Click photo to enlarge
Gov.-elect Susana Martinez greets Oleta Salopek, of Las Cruces, as other guests stand in the reception line to meet Martinez and her husband, Chuck Franco, Thursday during the Send-off Gala at the Las Cruces Convention Center on Thursday. "I have always supported Susana," said Salopek. "I have enjoyed reading about her and all she has done previously as the district attorney, I think she will continue to do a great job as governor of New Mexico, and also will have positive effects on the nation."
To see more photos, click here.

LAS CRUCES - Wearing a single-shouldered, black dress, Republican Gov.-elect Susana Martinez made her debut here Thursday night as New Mexico's chief executive and the country's first female, Hispanic governor.

Though her formal inauguration and first official day on the job isn't until Saturday, that hardly seemed to matter to most of the roughly 1,200 people who gathered at a send-off gala in her honor.

Following a dinner, Martinez, 51, addressed attendees in two ballrooms to thank them for their support.

"Together we have fought and we have struggled and we have overcome so much," she said. "And we will do that as a state. Together we will take our state back."

A day that started

Advertisement
off with severe wind and blowing dust and progressed to rain and snow flurries cleared up by evening and the start of the event. But the temperature dipped sharply, to the chagrin of many guests who waited to enter the Las Cruces Convention Center. One person reported a 30-minute wait to get inside.

Las Crucen Amparo Mata, 40, who works with a medical insurance organization, said the occasion was historic.

"It's an honor to see a female, first of all, and a Hispanic take office," said Mata, also a member of the National Guard. "With her experience, hopefully great changes are going to come to New Mexico."

That Martinez is from Las Cruces is a plus, said attendee Martha Holguin, 45, a Gadsden Independent School District teacher.

"I'm waiting to hear what she has to propose for education and what changes she has to make," she said.

Dignitaries, campaign supporters and staff and law enforcement who worked with Martinez during her career as Do-a Ana County district attorney made up the guest list. Incoming U.S. Rep. Steve Pearce, R-N.M., attended, along with some District Court and Magistrate Court judges. But not many local elected officials were in the audience.

Around 6:45 p.m., Martinez and her husband, Chuck Franco, 55, greeted attendees in a lengthy receiving line that stretched outside and into the 36-degree weather. They shook hands and posed for photos.

A contingent of state police was stationed throughout the convention center, though Lt. Roman Jimenez of the Las Cruces investigations bureau declined to say exactly how many. At least 10 were counted at one point in the lobby.

"We've got enough people to make sure we've kept the governor and the building secure," he said.

Elena Marquez, 54, of El Paso said she's a friend of Martinez from when the two attended high school in El Paso. She said she didn't want to miss a chance to send off the nation's first female Hispanic governor.

"This is a once-in-a-lifetime thing," she said. "We're really happy to be here and honored that she's the first."

The event was billed as semi-formal, but that didn't stop a number of attendees from dressing in formal attire. The catered-dinner menu included beef and pork entrees, sautéed carrots and green chile mashed potatoes. And there was a cash bar.

Decked out in a cowboy hat, Joe Delk, chairman of the Dona Ana County Soil and Water Conservation District, said he helped host a 250-person dinner and fundraiser for Martinez in Catron County before the election and has "supported her from the beginning" of her district attorney career.

"I've watched her and had a lot of faith in what she stood for," said Delk, 63, who attended with his wife, Diane. "We just hope for some good things."

Diana Alba can be reached at 541-5443.