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Juan A Martinez: Difference between revisions
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Added substantially more details on the city council campaign and a few other minor corrections
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NickGausling (talk | contribs) (Added substantially more details on the city council campaign and a few other minor corrections) |
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Martinez has been a lifetime member of the [[Libertarian Party]] since April 2019. <ref>[https://www.lp.org/libertarian-party-lifetime-members/ LP Lifetime Member Roster]</ref> He is a former Democrat who became interested in libertarianism because of [[Ron Paul]]. <ref name=":2" /> Martinez is a former elected board Trustee of the Clark County Republican Party (2012 - 2014) and a former member of the Nevada Republican Central Committee, where he advocated for libertarian views inside the Republican Party. <ref name=":0" /> <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1">Nick Gausling (friend of Martinez and first-hand source)</ref> | Martinez has been a lifetime member of the [[Libertarian Party]] since April 2019. <ref>[https://www.lp.org/libertarian-party-lifetime-members/ LP Lifetime Member Roster]</ref> He is a former Democrat who became interested in libertarianism because of [[Ron Paul]]. <ref name=":2" /> Martinez is a former elected board Trustee of the Clark County Republican Party (2012 - 2014) and a former member of the Nevada Republican Central Committee, where he advocated for libertarian views inside the Republican Party. <ref name=":0" /> <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1">Nick Gausling (friend of Martinez and first-hand source)</ref> | ||
Martinez was also a candidate for North Las Vegas City Council in 2013. <ref name=":3" /> Although he didn't win, the City Council later appointed him to the North Las Vegas Civil Service Board of Trustees, where he served from September 2014 - December 2016. <ref name=":0" /> | Martinez was also a candidate for North Las Vegas City Council in 2013. <ref name=":3" /> Although he didn't win, the City Council later appointed him to the North Las Vegas Civil Service Board of Trustees, where he served from September 2014 - December 2016. <ref name=":0" /> In subsequent years, the skills Martinez and his volunteers honed during the campaign also went on to significantly shape the way libertarian grassroots activism was done in Nevada. Martinez would later bring these methods to other states through his work with Americans for Prosperity and The LIBRE Initiative. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | ||
==Early Life== | ==Early Life== | ||
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Martinez was born in North Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1982. He grew up in poverty and was raised in a broken home by a single white mother without ever knowing his Hispanic father. As a result, he didn't learn to speak Spanish until well into adulthood. He cites these experiences as a major reason why he was initially a Democrat before discovering the power of freedom and the market. <ref name=":2" /> | Martinez was born in North Las Vegas, Nevada, in 1982. He grew up in poverty and was raised in a broken home by a single white mother without ever knowing his Hispanic father. As a result, he didn't learn to speak Spanish until well into adulthood. He cites these experiences as a major reason why he was initially a Democrat before discovering the power of freedom and the market. <ref name=":2" /> | ||
Martinez graduated from Rancho High School in North Las Vegas. <ref name=":2" /> | Martinez graduated from Rancho High School in North Las Vegas. He was the first in his family to graduate. <ref name=":2" /> | ||
==Early Career and Foray into Politics== | ==Early Career and Foray into Politics== | ||
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Martinez co-founded a mortgage brokerage firm in Las Vegas. It became one of the top mortgage brokerages in the city until the onset of the Great Recession. <ref name=":2" /> | Martinez co-founded a mortgage brokerage firm in Las Vegas. It became one of the top mortgage brokerages in the city until the onset of the Great Recession. <ref name=":2" /> | ||
Martinez caucused for Ron Paul in the 2012 Nevada Republican caucuses and was a delegate to the 2012 Nevada Republican Convention, where he met other libertarian activists who got him more involved in formal politics. <ref name=":2" /> | Martinez caucused for Ron Paul in the 2012 Nevada Republican caucuses and was a delegate to the May 2012 Nevada Republican Convention, where he met other libertarian activists who later got him more involved in formal politics, including [[Doug Pestana]]. When the Ron Paul campaign's SMS-based delegate messaging system failed mid-convention --- inhibiting the campaign's ability to orchestrate the floor votes of its delegates --- Martinez suggested to Paul's Nevada campaign chairman [[Carl Bunce]] that they use some type of visual signal at the front of the convention floor to indicate whether Paul-aligned delegates should vote aye or nay; representatives of Mitt Romney's campaign had already been doing something similar with paper signs. The idea was rapidly operationalized through the use of colored balloons and helped the libertarian delegation to successfully hold command of the convention. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | ||
Martinez was later elected to both the board of the Clark County Republican Party and the Nevada Republican Central Committee, serving in the former role from 2012 - 2014. <ref name=":0" /> | |||
==Campaign for North Las Vegas City Council (2013)== | ==Campaign for North Las Vegas City Council (2013)== | ||
