Governor's Web Site
State Web Site

Higher Office(s) Served: Ambassador, Cabinet Secretary, Representative

BILL RICHARDSON served for 15 years as representative of New Mexico’s 3rd Congressional District. He was the U.S. ambassador to the United Nations in 1997 and was unanimously confirmed by the U.S. Senate in 1998 as secretary of the U.S. Department of Energy. Richardson has been nominated several times for the Nobel Peace Prize.

Richardson was elected governor of New Mexico in 2002 by the largest margin of any candidate since 1964. During his gubernatorial campaign, he shook 13,392 hands in a single 8-hour period, shattering a world record set by Theodore Roosevelt during his 1907 inauguration. In the past three years, Governor Richardson has made good on his campaign promises to improve education, cut taxes, build a high-wage economy, develop a statewide water plan, and make New Mexico safer by getting tough on DWI, domestic violence, and sex crimes. New Mexico is now a national leader in job growth and economic momentum. The state has a balanced budget and one of the highest budget reserves in the country.

Governor Richardson is continuing to move New Mexico forward in 2006, working to improve access to quality health care, implement an ambitious school reform plan, and make the state a leader in renewable energy and clean energy technologies. During a recent special legislative session, he successfully pushed for gasoline price rebates and home-heating relief for every New Mexican.

Richardson was recently re-elected to serve a second term as chairman of the Democratic Governors’ Association. He is past chairman of the Western Governors’ Association, the Border Governors’ Conference, and the Democratic National Convention (2004). He serves on the Natural Resources Committee of the National Governors Association.