May 30 – It’s easy to talk about the economy.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham said Thursday to a crowd of business leaders, community members and elected officials at the Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown.
“I can tell you unequivocally that New Mexico will be in really healthy, effective economic shape over the next decade,” she said.
The governor spoke at a luncheon held by NAIOP New Mexico, a state chapter of a national commercial real estate development association.
She praised things the state is good at, such as renewable energy, but also touched on issues that need more work, such as education and public safety.
“In my political life, all you have to do is work on the economy,” she said.
Invest in the right things
Lujan Grisham said the right infrastructure investments are needed to grow the state, and New Mexico is on the global map in terms of investment.
She spoke about New Mexico’s energy performance, including the ongoing construction of the SunZia Transmission Project and Australian hydrogen company Star Scientific’s expansions in Albuquerque, which will require infrastructure investments.
The investments are also something that could lead to a more stable bank account for New Mexico. Lujan Grisham said oil and gas still finance a large portion of New Mexico’s budget, but “the rest of the economy is growing at a remarkable pace.”
“We can build an economy for the 21st century and beyond that is not so volatile,” she said.
Lujan Grisham used a newly constructed fire station in Sandia Pueblo as an example of the result of effective local, state and federal partnerships. She said New Mexico is investing in schools, roads, hospitals and behavioral health triage centers.
“We invest in the things that create the development and vision for a state that we need,” she said.
Lujan Grisham said relationships with the private sector have also led to record investments in infrastructure and economic growth.
“Let’s build faster. Let us remain one of the top states for economic growth,” the governor said.
Zoning and permitting procedures in the state still need to be modernized, the governor said, drawing applause. She said the state has 9 million hectares of land, 15 million hectares of mining, and needs to create a “bigger and bolder ecosystem” to develop them.
“Imagine the power of the state to demonstrate that you can have fair, safe and good environmental standards, but you can get a building done, from start to finish, in a year or even better,” she said.
New Mexico has reduced its tax liability and created incentives worth more than $1 billion since 2019, Lujan Grisham said.
“You can’t do any of that if you don’t have an economy that’s moving,” she said.
The problems
One of the most important issues for Lujan Grisham is public safety.
She said most crime statistics are linked to poverty, access to health care, educational support and childhood trauma.
“We have families that are really struggling. To say that is not the case is simply false,” she said. “It is also incorrect to say that we do not have public safety challenges.”
She is calling a special session on public safety in July, though it appears lawmakers and the governor will need to agree on much before then.
“We can do better here,” Lujan Grisham said.
She also said the state needs more housing and officials are “thinking outside the box,” such as through the Opportunity Enterprise Fund, to get 32,000 units built — addressing the state’s shortage of low-income affordable housing.
She acknowledged that education is an issue but said she is hopeful, citing high enrollment rates in colleges and schools that promote career technical skills.
“I feel like the right work is being done in every community in the state,” she said.
