Martin J. Chávez (born 1952) 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 of New Mexico as the Democratic candidate, but lost to incumbent Gary Johnson. Chávez defeated Mayor Jim Baca in 2001 to start his second term as mayor. 1952 (MCMLII) was a Leap year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Flag Seal Nickname: The Duke City Location Location in the state of New Mexico Coordinates , Government Country State County United States New Mexico Bernalillo Founded 1706 Mayor Martin Chavez Geographical characteristics Area     City 469. ... This is a list of Governors of the state of New Mexico (est. ... The Democratic Party is one of two major political parties in the United States, the other being the Republican Party. ... Gary Earl Johnson (born January 1, 1953) was the Republican governor of the U.S. state of New Mexico from 1995 to 2003. ...

Background and education

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

Years in the State Senate

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

First term as Mayor

From 1993 through 1997 Chávez served as Mayor of Albuquerque in a term that featured a city-wide clean up, lowered crime rates 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.

Run for Governor

In 1998 Marty decided not to run for re-election as Mayor of Albuquerque and instead ran for Governor of NM. He made it out of the NM Democratic Primary as the nominee and ran against incumbent Governor Gary Johnson. Marty fought hard, however fell short and lost to Governor Johnson.

Second term as mayor

In 2001 Marty won a 7 person race by less than 1,500 votes to incumbent Mayor Baca.

Third term

In 2005 Mayor Chávez was the first mayor to be re-elected since the creation of the strong mayoral form of government in the 1970's.

Overall

If anything, 'Mayor Marty' will be best remembered as the man who helped transistion Albuquerque to becoming one of the 'up and coming' cities in the Southwest. He has revitalized the city's downtown area, helped create a public transit system in a city where the car is king, and has been on the forefront of creating one of the nation's most aggressive and successful nuisance/abatement police units, tasked with cleaning up the urban blight left unnoticed by many of his predecessors. In total, Mayor Chavez has become a political luminario in the state, who will undoubtedly be tapped to run for governor or for congress in 2008.

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