Jim Baca

James R. Baca (born September 6, 1945) is a Democratic politician from New Mexico.

Baca was twice elected New Mexico Commissioner of Public Lands, serving from 1983 to 1986 and again from 1991 to 1993. That year, he was appointed Director of the Bureau of Land Management in the administration of Bill Clinton, but was fired the next year amidst tensions with Secretary of the Interior Bruce Babbitt and Western state governors.

Baca had made unsuccessful runs for Mayor of Albuquerque and the United States House of Representatives in 1985 and 1988. He challenged incumbent Governor of New Mexico Bruce King in the 1994 Democratic gubernatorial primary, but came third behind King and Lieutenant Governor Casey Luna. He was elected Albuquerque Mayor in 1997, but finished a distant fourth place in the 2001 mayoral election, won by his predecessor Martin Chávez. He ran to reclaim his previous position as Public Land Commissioner in 2006, narrowly winning the Democratic primary, but losing the general election to incumbent Republican Patrick H. Lyons. He then served as state Natural Resource Trustee until his retirement in 2009.