Are you looking for a nonpartisan voter guide to the Susana Martinez vs. Gary King Governor's race? One that will give you an unbiased, no-spin comparison of candidate positions on key issues? That's what our Campus Election Engagement Project guide will give you! We are a national nonpartisan initiative working with college and university administrators, faculty, and student leaders to increase student participation in America's elections. For the 2014 elections we have created and distributed voter guides to campuses in more than 20 states so they can provide their communities with accurate information for informed voting. Because these guides have been so well received and are useful for all voting citizens who want to be better informed, we are also posting them here.
We developed our guides by analyzing information from trusted resources such as www.votesmart.org, www.ontheissues.org, www.ballotpedia.com, www.politifact.com, www.factcheck.org, www.vote411.org and from candidate websites, public debates and interviews, and statements in major media outlets. We also showed them to groups like campus Young Republicans and Young Democrats at the schools we work with to verify their fairness and lack of bias.
So here are the issue-by-issue stands for Susana Martinez and Gary King , with additional links at the bottom for each candidate if you'd like to dig deeper. (You can also find New Mexico's Senate guide here.)
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Education: Do you support increasing funding for K-12 education?
Martinez: No
King: Yes
Education: Do you support providing vouchers to parents to send their children to private schools with public money?
Martinez: Yes
King: No. Believes classrooms should be learning centers rather than profit centers. Would work to reverse growing privatization of public school system.
Education: Do you support increasing funding for higher education?
Martinez: 2012 priorities included targeted higher education cuts of what Martinez considers wasteful spending, (Targeted cuts aimed at administrative costs, new branch campuses established without requisite legislative approval, remedial classes, out-of-state tuition waivers for part-time students, some dual-credit high school classes, and contributions to ERB pensions. See Governor Aims To Cut Waste in Higher Education for rationale and more detail.)
King: Yes. A greater investment is needed and is critical to future job growth.
Elections: Do you support requiring registered voters to present a photo-ID in order to vote?
Martinez: Yes
King: No
Elections: Do you support increasing restrictions on campaign donations?
Martinez: Unknown
King: Yes
Environment: Do you believe that human activity is a major factor contributing to climate change?
Martinez: No. Does not believe manmade climate change is occurring. "Politicians engaging in an ideological debate about global warming does nothing to protect the environment or create jobs." (To learn more about candidate's climate denial stance and related legislative and administrative actions, see Susana Martinez on Environment, The Climate Guide To Governors, and The arid Southwest's 10 great climate deniers.)
King: Yes
Environment: Do you support taking government action to limit the levels of greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere?
Martinez: No--opposed cap and trade
King: Yes
Environment: Do you support government mandates and/or subsidies for renewable energy?
Martinez: Yes, supported extending renewable energy credit
King: Yes
Gay Marriage: Do you support gay marriage?
Martinez: No
King: Yes
Gun Control: Do you support enacting more restrictive gun control legislation?
Martinez: Supports background checks at gun shows, otherwise no
King: No
Healthcare: Do you support the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare?
Martinez: No
King: Yes
Healthcare: Should your state accept federal funds so Medicaid will cover people earning up to 138% of the federal poverty line?
Martinez: Yes
King: Yes
Immigration: Do you support colleges and universities awarding in-state tuition rates to state residents who are not citizens?
Martinez: No
King: Unknown
Marijuana: Do you support efforts to decriminalize and/or legalize marijuana?
Martinez: No
King: Yes. Supports decriminalization for personal use and is strong advocate for medical marijuana access. (Believes that "When people are in pain we should do everything we can to lessen their suffering." and is committed to ensuring safe and affordable access to this medicine for all who need it.)
Minimum Wage: Do you support raising the minimum wage?
Martinez: Supports if it remains in line with regional rates. In 2013, supported increase to $7.80 and possibly $8.00 but vetoed bill for $8.50 after compromise efforts failed. (See No raise in minimum wage: Governor vetoes bill for $1-an-hour increase and Gov vetoes minimum wage increase which were written at the time of the veto and Governor Martinez And The Minimum Wage, Martinez's perspective on the issue.)
King: Yes. Supported increase to $8.50 and will continue to push for future increases. (Will also fight to end closely related problem of wage theft. See Fighting to restore good jobs and growth for candidate statements on both issues.)
Social Issues: Should abortion be highly restricted?
Martinez: Opposes federal funding
King: No. Helped defeat highly restrictive ballot measure in June 2014.
Taxes: Have you signed the Americans for Tax Reform Pledge to oppose any tax increases to raise revenue? (The answer to this question is taken from the database of signatories of the Taxpayer Protection Pledge, created by Americans for Tax Reform. Signers to the pledge promise to oppose "any and all tax increases" meant to generate additional revenue.)
Martinez: No
King: No
Taxes: Would you increase taxes on corporations and/or high-income individuals to pay for public services?
Martinez: No. In April 2013 pushed through far-reaching tax reform bill containing a series of corporate tax breaks along with significant cuts to city and county budgets. Bill earned her a new Tax Foundation award. (The Las Cruces Sun-News article says the bill was passed in the last hours of the legislative session with no opportunity for debate. Elements described include a corporate tax reduction from 7.6% to 5.9% over five years and simultaneous 7% cut over two years for funding to cities and counties. The Tax Foundation article explains the purpose and criteria of their new award and summarizes why the 2013 bill Martinez signed qualified her to be a recipient of the "Outstanding Achievement in State Tax Reform award.")
King: Yes. Would eliminate or reduce current corporate tax cuts and use revenues to support other programs and services. (Believes the governor's corporate tax cuts are backdoor tax hikes on struggling communities across the state and are equivalent to "taking from poor children to give to multinational corporations.")
Learn more about the candidates:
Martinez: Susana Martinez Vote Smart pages, Susana Martinez On the Issues pages and Susana Martinez Albuquerque Journal Profile
King: Gary King Vote Smart pages, Gary King On the Issues pages and Gary King Albuquerque Journal Profile
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