I am writing today to announce the closure of the New Mexico Independent. After three and a half years of operation in New Mexico, the board of the American Independent News Network, has decided to shift publication of its news…
While environmental activists played their part yesterday during demonstrations at the capitol building, going so far as to dress up as solar panels and to sing the tune of “You Are My Sunshine,” their counterparts, the anti-cap-and-trade contingency who has…
Roughly one quarter of University of New Mexico students are unimpressed with the state’s flagship public school, according to a survey that questioned college students about their higher education experiences.
GOP activist Bob Cornelius has formed an exploratory committee “with the intent to seek the Republican Party nomination for New Mexico’s Commissioner of Public Lands,” he announced Saturday in a news release.
Cornelius is a former executive director of the Republican Party of Bernalillo County. He briefly entered the 2nd Congressional District race in 2008 but ultimately didn’t file to run in the GOP primary. A native of Tatum in Lea County, he is currently working for the Public Regulation Commission in Santa Fe, assisting investigations of those who are suspected of committing fraud against New Mexicans.
Growing up in southeastern New Mexico has given Cornelius a “unique perspective on the State Land Office and its vital role in our state government,” he said in the release.
“Oil and gas are the backbone of our economy, but I believe that we must diversify in order to provide new jobs, sustain growth and to insure that our future generations have every opportunity to succeed,” Cornelius said. “Also, traveling extensively in our Land of Enchantment has given me an appreciation for its beauty and its people. I will be an avid protector of our public lands, assuring they will be preserved for future generations.”
Cornelius is part owner of a company that is looking to bring a biogasplant to southeastern New Mexico.
He is the only announced Republican candidate to replace current Land Commissioner Pat Lyons, a Republican who is term-limited from seeking re-election. On the Democratic side, former two-term state Land Commissioner Ray Powell has announced his candidacy for the statewide office.
Lyons, meanwhile, has announced that he’s running for a seat on the PRC next year.
“I wish him the best as he seeks to become a public regulation commissioner,” Cornelius said of the man he wants to replace. “Pat oversaw record-breaking oil and gas revenues that have benefitted all New Mexicans. I applaud these efforts, but believe that the State Land Office can continue to improve in the areas of promoting alternative energy and job growth, as well as assisting our communities with special projects.”
Cornelius said a formal decision about his candidacy will come this summer.
