Patrick Lyons
It is puzzling why former Commissioner of Public Lands Ray Powell continues to launch his baseless attacks on my team and me and accuse us of bad policy and poor management.
My policies can’t be that bad, because over the last eight years they have generated $4 billion for public education – more than double what he collected during his 10 years as commissioner of public lands.
Furthermore, I am the only elected official in the state’s executive branch who has submitted a flat budget every year for eight years. I also reverted $6 million in unspent budgeted monies, and I reduced the number of full-time employees.
The job of the commissioner of public lands is to manage the State Land Office and state trust lands, granted by the United States Congress to the Territory of New Mexico as a means of generating revenue to establish and support a public schools system, which was essential to settling the West. Today, revenue earned from energy production, ranching and farming, and business and community development on trust lands helps public schools, universities, hospitals and correctional facilities, among others, meet their budgets.
Equally important, revenues generated on trust lands keep your taxes lower. Less money coming in means less money going out to New Mexico’s schools.
So, it is fair to say that a vote for Ray Powell, who is seeking another term as land commissioner on Nov. 2, is a vote for inferior schools and higher taxes.
Powell’s record
Mr. Powell brags about fostering public-private partnerships; however, he shut down business and industry and killed jobs.
He stopped the mining industry in New Mexico, costing the state millions in revenue and thousands of jobs. I jumpstarted the industry and, over the last eight years, have collected nearly $54 million for New Mexico’s classrooms.
Mr. Powell’s bad business decisions don’t stop there. During his tenure he sold valuable mineral assets, costing the trust hundreds of thousands of dollars.
Further, Mr. Powell loves to take credit for things he didn’t do. It is I who established the Land Office’s renewable energy program. Today, there are 94 active wind turbines on 6,800 acres of trust lands in four counties, which have a combined earning power of $55 million over the course of their respective leases. 137,000 acres are optioned for wind energy power plant development, and 83,465 acres of trust lands have been encumbered for utility-scale solar power plants. I integrated bio-mass into the State Land Office’s renewable energy portfolio, and I have increased revenues earned from renewable energy projects 438 percent.
Mr. Powell promises to protect and conserve the land, but that costs money, and during his tenure he failed to put his money where his mouth is. I appropriated $7 million toward rangeland, forest and watershed remediation, wildlife habitat improvement, illegal dumpsite cleanups, and cultural resource stabilization. He spent $180,000.
Mr. Powell’s claim to fame is Albuquerque’s Mesa del Sol community, but there again he is all talk and no action. What he did do, however, is negotiate a sweetheart deal giving the Mesa del Sol developer, Forest City Covington, 86 percent of land-sale proceeds. He gave New Mexico’s school children 14 percent.
I reopened the Albuquerque National Dragway, located at Mesa del Sol, keeping drag racers off the city streets. Two years earlier, Mr. Powell shut them down, leaving drag racers with nowhere to go.
Why didn’t Powell push reforms before?
It’s curious why Powell is proposing a list of reforms NOW, when he’s already had 10 years to implement changes to policies, rules, regulations, ordinances, statutes and the state Constitution that I, and land commissioners before me – including Ray Powell – have followed.
On that point, I find it laughable that Mr. Powell has vowed to clean up the State Investment Council. If he didn’t think the SIC was making wise investment decisions, why didn’t he push for change when he was a member?
Again, Mr. Powell: too little, too late.
Nearly two years ago, I pushed my colleagues on the State Investment Council and state lawmakers to pressure Governor Bill Richardson to reorganize the SIC and restore integrity to the state’s investment body. It is our sole objective to preserve the solvency of these funds that contribute billions of dollars to New Mexico communities, public schools, universities, and health care facilities. The council must remain impartial and investments must be equitable.
Together, we were successful and have increased council membership and removed the governor’s power to appoint members.
Last fall, I led the effort to oust the state investment officer after it was revealed that investment decisions were made to benefit politically connected individuals and a third-party agent.
Not business-friendly or industry-friendly
The State Land Office needs innovative leadership to maximize revenues for the trust, especially now when the state is facing another deficit that right now stands at $300 million. The commissioner of public lands must be business-friendly and industry-friendly so the Land Office can generate important revenue to support our schools and keep our taxes low.
Ray Powell is neither innovative nor business-friendly, and that will mean less money to New Mexico’s classrooms.
Lyons is the current commissioner of public lands and a Republican candidate for the District 2 seat on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.