"From this moment on, we must aspire together. Work together. Fight together. Triumph together. And today only marks the first day of our journey together." — Susana Martinez

Susana Martinez
Building Brighter Futures
Biological Information
Name	Susana Martinez
Gender	Female
Race	Hispanic
Age	53
Political Information
Office	Governor
Party	Republican
State	New Mexico
Predecessor	Bill Richardson
Successor	Incumbent
Extras
Greatest Accomplishments	Boasts highest Gubernatorial approval rating, Heart Magazine "Woman of the Year 2008"

Susana Martinez 31st and current Governor of the state of New Mexico. She is the first female Governor of the state and the first female Hispanic Governor in the country.

Contents 1 History 2 Personality 3 Political Positions and Stances 3.1 Abortion 3.2 American Culture and Values 3.3 Economics 3.4 Education 3.5 Energy Independence 3.6 Foreign Policy 3.7 Global Warming and Environment 3.8 Government Roles 3.9 Health Care 3.10 Immigration 3.11 National Security 3.12 Same Sex Marriage 3.13 Second Amendment Rights 4 Accomplishments 5 Quotes 6 See Also 7 References 8 Comments

History Edit

Susana was born in El Paso, Texas in 1959, the same city she was raised. Martinez comes from a middle class background and her parents started their own security guard business. Her father was an amateur boxer who won three straight Golden Gloves titles in the 1950's. He was also a deputy sheriff for El Paso County. In addition, Susana descends from Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega.

Susana graduated as one of the top students in her class at Riverside High School of El Paso 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. Soon after, she moved to Las Cruces, New Mexico. Although she was raised a Democrat, Martinez learned that she was truly a Conservative after she and her husband had lunch with two Republicans hoping to change her mind. After talking about the issues, particularly welfare and job creation, she looked at her husband and said "I'll be damned, we're Republicans!" ^[1]

Prior to being elected Governor, Martinez was a prosecutor who specialized in child abuse cases and child homicide. She once testified against her own boss, and was fired. Later, they faced each other in a race for District Attorney, and she beat him by a landslide.^[2] Martinez was District Attorney for the Third Judicial District in Doña Ana County in Southern New Mexico, a position she held for 14 years. Martinez was first elected to that office in 1996 and was re-elected three times, running unopposed for the office in 2008. In addition to managing the second largest District Attorney’s office in the state, Martinez has personally tried some of the toughest cases, including child abuse and child homicide. In fact, Katie’s Law is named after Katie Sepich, a 22-year old college student whose killer Martinez prosecuted and convicted. As District Attorney, Martinez fought hard to pass the legislation, which required a DNA sample to be taken from anyone arrested for a violent felony in New Mexico. She would later take office as governor and make it a top priority to expand Katie’s Law to require a DNA sample for all felony arrests. The expansion passed through the legislature with large bi-partisan support and was signed into law by Governor Martinez in April 2011. This, of course, occurred after she was elected on November 2, 2010, pledging to cut wasteful spending, lower taxes to create more jobs, end “pay-to-play” practices and other corruption in government and fight to reform education. She was sworn in as Governor of New Mexico on January 1, 2011, making her the first Latina governor in United States history.

In April 2011, Hispanic Business Magazine named Martinez “Woman of the Year” for her efforts to reduce the tax burden in New Mexico, get the state’s fiscal house in order, and promote a friendlier business environment that will allow employers to create jobs and hire New Mexico workers. She worked with her Democratic legislature to turn a budget deficit into a surplus and create jobs without raising taxes.^[3]

She spoke at the 2012 Republican National convention, offering new solutions to immigration she believes her party should embrace. Since, she has been considered as a possible 2016 Presidential candidate.

Personality Edit

Martinez is tough and focused. She displayed these traits a district attorney who put numerous criminals, including thief and murderers, behind bars. As Governor of New Mexico, she's outlined a down-to-business strategy in fighting illegal immigration. Despite her impressive work ethic, she also adores her family and is an incredible wife and mother.

Political Positions and Stances Edit

Abortion Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Abortion are the following:

• Answered "No" on Christian Coalition survey question regarding support of Federal-Funded abortions. ^[4]

American Culture and Values Edit

Susana Martinez's views on American Culture and Values are the following:

• As one of Sarah Palin's "Mama Grizzlies", Martinez believes that protecting the family is at the core of American values. ^[5]

Economics Edit

• Cutting spending is the best way to balance the state's budget. ^[6]
  
• A strong trade with Mexico creates jobs on our side of the border.
• Vetoed tax increase. ^[7]

"In order to balance our budget and address our state's fiscal crisis, we must act quickly to cut waste from government. This is the beginning of our fight to balance the budget and rein in government spending. It's time to cut spending, shrink government, and commit ourselves to protecting taxpayer money rather than wasting it." ^[8]

Education Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Education are the following:

• Keep great teachers by retention rewards.
  
