Susana Martinez
Encyclopedia
Susana Martinez is the 31st and current governor of New Mexico.
A Republican
, Martinez is the first female governor of New Mexico, as well as the first female Hispanic governor in the United States. 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
.
. 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.On more thorough research it turned out that they were legal and that she is descended from Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega
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.
.
In 2008, Heart Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year” for her dedication to children’s advocacy and her efforts to keep children safe.
In March 2010, Martinez was named New Mexico's "Prosecutor of the Year" by the Prosecutors Section of the State Bar of New Mexico.
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
. During the primary election campaign, Martínez was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
.
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 Denish vs. Martínez race and the simultaneous Jari Askins
vs. Mary Fallin
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).
}}
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.
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. 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. Martinez opposes New Mexico's medical marijuana program, but has indicated that repealing New Mexico's existing law is not a priority.
After taking office, she has pushed for an increase in private
investment to complete the US$212 million state-funded
Spaceport America
project. In order to drive the new effort, Gov. Martinez appointed an entirely new board of directors to oversee the Spaceport Authority.
.
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A Republican
Republican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
, Martinez is the first female governor of New Mexico, as well as the first female Hispanic governor in the United States. She was formerly the district attorney for the 3rd Judicial District of the U.S. state of New Mexico
New Mexico
New Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
. The district encompasses Doña Ana County, New Mexico
Doña Ana County, New Mexico
-2010:Whereas according to the 2010 U.S. Census Bureau:*74.1% White*1.7% Black*1.5% Native American*1.1% Asian*0.1% Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander*3.0% Two or more races*18.5% Other races*65.7% Hispanic or Latino -2000:...
.
Early life and education
Susana was born and raised in El Paso, TexasEl Paso, Texas
El Paso, is a city in and the county seat of El Paso County, Texas, United States, and lies in far West Texas. In the 2010 census, the city had a population of 649,121. It is the sixth largest city in Texas and the 19th largest city in the United States...
. She moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, New Mexico
Las Cruces, also known as "The City of the Crosses", is the county seat of Doña Ana County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 97,618 in 2010 according to the 2010 Census, making it the second largest city in the state....
, in the mid 1980s. Martínez comes from a middle class background. Her father was an amateur boxer who won three straight Golden Gloves
Golden Gloves
The Golden Gloves is the name given to annual competitions for amateur boxing in the United States. The Golden Gloves is often the term used to refer to the National Golden Gloves competition, but it also can represent several other amateur tournaments, including regional 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.On more thorough research it turned out that they were legal and that she is descended from Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega
Toribio Ortega
This text is a translation of the text on Ortega from Wikipedia in Spanish. If the original Spanish language editors on the original or other bilingual editors feel that they can improve the English text they are welcome to do so...
Susana graduated as one of the top students in her class at Riverside High School
Riverside High School (El Paso, Texas)
-History:Riverside High School in El Paso, Texas opened its doors in 1969. It is a traditional four-year high school and a part of the Ysleta Independent School District. The school sits in El Paso's Lower Valley only a few hundred yards from the Rio Grande and Mexico...
of El Paso, Texas in 1977. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the University of Texas at El Paso
University of Texas at El Paso
The University of Texas at El Paso is a four-year state university, and is a component institution of the University of Texas System. Its campus is located on the bank of the Rio Grande in El Paso, Texas. The school was founded in 1914 as The Texas State School of Mines and Metallurgy,...
in 1980 and later earned her law degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law
University of Oklahoma College of Law
The University of Oklahoma College of Law is an ABA-certified law school located on the University of Oklahoma campus in Norman, Oklahoma. Currently, the College of Law has an enrollment of 527 law students....
in 1982.
Law career
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. As a prosecutor, Martínez focused on cases involving public corruption and child abuseChild abuse
Child abuse is the physical, sexual, emotional mistreatment, or neglect of a child. In the United States, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Department of Children And Families define child maltreatment as any act or series of acts of commission or omission by a parent or...
.
In 2008, Heart Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year” for her dedication to children’s advocacy and her efforts to keep children safe.
In March 2010, Martinez was named New Mexico's "Prosecutor of the Year" by the Prosecutors Section of the State Bar of New Mexico.
