Longtime San Juan County lawmaker Steve Neville will not seek re-election
No matter the results of November’s general election, San Juan County’s legislative delegation will have a different look in 2025 as longtime state Sen. Steve Neville, R-Aztec, has announced he will not seek re-election.
In an open letter dated Feb. 9, Neville, who has served as the District 2 state senator since 2005, said he would be retiring from public service at the end of his term, meaning the legislative session that is drawing to a close this month in Santa Fe will be his last, barring a special session.
“It is with deep gratitude to my community and the State of New Mexico that I announce my time in the Legislature is drawing to a close,” Neville wrote. “I am eager to spend more time with my family and pass the torch to the next generation of leadership.”
Neville touted several of his legislative achievements in his letter, including his role in getting changes made to the New Mexico State Investment Council that he said ended “pay to play.” He also was instrumental in passing legislation that restructured the New Mexico Public Regulation Commission and that led to the creation of the Outdoor Recreation Division at the New Mexico Economic Development Department.
During his time in the Legislature, Neville has served as the national chair of The Energy Council, a nonpartisan legislative organization created in 1975 whose membership comes from 15 energy-producing states in the United States and two Canadian provinces. He also has been a ranking member of the Senate Education Committee and the Senate Finance Committee, as well as serving as the Senate Republican Caucus chairman.
“After more than thirty years of public service, I have been privileged to lead in the areas of finance, conservation, small business, transparency, and education,” he wrote. “In my final months as your State Senator, I pledge to continue to represent the people of San Juan County.”
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Who might claim the seat?
Sean Sharer, the chairman of the San Juan County Republican Party, said Neville has been a great legislator for all the residents of his district, adding it’s always sad to see someone of his ilk reach the end of his career.
“He will definitely be missed,” Sharer said. “He’s been an integral part of the delegation in San Juan County, and they’ve all worked well together.”
Sharer said he was not immediately aware of any GOP hopefuls who might be interested in filing to run for the open seat. But he said he assumed there would be plenty of interest and that the Republican primary election for the season would be contested.
Neville will be leaving office on a high note, as a proposal he long championed, the creation of a state Legacy Fund designed to generate a permanent revenue source for land conservation projects, was accomplished last year. This year, lawmakers appear well on their way to endowing $300 million for the fund, an amount that proponents have said would be required to fund it in perpetuity.
The establishment of the Legacy Fund did not necessarily lead to his decision to retire, Neville said, but it did make his decision to exit the legislative arena a little easier.
On the other hand, he said he wishes he had been more successful in re-establishing a statewide board of education in New Mexico, another initiative he long has pursued during his time in the Senate. Neville said Gov. Bill Richardson succeeded in eliminating the board during his tenure from 2003 to 2011, instead opting for a system in which a secretary of education oversees the department. That decision has ushered in a long period of instability and poor results at the state’s Public Education Department, Neville said.
But he was philosophical about that failure, noting that no state lawmaker gets everything he or she wants.
“There’s always something you wanted to get passed, to get across the finish line,” he said.
Neville said his career as a state senator lasted longer than he envisioned.
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“I think probably I was looking at something more like three terms in 12 years,” he said, recalling his mindset when he was first elected to the seat in 2004.
But he said the fact that he never drew a Republican primary opponent during his career made the decision to stay on for five terms easier.
Neville retired from his real estate appraisal business a few years ago, so, aside from managing his investments, he will be truly a man of leisure come January. He said he looks forward to having more time for himself and his family.
“I like to run and hike, and I’d like to be able to do it a little more,” he said, noting that he hopes to spend more time visiting his children and grandchildren in Wyoming and Kansas.
Neville said he has seen too many good friends cling to their legislative positions late in life instead of enjoying retirement.
“I made up my mind I was not going to die in the Capitol,” he said.
Mike Easterling can be reached at 505-564-4610 or measterling@daily-times.com. Support local journalism with a digital subscription: http://bit.ly/2I6TU0e.
This article originally appeared on Farmington Daily Times: Steve Neville retiring from state Senate after five terms in office
