Matthew Chandler

Matthew Chandler is the District Attorney for the 9th Judicial District of the state of New Mexico. In 2010, Chandler lost to Democrat Gary King in the race for the office of New Mexico Attorney General.^[1] Chandler has served as the Ninth Judicial District Attorney since 2004, when he defeated his predecessor and incumbent in the primary election with 62% of the vote.^[2]

Personal life

Matt Chandler was born and raised in Clovis, NM. His father was a police officer and his mother a school teacher. Chandler went on to graduate from Clovis High School, where he excelled in sports and student government activities. From there, he decided to stay in his home state and attended Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, NM, where he earned his B.S. in Sociology and Criminal Justice in 1998.^[3] Chandler was very active in campus life and the student body, and was an officer in his fraternity, Kappa Sigma.^[4]

After completing his undergraduate studies, Chandler was accepted into the University of Tulsa College of Law. He would go on to graduate in 2001 with his Juris Doctorate in Law.

Chandler is married to fellow New Mexican Mandi Chandler, and they are raising four boys- Mason, Miles, Merit, and Michael.

Chandler's father, Caleb, has a storied history as a public servant. The elder Chandler was the Chief of the Clovis Police Dept. for 25 years, until 1990 when he became a local magistrate judge. He also served in the New Mexico State Senate for 12 years as a Democrat.^[5]

Career

Chandler has cited his father's public service as a police officer as the impetus for his desire to pursue a career in law enforcement. After receiving his law degree, he served briefly at a private firm in Albuquerque before returning to Clovis in 2002 to accept a position as an Assistant District Attorney. During his first two years in the office, Chandler prosecuted many high profile cases and had the highest conviction rate in the entire office.^[6]

Citing a spike in violent crimes and methamphetamine production and what he perceived to be a lack of aggressive prosecution of those cases, Chandler decided to challenge his boss, incumbent DA Brett Carter, in the 2004 Republican primary.^[7] After Chandler informed Carter of his intentions, Carter immediately fired him.^[8] However, Chandler would go on to defeat Carter in the primary, garnering 62% of the vote in the process.^[9]

Throughout his tenure as Ninth Judicial District Attorney, Chandler has been the recipient of lavish praise from state leaders in both parties,^[10] including Governor Bill Richardson, who has praised Chandler's work in fighting Meth production, saying, "I was very impressed by the presentation of the DA (Matt Chandler). It makes sense to me. We're going to try to develop something statewide that supplements this. We're not making the progress I want on meth labs. They're springing up everywhere."^[11]

Chandler has been credited with much of the success Curry and Roosevelt counties have had in fighting meth production, and his program, Meth Watch, has been implemented on a statewide basis with the backing of the New Mexico District Attorneys Association.^[12]

In 2006, Chandler was honored by the New Mexico Bar Association as "New Mexico's Law Enforcement Prosecutor of the Year" for his work with law enforcement officers throughout New Mexico and his success in prosecuting tough crimes. Chandler was nominated by numerous law enforcement officials throughout his jurisdiction.^[13] One of those officials, longtime Curry County Deputy Sheriff Sandy Loomis, called Chandler the, "... most devoted and professional prosecuting attorney I have had the pleasure to work with in almost 33 years of being a peace officer." ^[14]

References

1. ^ http://ballotpedia.org/wiki/index.php/New_Mexico_Attorney_General_election,_2010
2. ^ http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Main/Elections/2004/PDF%27s/04PrimaryElectionResults.pdf
3. ^ http://mattchandler2010.com/index.htm
4. ^ http://www.pntonline.com/articles/saturday-2360-area-basketball.html
5. ^ http://www.pntonline.com/news/carter-2269-cases-crime.html
6. ^ http://www.pntonline.com/news/carter-2269-cases-crime.html
7. ^ http://www.pntonline.com/news/carter-2269-cases-crime.html
8. ^ http://www.pntonline.com/articles/attorney-19828-district-chandler.html
9. ^ http://www.sos.state.nm.us/Main/Elections/2004/PDF%27s/04PrimaryElectionResults.pdf
10. ^ http://newmexicoindependent.com/45855/district-attorney-matthew-chandler-may-run-for-ag
11. ^ http://www.amarillo.com/stories/041505/new_1719737.shtml
12. ^ http://www.observer-online.com/articles/2006/04/24/news/story2.txt
13. ^ http://www.abqjournal.com/abqnews/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=752&Itemid=2
14. ^ http://www.amarillo.com/stories/040406/new_4367696.shtml

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