The State Land Commissioner Stephanie Garcia Richard portrays herself as a superhero. She doesn’t try to laugh, and she doesn’t get any.
Garcia Richard appears in a state coloring book depicting her as a stringy imitation of Wonder Woman. Garcia Richard’s superpowers are undefined, although the cloak she wears suggests that she can fly.
Of course, there are no limits to Garcia Richard’s self-promotion. Every drawing in the coloring book highlights them and usually nobody else.
Garcia Richard’s coloring book didn’t cost a penny. She used public employees, government funds, and equipment in the State Land Office to design and print it.
Her spokeswoman downplayed the cost as minimal, claiming the total cost so far was $ 363.84 in man-hours and in-house printing expenses.
Garcia Richard, a Democrat, described the coloring book as an educational endeavor. She says it is a way for children to gain a basic understanding of the Land Office and the 9 million acres of land it manages.
A retired teacher who went through the New Mexico State Fair was initially inclined to agree. She got a free copy of the coloring book and thought it would help her grandson learn more about the state’s natural resources. Grandma wasn’t satisfied with all of Garcia Richard’s unnatural drawings.
“That annoyed me,” said the grandmother. “What you get is a distraction from the information by displaying it on every page.”
The woman didn’t bother giving the coloring book to her grandson. She sent her copy to The New Mexican after writing a note on the cover: “Misuse of State Funds !!”
A spokeswoman for Garcia Richard said the commissioner was not available for an interview. But Garcia Richard found the time to write a statement to me about the importance of the coloring book to highlight a political pioneer – herself.
“As the first woman and woman of color to be elected New Mexico Public Land Commissioner, I feel deeply responsible for being strong role models to young girls everywhere. You should know that women in leadership positions are the norm rather than the exception. You and all young people are the superheroes to whom this coloring book is dedicated on the first page. “
If Garcia Richard really sees children as heroes, it’s strange that she left them out in 10 of the 11 drawings in the coloring book. Garcia Richard can be seen in every drawing.
Smiling in her superhero costume, she stands in a classroom full of empty desks.
On the other side, Garcia Richard stands in front of a hot air balloon, in keeping with her high-handed publication.
It is pictured next to oil wells, a wind farm, a cattle ranch, an empty hospital bed, and New Mexico public university logos. A man harvesting chilli is in the background of another drawing. Garcia Richard towers over him and there are even mountains in the background.
Garcia Richard is alone on the cover of the coloring book. She is wearing a red cape and blue tights. Lemon yellow is the color of choice for belts, gloves, and boots.
In her statement, Garcia Richard wrote that she continued the practice of three men who had preceded her as land commissioners.
“Education to inform young people about our mission on their behalf has a long history and part of that effort has been the use of a coloring book – a practice among former commissioners [Aubrey] Slim, [Ray] Powell, and [Patrick] Lyon ”, explained Garcia Richard.
Dunn served as Land Commissioner for the four years immediately preceding Garcia Richard. He contradicts Garcia Richard that his approach was similar to her own.
“I think we did a coloring book, but it was pretty general. I wasn’t in there, ”said Dunn.
Garcia Richard’s self-promotion is “a bit of an exaggeration,” said Dunn.
He was a Republican during his tenure as land commissioner. He did not seek re-election. Garcia Richard won the open seat ahead of the Republicans of Lyon.
The coloring book is just one example of how Garcia Richard stands out at a public expense.
At one point, she pinned a ten-foot-wide banner to sticky wooden posts above the entrance to the State Land Office headquarters in Santa Fe. The banner applauded the office in small print and Garcia Richard in much larger print for raising a billion dollars in 2019.
It was not mentioned that Garcia Richard did not take office until January 2019. Dunn’s policy of generating cash through state trust land was at least partially responsible for all of its successes in that oil-rich year leading up to the pandemic.
Angie Poss, spokeswoman for Garcia Richard, downplayed how much the commissioner had to do with the comic. Poss says the Land Office is protecting natural resources to help children.
“So why not be the first woman elected to lead this position as a superhero? It’s a bit silly, sure, but it was meant for children to hire and was not a decision of the commissioner but of the deputy [Commissioner Tarin] Nothing and me. “
Despite all of Garcia Richard’s talk of being a role model for girls, few children have received the comic.
“There are over 300,000 students enrolled in New Mexico public schools, and in less than three years approximately 1,000 copies of this coloring book have been printed and distributed to students,” said Garcia Richard. “To say it was used for a purpose other than education and outreach is just inaccurate.”
That seems like a contradiction. If less than 1 percent of students have received the comic, Garcia Richard’s effort to raise children is hardly a triumph.
The comics could be more useful for Garcia Richard to summon potential donors when she runs for a second term next year. But that would be an abuse of public money for a campaign that no superhero would even think of.
Ringside Seat is an opinion column about people, politics and news. Contact Milan Simonich at [email protected] or 505-986-3080.
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