{"id":41413,"date":"2012-07-11T11:04:36","date_gmt":"2012-07-11T17:04:36","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nmpolitics.net\/index\/?p=41413"},"modified":"2012-07-11T11:04:41","modified_gmt":"2012-07-11T17:04:41","slug":"setting-the-record-straight-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/2012\/07\/setting-the-record-straight-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Setting the record straight"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Ray<\/a>

Ray Powell<\/p><\/div>\n

I would love to discuss the work we are doing to create jobs for New Mexicans, support our public schools and protect the health of our lands. However, Pat Lyon’s recent Op-Ed was so filled with inaccuracies and untruths that I must set the record straight.<\/h4>\n

This is in response to the Opinion-Editorial by former Land Commissioner Patrick Lyons, published in the T or C Herald<\/a> on June 20, 2012, and other newspapers<\/a>.<\/p>\n

I would love to discuss the work we are doing to create jobs for New Mexicans, support our public schools and protect the health of our lands. However, Mr. Lyon’s Op-Ed was so filled with inaccuracies and untruths that I must set the record straight.<\/p>\n

First, Mr. Lyons said I was \u201csued\u201d by our beneficiary the University of New Mexico because \u201ca sweetheart deal with Mesa del Sol wasn\u2019t beneficial.\u201d This is false \u2013 there was no suit against me. In fact, Lyons penned an op-ed, published in the Albuquerque Journal on February 27, 2009, blasting former Land Commissioner Jim Baca for the same alleged \u201csweetheart deal.\u201d He praised himself and my administration for partnering with UNM and the private sector to make Mesa del Sol a reality.<\/p>\n

Second, Dixon Apple Farm would not \u201cstill be producing\u201d apples after the devastating Las Conchas Fire and raging 1,000-year floods. The \u201cLand Office fire team\u201d he established was a group of about two dozen of our state employees, scattered statewide. Our employees are outstanding but are uncertified and untrained to fight a forest fire. Created to do prescribed burns, the group\u2019s motto was, \u201cWe lite em; We don\u2019t fight em.\u201d<\/p>\n

Lyons provided this group with a 300-gallon water barrel pulled by a pickup \u2013 no match for one of New Mexico\u2019s worst forest fires. When some of the world\u2019s best firefighters battling this fast moving blaze were told to \u201cstand down,\u201d the Land Office team could not have saved the apple orchard. The team would not have been able to assemble, let alone battle this inferno.<\/p>\n

Third, Lyons claimed the White Peak deal he did was \u201cfor the benefit of New Mexicans.\u201d However, the State Supreme Court reversed the deal, declaring it unconstitutional and illegal. I shut down three more similar unconstitutional, illegal land exchanges at White Peak, and I am changing the agency\u2019s policy so future land exchanges are conducted with transparency and public involvement.<\/p>\n

Poor projects<\/h3>\n

In general during Lyons\u2019 administration, land that could generate high commercial potential for the trust was traded for land with little revenue-producing potential. Total acreage to the trust may have increased, but the total value to the Trust was greatly diminished.<\/p>\n

This was what happened with the Mesa del Sol\/Dixon Apple Orchard trade. About 3,000 acres of prime commercial property, with long-term revenue-generating potential, was exchanged for the orchard and 8,500 acres adjoining it that contain significant and abundant culturally-sensitive artifacts. The 8,500 acres was leased for $100 a year for 70 years.<\/p>\n

The Center for Innovation, Testing, and Evaluation (CITE), which Lyons referenced, is involved with the Pegasus Project. After a statewide selection process, the land choices were narrowed to state trust land in Las Cruces and Hobbs. Contrary to Lyons\u2019 assertion, when and if Pegasus becomes a reality, state trust lands will be a part of the mix. CITE CEO Bob Brumley has said he is pleased that my administration is working cooperatively with his team and the local communities to bring more jobs to our state.<\/p>\n

Lyon’s touted his Motorplex project in T or C. It was ill-advised, poorly planned and never happened. No jobs were created and no economic development was realized.<\/p>\n

I am committed<\/h3>\n

I am committed to continue to work collaboratively with our local communities to create jobs and protect the health of State Trust Lands. We have established business parks, affordable housing, recreational facilities, nature preserves, master-planned communities, senior and teen centers and school sites, using state trust lands in ways that enhance the quality of life in our communities, earn more money for our beneficiaries and help keep our taxpayers’ bills lower.<\/p>\n

I will work hard each day to continue to earn the public\u2019s trust by doing business in an open, transparent manner.<\/p>\n

Powell<\/a>, M.S., D.V.M., is the New Mexico state land commissioner.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I would love to discuss the work we are doing to create jobs for New Mexicans, support our public schools and protect the health of our lands. However, Pat Lyon’s recent Op-Ed was so filled with inaccuracies and untruths that I must set the record straight.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":185,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1192,16],"tags":[118,147,138,107],"class_list":["post-41413","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-commentary","category-guest-columns","tag-economy","tag-environment","tag-growth-and-development","tag-roundhouse"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41413","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\/185"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41413"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41413\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41413"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41413"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nmpolitics.net\/index\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41413"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}