Susana Martinez was born on July 14,1959 and is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019.
54 Facts About Susana Martinez
2.
Susana Martinez was the first female Governor of New Mexico, and the first Hispanic female governor in the United States.
3.
Susana Martinez joined the Republican Party and ran for District Attorney in 1996, serving three terms, from 1997 to 2011.
4.
In 2013, Susana Martinez was named one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people in the world.
5.
Susana Martinez was born on July 14,1959, in El Paso, Texas.
6.
Susana Martinez was brought up in a middle-class family of Mexican descent.
7.
Susana Martinez's father, Jacobo "Jake" Martinez, was a boxer for the US Marines during the Korean War, and won three straight Golden Gloves titles in the 1950s.
8.
Susana Martinez served as a deputy sheriff for El Paso County.
9.
Susana Martinez has two siblings, a sister and a brother.
10.
Susana Martinez was the legal guardian and caretaker of her older sister, Letitia "Lettie" Susana Martinez, who had cerebral palsy and was developmentally disabled.
11.
Susana Martinez is a great-granddaughter of Mexican Revolutionary General Toribio Ortega.
12.
Susana Martinez ran for and won the position of student body president in her senior year.
13.
Susana Martinez earned her bachelor's degree in criminal justice from the University of Texas at El Paso in 1981.
14.
Susana Martinez moved to Oklahoma and pursued the JD degree from the University of Oklahoma College of Law.
15.
Susana Martinez was Assistant District Attorney for the 3rd Judicial District, serving Dona Ana County, New Mexico, from 1986 to 1992.
16.
Susana Martinez was dismissed, but later returned, and was again appointed as Deputy District Attorney.
17.
Susana Martinez helped campaign for Driggers as he was running for a third term as District Attorney.
18.
Susana Martinez was fired by Valdez shortly after his victory in the general election.
19.
Susana Martinez filed a wrongful termination lawsuit against Valdez and was awarded an out-of-court settlement of $100,000 to $120,000.
20.
Susana Martinez worked to pass legislation to expand Katie's Law to "require a DNA sample for all felony arrests".
21.
Susana Martinez defeated PR firm owner Doug Turner, State Representative Janice Arnold-Jones, Pete Domenici, Jr.
22.
Susana Martinez defeated Denish by over 40,605 votes; she received 321,219 votes to Denish's 280,614 votes.
23.
On October 15,2013, Susana Martinez declared she would run for re-election.
24.
When Susana 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.
25.
Susana Martinez barred all state agencies from hiring former lobbyists.
26.
On January 31,2011, Susana Martinez signed an executive order rescinding sanctuary status for illegal immigrants who commit crimes in New Mexico.
27.
Susana Martinez lacked authority to arbitrarily remove two members of the state Public Employee Labor Relations Board.
28.
In 2011, Susana Martinez attended her first "Tribal-State Summit," as required by New Mexico, in which the governor meets annually with the 22 recognized tribes.
29.
Susana Martinez has pushed for an increase in private investment to complete the US$212 million state-funded Spaceport America project.
30.
Susana Martinez appointed an entirely new board of directors to oversee the Spaceport Authority.
31.
In 2012, Susana Martinez sold the state's luxury jet, which she called "the ultimate symbol of waste and excess"; it sold for $2.51 million.
32.
Susana Martinez issued a state of emergency to control the use of fireworks.
33.
The fire destroyed trees and vegetation that normally absorb waters; in their absence, the state was subject to flooding, and Susana Martinez asked the Obama administration for federal relief funding.
34.
The individuals allege that Susana Martinez ordered their termination for promoting birth control to the public.
35.
Many Republicans speculated as to whether Susana Martinez would be the vice presidential nominee on the Republican ticket in 2012 and 2016, but she said numerous times that she would not run.
36.
On May 15,2012, as a result of the Whitewater-Baldy Complex Fire, Susana Martinez declared the entire state of New Mexico to be in a drought.
37.
Susana Martinez issued the formal drought declaration to enable farmers, ranchers, and others secure federal drought funding.
38.
At the 2012 Tribal-State Summit, Susana Martinez discussed water rights, natural resources, education, and tribal economic development and infrastructure.
39.
In January 2013, Susana Martinez announced that the Obamacare Medicaid expansion would go into effect in New Mexico.
40.
On March 29,2013, Susana Martinez vetoed a raise in the state minimum wage, citing that the raise was higher than neighboring states.
41.
Susana Martinez has said that tax cuts enacted during her tenure make the state more competitive in attracting manufacturing jobs.
42.
Susana Martinez says that infrastructure investments at the entry port of Santa Teresa will generate transportation and manufacturing jobs.
43.
The Santa Fe police released a 911 tape, on which Susana Martinez is heard repeatedly asking who made the complaint, and telling the police dispatcher that the investigation of the noise complaint should be, "called off," saying that officers were not needed.
44.
Two weeks after Susana Martinez left office at the end of 2018, Tony Fetty, another member of Susana Martinez's security detail, filed a lawsuit against the state claiming that the state police department retaliated against him for raising concerns about Maynes' conduct, including that he racked up gambling debts and that state government resources were being spent on personal activities.
45.
Susana Martinez had grown up as a Democrat, but switched to the Republican Party in 1995.
46.
Susana Martinez favors putting taxpayer money into a rainy day fund, and refunding taxpayers to attempt to stimulate growth.
47.
Susana Martinez opposes portions of the Affordable Care Act, such as the individual mandate, but does not support repeal of the law in its entirety.
48.
Susana Martinez supported expansion of Medicaid in her state as part of health care reform.
49.
In November 2015, Susana Martinez said she opposed the Obama administration's plans to admit 10,000 Syrian refugees to the US until development of procedures for background-checking and resettlement of the refugees.
50.
Susana Martinez announced on August 17,2016 that she would introduce legislation to reinstate the death penalty in 2017.
51.
In 2018, Martinez announced her support for the controversial immigration policy of President Donald J Trump.
52.
Susana Martinez met her first husband in Norman, Oklahoma, they were both attending law school.
53.
Susana Martinez met her second husband, Chuck Franco, in Las Cruces, where they both worked in law enforcement.
54.
On September 9,2011, Susana Martinez said she knew that her paternal grandparents, Adolfo Susana Martinez and Francisca Ortega, had immigrated to the United States from Mexico "without documents".