About

A native son of Albuquerque, Marty Chavez is a graduate of the University of New Mexico and Georgetown University Law School.  At Georgetown, Marty was a cofounder of La Raza National Law Students.  Before taking his Bar exams, he was the heights director of Toney Anaya for U.S. Senate and after obtaining his law license, he was asked to serve by then Governor Anaya as the first and founding Director of the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Administration.

Marty was first elected to the New Mexico State Senate in 1986 and was reelected in 1990.  As a freshman Senator, Chavez spent an entire summer as co-chair of the Workers’ Compenstion Task Force that brought labor and business together and engineered a true consensus between employers and employees resulting in a special session of the legislature and a massive overhaul of the New Mexico Workers’ Compensation Act.  He also sponsored and passed Early Voting, Postcard Voter Registration, the N.M. Forest ReLeaf Act and critical amendments to the Public Records Act for which he received the William F. Dixon award for open government.  He has a 100% AFL-CIO COPE rating as a legislator, in part as a result of the lessons he learned walking the picket lines with Cesar Chavez and the United Farm Workers in California.  He is a staunch advocate of Davis-Bacon and an opponent of right to work legislation.  As a State Senator, he sponsored the legislation which allowed Labor to convert its savings and loan to a chartered bank (Union Bank).

Chavez was first elected Mayor of Albuquerque in 1991, and served three terms – the most in Albuquerque history – and was recognized by Time Magazine as one America’s 25 most dynamic mayors with approval ratings over 70%. Under his leadership, Albuquerque won national and international recognition for:

  • Best City in America for Jobs or a Career (Forbes Magazine)
  • World Leadership Award for Water Utility and Conservation (World Leadership Forum)
  • First Place, Mayors Climate Protection Award (U.S. Conference of Mayors)
  • Most Sustainable Large City in America (Seimens Foundation)
  • Best City in America Addressing Climate Change (EPA)
  • National Renewable Energy Innovator of the Year (Association of Energy Engineers)

Concerned that Albuquerque kids didn’t have sufficient access to the emerging clean tech economy, Marty Chavez founded a public charter high school, the Albuquerque Institute of Math and Science at the University of New Mexico (AIMS).  The school has now graduated three senior classes and is the first high school in modern New Mexico history to have all graduates attend college.  He created the Elementary School Initiative that hired teachers to teach kids in the critical “latchkey” hours.  Under his leadership, Albuquerque enacted one of the toughest laws in the country to protect kids from sexual predators.

Chavez successfully attracted the Albuquerque Film Studio, the largest sound stage in the United States and was a key mover in making Albuquerque the home to major movies and hit television series.  He worked tirelessly to attract new industry to Albuquerque including Schott Solar, Emcore, and Eclipse Aviation, creating thousands of jobs.  As Mayor, Marty signed into law the first Hate Crimes law in New Mexico containing language including sexual orientation.  He signed an Executive Order providing for domestic partner benefits for city employees.

When he left office in 2009, Albuquerque had the best funded, best equipped and largest police and fire departments in history along with the highest credit ratings in the City’s history.  Within the U.S. Conference of Mayors, Marty Chavez served as a Trustee, Chairman of the Urban Water Task Force and Co-Chair of the Climate Change Task Force.

At the invitation of President Bill Clinton, Marty Chavez was a Vice Chair of the 1996 Democratic National Convention.  He was appointed by DNC Chairman Howard Dean as an at large member of the Democratic National Committee and was a Super Delegate at the 2010 Democratic National Convention.

Marty Chavez recently resigned his position as Executive Director of ICLEI-Local Governments for Sustainability in Washington, D.C.  As Executive Director, Chavez participated at Copenhagen and Cancun in the UN Climate Change Conference talks.  During his time in and out of office, he has gained international exposure,  appearing on panels in Mexico, France, Germany, India and has been a member of U.S. Delegations to the inauguration of two presidents.

He currently serves as Co-Chair of the U.S. Green Building Council’s Green School Advisory Council, a member of the U.S. Forest Service Urban Forest Task Force and as a member of the National Building Museum Advisory Board on Intelligent Cities.