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ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. – With the primary election Tuesday, many political races have the potential to impact economic development on Albuquerque’s West Side, specifically land that was part of the historic 300-year-old Atrisco Land Grant.
Atrisco Oil and Gas, LLC – the for-profit company created from the sale of the Westland Development Corporation to the SunCal Companies in 2006 — will host a political rally Sunday, from noon to 3 p.m. at the National Hispanic Cultural Center in support of state Rep. Dan Silva and state senators James Taylor and Linda Lopez, all Democrats. All three are fending off challenges from primary opponents and Atrisco and SunCal want to help the lawmakers survive Tuesday’s primary.
Peter Sanchez, CEO of Atrisco Oil and Gas, said he believes all three incumbents understand the development needs of the West Side while the challengers have shown themselves to be anti-development. SunCal also is sponsoring the event and is backing the same candidates as well.
“The greatest development frontier in the state, and certainly in Albuquerque, is the West Side,” Sanchez said. “The politicians who win in the primary election, and then in November, have a lot of input in how that development will shape up. We believe it is our duty, as stewards of the Atrisco Land Grant to support those people who we believe are sensitive to the development needs of the people on the West Side.”
The intra-party battle between the incumbents and their challengers appears, in part, to revolve around how to pay for development of West Side, specifically the idea of earmarking future tax revenue to pay for roads and water and sewer lines that will help SunCal develop its planned community. That is what is called for in creating a tax increment development district whereby future gross receipts taxes are used by SunCal to help pay for roads, water and sewer lines.
That means those tax dollars won’t be available to the state in the future to help fund state programs, said Eric Griego, a former Albuquerque City Councilor and deputy state economic development secretary under Gov. Bill Richardson who is running against Taylor.
"I don’t believe we should be giving tax dollars away to corporations that will be building there any way," Griego said. "It’s unfair to the average taxpayer. Why are taxpayers paying for new infrastructure" where most of them won’t live.
Griego would prefer impact fees, he said.
In District 11, veteran incumbent Lopez, who was first elected to the Senate in 1996, is battling Michael Padilla, a political newcomer whose claim to fame is the City of Albuquerque’s 311 line. Padilla has never held elected office.
In District 14, Taylor, who has served 10 years in the House of Representatives and the last four years in the Senate, is facing a fierce challenge from Griego. The winner of this primary has no Republican challenger in the general election.
Dan Silva is seeking his 12th term in the House of Representatives, District 13. He faces another political newcomer, Eleanor Chavez, the Director of New Mexico 1199 Hospital and Health Care Workers union and the state chair of the Healthy Communities Act campaign.
Sanchez said these three incumbents, as well as senators Bernadette Sanchez and Kiki Saavedra have supported the type of development that is needed on the far Southwest mesa.
Shares of Westland were sold to SunCal in 2006, but as part of the agreement for the sale, former shareholders retained certain oil and mineral rights, which Atrisco Oil and Gas oversees. Atrisco has leases for three wells from Tecton Energy Corp., a Houston-based company, for natural gas and other mineral exploration on some of the 55,000 acres it sold to SunCal.
"There is no doubt both these development efforts can co-exist without causing disruption to either initiative," Peter Sanchez said. "With such a vast land area to work with none of the plans from either Atrisco Oil and Gas or SunCal Companies overlap from a development perspective."
So far, one well has been drilled without a find, Sanchez said. Another well will be tapped later this summer. The company remains in support of SunCal’s plans to develop the land and to also continue exploring for for natural gas and other minerals.
“We are pleased to be working with SunCal as the developer,” Sanchez said. “Of all the developers who were interested in Westland, SunCal showed the greatest sensitivity about the land and demonstrated what responsible development should look like on the mesa.”
SunCal plans a mixed-use community, including high-end and affordable housing, shopping and retail centers, parks and hopes to attract clean industry and businesses with high-paying jobs.
“Our developments are carefully planned with the utmost care given to preserving the beauty of the land,”
