May 30—It’s easy to talk about the economy.
That’s what Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham told a crowd of business leaders, community members and elected officials at the Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown on Thursday.
“I can tell you unequivocally that New Mexico is going to be in really sound, effective economic shape for more than a 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 touted things the state is doing well, such as renewable energy, but also touched on issues that need more work, like education and public safety.
“In my political life, the only thing you need to do is work on the economy,” she said.
Investing in the right things
Lujan Grisham said it takes the right infrastructure investments for the state to grow, and New Mexico is on the global map for investing.
She talked up New Mexico’s energy accomplishments, including the ongoing construction of the SunZia Transmission Project and the Australian hydrogen company Star Scientific’s expansions in Albuquerque, which require infrastructure investments.
The investments are also something that can lead to a more stable bank account for New Mexico. Lujan Grisham said oil and gas still fund a lot of New Mexico’s budget, but “the rest of the economy is growing at a remarkable pace.”
“We can build a 21st century and beyond economy that isn’t so volatile,” she said.
Lujan Grisham used a newly built 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’re investing in the things that create the kind of development and vision for a state that we need,” she said.
Lujan Grisham said private-sector relationships have also led to record investments in infrastructure and economic growth.
“Let’s build faster. Let’s continue to be one of the top states for economic growth,” the governor said.
Zoning and permitting processes in the state still need to be modernized, the governor said, receiving a round of applause. She said the state has 9 million surface acres, 15 million mining acres, 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, good environmental standards, but you can get a building, from start to finish, up in a year or even better,” she said.
New Mexico has reduced tax liability and created incentives equating to 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 issues
One of the issues top of mind for Lujan Grisham is public safety.
She said most statistics around crime are related to poverty, health access, educational support and childhood trauma.
“We have families that are really struggling. To say that we don’t is just false,” she said. “To say that we don’t have public safety challenges is also false.”
She’s convening a special session on public safety in July, though it seems legislators and the governor have a lot to agree on before then.
“We can do better here,” Lujan Grisham said.
She also said the state needs more housing and officials are “thinking out of the box,” like through the Opportunity Enterprise Fund, to get 32,000 units built — addressing the state’s shortage of affordable, low-income housing .
She acknowledged that education is an issue but said she’s hopeful, citing high college enrollment rates and schools promoting career technical education skills.
“I feel like the right work is being done in every single community in the state,” she said.
Signup bonus from
