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Gary King (New Mexico)
Gary King (born September 29, 1954, in Stanley, New Mexico) is the former Attorney General of New Mexico. A Democrat, King was first elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2010, defeating Ninth Judicial District attorney Matthew Chandler (R).[1] His father, Bruce King, was three-time Governor of New Mexico.[2]
On July 8, 2012, King announced on an Albuquerque radio show that he would seek the Democratic nomination for governor in 2014. The announcement confirmed a long-circulating rumor that he would challenge first-term incumbent governor and presumptive Republican 2014 nominee Susana Martinez for the office, and the chance to follow in his father's footsteps, in the next election. He ran twice previously for the governorship, in 1998 and 2002, losing the first in the primary and dropping out in the second.[3] King lost in the general election on November 4, 2014.
A scientist by trade, King worked for the U.S. Department of Energy following a 12-year stint in the New Mexico House of Representatives.[4]
Biography
Immediately after graduating from law school, King formed his own private practice law firm, King & Stanley, based in Moriarty, New Mexico. Six years later, he assumed the dual roles of corporate general counsel and senior environment scientist for Advanced Sciences, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. In 1998, King was appointed as the policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at the United States Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C. Within a year's time, he became Director of the Office of Worker and Community Transition. During his time at the DOE, he developed and implemented a program fostering cooperation between federal, state, local and Native American governments to enhance cleanup activities.
Education
- Bachelor's degree, chemistry, New Mexico State University (1976)
- Doctorate degree, organic chemistry, Colorado University (1980)
- Juris Doctorate degree, University of New Mexico (1983)
Political career
New Mexico Attorney General (2006-present)
King first entered the state political stage in 1984 having been elected to the New Mexico Legislature, representing the 50th Congressional District. In 1998, he ran for Governor of New Mexico, losing the Democratic nomination to Martin Chavez who then went to be defeated by Republican Gary Johnson in the general election. King's next run for governor took place in 2002, that time he dropped out of the race before the primary. In 2004, he campaigned as a candidate for the United States House of Representatives for the 1st Congressional District of New Mexico. He lost in the general election to Republican Steve Pearce by a 2-to-3 margin.
Issues
Lawsuit over independent primary voters
King filed a motion to intervene on behalf of the state in July 2014 after a lawsuit was brought against state election officials for preventing independent voters from casting ballots in primaries. David Crum brought the lawsuit against Bernalillo County and state election officials on June 3, 2014, to challenge a state law that prevents voters who decline to state party preferences from voting in primaries. The goal of Crum's legal challenge was to allow independent voters to select from Democratic or Republican party candidates during primary elections. King's intervention was a response to Secretary of State Dianna Duran's refusal to defend primary voting laws in district court. His rationale for filing a motion to intervene was to defend the constitutionality of current election laws in New Mexico.[5]
Gay marriage recognition
In the stretch before the beginning of the 2011 session, Rep. Al Park asked King for an opinion on whether same-sex marriages from other jurisdictions were valid in New Mexico.
King responded by saying that although a majority of states bar recognition of same-sex marriages performed in other states, he says that New Mexico does not have an explicit statute prohibiting the recognition of same-sex marriage from out of state.
"We conclude that a court addressing the issue would likely hold … that a valid same-sex marriage from another jurisdiction is valid in New Mexico,” said King.