• A-F school grading system will increase transparency.
  

"I propose a comprehensive reform package that will transform our schools. Our "Kids First, New Mexico Wins" plan is comprised of four key initiatives.

1. We will get money out of the bureaucracy and into the classroom. Today, only 61 cents of every education dollar makes it to the classroom. Wasting money on lawyers in the Public Education Dept. does nothing to help a child read. By cutting waste & inefficiency in the bureaucracy, we will increase the percentage of funds that reach classrooms.
2. We will adopt an easy-to-understand, easy-to-implement system of grading. Schools will be assigned letter grades A, B, C, D or F. And these grades will be posted to the Web. That's real accountability that will yield real results.
3. We will end social promotion, the practice of passing children from one grade to the next before they have mastered the basics. The New Mexico "Ready for Success" initiative will get struggling students the help they need before we pass them on to the next grade." ^[9]

Energy Independence Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Energy Independence are the following:

• Cap-and-tax does not work.

"The very first executive order I signed created a small business task force to review regulations over the next 90 days. We will maintain common-sense protections for consumers, workers and our environment. Rational regulations will remain, but irrational red tape will be cut. To be clear, regulations such as Pit Rule 17 and Cap-and-Tax do not move us toward a cleaner environment. Instead, they move jobs to the other side of the state line. New Mexico is a beautiful state and protecting the environment and developing our natural resources are not mutually exclusive goals. We can achieve both and we must achieve both. But that requires basing environmental regulations on sound science--not on political ideology." ^[10]

Foreign Policy Edit

Global Warming and Environment Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Environment are the following:

• Oversee natural resources to balance economy and environmnent.

"Protecting the environment and jump-starting our economy are not mutually exclusive goals. It is critical to New Mexico's future that thoughtful decisions based on science and common sense rather than political whims that circumvent the will of the people are made. I look forward to working with an Environmental Improvement Board that understands that we must balance economic growth with the need to preserve our state's natural beauty."^[11]

Government Roles Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Government Roles are the following:

• Put a moratorium on state car purchases.
• The state doesn't need a luxury jet.
• Pay-to-play is a crime, not an ethical dilemma.

"To protect priorities, we must do away with the waste and excess that has defined the past and whose absence will improve our future. And I began by reducing the governor's budget. I cut overall salaries within my cabinet by 10%. I will reduce the number of political appointees in state government by at least 20%. I have invited New Mexicans to share their ideas for cutting waste by emailing me. Many of those who emailed suggested cutting unnecessary state vehicles. I agree. And I ordered a one-year moratorium on all new state car purchases, except for law enforcement." ^[12]

Health Care Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Health Care are the following:

• Government-run Health Care hurts the economy.
• A "one-size-fits-all" approach to Medicaid does not work. ^[13]

Immigration Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Immigration are the following:

• The border with Mexico must be secure.
• Illegals should be denied licenses.
• Illegals should not receive in-state tuition.^[14]

National Security Edit

Susana Martinez's views on National Security are the following:

Same Sex Marriage Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Same-Sex Marriage are the following:

• There should be a Constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage. ^[15]

Second Amendment Rights Edit

Susana Martinez's views on Second Amendment Rights are the following:

• Government should not restrict gun rights. ^[16]

Accomplishments Edit

• First Latina Governor in U.S. History
• New Mexico's "Persecutor of the Year" twice
• Heart Magazine's "Woman of the Year"
• Hispanic Business Magazine's "Woman of the Year"
• Wife and Mother of 1

Quotes Edit

"I cannot do it alone. ... Let the [opposition to tax cuts] know loud and clear we will not let them destroy the economic turnaround that has started."

"We have to make sure we hold our legislators accountable. We need you, even if you are not in Santa Fe for the session."

"I love calling Governor Perry and telling him, 'We got another job back.'"

"What we have to do is this: We have to tone down the rhetoric, and we have to have a sincere, honest conversation with the voters."

"En America, todo es posible!"

See Also Edit

• Republican Party

References Edit

1. ↑ [1]
2. ↑ [2]
3. ↑ [3]
4. ↑ Martinez on Abortion
5. ↑ Martinez on Values
6. ↑ Martinez on Economics 1
7. ↑ Martinez on Economics 2
8. ↑ Martinez on Economics 3
9. ↑ Martinez on Education
10. ↑ Martinez on Energy Independence
11. ↑ Martinez on Environment
12. ↑ Martinez on Government Roles
13. ↑ Martinez on Health Care
14. ↑ Martinez on Immigration
15. ↑ Martinez on Same-Sex Marriage
16. ↑ Martinez on Second Amendment

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