Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Associated Press

Former state Land Commissioner Ray Powell wants the job again.

Powell said Wednesday he decided to run next year for the Democratic nomination for the job because he believes the current Land Office administration lacks leadership or vision to position the state's land grant trust for the future.

Powell, a veterinarian, was first appointed land commissioner in May 1993 by then-Gov. Bruce King. He subsequently was elected to two four-year terms, then was barred from running again in 2002 because of the state's limit of two consecutive terms.

The land commissioner oversees 9 million acres of state trust land and 13 million acres of subsurface mineral rights.

Royalties earned on trust lands are paid to the Land Grant Permanent Fund, which supports education. In fiscal 2005, royalty earnings generated nearly $321 million.

"It is critical to use this time, when nonrenewable resources are abundant, to reposition the trust for a bright future that is not wholly dependent on these types of nonrenewable resources,'' Powell said in announcing his candidacy. "Business as usual is totally unacceptable.''

Powell stepped down in September as director of the Valles Caldera National Preserve Trust after about a year in the post, saying the preserve was set up so its board, not its director, sets policy. "I discovered that I enjoy creating policy and administering it,'' he said at the time.

Powell pledged to bring communities into the planning process for state land and said he would reinstate advisory boards he created during his previous terms.

"Together we can find win-win solutions that enhance our revenues for education, create new and exciting opportunities for our local communities that create high-tech jobs, while protecting the health of our lands for future generations,'' he said.

Powell had hinted in September that he would run after criticizing the Land Office's handling of a sand and gravel mine on state trust land at Velarde. Velarde residents contend the Land Office illegally awarded a five-year mining lease to Coppola Mining of Santa Fe.

Powell was land commissioner when Espaņola businessman Richard Cook mined his Velarde property next to state trust land, leaving a 150-foot cliff. Powell sued to force Cook to take responsibility for the damage.

Powell's successor, Republican Patrick Lyons, dropped the lawsuit, saying he decided to take care of the cliff by awarding a lease to mine the neighboring trust land.

Critics contend the cliff was merely an excuse to open the site to mining; Lyons' office said he was trying to fix a bad situation that Powell ignored.