• Press Release

New Mexico Voters Deserve to See Damon Martinez’s Record

May 21, 2018

For Immediate Release
May 21, 2018

New Mexico Voters Deserve to See Damon Martinez’s Record of Failing to Protect Against Police Violence

Washington, D.C. — With just a few weeks until the June 5th Democratic primary in New Mexico’s 1st Congressional District, voters deserve to see more about Damon Martinez’s record of failing to hold police officers accountable for the use of excessive violence. Lucinda Guinn, vice president of campaigns at EMILYs List, released the following statement:

“Damon Martinez served as the U.S. attorney for the District of New Mexico for three years, and during his tenure, he failed to prosecute police officers for using excessive force. When the families of some of the 27 victims shot by Albuquerque police officers collected more than 45,000 signatures in support of holding the officers accountable, Martinez was criticized for ​ignor​ing​ the petition and fail​ing​ to take action. The U.S. Justice Department found that the Albuquerque police engaged in a pattern of use of excessive force, including unreasonable deadly force, ​while Martinez​ stood by​. New Mexico voters deserve to see more about Damon Martinez’s failure to protect New Mexico families.”

EMILYs List, the nation’s largest resource for women in politics, has raised over $500 million to support pro-choice Democratic women candidates – making them one of the most successful political organizations ever. Our grassroots community of over five million members helps Democratic women wage competitive campaigns – and win. We recruit and train candidates, support strong campaigns, research the issues that impact women and families, and turn out women voters. Since our founding in 1985, we have helped elect 116 women to the House, 23 to the Senate, 12 governors, and over 800 to state and local office. Forty percent of the candidates EMILYs List has helped elect to Congress have been women of color. Since the 2016 election, thousands of women and counting have reached out to us about running for office. To harness this energy, EMILYs List has launched Run to Win, an unprecedented effort to get more women to run at the local, state, and national levels.