{"id":17825,"date":"2010-05-27T09:01:52","date_gmt":"2010-05-27T15:01:52","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=17825"},"modified":"2010-05-27T09:01:53","modified_gmt":"2010-05-27T15:01:53","slug":"ray-powell-is-wrong-for-new-mexico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2010\/05\/ray-powell-is-wrong-for-new-mexico\/","title":{"rendered":"Ray Powell is wrong for New Mexico"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"<\/a>

Pat Lyons<\/p><\/div>\n

See Powell\u2019s response to this guest column by clicking here<\/a><\/em>.<\/em><\/p>\n

As New Mexicans head to the polls on Tuesday, I must set the record straight about former Commissioner of Public Lands Ray Powell<\/a>, who is running for the office yet again.<\/p>\n

The job of the commissioner of public lands is to manage state trust lands. It was granted by the U.S. Congress to the Territory of New Mexico as a means of generating revenue to establish and support a\u00a0public schools system, which was essential to settling the West.<\/p>\n

Today, revenue earned from energy production, ranching and farming, and business and community development on trust lands helps support 89\u00a0public school districts, seven universities, the\u00a0New Mexico Military Institute, the\u00a0New Mexico School\u00a0for the Blind and Visually Impaired, the New Mexico School for the Deaf, and a number of other state-supported institutions and programs.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The commissioner\u00a0of public lands is integral to the fiscal solvency of New Mexico\u2019s schools, which is precisely why now is not the time to elect Ray Powell.<\/p>\n

Mr. Powell says he proudly stands by his record of public service. If this is the case, then New Mexicans shouldn\u2019t vote for someone with such low standards.<\/p>\n

Powell claims he knows how to generate more money for our schools. During my eight-year tenure I have more than doubled the amount of money his administration earned in 10 years. On my watch, more than $3 billion has been distributed to the schools we support.<\/p>\n

Conservation<\/h3>\n

Powell asserts that he knows how to protect our state lands. He says, \u201cwe must protect our public lands from pollution, from being sold, and from misuse and mismanagement.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is what \u201cconservationist\u201d Ray Powell did during his first tenure as land commissioner:<\/p>\n

\u2022 He approved a sand and gravel mining operation in the Bitter Lakes\u00a0National Wildlife Refuge.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He leased 80,000 acres for oil and gas development in\u00a0Otero Mesa.<\/p>\n

\u2022 He ignored illegal dumping across nine million acres of trust lands. In fact, the condition in which Powell left our lands was so deplorable that I launched the \u201cDon\u2019t Trash the Trust\u201d campaign to eradicate illegal dumping on trust lands. Over the years, I appropriated more than $1 million to remove trash and hazardous materials, build fences to keep trespassers out, and restore trust lands in 18 counties.<\/p>\n

\u2022 Powell also turned a blind eye to trespass, timber poaching, and cockfighting on trust lands in Torrance in Socorro counties. I busted this illegal operation and filed criminal charges against the guilty parties.<\/p>\n

During my eight years in office, I have worked with the oil and gas industry to remediate contamination and prevent spills. I created an environmental program within the agency\u2019s Field Operations Division and invested half a million dollars to remove and reclaim abandoned well pads.<\/p>\n

I allocated $7 million toward rangeland, forest and watershed remediation, wildlife habitat improvement, illegal dump site cleanups, oil pad reclamation, and cultural resource stabilization.<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

Powell spent only $180,000 on\u00a0land management projects.<\/p>\n

Renewable energy<\/h3>\n

As for his stance on renewable energy, when Powell left office in 2002, not a single\u00a0wind turbine\u00a0or\u00a0solar panel\u00a0existed on trust lands.<\/p>\n

I established the State Land Office\u2019s\u00a0renewable energy program. There are now 94 active\u00a0wind turbines\u00a0on 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.<\/p>\n

Some 137,000 acres are optioned for\u00a0wind energy power\u00a0plant development, and 83,465 acres of trust lands have been encumbered for utility-scale\u00a0solar power plants.<\/p>\n

I integrated bio-mass into the State Land Office\u2019s renewable energy portfolio. I have increased revenues earned from\u00a0renewable energy projects\u00a0438 percent.<\/p>\n

Economic development<\/h3>\n

When I took office, I turned the vacant land I inherited from Powell into dynamic and competitive communities.<\/p>\n

Trust lands in\u00a0Rio Rancho\u00a0are now the site of the city hall,\u00a0Santa Ana Star Center, Hewlett-Packard, UNM-West,\u00a0Central New Mexico Community College\u2019s Rio Rancho campus, and Cleveland High School.<\/p>\n

In\u00a0Albuquerque,\u00a0Schott Solar, Advent Solar, Molina Healthcare,\u00a0Fidelity Investments, Albuquerque Studios, and the\u00a0National Nuclear Security Administration together create a commercial and industrial zone at\u00a0Mesa del Sol.<\/p>\n

While we are on the subject of Mesa del Sol, Powell negotiated a sweetheart deal, giving the developer 87 percent of land sale proceeds. He gave New Mexico\u2019s school children 13 percent. My hands were tied by his poor judgment and I was forced to honor that agreement.<\/p>\n

He criticizes me for selling trust lands. The 1,845 acres of trust lands I sold (out of nine million) put $20 million in the bank for New Mexico\u2019s kids. Land exchanges completed during my tenure have increased trust assets by nearly 84,000 acres. Seven of these land sales and exchanges resulted in six new state-of-the-art schools and Title IX soccer fields.<\/p>\n

No leadership<\/h3>\n

Powell touts his record of \u201cholding individuals and global companies accountable\u201d by collecting $70 million in unpaid oil and gas royalties. I collected $90 million.<\/p>\n

He brags about fostering\u00a0public-private partnerships; however, he shut down business and industry, he killed jobs, and litigation and negotiation were tantamount.<\/p>\n

Powell accuses me of \u201cpoor leadership.\u201d Ray Powell has no leadership. Ray Powell has no vision. Ray Powell should not be commissioner of public lands.<\/p>\n

Lyons<\/em><\/a> is the current commissioner of public lands and a Republican candidate for the District 2 seat on the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The commissioner of public lands is integral to the fiscal solvency of New Mexico\u2019s schools, which is precisely why now is not the time to elect Ray Powell.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":976,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[108,107],"class_list":["post-17825","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-2010-election","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17825","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/976"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17825"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17825\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17825"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17825"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17825"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}