Susana Martinez

I actually became a lawyer because I thought you had to be a lawyer in order to get into national politics.

'Self-deport?' What the heck does that mean?

I am donating $10,000 from my inaugural committee to the 'Pink Pack' because the only way we will find a cure for cancer is by joining together, pooling our resources, and focusing on the lifesaving mission that everyone can fight back against cancer.

Experience has taught me that privacy truly is the touchstone of our criminal justice system.

As a prosecutor, I served victims; I fought to keep communities safe, and in every instance, I knew that it was my job to protect individuals' privacy.

As an elected official, I live a very public life. That elected figures live under something of a microscope is perhaps a necessary condition for an informed public, and yet, even as a public official, I maintain very personal documents that are not intended for public view.

I think politicians nationwide have earned a reputation sometimes that is very unfavorable because they will say things and then do something else when they get into office.

I don't want to be known as a politician.

Raising taxes does nothing to allow the economy to recover.

Gangs have evolved. The stereotypical gang member covered in tattoos and wearing colors does not really exist any more. There's this fear that it could be any kid, but by any kid, that means any Latino kid.

My father was a security guard. I was a security guard.

It's extremely important that we elect people that look like the population they serve.

I want to make sure that I fulfill the promises that I made to New Mexicans. That's extremely important to me.

Unfortunately, New Mexico depends significantly on federal dollars. We have four military bases here in New Mexico. We have two national labs that are very important to our national defense.

Certainly, cutting spending is one of the things that can transcend to the federal government. I mean, I think the federal government has grown by leaps and bounds, and they need to look where do they need to cut.

I'm an independent thinker. I am a woman. I am a Republican. And I think for myself, and I decide where I vote and how I vote.

The big corporations have a team of lawyers and accountants to help them. It's the small businesses, the mom and pop shops, that get lost in the layers of red tape.

Every judge should have real-time access to the criminal background and history of defendants who appear in their courtrooms - so that sentencing and bail decisions can be made with that information.

When we set up our kids for failure, we set up our workforce for failure, and we set up our economy for failure. I can't emphasize enough the importance, the absolute importance, of education in achieving long-term economic growth.

New Mexico's agricultural economy is primarily composed of dairy and range livestock production.

During my administration, we've welcomed a broad and diverse group of industries to New Mexico, including high-tech and traditional manufacturing, health care, information technology and finance. Some are homegrown New Mexico companies; others are global leaders in their industries.

I know what not being able to read can do to a child's confidence.

I want to make sure kids read by the third grade and are prepared for the fourth grade. As school gets harder and kids get older, the words get bigger... If they don't understand what they are reading, they start to fall back, and their interest in school falls off.

We need to grow the private sector in every corner of New Mexico.

New Mexico should be a tech jobs leader and a haven for innovation, a place where the best and the brightest come to bring their products to market.

When there is a crisis, how you handle the crisis is just as important as the crisis.

Criminals take advantage of weak laws, like giving driver's licenses to illegal immigrants.

Our laws are too lax, our justice system too weak - particularly when it comes to violent, dangerous offenders.

I don't think there's ever a silver bullet to any problem. There are always several answers and solutions to a problem.

I offered early on - I think I was governor about a month when I met President Obama - and said, 'I would like to visit with you in reference to border security, in reference to immigration. I'd like to be part of the discussion because I lived on the border all my life.' I've never received a call.

You want to earn the vote of every single person you can... It doesn't matter whether individuals are in need of assistance of the government or individuals who are in college; it doesn't matter.

I do think we do have to respect the position of the presidency.

I didn't have a whole lot of role models to say, 'This much is possible, versus this much.' So I finally said, 'I think I'd like to be a mayor. I'd like to pull together a city and help do good things.'

I have to deliver the results I promised because, as the first Hispanic female governor, I'm going to pave a path of some kind. I want it to be one that little Hispanic girls will want to follow.

I didn't suddenly become conservative. It was only the label that changed.

Republicans need to stop making assumptions, and they need to start talking to younger people, people of color, and ask them - not talk to them - ask them, 'What is it that we can do better? How do we earn your vote? How do we earn the ability for you to see that we can be the party that will make your life better and that of your children?'

I fear some of our leaders today have lost the courage to stand up. What we have now are politicians. They won't offer real plans, and only stand up when they want to blame someone else.

My dad was a golden gloves boxer in the Marine Corps, then a deputy sheriff. My mom worked as an office assistant.

My parents taught me to never give up and to always believe that my future could be whatever I dreamt it to be.

Growing up, I never imagined a girl from a border town could one day become a governor.

Success is the American Dream. And that success is not something to be ashamed of, or to demonize.

As the first Hispanic female governor in history, little girls often come up to me in the grocery store or the mall. They look and point, and when they get the courage, they ask 'Are you Susana?' and they run up and give me a hug.

There is one candidate in this election who will protect that dream. One leader who will fight hard to keep the promise of America for the next generation. And that's why we must stand up and make Mitt Romney the next president of the United States.

In New Mexico, I inherited the largest structural deficit in state history, and our legislature is controlled by Democrats. We don't always agree, but we came together in a bipartisan manner and turned that deficit into a surplus. And we did it without raising taxes.

We talked about many issues, like welfare, is it the way of life or hand up? Talked about size of government, how much should it tax families and small businesses? And when we left that lunch, we got in the car and I looked over at Chuck and said, 'I'll be damned. we're Republicans.'

When I was a young prosecutor, I got called to testify against my boss. I could have backed down, but I didn't. I stood up to him. And he fired me for it.

My parents grew that small business from one 18-year-old guarding a bingo to more than 125 employees in three states. And sure, there was help along the way. But my parents took the risk. They stood up. And you better believe they built it.

Despite what some would have us believe, success is not built on resentment and fear.

Growing up I never imagined a little girl from a border town could one day become a governor. But this is America. In America algo es possible.

New Mexico is an environment where we are open for business.