A native son of New Mexico, Martin Chávez was born and raised in Albuquerque, New Mexico. His family's roots in New Mexico have been traced to the 1500s. His father, Lorenzo, was born in the west central farm and ranch community of Magdalena, served as a New Mexico State Representative and practiced law for 55 years. Martin's mother, Sara Baca Chávez, was born in Quemado, 80 miles west of Lorenzo's home town, and was raised in Las Cruces and Albuquerque. She received her Bachelors Degree from the University of New Mexico, where she met Lorenzo. Sara was a government translator (Spanish, French, Portuguese) in Washington, D.C. during World War II while her husband Lorenzo, a polio survivor unable to serve in the military, attended law school at Georgetown University. While at work monitoring radio news of the war, Sara learned that her youngest brother had been captured in the Phillipines. Martin's uncle, then 19, did not survive the Bataan death march. Martin and his two older brothers spent memorable summers on his grandparents' ranch in Magdalena and at the family corn farm in Tome in Valencia County.

Martin was raised in Albuquerque. He attended St. Charles, Holy Ghost, Van Buren, Manzano High School, New Mexico State University and the University of New Mexico. He received a Bachelor's Degree from the University of New Mexico in 1975 and obtained his Juris Doctorate from his father's alma mater, Georgetown University, in 1978. In college, Marty (as his friends call him) organized campaigns for student senate. He traveled to California to work with Cesar Chavez.

While in law school in Washington, Marty worked for U.S. Senator Joseph M. Montoya and honed his executive skills as Executive Director of the LULAC National Scholarship Fund. Upon returning to Albuquerque from Georgetown, he clerked in the Consumer and Economic Crimes Division of the Attorney General's Office and began practicing law in 1979 at his father's law firm with an emphasis on civil litigation. He has tried cases in many counties around the state.

Marty has spent a lifetime in community service. He served on the Public Safety Advisory Board, making recommendations on police policy to the City of Albuquerque; served on the Community Advisory Board, making recommendations on child abuse and neglect cases to the District Courts; and was a founding member of Tree New Mexico, which has planted over 1 million trees across the state.

In 1985, Marty was tapped by Governor Toney Anaya to build the newly legislated Workmen's Compensation Administration as the founding Director. Marty built the state agency from scratch. At his request, the legislature changed its name to the Workers' Compensation Administration to recognize that everyone is protected by our labor laws, regardless of gender. The Workers' Compensation Administration remains today one of the real success stories of New Mexico state government.

Marty resigned from the Workers' Compensation Administration in 1986 and ran for the New Mexico State Senate from Albuquerque's growing west side. He was handily reelected to a second term in 1991. Chávez' five years in the State Senate were marked by results-oriented activity and real legislative success. Among his lasting accomplishments are:

• Post Card Voter Registration
• Early Voting
• New Mexico's Forest Re-Leaf Act
• Major amendments to the New Mexico Public Records Act
• Legislation creating the National Hispanic Cultural Center
• The Workers' Compensation Reform Act

Senator Chávez was an early champion of ethics reform, sponsored bills for badly needed capital projects in his district, measures championing veterans, and joined with Mothers Against Drunk Drivers to pass some of New Mexico's toughest anti-DWI laws. He sponsored and fought to pass the long overdue bill to make spousal rape a felony. Mindful that too much government regulation can stifle the economy, Chávez passed the one-stop shop to assist small and growing businesses, a repository of all regulation. Chávez also achieved 100% environmental and AFL-CIO COPE labor ratings. By the time his service in the legislature ended, Marty Chávez had become one of the only New Mexicans to have worked in all three branches of state government, as an officer of the Courts, director of the Workers' Compensation Administration and as a New Mexico State Senator.

In 1993, Marty Chávez ran for and was elected Mayor of Albuquerque. Mayor Chávez's successes were immediate. He declared war on gangs, graffiti and DWI. 5,000 Albuquerqueans came together in one day to "paint the town" in one of the most successful anti-graffiti programs in the country. Elected officials at all levels around the country took notice. Chávez was soon elected to the leadership body of the U.S. National Conference of Mayors. During his first term as Mayor, Marty instituted community based policing and brought crime down for the first time in nearly a decade.

At the beginning of his first term, Albuquerque received bad news - her sole source of water, the aquifer, was running dry with a frightening 25-year life expectancy. Mayor Marty brought Albuquerque together to create one of the nation's greatest water conservation programs and began construction of the San Juan Chama project, which represents 70% of the future supply of water for New Mexico's largest city.

During his first term, Mayor Chávez was recognized by Newsweek as one of America's 25 most dynamic mayors. Chavez's accomplishments show they were right:

• When Albuquerque's International Balloon Fiesta was in dire trouble, Mayor Chávez brought balloonists, neighborhood representatives and businessmen together to find a new home and save one of New Mexico's signature events.
• When the federal government proposed closure of Kirtland Air Force Base, Chávez once again rallied Albuquerque. Kirtland Air Force Base was one of only two bases in the country to escape the BRAC process that year.
• He forged the first of its kind, a public private partnership to create Explora Science Center for kids of all ages.

Although it was during his first term that Chávez cemented a positive reputation for accomplishing for what he set out to complete, Mayor Chávez declined to run for re-election, choosing instead to run for Governor.

Chávez ran for re-election to the Mayor's job in 2001. He worked aggressively to restore fiscal integrity to a city facing huge deficits. As he has throughout his public career, Chávez demonstrated extraordinary leadership and the ability to make the tough decisions necessary to ensure that government lives within its means. During his second term, the Mayor took on the task of cleaning up and growing Albuquerque the right way. Medians were landscaped, the Zoo expanded, the Bio Park grew, Balloon Fiesta Park was grassed and Albuquerque began planning for its 300th birthday.

Martin Chávez has been a strong proponent of open government. He was honored for his efforts with the prestigious William F. Dixon Award for Open Government by the Foundation for Open Government. Martin Chávez's record for accessibility, openness, collaboration and accomplishment led to his election for a third term in 2005 - the first time in history that any Mayor has ever been reelected to consecutive terms and making Chávez the first Mayor in Albuquerque history to serve three terms.

During Chávez's third term, Albuquerque has become a leader in sustainability. Chávez cut the city's green house emissions by 67%, switched all new fleet vehicles to alternative fuel vehicles, reformed building codes to be sustainable, and conserved 33% water while the city grew by 33%. That is, Albuquerque has reduced her water use by a full third while actually growing approximately a third! These efforts recently garnered Albuquerque the World Leadership Award for Utilities from the World Leadership Forum in London.

Given his vision, outstanding leadership and ability to get things done, it is no wonder that Chávez remains one of Americas leading elected officials.