Patricia Madrid on Short List for U.S. Interior Secretary

Patricia Madrid discusses her participation in the
Obama's National Women's Leadership Issues Conference

An article on Politico reported late Friday that former New Mexico Attorney General Patricia Madrid is on the short list of those being considered by Barack Obama to serve as Secretary of the Interior. Madrid is one of the candidates nominated by the National Hispanic Leadership Agenda for jobs within the Obama administration, the same organization that nominated Gov. Bill Richardson to head Commerce.

Contacted over the weekend, Madrid said, "It would be an honor to serve as Secretary of the Interior but, more importantly, if would be great for New Mexico."

A pioneering woman in New Mexico government, Madrid entered election politics by becoming the first woman elected to sit as a district court judge in the state. In 1998, she became the first woman elected Attorney General here, and she was re-elected in 2002. In 2005, Madrid became the chairperson of the Conference of Western Attorney Generals, which focuses on legal topics related to water, fish and wildlife, public lands, minerals, environmental protection and Indian law and gaming matters -- all issues prominent within the purview of the Department of Interior.

In 2006, Madrid came within 875 votes (out of 211,000 cast) of replacing Republican incumbent Heather Wilson as U.S. Representative in New Mexico's First Congressional District. She helped pave the way for Dem Martin Heinrich's 11-point victory this year in NM-01.

More recently, Patricia Madrid served as one of three national co-chairs of the DNC Platform Committee, and was named to the Obama campaign's 15-member National Latino Advisory Council. This past October, Madrid was a participant and panel speaker at the National Women's Leadership Issues Conference in Chicago, where 1500 women met for two days with Barack and Michelle Obama, Jill and Joe Biden, campaign manager David Plouff, chief strategist David Axelrod and high-ranking advisors to Obama, as well as prominent supporters like Oprah Winfrey, who sponsored the event. (Madrid speaks about the impressive conference in the video at the top of this post.)

Pertinent Experience
As Attorney General, Patricia Madrid helped to protect New Mexico's water with regard to water litigation and issues related to the Colorado River Compact. She was dedicated to balancing the competing water needs of cities, farmers and endangered wildlife along the Rio Grande Corridor.

Madrid also gained a thorough understanding of the issues of nuclear waste disposal and weapons research by dealing with WIPP and our national labs at Los Alamos and Sandia Labs. During her tenure as AG, she collected significant amounts of unpaid and underpaid royalties from oil and gas producers on federal lands. AG Madrid also prosecuted claims against major oil companies that failed to pay royalties for CO2 production in New Mexico, and brought more than $40 million into the state's coffers as a result of Powell v. BP Amoco.

New Mexico is a state with 22 Native tribes and Madrid has had extensive dealings with them over the years. As New Mexico AG Madrid also held stewardship responsibilities for the state's land, water, natural resources, forests, wildlife and endangered species. She prosecuted environmental crimes, and was one of 14 attorneys general who obtained a decision from the Supreme court on the regulation of greenhouse gases. The Court ruled that the EPA had authority to regulate emissions under the Clean Air Act and directed the EPA to do so.

New Mexico has 1.6 million acres of inventoried roadless areas. In 2005 the Bush Administration repealed the roadless rule that protects forests from road building and excessive logging of the National Forest system. Along with 2 other Western AGs, Madrid sued the Bush Administration (and won) to prevent them from dismantling this key forest protection.

During her public career, Madrid has been recognized with a number of awards and honors including:

• Hispanic National Bar Association Latina Lawyer of the Year
• Mothers Against Drunk Driving Annual Award for Elected Officials
• New Mexico's Commission on the Status of Women Trailblazer Award
• Capital Business and Professional Women of Santa Fe Woman of the Year in Government Award
• Animal Protection of New Mexico 2004 Milagro Executive Director’s Award
• New Mexico Business Weekly three time New Mexico Power Broker

Mission of Department of Interior
The Department of the Interior is charged with land and natural resource management, Native American affairs and wildlife conservation. The Department oversees a number of agencies including the Bureau of Land Management, the U.S. Geological Survey, the Bureau of Reclamation, the Bureau of Indian Affairs, the Fish and Wildlife Service, the Minerals Management Service and the National Park Service. The Secretary also serves on and appoints the private citizens on the National Park Foundation board, and is a member of the President's Cabinet. The Secretary typically comes from a western state.

Another current New Mexico resident, Stewart Udall, the father of Senator-Elect Tom Udall, served as Secretary of the Interior during the administrations of Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson, from 1962-69.

Photo and video by M.E. Broderick.

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