Doña Ana County District Attorney Susana Martinez, who is running for governor, spoke to the Building Industry Association of Southern New Mexico (BIA-SNM) during its monthly meeting Jan. 12, and said big government is hurting business in the state.
Martinez, who was named Heart Magazine’s Woman of the Year in 2007 and ran unopposed for the DA post in 2008, said she has proven herself as a leader through her work in the District Attorney’s Office.
“We do the people’s work,” she said of her prosecution team. “What we’re delivering is what the community wants."
Martinez said she will continue to do the people’s work if elected to the governor’s office and will work to “take back New Mexico.”
“We need to bring in a new kind of leadership or we will have four more years like the last seven,” she said. “I will challenge the status quo.”
Martinez told BIA-SNM members that her plan as governor will focus on three areas – the economy, education and ridding the state’s government of corruption.
Economy, small businesses
Since Gov. Bill Richardson was elected to office seven years ago, the state government has grown by almost 50 percent, Martinez said.
“A large government equals a small economy,” she said. “That is exactly where we are in the next legislative session."
She said careless spending by Richardson and Lt. Gov. Diane Denish has contributed to the growing deficit.
“They want taxpayers to bail them out,” she said of possible tax increases. “Our current government has put us in this position because of overspending, waste and fraud."
Martinez said the District Attorney’s Office has also felt the effects of the deficit and has drastically reduced its spending in several ways, including not filling five vacant positions and even going as far as to keep its computer paper under lock and key.
Martinez said the current government also hasn’t been business-friendly and has in fact pushed industries, such as oil and gas, out of the state to other areas, including Texas.
“The state isn’t competitive anymore,” she said. “It’s not business-friendly.”
She said there is too much red tape for small business owners to cut through and not enough license and regulation transparency, which can be discouraging and detrimental to a business.
“What the government doesn’t understand is red tape is money,” she said. “Delays are costing small businesses money.
“The government doesn’t create jobs; small businesses create jobs. The government creates the environment for the small business.”
Martinez said as governor she will reduce the size of the state government and will surround herself with a team of experts to create fact-based regulations.
“I know how to make evidence-based decisions,” she said. “If they aren’t evidence-based, they falter."
The state of education
Along with the economy, Martinez said the current government has failed in the area of education.
“Some of our children are still passing the third grade to the fourth grade and can’t read at that level,” she said. “Fifty percent of our kids don’t graduate. We have got to revamp our educational system.”
Through her office, Martinez said she and her staff are fighting truancy by working with the Las Cruces, Gadsden and Hatch school districts and prosecuting parents of children who miss excessive amounts of school.
“We started to hold parents responsible,” she said. “After the first parents were prosecuted, attendance shot up overnight."
Along with prosecuting parents, which Martinez said hasn’t occurred often, her office is also holding classes for at-risk high school students in the Doña Ana County Government Center on Motel Boulevard.
“We make kids see the light,” she said. “We have to think outside the box to make sure our kids graduate. We don’t want to fail another generation."
In her plan, Martinez said children will have a say in where they attend school and can use the money allotted to them by the state to attend any school.
“The tax credit will follow the child to a school the parents feel will benefit the child,” she said. “This will create competition for their money."
Martinez said education is very important to her and will be her top priority if she is elected to office.
Ethics reform
As a district attorney, Martinez said she has worked hard to fight corruption, and has even taken on public officials, such as convicting the Doña Ana County clerk of five felony charges.
“My work is certainly something that speaks for itself,” she said. “I usually tell people not to listen to what I say, but to look at what I do.”
Martinez said she will take this dedication to the state level and will rid the government of “pay-to-play” procedures while maintaining the state’s safe environment, especially along the border.
“We’re doing a good job at this point,” she said of border security, “but we’ve got to keep that going.”
Martinez said it will be a challenge to reform the state government and tackle the important issues, but it’s a challenge she is willing to face with the support of the community.
“I can’t do it alone. I have got to do it with you,” she said.
To access The Las Cruces Bulletin’s article, please click here.