The new Gov. Susana Martinez noted that she "made it clear during the campaign that she opposes same-sex marriage. It’s important to note that no New Mexico court has ruled on this issue.”[6]
Noteworthy events
ACORN
The June 2008 Survey and Scorecard report published by the liberal political organization, ACORN, gave King an A letter grade. The report was published to shine the spotlight on state attorneys general "leading the fight to protect homeowners from joining the flood of Americans losing their homes to foreclosure," according to the group.[7] The grade distributed to the individual attorneys general "generally broke down along party lines," with the exception of Louisiana's Buddy Caldwell.[8]
Cover-up allegation
In March 2010, King launched an investigation into allegations that Secretary of State Mary Herrera solicited "donations from companies that contract with her office and ordered some of her employees to gather signatures on petitions for her re-election campaign."[9] The source of the accusations was a scathing resignation letter written by A. J. Salazar, a former deputy district attorney who, after only eleven months on the job, quit after having discovered what a "crooked organization" the secretary of state's office was.[10] Herrera, while denying this and other insinuations made by Salazar, said that the real "reason he left the office was because he wanted Spring Break off and he didn’t want to go to work."[11]
Portions of the letter were first published by The Albuquerque Journal and the full context of it was later released to the public through the Rio Grande Sun. Despite numerous requests from local media outlets for the release of the letter, the Secretary of State's Office refused to do so, claiming that it was a personnel matter and that the email resignation did not qualify under the New Mexico Inspection of Public Records Act.[12] The New Mexico Foundation for Open Government, however, disagreed with this assessment. Finally, a little over two weeks after Salazar resigned from office, Herrera's Office released a heavily redacted version of his letter.[13]
Nearly five months after the case was first brought to the attention of the State Attorney General's Office, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) was brought in to determine whether or not Gary King "attempted to cover up allegations of wrongdoing."[14] In addition to Salazar, requests for federal involvement were made by Manny Vildasol and James Flores, both of whom worked in the Secretary of State's Office, as office manager and public information officer respectively.
Pay-to-sue
On April 16, 2009, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) published an editorial centered on the ethically questionable practice of state attorneys general "accepting large campaign donations from law firms, then turning around and retaining those firms in no-bid contracts for 'off-the-shelf' suits that require little original work."[15] While the article focused primarily on the relationship between Governor of Pennsylvania Ed Rendell and the Houston-based firm of attorney F. Kenneth Bailey, it did highlight the fact that the Houston attorney also made a contribution of "$50,000 to New Mexico AG Gary King" right before his 2006 election.[16]
King's subsequent response to a passing reference in the editorial prompted the WSJ to investigate further the political connections between King's office and the law firm of F. Kenneth Bailey. Not only was it uncovered that "the firm was later retained by the state of New Mexico to sue a pharmaceutical company in a suit similar to others the firm had tried,"[15] it was further revealed that "five months lapsed between two contracts that the state attorney general’s office signed." And despite the absence of a contract in that time the "law firm continued to work."[17]
Elections
2014
- See also: New Mexico gubernatorial election, 2014
King ran for Governor of New Mexico in 2014.[18] King secured his spot as the Democratic candidate on June 3, 2014, when he won the primary election against four other Democratic candidates on the ballot. The general election took place on November 4, 2014.
Results
Primary
| Governor of New Mexico, Democratic Primary, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
 Gary King |
35% | 43,918 | ||
| Alan Webber | 22.7% | 28,406 | ||
| Lawrence Rael | 19.8% | 24,878 | ||
| Howie Morales | 14.2% | 17,863 | ||
| Linda Lopez | 8.2% | 10,288 | ||
| Mario Martinez | 0% | 16 | ||
| Phillip Chavez | 0% | 2 | ||
| Total Votes | 125,371 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State. | ||||
General election
| Governor and Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico, 2014 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Republican | Susana Martinez/John A. Sanchez Incumbent |
57.2% | 293,443 | |
| Democrat | Gary King/Debra Haaland | 42.8% | 219,362 | |
| Total Votes | 512,805 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
Race background
Campaign finance lawsuit
In the summer of 2014, Democratic candidate Gary King faced accusations of accepting excessive contributions following his primary election victory. Secretary of State Dianna Duran (R) directed King's campaign staff to deposit $10,900 in excessive contributions to the state elections fund by August 4. The order focused on $10,400 from a couple in Taos and $500 from a Santa Fe resident that pushed King's campaign over the $5,200 limit for the primary.[19]
King filed a lawsuit with the New Mexico Supreme Court contesting the secretary's order. He claimed that the contributions were acceptable as they would be used to eliminate his campaign's debt from the primary. King also criticized Duran, saying, "One of my real complaints in this is the secretary of state is using her office to try and steal the election for Gov. Martinez." His lawsuit also stated that Martinez and other candidates had gathered contributions exceeding $5,200 ahead of the primary.[19] On August 14, Duran issued a letter to King stating that he could exceed the contribution limit for the primary election in order to pay down campaign debts.[20]
Campaign media
|
2010
- 2010 Race for Attorney General - Democratic Primary
- Gary King ran unopposed in this contest
| New Mexico Attorney General, 2010 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Gary King Incumbent |
53.7% | 321,547 | |
| Republican | Matthew E. Chandler | 46.3% | 277,139 | |
| Total Votes | 598,686 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
2006
King defeated Republican Jim Bibb to win election as New Mexico Attorney General in 2006.