2010 election
Susana Martínez won the RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)
The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
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
Doug Turner
Douglas William Turner was a Republican candidate for the New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2010. Turner was defeated in the June 1, 2010 primary election by Susana Martinez...
, State Representative
New Mexico House of Representatives
The New Mexico House of Representatives is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature.There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico.The Speaker of the House is Ben Luján .-Composition:...
Janice Arnold-Jones, Pete Domenici, Jr. (son of the former U.S. Senator from New Mexico Pete Domenici
Pete Domenici
Pietro Vichi "Pete" Domenici is an American Republican politician, who served six terms as a United States Senator from New Mexico, from 1973 to 2009, the longest tenure in the state's history....
), and former Republican Party state chairman Allen Weh
Allen Weh
Allen Edward Weh was a Republican candidate for Governor of New Mexico in the 2010 election. He is the president and CEO of CSI Aviation Services, Inc., an international air charter and leasing services company he founded in 1979...
. During the primary election campaign, Martínez was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin
Sarah Palin
Sarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
.
Martínez defeated Diane Denish
Diane Denish
Diane Daniels Denish is an American politician, who was the 30th Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico. She was elected in 2002, running on the same ticket as Governor Bill Richardson, and was re-elected in 2006...
in the general election in November 2010. One element of her platform was to secure the United States - Mexico border from illegal immigrants. The Denish vs. Martínez race and the simultaneous Jari Askins
Jari Askins
Jari Askins is an American lawyer and Democratic politician from the US state of Oklahoma. She was the 15th Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma, being the second female and the first Democratic female to hold that position....
vs. Mary Fallin
Mary Fallin
Mary Fallin is the 27th and current Governor of the U.S. state of Oklahoma. She was a U.S. Representative for from 2007 until 2011....
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
Linda Lingle
Linda Lingle was the sixth Governor of Hawaii. Lingle holds a number of distinctions: first Republican elected governor of Hawaii since the departure of William F...
in Hawaii in 2002).
}}
Tenure
Since Susana Martinez has taken office, she has set out a budget proposal for fiscal year 2012, as well has establishing a moratorium on all state vehicle purchases till 2012. 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.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.
According to her 2010 gubernatorial campaign website, Martinez is pro-life
Pro-life
Opposition to the legalization of abortion is centered around the pro-life, or anti-abortion, movement, a social and political movement opposing elective abortion on moral grounds and supporting its legal prohibition or restriction...
and is opposed to elective abortion
Abortion
Abortion is defined as the termination of pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo prior to viability. An abortion can occur spontaneously, in which case it is usually called a miscarriage, or it can be purposely induced...
. She supports parental notification laws for minors under 13-years-old who seek an abortion. She is also opposed to same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage
Same-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. Martínez supports a balanced budget
Balanced Budget Amendment
A balanced-budget amendment is a constitutional rule requiring that the state cannot spend more than its income. It requires a balance between the projected receipts and expenditures of the government....
and lower government spending. She favors putting taxpayer money into a rainy day fund
Rainy day fund
Rainy day fund, rainy day reserve, or emergency fund are terms used to describe a reserved amount of money to be used in times when regular income is disrupted or decreased in order for typical operations to continue. In the United States, the term is usually used to apply to the funds maintained...
, and refunding taxpayers to attempt to stimulate growth.
Martínez has promised to revamp the state's education plan by investing in private education. 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. Martinez opposes New Mexico's medical marijuana program, but has indicated that repealing New Mexico's existing law is not a priority.
After taking office, she has pushed for an increase in private
Private spaceflight
Private spaceflight is flight above Earth altitude conducted by and paid for by an entity other than a government. In the early decades of the Space Age, the government space agencies of the Soviet Union and United States pioneered space technology augmented by collaboration with affiliated design...
investment to complete the US$212 million state-funded
Spaceport America
Spaceport America
Spaceport America is a spaceport located in the Jornada del Muerto desert basin in New Mexico, United States. It lies north of El Paso, north of Las Cruces, east of Truth or Consequences...
project. In order to drive the new effort, Gov. Martinez appointed an entirely new board of directors to oversee the Spaceport Authority.
Personal life
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 NavyUnited States Navy
The United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
.
External links
- Governor Susana Martinez official New Mexico government site
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