Republican Party activist Bob Cornelius on Monday announced he will run for state land commissioner in 2010.

Cornelius, 29, is the first Republican to declare his candidacy for the $90,000 post which is held by Pat Lyons, who cannot seek a consecutive third term.

Lyons, also a Republican, is the only statewide GOP officeholder. He is running for a Public Regulation Commission seat.

"Living in the rural oil and ranching community of Tatum has given me a unique point of view as to just what the State Land office does, should do, and the important role it plays in our state government," Cornelius said in a written statement Monday. "Oil and gas continue to be the backbone of our state, but we must diversify our energy economy in order to provide new jobs, new opportunities, and new funding sources for the Land Grant Permanent Fund."

Cornelius promised to be "an avid protector of our public lands, assuring they will be preserved for future generations."

The State Land Office manages about 9 million acres of state-owned land and 13 million acres of mineral rights, including oil and natural gas. Revenues from the land go into the State Permanent Fund, interest on which provides money for public schools, universities and hospitals.

Cornelius is a partner in Petro Verde, a company that plans to build a bio-gas plant in southeastern New Mexico. Since January, he's worked for the state Public Regulation Commission.

He announced in 2008 that he would run for the southern 2nd Congressional District. But he withdrew before his name was placed on the primary ballot. He served as executive director of the Bernalillo Country Republican Party from 2006 to 2007.

Another Republican, former Drug Enforcement agent Errol J. Chavez, also is considering a run for land commissioner. His Web site says he probably will announce his intention this month.

On the Democratic side, former Land Commissioner Ray Powell Jr. — who was in office from 1993 to the end of 2002 — has said he's running again. Powell, a veterinarian, sought the office in 2006 but lost to Jim Baca, another former land commissioner, in the Democratic primary.

Also considering the race is former state Attorney General Patricia Madrid.

Contact Steve Terrell at 986-3037 or sterrell@sfnewmexican.com. Read his political blog at roundhouseroundup.com.