{"id":1924,"date":"2007-07-02T14:36:00","date_gmt":"2007-07-02T20:36:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/homans-leaving-spaceport-job-for-private-sector\/"},"modified":"2007-07-02T14:36:00","modified_gmt":"2007-07-02T20:36:00","slug":"homans-leaving-spaceport-job-for-private-sector","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2007\/07\/homans-leaving-spaceport-job-for-private-sector\/","title":{"rendered":"Homans leaving spaceport job for private sector"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/a>Rick Homans is leaving his position as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority<\/a> to take a job in the private sector. <\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The announcement comes two months after Homans left his job as secretary of the Economic Development Department<\/a> to oversee construction of Spaceport America<\/a>. Homans said the newest change was unexpected, but said he was presented with a unique opportunity that will be good for him and the state.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The company Homans is joining, he said, focuses on environmental technology and has decided to base its United States<\/st1:country-region> headquarters in New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:state> in part because he has agreed to take a top management position.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The new job starts Aug. 1, and Homans said the company will make a \u201csignificant announcement\u201d later this month that will make the reasons for his decision clear. In the meantime, he said, he can\u2019t release further details.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

The change comes as state officials are working to finalize several aspects of spaceport approval, funding and design before construction begins early next year. When Homans took the spaceport job in May, many backers of the project were excited because he has been intimately involved in every step of its development.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThe timing isn\u2019t perfect, but there are some things you can control and some things you can\u2019t control,\u201d Homans said. \u201cWhen I\u2019m able to talk more about what I\u2019m doing, people will see it was clearly an opportunity I could not pass up.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Even after he starts his new job, Homans has offered to volunteer his time, in an official or unofficial capacity, to help the spaceport secure approval of a license from the Federal Aviation Administration<\/a>, push for tax increases in Sierra and Otero counties to help fund the project, and see construction begin. That could include an appointment to the board of the spaceport authority.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cI am willing to assume the responsibility and the time and energy that it takes, and my employer is supportive, too,\u201d Homans said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

When he took the job, Homans said he considered himself a temporary director who would oversee construction, then step aside to let someone with more technical expertise take over the job. He wrote in a letter to spaceport authority board members that Deputy Economic Development Secretary Kelly O\u2019Donnell was already beginning such a search, and will now \u201clook for ways to speed up the intensity and speed of the results.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Do\u00f1a Ana County Commissioner Bill McCamley<\/a>, one of the most vocal supporters of the spaceport, said he was sorry to see Homans go.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s done an amazing job of bringing all of the elements together to make the spaceport successful,\u201d McCamley said. \u201cI wish him the best and I\u2019m sure that the state will find an able replacement.\u201d<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

John Hummer<\/a>, a Las Cruces<\/st1:city> real estate executive who, like McCamley, helped push for passage of a tax increase in Do\u00f1a<\/st1:placename> Ana<\/st1:placename> County<\/st1:placename><\/st1:place> to help fund the spaceport, was surprised to hear the news.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cKnowing his commitment to the venture, I\u2019m sure that he will provide some very good transition for whoever obtains that position,\u201d Hummer said.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Homans said the spaceport has a \u201csolid\u201d management team in place and he isn\u2019t worried about the project\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cThings are in good shape. In a big project like this there\u2019s always going to be areas of uncertainty and challenge but I think, fundamentally, the project is in good shape and it\u2019s not going to be set back at all,\u201d Homans said.<\/p>\n

\n

Update, 5:25 p.m.<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

Gov. Bill Richardson<\/a> released this statement:<\/p>\n

<\/o:p><\/p>\n

\u201cRick Homans\u2019 bold ideas, work ethic and personal integrity will be an asset in his new career,\u201d he said. \u201cI am confident that the state will continue to benefit from Rick\u2019s commitment to move New Mexico<\/st1:place><\/st1:State> forward.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Rick Homans is leaving his position as executive director of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority to take a job in the private sector. The announcement comes two months after Homans left his job as secretary of the Economic Development Department to oversee construction of Spaceport America. Homans said the newest change was unexpected, but said […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-1924","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1924","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\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1924"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1924\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1924"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1924"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1924"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}