Lawmakers should take a state plane proposal for a spin

For fiscally conservative New Mexicans, the mention of a state airplane might trigger a bit of collective acid reflux.

Understandably so. The corporate jet purchased by thenGov. Bill Richardson’s administration became a symbol of wasteful spending, and its sale a top priority for his successor, Gov. Susana Martinez, when she took office in 2011.

Now N.M. lawmakers are considering buying another aircraft for use by Cabinet secretaries and other state officials, according to a Nov. 20 story by Journal reporter Dan McKay. As tempting as it might be to dismiss the idea as frivolous, this is not the jet of 2005. Lawmakers are approaching the issue far more thoughtfully and make good points about why the proposal should be given serious consideration.

First, the need is absolutely there. New Mexico is the fifthlargest state in land mass. The 500 miles between Farmington and Hobbs takes more than seven hours to drive. And like so many states in the region, our political and cultural rural/ urban divide is significant and should matter to state leaders who spend most of their time in Albuquerque or Santa Fe.

Second, our rural areas are hardly unimportant; the oilrich Permian Basin — the fount of the state’s current prosperity — extends into the Carlsbad and Hobbs area. Many agricultural producers including pecan and chile farmers, Spaceport America near TorC, our nuclear alley that includes Urenco in Eunice and WIPP in Carlsbad — all are important economic drivers. New Mexico is also home to 23 Native American tribes; native lands are found as far south as the Mescalero Apache reservation near Alamogordo and as far north as the Navajo Nation in the Four Corners. Our leaders need to be in touch with these communities, and routine drives are unrealistic for busy officials with a state to run.

Then there’s the fact the vehicle itself is different. In 2005, Richardson bought a $5.5 million 2005 Cessna Citation Bravo, a corporate jet that cost $1,627 per hour to fly, according to earlier stories — about twice the per-hour flying cost of the 1978 plane it replaced. Lawmakers today are considering a more modest acquisition: a turboprop Beechcraft King Air C90GTx, expected to cost $2.5 million used or $4 million new. It is similar to another the state already owns, and which costs between $1,000 and $1,120 per hour to fly and maintain. Consider also that at one point the state had four aircraft. Finally, consider the source. Sen. John Arthur Smith, D-Deming, fiscal hawk and chair of the Legislative Finance Committee, plans to propose funding the plane in next year’s budget. He hardly has a reputation for being a spendthrift.

Yet his fellow lawmakers should tackle concerns raised by skeptics head-on. Would contracting with a private flight charter company be more cost effective? Will 2020 be the year it becomes standard to use technology so state mucketymucks —and conversely constituents — have at minimum a digital presence in meetings? And who gets to use the plane and for what reasons — given our state’s history of cronyism and misuse of public funds (pay-to-play investments, a courthouse construction kickback scheme, even a government credit card fueling a drug habit), we certainly don’t need misuse, say by politically ambitious Cabinet members hoping to raise name recognition preceding a run for a higher office.

There’s a lot to consider, but if it’s thought through and the numbers add up, a plane buy could be a boon — especially to the rural N.M. communities that contribute so much to our economies and our culture but often feel they get the short end of the representation stick.