Gov.: All want ‘freedom to succeed’

SANTA FE — Gov. Susana Martinez touted New Mexico’s Hispanic heritage Tuesday, while urging lawmakers to pass legislation aimed at making the state more economically competitive and academically proficient.

Martinez, the nation’s first elected Latina governor, told legislators during a brief address on the House floor the measures would help all New Mexico residents, not just Hispanics.

“No matter the color of our skin, we all want the freedom to succeed,” Martinez said.

The first-term GOP governor’s national profile has increased in the past year, especially since she spoke at the Republican National Convention in August.

However, Martinez has come under fire from some immigrants’ rights groups in New Mexico for her policies, especially her push to repeal the state law that allows illegal immigrants to obtain driver’s licenses. Martinez did not raise the driver’s license issue Monday.

On the subject of education, the governor said state graduation rates must be improved and inequalities in student performance addressed. Her education initiatives include requiring third-graders who do not show reading proficiency to repeat the grade level. She said such measures would benefit Hispanic families, while adding that the state’s cultural heritage should be viewed as an asset.

After Martinez’s speech, House Speaker Ken Martinez, D-Grants, who is not related to the governor, called her one of the “leading Latinas in the United States.”

Though Democratic leaders have strongly criticized parts of the governor’s agenda, Speaker Martinez lauded Gov. Martinez for willingness to meet with him and other lawmakers.

“When two Martinezes talk, you can accomplish pretty much anything,” Ken Martinez quipped.
— This article appeared on page A3 of the Albuquerque Journal