Women in Leadership
Susana Martinez, the first female governor of New Mexico and first female Hispanic governor in the United States, said she would much rather be a leader than a politician because being a leader involves staying true to one鈥檚 word.聽鈥淵ou can be a politician,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淎 lot of people can be politicians and say whatever you want in order to get yourself elected. Or, you can be a leader, and say what you mean and what you intend to do.鈥澛�
In last spring鈥檚 Chambers Lecture, Martinez discussed her path to politics, emphasizing the importance of bipartisanship and strong leadership.聽Initially, Martinez said that she wanted to be a mayor, but her English teacher encouraged her to think bigger. 鈥淚 had said we don鈥檛 have any real examples of other women and other women who, you know, have been a mayor or maybe a county commissioner,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淪he says, 鈥榳hy not governor?鈥欌��
After graduating college, Martinez attended law school at the University of Oklahoma and became an assistant district attorney, where she said she could be the voice for crime victims, especially abused children. 鈥淲ell, it was actually the honor of a lifetime to be the voice of those children,鈥� she said.
Martinez discussed her decision to run for district attorney, where she ran against the man who fired her.聽鈥淭he guy that fired me 鈥� I beat him by a landslide,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淏ut I was determined to do a really good job, just as I had done before, and continue to be the voice for those that didn鈥檛 have a voice.鈥澛�
At age 50, Martinez said she decided to run for governor. Though she is a registered Republican, Martinez said she decided to reach out to all political parties during her campaign.聽鈥淚 did not go to places to ask for the vote of those of my party and only my party,鈥� she said. 鈥淚 wanted the vote from Republicans, Democrats, and Independents. I wanted the vote support from all of them. And so what I had to do was travel every corner of the state.鈥�
Martinez said she encouraged people to vote for the candidate whose ideas they thought would best support their families. 鈥淪ometimes we [Republicans] have candidates that aren鈥檛 the greatest, and sometimes you all [Democrats] have candidates that aren鈥檛 the greatest,鈥� Martinez said. 鈥淎nd that鈥檚 the beautiful thing about when you vote, you get to go back and forth and choose the best person.鈥澛�
Staying true to her campaign promises, Martinez said she was able to balance New Mexico鈥檚 budget without increasing taxes. Also under her tenure, she said New Mexico鈥檚 economy changed drastically as they attracted more businesses.聽
鈥淪o we ended up making sure that we had a foundation that told those businesses 鈥榶ou can come here, it is less expensive for your employees 鈥� the cost of doing business here, it鈥檚 cheaper,鈥欌�� she said. 鈥淲e鈥檙e open for business.鈥�
Near the end of the event, Martinez addressed the large political divide in the United States. She emphasized the importance of bipartisan work and communication between political parties.聽鈥淭he division in America comes from the unwillingness to communicate with one another and to discuss the problems and the issues in front of us,鈥� Martinez said.
Adapted from Heights article by Erin Shannon