Patricia A. Madrid (born 1947) is an American

politician A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...

and the former

Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...

for the U.S. state of

New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ker ...

. She is a member of the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. She also sits on the bipartisan advisory board of States United Democracy Center.

Family

Madrid's father was descendend of Pueblo amerinds. Her other ancestry include Irish, German and Hispanos of New Mexico.Jessica Montoya Coggins (April 11, 2014)
'I'm From Here': Not All Hispanics Are Recent Arrivals
Published on NBC News.

Political career

Madrid won her first campaign in 1978 when she became the first woman elected to sit as a district court judge in New Mexico. In 1994, she was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico as Governor Bruce King's running mate, but lost the general election. In 1998, she became the first woman elected Attorney General of the State of New Mexico. She was re-elected in 2002. In 2005, Madrid became the chairperson of the

Conference of Western Attorneys General A conference is a meeting of two or more experts to discuss and exchange opinions or new information about a particular topic. Conferences can be used as a form of group decision-making, although discussion, not always decisions, are the main pu ...

, which focuses on energy, environmental, and

Indian gaming Indian gaming may refer to: *Native American gaming, gambling activities on indigenous tribal lands in the United States *Gambling in India, gambling activities in the country of India *Video games in India Video gaming in India is an emerging m ...

issues. Madrid was

term limited A term limit is a legal restriction that limits the number of terms an officeholder may serve in a particular elected office. When term limits are found in presidential and semi-presidential systems they act as a method of curbing the potent ...

from seeking reelection in 2006. She chose instead to run for

U.S. Representative The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they c ...

in New Mexico's 1st congressional district. She lost to Republican incumbent

Heather Wilson Heather Ann Wilson (born December 30, 1960) is the 11th President of the University of Texas at El Paso. She previously served as the 24th Secretary of the United States Air Force from 2017 through 2019. Wilson was the 12th president of the Sou ...

by 875 (out of 211,000) votes. When it appeared that

Senator A senate is a deliberative assembly, often the upper house or chamber of a bicameral legislature. The name comes from the ancient Roman Senate (Latin: ''Senatus''), so-called as an assembly of the senior (Latin: ''senex'' meaning "the el ...

Pete Domenici was going to run for re-election in 2008, a Wilson-Madrid rematch was considered a strong possibility, especially considering Wilson's role in the firing of US Attorney for New Mexico

David Iglesias David Claudio Iglesias (born 1958) is an American attorney from Albuquerque, New Mexico.Gisick, Michael''"Fired U.S. Attorney David Iglesias embraces the media in his quest for vindication"'' - Albuquerque Tribune - Thursday, May 10, 2007

. But Domenici's poll numbers dropped as a result of the scandal, and Madrid may have considered running against him. When Domenici announced his retirement from the Senate and Wilson announced her candidacy for the open Senate seat, it appeared Madrid may have been facing a rematch with Wilson on the statewide level. When Democratic Representative

Tom Udall Thomas Stewart Udall ( ; born May 18, 1948) is an American diplomat, lawyer and politician serving as the United States Ambassador to New Zealand and Samoa since 2021. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as a United States senator from N ...

entered the race, Madrid opted against running for the U.S. Senate.

Notable actions as Attorney General

*Established a Capital Litigation Unit to provide assistance to

district attorneys In the United States, a district attorney (DA), county attorney, state's attorney, prosecuting attorney, commonwealth's attorney, or state attorney is the chief prosecutor and/or chief law enforcement officer representing a U.S. state in a loc ...

statewide prosecuting violent crimes and

death penalty Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that t ...

cases. *Introduced New Mexico's first state-level Crime Victim's Services Unit. *Established the Violence Against Women unit, which received a grant for over $560,000 to provide training for first responders to

domestic violence Domestic violence (also known as domestic abuse or family violence) is violence or other abuse that occurs in a domestic setting, such as in a marriage or cohabitation. ''Domestic violence'' is often used as a synonym for ''intimate partner ...

incidents in

rural In general, a rural area or a countryside is a geographic area that is located outside towns and cities. Typical rural areas have a low population density and small settlements. Agricultural areas and areas with forestry typically are describ ...

New Mexico. *Established the Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force. *Convicted a number of individuals for the illegal dumping of rendering plant waste near irrigation ditches in violation of the state's Water Quality Act. *Helped found the

Endangered Species Act The Endangered Species Act of 1973 (ESA or "The Act"; 16 U.S.C. § 1531 et seq.) is the primary law in the United States for protecting imperiled species. Designed to protect critically imperiled species from extinction as a "consequence of ec ...

Work Group, which brings together

farmers A farmer is a person engaged in agriculture, raising living organisms for food or raw materials. The term usually applies to people who do some combination of raising field crops, orchards, vineyards, poultry, or other livestock. A farmer mi ...

and

municipalities A municipality is usually a single administrative division having corporate status and powers of self-government or jurisdiction as granted by national and regional laws to which it is subordinate. The term ''municipality'' may also mean the go ...

federal Federal or foederal (archaic) may refer to: Politics General *Federal monarchy, a federation of monarchies *Federation, or ''Federal state'' (federal system), a type of government characterized by both a central (federal) government and states or ...

, state and environmental interests. *Ruled against the legality of the county clerk of Sandoval County issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

Awards and recognitions

Hispanic National Bar Association The Hispanic National Bar Association (HNBA) is a 501(c)(6) organization representing Hispanics in the legal profession, including attorneys, judges, law professors, legal assistant and paralegals, and law students in the United States and its ...

Latina Lawyer of the Year *

Mothers Against Drunk Driving Mothers Against Drunk Driving (MADD) is a non-profit organization in the United States, Canada and Brazil that seeks to stop drunk driving, support those affected by drunk driving, prevent underage drinking, and strive for stricter impaired drivi ...

Annual Award for

Elected Officials An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority, (either their own or that of their su ...

* New Mexico's Commission on the Status of Women Trailblazer Award * Capital Business and Professional Women of Santa Fe Woman of the Year in Government Award * Animal Protection of New Mexico 2004 Milagro Executive Director’s Award *

New Mexico Business Weekly American City Business Journals, Inc. (ACBJ) is an American newspaper publisher based in Charlotte, North Carolina. ACBJ publishes The Business Journals, which contains local business news for 44 markets in the United States, Hemmings Motor New ...

three time New Mexico Power Broker

References

External links