Shopping Malls and Controversy

By Catherine Coggan

In the 1970s, New Mexico shouldered its share of the radical social and economic changes of the era. There were lines at local gas stations, hippies setting up communes in Madrid and Taos and general unease about the rising political chaos in Nixon's White House. Nonetheless, New Mexico continued to grow and the construction industry was part of that development.

The 1972 U.S. Department of Commerce Census of the Construction Industry, the first such survey of the industry since before World War II, revealed that there were over 4,000 general contractors in New Mexico at the beginning of the decade. The state's building industry purchased $230 million worth of materials, generated receipts of $777 million and enjoyed a total state-wide payroll of $168 million for more than 23,000 workers.

From 1967 to 1972, receipts for single-family houses had increased 198 percent, from $55 million to $163 million. There was also a 25 percent growth in non-residential building, too, that went from $68 million to $85 million. Highway and street construction in that same period rose 101 percent from $44 million to $88 million. Only Colorado, Arizona and Utah did better in what the government designated "the Mountain States": Idaho, Montana, Colorado, Nevada, Arizona, Utah, Wyoming and New Mexico.

In the 70s, New Mexico's first two shopping malls went up: the Coronado in Albuquerque and the DeVargas in Santa Fe. A new publication got off the ground. Calling itself New Mexico Building Magazine, it was published by Type-O-Graphics in Albuquerque and edited by Cecil Kinney. A fairly unsophisticated monthly, NM Building Magazine nevertheless kept local builders up-to-date with tidbits such as "the city of Moriarty issued nine building permits." Readers also knew that Stan Davis, of Davis Associates, was the local AGC president at the time. In one short piece, entitled "Federal Aid to Women," the magazine warned that the Federal government was "at it again," launching a campaign to promote businesses, especially construction firms, owned and operated by women."

Some of the highway projects during the 1970s were the $66,896 contract to build the Yucca & Gage rest stop along Interstate 10, $1.5 million contract for 5.3 miles of the NM 60/U.S. 180 and the $171,599 road project at the top of LaBajada just outside of Santa Fe that connected Interstate 25 with U.S. 85.

Despite all this positive activity, what truly dogged the industry all through the 70s and into the 80s was the scandal and corruption in the New Mexico State Construction Industries Commission.

In 1972 an editorial in the Albuquerque Journal castigated the Commission for failing to publicize or even follow through on its responsibilities and powers to protect home-buyers from builders who failed to carry out their promises. "It is unfortunate," said the editorial, "that this commission and the three sub-boards over which it rules, prefer not to publicize the services available which then forces home-buyers, unaware of their options, into expensive litigation." In 1974, two members of the commission allegedly took money to help applicants pass the contractor's licensing tests. It seemed that every year brought new allegations about misuse of power.

Finally, in 1979, everything reached fever pitch when three major offenses came to light: only 75 percent of building inspections in the state were being done, licenses were not being distributed fairly and consumer complaints were being ignored. Bruce King, New Mexico's then governor, directed John Salvo, his commerce & industry secretary, to launch an investigation.

Within days, two top administrators, John Block and Robert Bernsten, were asked to leave.
Block submitted a dramatic letter of resignation then went public with it. He accused his close friend, King, of "crucifying" him. "Governor," he wrote, "with your lack of support and your lack of faith and confidence in me, the assassination has been carried out. The crucifixion is complete. I am bleeding."

Despite Block's theatrical maneuver, King held his ground and appointed Ernest Coriz, the deputy director of the Commerce & Industry Department, as interim director of the nearly moribund Construction Industry Commission.

Coriz immediately began housecleaning. He fired one of the state's electrical inspectors for violating seven personnel regulations, none of which were revealed. But what was exposed, however, was that nearly a quarter of electrical inspections in the state were never done. Coriz then hired the Peat, Marwick & Mitchell accounting firm, paid them $15,000 and asked them to help the Commission make better use of its employees.

Along the way, Coriz improved security and impartiality in testing and grading contractor licensing exams. He further ensured that all the inspections the division was required to do would be done and, most importantly, as Coriz declared in an amazing burst of bureaucratic integrity, "the CID must start being honest."

Sixteen months later, exhausted by the demands of the job, Coriz resigned his position, left government and moved into the private sector as an energy consultant.

Sadly, as late at 1988, problems with the CID continued. Task force after task force "studied" the problem, "addressed the inconsistencies," worked to "restore the public's faith in the division." But to no avail. Finally the State Legislature sunset-ed the division and redirected its regulatory powers to the individual cities and towns.

Off-setting this unpleasant chapter in New Mexico's construction industry, the Department of the Interior's Bureau of Outdoor Recreation began funding and working with states to establish good state parks. Happily, New Mexico plunged whole-heartedly into this project and many state parks grew. An excellent example of this effort is The Smokey Bear Historical State Park in Capitan, which opened in 1976.

Despite the state-level scandals, the industry itself continued to expand. As the decade of the 1980s opened, New Mexico was poised and ready for the explosion of national and international interest in the state's cultural and historical qualities.