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Martinez ran for North Las Vegas City Council in 2013. <ref name=":3">[https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSelectionPages/results/2013CityPrimary/CityofNorthLasVegas.aspx Unofficial Municipal Primary Election Results, City of North Las Vegas (2013)]</ref> He was convinced to run by several libertarian friends who also held leadership positions in the Clark County Republican Party, including [[Doug Pestana]] and [[Nick Gausling]]. The pivotal conversation took place one night in late 2012 in the cafe of the El Cortez, a casino in downtown Las Vegas. It was debated if Martinez should run for City Council or for Mayor of North Las Vegas, with City Council ultimately being settled on as the better choice. Pestana was chosen as Campaign Manager. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | Martinez ran for North Las Vegas City Council in 2013. <ref name=":3">[https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSelectionPages/results/2013CityPrimary/CityofNorthLasVegas.aspx Unofficial Municipal Primary Election Results, City of North Las Vegas (2013)]</ref> He was convinced to run by several libertarian friends who also held leadership positions in the Clark County Republican Party, including [[Doug Pestana]] and [[Nick Gausling]]. The pivotal conversation took place one night in late 2012 in the cafe of the El Cortez, a casino in downtown Las Vegas. It was debated if Martinez should run for City Council or for Mayor of North Las Vegas, with City Council ultimately being settled on as the better choice. Pestana was chosen as Campaign Manager. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | ||
Martinez's district was North Las Vegas Ward 1. While the race was officially non-partisan, | Martinez's council district was North Las Vegas Ward 1. While the race was officially non-partisan and there was no incumbent, Ward 1 leaned heavily Democratic and had a high Hispanic population. Martinez's official campaign slogan was "''Meristemos mejor''," roughly translated as "We deserve better." <ref name=":3" /> <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | ||
In addition to Martinez, the other candidates were: <ref name=":3" /> | In addition to Martinez, the other candidates were: <ref name=":3" /> | ||
#Isaac Barron (D), who was endorsed by Harry Reid and other key leaders from the Nevada Democratic Party | #Isaac Barron (D), who was endorsed by Harry Reid and other key leaders from the Nevada Democratic Party. He was widely considered a shoo-in who would win the election outright in the non-partisan primary by taking a majority of the vote. | ||
#Jared Hardy (R), son of former City Councilman Brent Hardy | #Jared Hardy (R), son of former City Councilman Brent Hardy. He was expected to capture most of the Mormon vote, which was a significant and politically-active minority in the ward. | ||
#Jeff Eggeman, a perennial candidate | #Jeff Eggeman, a perennial candidate. | ||
A political operative who supported Hardy downplayed Martinez's chances in a personal conversation with Martinez and Pestana, claiming that Martinez was going to "get his ass kicked" in the race and should drop out. <ref name=":2" /> Many board members of the Clark County Republican Party, at the time controlled by libertarians, endorsed Martinez. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | |||
Martinez's campaign ran on a shoestring budget with heavy grassroots volunteer support. It used many tactics that were considered unconventional, such as diamond-shaped signs, hand-written letters, conducting official sign placements and changes at highly-visible locations in the middle of the night, and the encouragement of supporters to request mail-in ballots. Pestana's professional background in data analytics was credited with playing a significant role in allowing the campaign to out-maneuver their opponents and leverage low expenditures for high impact. Barron's campaign increased their activity significantly to counter Martinez, including sending direct mail with a quote from Harry Reid claiming that Barron was the only candidate in the race who spoke Spanish (which Martinez didn't learn until several years later). <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":1" /> | |||
Martinez | In the March non-partisan primary, Martinez received 17.92% of the vote and did not advance to the general election. He came within approximately 7 points of Hardy. <ref name=":3" /> Although he was a registered Republican, Martinez is believed to have mostly drawn Democrat support away from Barron, thus preventing Barron from claiming the 50%+ he needed for an automatic win in the primary. In the aftermath, Hardy's campaign attempted to secure Martinez's endorsement for the general election, but Martinez declined. The Hardy campaign later listed a (presumably different) Juan Martinez as endorsing Hardy. <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":4">Analysis from Doug Pestana (circa 2013)</ref> <ref name=":1" /> Barron went on to defeat Hardy in the general election by over 17 points, which was the approximate vote count that Martinez had won in the primary. <ref>[https://www.nvsos.gov/SOSelectionPages/results/2013CityGeneral/CityofNorthLasVegas.aspx Official Municipal General Election Results City of North Las Vegas (2013)]</ref> <ref name=":3" /> | ||
The Juan Martinez Campaign Committee ultimately achieved a significantly lower expense per vote ratio than most other campaigns averaged throughout the state, and the lessons and methodologies learned by Martinez and his volunteers went on to profoundly shape grassroots political activism in Nevada and eventually several other states. <ref name=":3" /> <ref name=":2" /> <ref name=":4" /> | |||
==Politics as Career (2013 - Present)== | ==Politics as Career (2013 - Present)== | ||