Criticism of Lyons continues over Cruces land deal

The criticism of state Land Commissioner Pat Lyons’ deal with a Las Cruces developer is continuing.

In a column published earlier this week in several newspapers around the state, Ned Cantwell slamed Lyons for taking campaign contributions from a political action committee that is run by two men, one of them a lobbyist for the developer who gave the money to the PAC.

The sticky point is that Lyons then gave the developer two leases on thousands of acres of state land around Las Cruces. In case you missed it, you can find the details by clicking here.

What’s infuriating, Cantwell wrote, is Lyons’ assertion that he didn’t know the PAC money came from the developer. Though Cantwell admits that it may be true, he says Lyons should have known.

“Lyons and other politicians who claim to be above all the nasty money changing need to get real. Give this simple instruction to your campaign people: ‘I want you to find the source of all campaign donations, and if there is even a hint of conflict of interest, I want you to refuse the money,’” Cantwell wrote. “Is that so hard?”

It wouldn’t be hard, and it’s a great point. Lyons could have avoided this criticism by refusing to take the money. Then there wouldn’t be even an appearance of conflict or impropriety in the land deal.

But it’s not like Lyons was all that concerned about avoiding such an appearance. The developer of a huge project in Albuquerque gave $35,000 directly to Lyons’ campaign, without funneling it through a PAC. Lyons took it even though he had dealings with the developer on a huge plot of land.