Gary King (politician)
Gary Kenneth King (born September 29, 1954) is an American lawyer who served as the 30th Attorney General of New Mexico from January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he won his party's nomination and lost the general election to become Governor of New Mexico in 2014.
Gary King | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 30th Attorney General of New Mexico | |
| In office January 1, 2007 – January 1, 2015 | |
| Governor | Bill Richardson Susana Martinez |
| Preceded by | Patricia Madrid |
| Succeeded by | Hector Balderas |
| Personal details | |
| Born | Gary Kenneth King September 29, 1954 Stanley, New Mexico, U.S. |
| Political party | Democratic |
| Spouse(s) | Yolanda Jones (1987–present) |
| Education | New Mexico State University, Las Cruces (BS) University of Colorado, Boulder (MS, PhD) University of New Mexico, Albuquerque (JD) |
Early life
King is the son of Bruce King, a three-time Governor of New Mexico,[1] and Alice M. King. He attended New Mexico State University and obtained a bachelor's degree in Chemistry in 1976. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from University of Colorado, Boulder in 1980.
He then attended the University of New Mexico School of Law, where he received his J.D. In 1984, King formed the law firm of King and Stanley in Moriarty, New Mexico; in 1990, he assumed the position of Corporate General Counsel and Senior Environmental Scientist with Advanced Sciences, Inc., an environmental consulting firm.
In 1987 he married Yolanda Jones and more than 1,000 guests attended their wedding. Yolanda Jones King was the director of Engineering & Technical Management at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base. She also served as chair for the NATO RTO Sensors and Electronics Technology Panel.
Gary King often accompanied his wife to meetings. They traveled to countries such as Taiwan, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic.[2]
Political career
King ran for Governor of New Mexico in 1998, but lost the Democratic primary to Mayor of Albuquerque Martin Chavez. In 1998, he became the Policy Advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) in Washington, D.C.. Within a year, he became the Department's Director of the Office of Worker and Community Transition. While at the DOE, he developed and implemented a program fostering cooperation between federal, state, local and Native American governments to enhance cleanup activities. He served for 12 years in the New Mexico House of Representatives. In 2004, King ran for New Mexico's 2nd congressional district seat, losing to incumbent Republican Steve Pearce by 60%-to-40%. In 2006, King was elected Attorney General of New Mexico. He was re-elected in 2010, winning against Curry County District Attorney Matthew Chandler.
As the 30th Attorney General of New Mexico (2007 to 2015) King spearheaded the effort to get legislation passed that made it a felony crime to engage in the practice of human trafficking. The United Nations committee invited King to present this legislation as a model for other nations seeking to end the practice of human slavery.[2]
On March 2, 2011, King on behalf of the Respondent, New Mexico, argued before the United States Supreme Court in Bullcoming v. New Mexico. On July 10, 2012, King officially announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Mexico.
2014 Gubernatorial race
On June 3, 2014, King won the New Mexico Democratic Primary for Governor, defeating the following candidates; Allen Webber, Lawrence Rael, Howie Morales and Linda Lopez, which all of them immediately endorsed him after losing the primary election. King unsuccessfully ran against incumbent Republican Governor Susana Martinez in the General election. He told fellow Democrats at a fundraiser that Martinez "does not have a Latino heart".[3]
References
- "Gary King's Biography - Project Vote Smart". Votesmart.org. 1954-09-29. Retrieved 2014-03-15.
- Carol A. Clark: For New Mexico’s Attorney General and His Wife – It Really Was Chemistry, Los Alamos Daily Post, June 2, 2014
- "King on Martinez: 'no Latino heart'", weeklystandard.com; accessed October 18, 2014.
| Legal offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Patricia Madrid |
Attorney General of New Mexico 2007–2015 |
Succeeded by Hector Balderas |
| Party political offices | ||
| Preceded by Diane Denish |
Democratic nominee for Governor of New Mexico 2014 |
Succeeded by Michelle Lujan Grisham |