Martin Chavez

Infobox_Politician
name = Martin J. Chávez


caption = Mayor of Albuquerque
birth_date = Birth date and age|1952|3|2|mf=y
birth_place = Albuquerque, New Mexico
residence = Albuquerque
order2 = 49th Mayor of Albuquerque
predecessor2 = Louis E. Saavedra
successor2 = Jim Baca
term_start2 = 1993
term_end2 = 1997
office = 51st Mayor of Albuquerque
term_start = 2001
term_end =
predecessor = Jim Baca
successor = Incumbent
party = Democratic
religion = Catholic
children = Martinque & Zeke Chavez
website = http://www.cabq.gov/mayor

Martin J. Chávez (born March 2, 1952 in Albuquerque, New Mexico) is the current mayor of Albuquerque, New Mexico. From 1989 to 1993 he served in the New Mexico State Senate and was elected to his first term as mayor in 1993. Chávez left office in 1997 to run for governor as the Democratic candidate but lost to former Governor Gary E. Johnson. Chávez defeated Mayor Jim Baca in 2001 to start his second term as mayor. In 2005, Chávez was elected to a third term.

Background and education

Born in Albuquerque and of Hispanic heritage, Chávez attended both parochial (St. Charles Borromeo and Holy Ghost) and public (Van Buren Junior High and Manzano High) schools. After graduating from Manzano High School, Chávez earned a Bachelor’s Degree from the University of New Mexico and a Juris Doctor from Georgetown University, following in the footsteps of his father. He was the founding director of the Workers’ Compensation Administration in 1986.

tate senator

From 1989 to 1993 he served in the New Mexico State Senate, where he worked on issues including early voting, ethics reform, urban forestry, and workers compensation.

First term as mayor

In 1993 Chávez ran for mayor of Albuquerque and faced former New Mexico Governor Dave Cargo in a run-off election. Chávez won by fewer than 600 votes, the closest mayoral election in city history. From 1993 through 1997 Chávez served as mayor in a term that featured a reduction in crime ratesFact|date=December 2007 and the construction of the long-sought Montaño Bridge. Chávez also initiated a highly successful water conservation campaign and helped lead the fight to protect Kirtland Air Force Base from closure.Fact|date=December 2007

Gubernatorial campaign

In 1997, Chávez decided not to run for re-election as mayor and instead ran for governor of New Mexico in 1998. He won the Democratic primary and faced incumbent Republican Governor Gary E. Johnson in the general election, which Chávez lost 45 percent to 55 percent.

econd and third term as mayor

In 2001, Chávez again ran for mayor and finished first in a seven-candidate race.

In 2005, he was the first mayor to be re-elected to consecutive terms since the creation of the strong mayoral form of government in 1974. In his third term, Albuquerque was named to "Forbes" magazine's list as the number-one place to do business [ [http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/1/CODB_1.html Best Places For Business - Forbes.com ] ] while also receiving the Greenest City in the Nation award by the U.S. Conference of Mayors. [ [http://usmayors.org/75thAnnualMeeting/video/videolink.asp?video=albuquerqueaward U.S. MayorVision: 75th Annual Meeting (June 2007) ] ] He is Vice President of the National Conference of Democratic Mayors and is longlisted for the 2008 World Mayor award.

U.S. Senate campaign

On October 8, 2007, Chávez announced his candidacy for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by retiring Republican Senator Pete Domenici, but on December 7 Chávez withdrew from the race, saying, "While I deeply appreciate all the support I have received, it has become very clear to me that Democrats should not be divided in the upcoming election." [cite news | url=http://www.krqe.com/Global/story.asp?S=7468037 | title=Chávez drops out of U. S. Senate race | publisher=KRQE-TV |date=December 7, 2007 | first= | last= | accessdate = 2007-12-18]

References

External links

* [http://www.martychavez.com/ Martin Chavez's campaign website]
* [http://www.cabq.gov/mayor/bio.html Mayor's Office biography]
* [http://www.citymayors.com/mayors/albuquerque-mayor.html CityMayors profile]