Gary King (politician)

Gary King
30th Attorney General of New Mexico
In office January 1, 2007 – January 1, 2015
Governor	Bill Richardson Susana Martinez
Preceded by	Patricia Madrid
Succeeded by	Hector Balderas
Personal details
Born	Gary Kenneth King (1954-09-29) September 29, 1954 Stanley, New Mexico, U.S.
Political party	Democratic
Spouse(s)	Yolanda Jones (1987–present)
Alma mater	New Mexico State University, Las Cruces University of Colorado, Boulder University of New Mexico, Albuquerque

Gary Kenneth King (born September 29, 1954) is an American lawyer who served as the 30th Attorney General of New Mexico, serving from January 1, 2007 to January 1, 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he won his party's nomination and lost the general election to become Governor of New Mexico in 2014.

King is the son of Bruce King, a three-time Governor of New Mexico,^[1] and Alice M. King, former First Lady of New Mexico. He attended New Mexico State University and obtained a bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 1976. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1980. He then attended the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he received his J.D. In 1984, King formed the law firm of King and Stanley in Moriarty, New Mexico; in 1990, he assumed the position of Corporate General Counsel and Senior Environmental Scientist with Advanced Sciences, Inc., an environmental consulting firm.

In 1998, King became the Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C.. Within a year, he became the Department’s Director of the Office of Worker and Community Transition. While at the DOE, he developed and implemented a program fostering cooperation between federal, state, local and Native American governments to enhance cleanup activities. He served for 12 years in the New Mexico House of Representatives.

Political career

In 2004, King ran for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district seat, losing to incumbent Republican Steve Pearce by 60%-to-40%. In 2006, King was elected Attorney General of New Mexico. He was re-elected in 2010, winning against Curry County District Attorney Matthew Chandler. On March 2, 2011, King on behalf of the Respondent, New Mexico, argued before the United States Supreme Court in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. On July 10, 2012, King officially announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Mexico.

2014 Gubernatorial race

On June 3, 2014, King won the New Mexico Democratic Primary for Governor, defeating the following candidates; Allen Webber, Lawrence Rael, Howie Morales and Linda Lopez, which all of them immediately endorsed him after losing the primary election. King unsuccessfully took on New Mexico Governor Susana Martínez in the General election. He told fellow Democrats at a fundraiser that Martinez "does not have a Latino heart".^[2]

References

External links

• Gary King on Google+ (Alternate)