Gary Kenneth King (born September 29, 1954) is an American lawyer, politician, and energy consultant who served as the 30th

attorney general of New Mexico The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...

from January 1, 2007, to January 1, 2015. King previously served as an advisor in the

United States Department of Energy The United States Department of Energy (DOE) is an executive department of the U.S. federal government that oversees U.S. national energy policy and manages the research and development of nuclear power and nuclear weapons in the United Stat ...

, a member of the

New Mexico House of Representatives ) is the lower house of the New Mexico State Legislature. There are 70 members of the House. Each member represents roughly 25,980 residents of New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , ...

, and the Democratic nominee for New Mexico governor in the

2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...

election.

Early life and education

King is the son of

Bruce King Bruce King (April 6, 1924 – November 13, 2009) was an American businessman and politician who for three non-consecutive four-year terms was the governor of New Mexico. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the longest-serving governor in N ...

, a three-time

Governor of New Mexico , insignia = Seal of the Governor of New Mexico.svg , insigniasize = 110px , insigniacaption = Seal of the Governor , image = File:Michelle Lujan Grisham 2021.jpg , imagesize = 200px , alt = , incumbent = Michelle Lujan Grisham , inc ...

, and Alice M. King. He attended

New Mexico State University New Mexico State University (NMSU or NM State) is a public land-grant research university based primarily in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Founded in 1888, it is the oldest public institution of higher education in New Mexico and one of the state's ...

and obtained a bachelor's degree in chemistry in 1976. He received his Ph.D. in organic chemistry from

University of Colorado, Boulder The University of Colorado Boulder (CU Boulder, CU, or Colorado) is a public research university in Boulder, Colorado. Founded in 1876, five months before Colorado became a state, it is the flagship university of the University of Colorado sys ...

in 1980. He then attended the

University of New Mexico School of Law The University of New Mexico School of Law (UNM Law or New Mexico Law) is the law school of the University of New Mexico, a public research university in Albuquerque, New Mexico. Founded in 1947, it is the first and only law school in the state. ...

, where earned a Juris Doctor.

Career

In 1984, King formed the law firm of King and Stanley in

Moriarty, New Mexico Moriarty is a town in Torrance County, New Mexico, United States. The population was 1,910 at the 2010 Census. It is part of the Albuquerque Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Moriarty is located at (34.999815, -106.046667). According to ...

; in 1990, he assumed the position of Corporate General Counsel and Senior Environmental Scientist with Advanced Sciences, Inc., an environmental consulting firm. From 1986 to 1998, he served as a member of the

, where he represented the 50th district.

U.S. Department of Energy

In 1998, he became the policy advisor to the Assistant Secretary for Environmental Management at the

(DOE) in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

Within a year, he became the department's director of the Office of Worker and Community Transition. While at the DOE, he developed and implemented a program fostering cooperation between federal, state, local and Native American governments to enhance cleanup activities.

Attorney General

As the 30th Attorney General of New Mexico, King spearheaded the effort to get legislation passed that made it a felony crime to engage in the practice of human trafficking. The

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

committee invited King to present this legislation as a model for other nations seeking to end the practice of human slavery.Carol A. Clark
For New Mexico’s Attorney General and His Wife – It Really Was Chemistry
Los Alamos Daily Post, June 2, 2014 On March 2, 2011, King on behalf of the Respondent, New Mexico, argued before the

United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...

in '' Bullcoming v. New Mexico''. On July 10, 2012, King officially announced that he was seeking the Democratic nomination for Governor of New Mexico.

Elections

1998 gubernatorial election

King was a candidate for

in the

1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election The 1998 New Mexico gubernatorial election was a contest to elect the next governor of New Mexico. The winner of the election would serve a term from January 1, 1999 until January 1, 2003. Incumbent Republican (now Libertarian Party (United Stat ...

, placing second in the Democratic primary to then- Mayor of Albuquerque

Martin Chavez Martin may refer to: Places * Martin City (disambiguation) * Martin County (disambiguation) * Martin Township (disambiguation) Antarctica * Martin Peninsula, Marie Byrd Land * Port Martin, Adelie Land * Point Martin, South Orkney Islands Austra ...

2004 congressional election

In 2004, King ran for

New Mexico's 2nd congressional district New Mexico's 2nd congressional district serves the southern half of New Mexico, including Las Cruces, Roswell, and the southern fourth of Albuquerque. Geographically, it is the fifth-largest district in the nation and the largest to not co ...

seat, losing to incumbent Republican Steve Pearce. In 2006, King was elected

Attorney General of New Mexico The Attorney General of New Mexico, an elected executive officer of the state, oversees the New Mexico Attorney General's Office and serves as head of the New Mexico Department of Justice. The officeholder, who is required to be a licensed attor ...

. He was re-elected in 2010, winning against Curry County District Attorney Matthew Chandler.

2014 gubernatorial election

On June 3, 2014, King won the New Mexico Democratic Primary for Governor and was immediately endorsed by his opponents; Alan Webber, Lawrence Rael, Howie Morales and Linda Lopez. King unsuccessfully ran against incumbent

Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...

Governor

Susana Martinez Susana Martinez (born July 14, 1959) is an American politician and attorney who served as the 31st governor of New Mexico from 2011 to 2019. A Republican, she served as chair of the Republican Governors Association (RGA) from 2015 to 2016. She ...

in the general election. He told fellow Democrats at a fundraiser that Martinez "does not have a Latino heart"."King on Martinez: 'no Latino heart'"
weeklystandard.com; accessed October 18, 2014.

Personal life

In 1987, he married Yolanda Jones. Jones was the director of Engineering & Technical Management at the Air Force Nuclear Weapons Center (AFNWC) at Kirtland Air Force Base. She also served as chair for the

NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO, ; french: Organisation du traité de l'Atlantique nord, ), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental military alliance between 30 member states – 28 European and two No ...

RTO Sensors and Electronics Technology Panel. Gary King often accompanied his wife to meetings. They traveled to countries such as Taiwan, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Slovenia, Romania, Poland and the Czech Republic.

References

, - {{DEFAULTSORT:King, Gary 1954 births 20th-century American lawyers 21st-century American politicians Candidates in the 2004 United States elections Candidates in the 2014 United States elections Environmental scientists Living people Democratic Party members of the New Mexico House of Representatives New Mexico Attorneys General New Mexico lawyers New Mexico State University alumni People from Stanley, New Mexico People from Moriarty, New Mexico University of Colorado Boulder alumni University of New Mexico School of Law alumni