The movers and shakers of 2011: Susana Martinez

LAS CRUCES - Republican Gov. Susana Martinez, inaugurated over the weekend as state's first elected female chief executive, is undoubtedly going to be among the prominent locals to watch in 2011.

Not only is Martinez the first woman to hold the seat, but she's also the first governor in two decades to hail from Las Cruces. (Las Crucen and former Gov. Garrey Carruthers held the seat from 1987 to 1990.)

A limelight has surrounded her in the months since the election, but tough realities are ahead for Martinez, namely in addressing a $400 million state budget shortfall. She talked throughout her campaign about cutting from the budget what she sees as wasteful and unnecessary spending, while holding public schools and Medicare harmless, promises that may prove difficult to keep.

But cuts, likely to be painful wherever they're made, are sure to ruffle someone's feathers. Martinez on Thursday said she's not yet ready to discuss proposals, which are still being ironed out.

She doesn't have much time remaining, considering the state's legislative session convenes this month.

The 51-year-old Martinez already has named a number of cabinet secretaries, including one Las Crucen to head the Higher Education department.

Her pick to head the public schools department was influential in implementing successful education reform in Florida. Martinez has said school reform is a big part of her agenda.

Martinez, originally from El Paso, has been Do-a Ana County district attorney

for 14 years, a job she's resigning mid-term. She has said, however, she and her husband will maintain their Las Cruces home and plan to visit often. She has said she wants to keep in touch with the city and other parts of the state, something she repeated during a Thursday interview.

"I want to make sure we're including all of New Mexico," she said.

Many Las Crucens have said they hold high hopes that Martinez will shift more attention to the southern part of the state and New Mexico's second-largest city.

As she goes forward, other major topics to cross Martinez' desk will be immigration - she has said she favors revoking a measure that allows driver's licenses to be issued to undocumented immigrants - and the state's sluggish economy, something Martinez said she'll deal with partly by trimming regulations to promote business growth.

Her four-year term will not be scrutinized by New Mexicans only. Martinez has grabbed headlines for becoming the nation's first female Hispanic governor, a fact more interesting because she is a Republican. In a party that has struggled over the years to broaden its appeal among ethnicities, Martinez may well be a fast-rising star. Her path as governor, depending on how it goes, could set the stage for a political future on the national scale.

Martinez, in interviews, has downplayed her gender and racial heritage, saying a better focus is her performance as governor.

"What's going to lay the groundwork is if I deliver the results," she said.

Diana M. Alba can be reached at (575) 541-5443

More information

•Job: Governor of New Mexico

•Impact: Voters responded to Republican Susana Martinez's promise to fight wasteful and unnecessary spending. Depending on her success in office, she may well be a fast-rising star on the national stage as well.