New Mexico professor says he’s running for Congress

Former Trump appointee says he’s the only economic development specialist in the race for Pearce’s seat

LAS CRUCES — A New Mexico State University business professor and former Trump administration appointee is seeking the Republican nomination for the congressional seat that represents southern New Mexico.

Gavin Clarkson announced his candidacy for New Mexico’s 2nd Congressional District seat on Monday. Clarkson is one of four Republicans vying to for the seat currently held by Rep. Steve Pearce, R-Hobbs, who is running for governor.

Clarkson, an enrolled member of the Choctaw Nation, is an associate professor of finance at NMSU, where he has worked since August 2012.

In June 2017, he was appointed by Interior Secretary Ryan Zinke to serve as the deputy assistant secretary for policy and economic development for Indian Affairs in the Interior Department. He served

in that position for about seven months, overseeing the Office of Indian Energy and Economic Development and the Office of Self-Governance before resigning in late December.

Clarkson told the Sun-News that he submitted his resignation to Zinke because he decided to run for Congress. He insisted his resignation had nothing to do with a critical inspector general report into a tribal loan program he directed.

According to the Associated Press, the report alleged the bureau’s division of capital investment did not have adequate controls and managed the loan program with limited oversight.

He dismissed media coverage from ProPublica and The Washington Post, which reported the findings of the report, as “the epitome of fake news” and “demonstratively false news.” He maintained that the loan transaction in question was “entirely proper” and cast blame on former IRS executive Lois Lerner — whom he described as his “arch nemesis” — and the Obama administration.

Clarkson said Monday he is running for Congress on three key initiatives: economic development, empowerment and enforcement.

“I’m the only economic development specialist in the race,” he said. “We need to do a better job of creating an economy that not only creates jobs but also allows our students, when they get educated, to be able to take those jobs.”

He added: “I have also been working on trying to get the government off the backs of small businesses and farmers and ranchers and the oil and gas industry. So, I want to empower economic opportunity for every body.”

He also described himself as a “pro-life” candidate and said he would work to enforce government accountability and stop waste by the so-called “swamp” in Washington, D.C.

“Having been in the swamp for the last seven months,” he said, “I know the swamp is deep, I know the alligators bite — but I know where the big alligators align and I’m ready to go alligator hunting.”

According to a news release released by his campaign, Clarkson earned a doctorate from the Harvard Business School and an MBA from Rice University. He also is a cum laude graduate of the Harvard Law School, where he was president of the Native American Law Students Association.

Clarkson also was once named the nation’s “leading scholar in tribal finance” by The Financial Times.

The primary election is June 5.