| Susana Martínez | |
|---|---|
| 31st Governor of New Mexico | |
| Incumbent | |
| Assumed office January 1, 2011 |
|
| Lieutenant | John Sanchez |
| Preceded by | Bill Richardson |
| Personal details | |
| Born | July 14, 1959 El Paso, Texas, U.S. |
| Political party | Republican Party (1995–present) |
| Other political affiliations |
Democratic Party (Before 1995) |
| Spouse(s) | Chuck Franco |
| Children | Carlo |
| Residence | Governor's Mansion |
| Alma mater | University of Texas, El Paso University of Oklahoma |
| Profession | Prosecutor District attorney |
| Religion | Roman Catholicism |
| Signature | |
| Website | Official website |
Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is the 31st and current Governor of New Mexico.[1][2] A Republican, Martinez is the first female governor of New Mexico,[3] as well as the first female Hispanic governor in the United States.[4][5][6][7] She was formerly the district attorney for the 3rd Judicial District of the U.S. state of New Mexico. The district encompasses Doña Ana County, New Mexico.
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Susana was born and raised in El Paso, Texas. She moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the mid 1980s. Martínez comes from a middle class background. Her father was an amateur boxer who won three straight Golden Gloves titles in the 1950s. He was a deputy sheriff for El Paso County, Texas.
On September 9, 2011, Martinez admitted to the public that she did not know whether her paternal grandparents immigrated to the country illegally.[8]On more thorough research it turned out that they were legal and that she is descended from Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega[9]
Susana graduated as one of the top students in her class at Riverside High School of El Paso, Texas in 1977. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1980 and later earned her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law in 1982.[10]
Martinez was first elected district attorney in the 3rd Judicial District in 1996 with nearly 60% of the vote. She was re-elected three times since then as a Republican.[11] As a prosecutor, Martínez focused on cases involving public corruption and child abuse.
In 2008, Heart Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year” for her dedication to children’s advocacy and her efforts to keep children safe.[11]
In March 2010, Martinez was named New Mexico's "Prosecutor of the Year" by the Prosecutors Section of the State Bar of New Mexico.[12]
Susana Martínez won the Republican nomination for Governor of New Mexico in the primary election on June 1, 2010; she won 51% of the vote in a five-way contest. Martinez defeated PR firm owner Doug Turner, State Representative Janice Arnold-Jones, Pete Domenici, Jr. (son of the former U.S. Senator from New Mexico Pete Domenici), and former Republican Party state chairman Allen Weh.[13] During the primary election campaign, Martínez was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.[14]
Martínez defeated Diane Denish in the general election in November 2010. One element of her platform was to secure the United States - Mexico border from illegal immigrants. The Martínez vs. Denish race and the simultaneous Mary Fallin vs. Jari Askins race in Oklahoma were the third and fourth cases of woman vs. woman gubernatorial races in U.S. history (after the elections of Kay Orr in Nebraska in 1986 and Linda Lingle in Hawaii in 2002).
| New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2010 | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Votes | % | ±% | ||
| Republican | Susana Martinez - John Sanchez | 321,219 | 53.29% | +22.10% | ||
| Democratic | Diane Denish - Brian Colon | 280,614 | 46.55% | -22.27% | ||
| Republican | Kenneth Gomez (write-in) | 994 | 0.16% | |||
| Majority | 40,605 | 6.74% | -30.90% | |||
| Turnout | 602,827 | |||||
| Republican gain from Democratic | ||||||
Since Susana Martinez has taken office, she has set out a budget proposal for fiscal year 2012,[15] as well has establishing a moratorium on all state vehicle purchases till 2012.[16] Martinez has also prohibited all state agencies from hiring lobbyists, limiting the claim of executive privilege to help promote a more transparent government, and has created a small business friendly task force.[16][17]
On January 31, 2011 Governor Martinez signed an executive order rescinding sanctuary status for illegal immigrants who commit crimes in New Mexico while protecting victims and witnesses of criminal acts.[18]
According to her 2010 gubernatorial campaign website, Martinez is pro-life and is opposed to elective abortion. She supports parental notification laws for minors under 13-years-old who seek an abortion. She is also opposed to same-sex marriage. Martínez supports a balanced budget and lower government spending. She favors putting taxpayer money into a rainy day fund, and refunding taxpayers to attempt to stimulate growth.
Martínez has promised to revamp the state's education plan by investing in private education.[19] She will seek to repeal state laws that provide illegal immigrants access to driver’s licenses as well as deny children of illegal immigrants access to higher education through the New Mexico Lottery Scholarship.[20] Martinez opposes New Mexico's medical marijuana program, but has indicated that repealing New Mexico's existing law is not a priority.[21]
After taking office, she has pushed for an increase in private investment to complete the US$212 million state-funded[22] Spaceport America project. In order to drive the new effort, Gov. Martinez appointed an entirely new board of directors to oversee the Spaceport Authority.[23]
Martínez's husband, Chuck Franco, has been a law enforcement officer for more than 30 years and served as the Doña Ana County Undersheriff. Susana has one stepson, Carlo, who serves in the United States Navy.
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Bill Richardson |
Governor of New Mexico 2011–present |
Incumbent |
| United States order of precedence | ||
| Preceded by Joe Biden as Vice President |
Order of Precedence of the United States Within New Mexico |
Succeeded by Mayor of city in which event is held |
| Succeeded by Otherwise John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives |
||
| Preceded by Mary Fallin as Governor of Oklahoma |
Order of Precedence of the United States Outside New Mexico |
Succeeded by Jan Brewer as Governor of Arizona |
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