Area PRC commissioner resigns

A former eastern New Mexico legislator appointed to the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission resigned shortly before its first meeting after questions arose about his qualifications.

Brian Moore, president and CEO of Ranch Market grocery in Clayton and a District 67 representative from 2001 to 2008, on Jan. 10 submitted a letter of resignation from the commission to Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham.

Moore, appointed to the PRC less than two weeks before, stated in his letter he did not meet the statutory educational qualifications, according to a news release from a governor’s spokeswoman.

Lujan Grisham appointed James Ellison of Cedar Crest, a grid analyst at Sandia National Laboratories, to serve in Moore’s place.

Individuals submitted to the governor for consideration to the PRC were vetted by the PRC Nominating Committee, a process independent of the governor’s office and established by a voter-approved constitutional amendment that changed the commission’s structure.

State law required PRC members to hold at least a bachelor’s degree, professional license or post-graduate degree from a higher-education institution “in a field related to an area regulated by the commission.”

According to reporting by The New Mexican newspaper, Moore’s resume submitted to the PRC committee stated he attended the University of Denver but did not state he received a degree or license there.

The news of Moore’s resignation came after the newspaper posed questions to the governor’s office about Moore’s qualifications.

Nora Meyers Sackett, the governor’s spokeswoman, told The New Mexican that Moore’s recommendation was an oversight by the nominating committee.