New Mexico Land Commissioner Race Draws National Attention

The race to manage the State Lands Office and billions in revenue has sparked a contentious down-ballot race in the 2018 Midterm that has drawn national attention, prompting an influx of money into the race between Patrick Lyons, a Republican who previously held the office between 2003 and 2010, and State Rep. Stephanie Garcia Richard, a Democrat. The New Mexico Land Commissioner administers oil and gas drilling on state lands, as well as renewable energy projects, to “optimize revenues while protecting the health of the land for future generations,” according to the state lands website. Though the Conservation Voters New Mexico’s Verde Voters spent nearly $400,000 on Garcia Richard’s opponent in the primary, the group is backing the Democrat in the general election with spending and get-out-the-vote efforts. According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Garcia Richard has advocated a ban on hydraulic fracturing. “While the signs are pointing toward a banner financial year for us, there is a caveat,” Dunn said in a statement. “So much will depend on who the next land commissioner is and what their policy on generating funds for this agency’s beneficiaries is.” Lyons has said his goal as commissioner is to “raise revenue for education and the beneficiaries” and “manage the land in a sustainable” manner. “We’re at a crossroads with this particular office and our reliance on extractive industry nationwide, but particularly in New Mexico,” Garcia Richard told NPR, calling the race “a referendum on the future of their industry.” According to the Santa Fe New Mexican, Garcia Richard has advocated a ban on hydraulic fracturing. Paul Gessing, President of the Rio Grande Foundation, told Western Wire that the race draws a clear line between a land commissioner as a custodian with a fiduciary duty to beneficiaries, and one who would push a more activist agenda. “In this particular race we see a new trend. While Lyons is within the scope of traditional land commissioners in the sense that they balance stewardship and maximizing revenues generated on state lands, Garcia Richard is the first candidate that has explicitly rejected one of the primary means (fracking) of generating revenues on those state lands,” Gessing wrote...MORE