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Susana Martínez

Gov. Martinez’s State of the State Address 2015

Republican Gov. Susana Martinez wants lawmakers to fund numerous efforts aimed at fighting child abuse.

220px-Governor_NewMexico31st Governor of New Mexico

Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician who is the 31st and current Governor of New Mexico. A Republican, Martinez was first elected Governor in 2010 and was sworn into office on January 1, 2011.

Born in El Paso, Texas, Martinez is a graduate of the University of Oklahoma College of Law. After graduating from college and being admitted to the State Bar of New Mexico, Martinez began her career as an assistant district attorney for New Mexico’s 3rd Judicial District in Las Cruces in 1986, before being appointed deputy district attorney in 1992. She then ran for District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District in Doña Ana County, New Mexico in 1996 after joining the Republican Party and defeating her former boss; she served three terms as district attorney from 1997 to 2011.

After incumbent Governor Bill Richardson was term limited, Martinez declared her candidacy for the governorship. She won in a five-candidate Republican primary and went on to defeat the former Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico Diane Denish with 53% of the vote in the general election. She is the first woman to be elected Governor of New Mexico and the first Hispanic female governor in the United States. In 2013, Martinez was named one of Time magazine’s 100 most influential people in the world.

Early life, education, and early career

110503_susana_martinez_ap_605Martínez was born on July 14, 1959 in El Paso, Texas. She was brought up in a middle-class family of Mexican descent. Her father, Jacobo “Jake” Martinez, was a boxer for the U.S. Marines during the Korean War, and he also won three straight Golden Gloves titles in the 1950’s. He was a deputy sheriff for El Paso County, Texas. Her mother, Paula Aguirre, worked in various offices. Martinez grew up with one sister and one brother.

Martinez attended El Paso’s Riverside High School, where she was student body president. An honor student she graduated in 1977. She earned her bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at El Paso. While at UTEP Martinez worked for her father’s security guard company. Martinez patrolled a parking lot of a Catholic bingo. While on the job, Martinez stated that she carried a Smith & Wesson .357 Magnum.

In 1981, Martinez pursued her Juris Doctor degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law and graduated in 1986.[12] Martinez met her first husband, in Norman, Oklahoma, where they were both attending law school. The couple moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico, in the mid-1980’s, but divorced after three years together. She later met her current husband in Las Cruces, where they both worked in law enforcement.

Personal Life

imagesMartínez’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 served in the United States Navy.

On September 9, 2011, Martinez stated that she did not know whether her paternal grandparents immigrated to the country illegally. On more thorough research it turned out that they appeared to follow the rules at the time and that she is a great-granddaughter of Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega. On November 14, 2011, Martinez visited Cuchillo Parado, Mexico, for a celebration in honor of her great grandfather, “a revolutionary general who led a band of supporters credited as being the first to take up arms on November 14, 1910 against a decades-long dictator.”

Awards

2008 – Heart Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year”
2010 – State Bar of New Mexico named Martinez “Prosecutor of the Year”
2013 – Time Magazine named Martinez to their 100 most influential people in the world list

District Attorney’s office
Assistant and deputy

Martinez was the Assistant District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District, serving Doña Ana County, New Mexico, from 1986 to 1992. As Assistant District Attorney, she developed a specialty in the office of working with sexually abused children and developing a multidisciplinary team (that included help for victims) and she participated in seminars that would relate specifically to domestic violence and sexual offenses, rapes and women and children. Her first supervisor, Doug Driggers, a state district judge in Las Cruces, spoke highly of her work. Driggers promoted her to Deputy District Attorney.

Firing and Return

Martinez was later appointed as Deputy District Attorney, Martinez helped campaign for Driggers as he was running for a third term as District Attorney. Driggers lost the Democratic primary election to Gregory Valdez, a defense attorney. Martinez was fired by Valdez shortly after his election. Valdez claims that he fired Martinez because of a specific case she handled, she had missed key timelines. Martinez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Valdez and was awarded an out-of-court settlement of $100,000-$120,000. She later twice defeated Valdez in the general election for District Attorney with approximate 18-point and 20-point wins respectively.

Tenure

susana-martinez-427jc111910Martinez was first elected district attorney in the 3rd Judicial District in 1996 with nearly 60% of the vote. She was re-elected three times after. As a prosecutor, Martínez focused on cases involving public corruption and child abuse. Martinez also worked to pass legislation that would expand Katie’s Law. This would “require a DNA sample for all felony arrests.” While Governor of New Mexico, Martinez signed the expansion bill into law in April 2011.

2010 gubernatorial election
Main article: New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2010
Primary

With 51% of the vote in a five-way contest, Susana Martínez won the Republican nomination for Governor of New Mexico in the primary election on June 1, 2010. 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, Martinez was endorsed by former Alaska Governor Sarah Palin.

General

Martinez defeated Diane Denish, then lieutenant governor of New Mexico in the general election in November 2010. One element of her platform was to secure the United States – Mexico border from illegal immigrants. Martinez defeated Denish by over 40,605 votes, she received 321,219 votes to Denish’s 280,614 votes. The Martinez 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).

Governor of New Mexico (2011–Present)

250px-Gov._Susana_Martinez_at_Leroy_Petry_statue_unveilingMartinez speaking at the Medal of Honor recipient Leroy Petry’s statue unveiling, June 24, 2013

Main article: Governorship of Susana Martinez
When Martinez took office she set out a budget proposal for fiscal year 2012 and 2013, as well as establishing a moratorium on all state vehicle purchases until 2012. Martinez has also prohibited all state agencies from hiring lobbyists.

On January 31, 2011, Governor Martinez signed an executive order rescinding sanctuary status for illegal immigrants who commit crimes in New Mexico.

Martinez’s counts among her legislative victories: “the cap on film [tax] credits; a bill that would exempt locomotive fuel from state gross-receipts tax; and an expansion of Katie’s Law, which will require law-enforcement officials to obtain DNA samples from all suspects booked on felony charges.” In addition, Martinez also supported and signed a bill that will “assign schools the grades of A to F based on student achievement and other factors, such as high-school graduation rates. Martinez described her push for education reforms as ‘a hard-fought battle against those who continued to defend the status quo.'” In April 2011, Martinez signed the expansion bill on Katie’s Law.

In 2012, Martinez sold the state’s luxury jet, which she called “An ultimate symbol of waste and excess,” it sold for 2.51 million dollars.

As of May 2014, job losses in New Mexico accelerated during the past 12 months, making it just one of two states to lose jobs. For the 12 months ending in April 2014, the state reported a net loss of 4,400 jobs, according to the state Department of Workforce Solutions. The state has been impacted by the reduction in spending and employment by the federal government. The sector lost 1,100 jobs during the period. The state of NM was 50th in job growth since Gov. Martinez took office.

Martinez claims that tax cuts enacted during her tenure make the state more competitive in attracting manufacturing jobs. The state is among the finalists for a new Tesla battery plant. She also claims that infrastructure investments at the entry port of Santa Teresa will generate transportation and manufacturing jobs.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Susana_Mart%C3%ADnez

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