Matthew Gilbert Martinez (b. February 14, 1929) is a politician from the state of California.
Martinez was born in Walsenberg, Huerfano County, Colorado and he served in the United States Marine Corps from 1947 to 1950. Martinez was elected to the city council and the mayor's office of Monterey Park, California. In 1980, he was elected to the California State Assembly as a Democrat. Martinez was elected to the House of Representatives in a special election in 1982. In 2000, Martinez was defeated in the primary election by Hilda Solis. Solis claimed Martinez was out of touch with his district when he voted to ban partial-birth abortion and restrict Gun Control. On July 27, 2000, Martinez joined the Republican Party and claimed that the Democrats had abandoned him. Martinez's push to get latino voters to vote Republican had no real effect in 2000, as he was defeated by Solis.
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