In just the last two years of Susana Martinez's "bold changes," nearly 22,000 more people in New Mexico are living in poverty. Census figures out today show slightly more than one in five of our people suffering from hunger and being homeless. Nationally, this puts New Mexico second-highest in the rate of people living in poverty. But instead of working to help New Mexico's poor break the cycle of poverty, in the past few days, Martinez was busy courting rich campaign donors in California and Texas, where she was born. New Mexico anti-poverty organizations are declaring that the new poverty ranking is a severe crisis that Martinez administration public policies and large tax cuts for big corporations have caused.
Susana Martinez is not only getting a failing grade for her state education blunders (think Hanna Skandera's hiring), but in a June 2013 analysis by The Business Journals looking at 45 of the country's 50 governors by job creation record, Martinez was ranked number 43. It is no wonder that tens-of-thousands of New Mexicans now live in abject poverty.
"Do New Mexicans really need further proof that my opponent would rather talk about my votes on 25-year-old legislation than discuss what she has done to fight poverty?," said Gary King. "Her promised bold changes have only amounted to tax cuts for big corporations, less regulation, and cuts in key government spending...guess what? None of that is working to put food on the table for the people of New Mexico who need it most."
King points to the large numbers of people leaving the state because they can't find work, made worse by Martinez outsourcing local jobs, as key indicators of why our economy is spiraling downward.
"Let’s take our jobs back. People must earn a decent minimum wage. The growth focus should be on our state's small businesses, not big corporations. Let’s improve our schools, not destroy them,"said King. "Nobody will work harder than me to turn things around for all New Mexicans as your next Governor."