Strong legacy of former land commissioner

Pat Lyons

Pat Lyons - State Land Office Commissioner Ray Powell is entitled to his own opinions but not to make up facts. My focus as land commissioner and as chairman of the Public Regulation Commission has been on jobs for New Mexicans and making sure government is not a job-killer. New Mexicans are, once again, paying for Powell’s extreme anti-growth agenda. The numbers speak for themselves: In 10 years at the State Land Office, Powell’s first administration generated less than $2 billion. During my eight-year tenure, I produced $4 billion — double what Powell did. When I took office after Powell, I inherited a bloated bureaucracy whose main interest was growing government and stopping private development and jobs. My administration accomplished much more for taxpayers with fewer employees and a budget that hadn’t increased in eight years. First, I addressed Powell’s deleterious prohibition on mining. We immediately lifted that, raising millions and creating jobs in engineering, planning and producing mineral resources. Second, the Albuquerque drag strip was shut down by Powell for two years. I had it open and running in 60 days, creating a safe off-street place to race for the city’s responsible racers. In addition, on the Mesa del Sol deal — the biggest giveaway in State Land Office history — Powell “negotiated” the contract so 86 percent of the improvement value increase goes to the developer, only 14 percent goes to the State Land Office, and none goes to The University of New Mexico. My team dumped Powell’s “model” on development leases and tripled the return. Read More News New Mexico

Strong legacy of former land commissioner