with” a statute that allows developers who improve land for the state to be compensated only for the appraised value of the improvements. In the lease, the land office also agrees to compensate Philippou for other project costs and 40 percent of the change in value of the land as a result of the improvements.
There are a number of other leases for land in
In today’s news release announcing that Begaye had changed his mind,
On Wednesday,
Land office says Garcia also changes mind
At Wednesday’s meeting, Sen. Garcia “admitted on the record that she got caught up in a ‘political nightmare’ and she has withdrawn her name from that letter (to the AG),” the land office news release alleged. “She said, after speaking with Commissioner Lyons and meeting with the developer of a
In an interview, Sen. Garcia refused to say whether that’s true, but said she did speak with
“I prefer not to make any statement at this time because my statements are always misinterpreted,” Garcia said. “I’m not after Patrick Lyons. I’m not after the developer. I’m not after anyone. I’m just going to run my campaign and that’s all the information I’m giving out at this time.”