| New Mexico Attorney General, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote % | Votes | |
| Democratic | Gary King |
56.8% | 318,000 | |
| Republican | Jim Bibb | 43.2% | 241,715 | |
| Total Votes | 559,715 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State | ||||
| New Mexico Attorney General, Democratic Primary, 2006 | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Vote % | Votes | ||
| Gary King |
46.1% | 56,943 | ||
| Geno Zamora | 31.9% | 39,378 | ||
| Lemuel Martinez | 21.9% | 27,084 | ||
| Total Votes | 123,405 | |||
| Election results via New Mexico Secretary of State. | ||||
Campaign finance summary
Note: The finance data shown here comes from the disclosures required of candidates and parties. Depending on the election or state, this may represent only a portion of all the funds spent on their behalf. Satellite spending groups may or may not have expended funds related to the candidate or politician on whose page you are reading this disclaimer. Campaign finance data from elections may be incomplete. For elections to federal offices, complete data can be found at the FEC website. Click here for more on federal campaign finance law and here for more on state campaign finance law.
Personal
Note: Please contact us if the personal information below requires an update.
King has served in the following roles:
| List of other roles | |
|---|---|
| |
Recent news
This section links to a Google news search for the term "Gary + King + New + Mexico + Governor"
Contact information
Mailing Address:
P.O. Drawer 1508
Santa Fe, NM 87504-1508
Street Address:
408 Galisteo Street
Villagra Building
Santa Fe, New Mexico 87501
Phone: (505) 827-6000
Fax: (505) 827-5826
See also
External links
- Official New Mexico Attorney General website
- Project Vote Smart - Gary K. King biography
- NM Attorney General YouTube
- NM Attorney General on Facebook
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2008, 2006, 1998, 1996, 1994, 1992
Footnotes
- ↑ OnPolitix, "Gary King," accessed August 8, 2013
- ↑ New Mexico Attorney General, " Biography of Gary King," accessed August 7, 2013
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Attorney General Gary King to try again for governor job," July 10, 2102
- ↑ Project Vote Smart, "Attorney General Gary K. King's Biography," August 8, 2013
- ↑ KRWG, "New Mexico Secretary of State Refuses To Defend Closed Primaries; King Steps In," July 28, 2014
- ↑ "NM Attorney General’s opinion: NM should recognize same-sex marriages from elsewhere," New Mexico Watchdog, January 4, 2011
- ↑ ACORN "Attorneys General Take Action: Real Leadership in Fighting Foreclosures" June 2008
- ↑ Majority in Mississippi, "Jim Hood Received An “A” From ACORN In 2008" 17 Sept. 2009
- ↑ The Santa Fe New Mexican, "Resignation letter rips Secretary of State Mary Herrera" 4 March, 2010 (dead link)
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "Herrera runs ‘a crooked organization,’ former elections head claims" 4 March, 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "Herrera says Salazar resigned because she denied leave request" 11 March, 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "SOS refuses to release Salazar’s resignation letter" 4 March, 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "SOS releases redacted version of Salazar’s resignation letter" 19 March, 2010
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "King attempted cover up of allegations against Herrera, attorney says" 27 Aug. 2010
- ↑ 15.0 15.1 Clearly New Mexico, "The Karma of Quack: Gary King and Pay-to-Sue" 29 April, 2009
- ↑ Wall Street Journal, "The Pay-to-Sue Business" 16 April, 2009
- ↑ New Mexico Independent, "Timing of AG’s contracts with law firm raises questions" 28 April, 2009
- ↑ Santa Fe New Mexican, "Attorney general Gary King to try again for governor job," July 10, 2012
- ↑ 19.0 19.1 The Modesto Bee, "Gary King files lawsuit over campaign money," August 4, 2014 (dead link)
- ↑ The Washington Times, "Gary King files lawsuit over campaign money," August 4, 2014
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patricia A. Madrid (D) |
New Mexico Attorney General 2006-2014 |
Succeeded by Hector Balderas (D) |
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State of New Mexico Santa Fe (capital) |
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