SANTA FE – Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham released the following statement on the passing of Senior Advisor Eric Witt.

“I am shocked and saddened by the passing of Eric Witt, a longtime colleague and senior advisor in my office. He was a skilled navigator of state government and the Legislature and, most consequentially, offered his specialty in film financing to establish a brand-new economic driver in the state. Without Eric’s leadership, New Mexico’s booming film and media industry would not be the success that it is today.

“Eric was an incredibly approachable leader and dedicated public servant who gladly shared his broad range of experience with all of us to deliver the best results for New Mexicans. We will greatly miss him.

“I am proud to have also worked alongside Eric in the Richardson Administration. He was not only someone I deeply admired, but someone I am grateful to have counted as a friend.

“I extend my sincere condolences to his family during this difficult time.”

For more than 30 years, Eric balanced the demands of a career in the film industry and public service. He started his career working for Dino De Laurentiis Communications in Los Angeles. Eric’s political work in New Mexico began in 1998 when he was the Chief of Staff for the state’s House of Representatives and continued as part of leadership in Gov. Bill Richardson’s office.

When Gov. Richardson left office in 2011, he returned to Los Angeles to focus on film and television production. Eric’s passion for service and creativity merged when he was named the Executive Director of the Santa Fe Film Office in 2016. Eric was awarded an Emmy from the National Academy of Television Arts for his work on “However Wide the Sky: Places of Power” in 2022.

Eric was most recently a senior advisor to Gov. Lujan Grisham.