Susana Martinez
Republican gubernatorial candidate Susana Martinez says an e-mail a prosecutor in her office forwarded that joked about killing a Mexican and an Arab is “deeply offensive.”
In her first direct comments on the situation, Martinez, Doña Ana County’s district attorney, called Assistant District Attorney Lisa Kuykendall’s forwarding of the e-mail “inappropriate and in violation of my office’s policy, and I take this matter very seriously.”
Martinez has been hammered by Democrats for not commenting directly on the situation. Until now, she has instead let staffers in her district attorney office and on her campaign comment.
Martinez’s campaign sent her statement today in response to news that another state employee, who forwarded the e-mail to Kuykendall, had also been disciplined by her boss.
Here’s Martinez’s full statement:
“I immediately reprimanded a member of my staff upon viewing the deeply offensive email she forwarded. Her actions were inappropriate and in violation of my office’s policy, and I take this matter very seriously.
“Unfortunately, some have seen fit to play politics with this deeply unfortunate incident and my opponent, who was noticeably silent when hundreds of state employees in a department within her cabinet engaged in inappropriate and disturbing behavior on state computers such as accessing pornography. These individuals not only weren’t admonished, in many cases, they were never reprimanded.
“I believe voters will make a judgment on who to support based on my record of prosecuting those who have run afoul of our laws and my plans to revive our state’s economy and end the corruption running rampant in Santa Fe. Diane Denish will be judged on her record and her personal and dishonest attacks against me will be seen for what they are. New Mexicans are ready for bold change and understand I am the candidate who will deliver it.”
Want details on the situation involving pornography to which Martinez referred? I wrote about it Wednesday. Click here to read about it.
As for the e-mail Kuykendall forwarded, it starts with a Mexican man, an Arab man and a New Mexican girl in a bar drinking beer (nonalcoholic for the Arab because he’s a Muslim). Both men shoot their glasses with guns. The Mexican explains that glasses are cheap in Mexico and the Arab says there’s so much sand to make glass where he’s from that he, like the Mexican, never has to drink from the same glass twice.
Then the girl shoots the Mexican and Arab and says, “In New Mexico, we have so many illegal aliens we don’t have to drink with the same ones twice.” The e-mail ends with the line, “God bless New Mexico and that particular New Mexican girl.”
Update, 5:35 p.m.
From state Democratic Party Chairman Javier Gonzales:
“It’s unfortunate that it took three days for Susana Martinez to condemn this racist and violent email. Martinez’s failure to address this issue from day one speaks volumes about her willingness, or lack thereof, to speak up for what’s right. Condemning racism should not be a difficult thing for a public official to do and Susana Martinez should have immediately sent a clear message that racism isn’t funny or acceptable. If Martinez wants New Mexicans to believe she’s now sincere in her criticism of this racist email, she’ll terminate the prosecutor who thought it was funny and appropriate to use taxpayer money to send the so-called ‘joke’ around the District Attorney’s office. When it comes to racism, a mere slap on the wrist is simply unacceptable.”