Bob Martinez
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Robert "Bob" Martinez (born December 25, 1934 in Tampa, Florida) was the fortieth governor of Florida from 1987 to 1991. Prior to that, he was the mayor of Tampa from 1979 to 1986.
Martinez, whose family descended from Cuba, was the first American governor of Hispanic decent and the second Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction. He received a bachelor's degree from the University of Tampa and went on to earn a master's in labor and industrial relations from the University of Illinois. In the late 1960s, he became the head of the Tampa teachers' union, leading it in a strike against the city. He was elected mayor of Tampa in 1979. In 1983, he switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican and was re-elected mayor, but stepped down in 1986 when he ran for governor. He won the election and took office on January 6, 1987.
As governor he continued the environmental protection programs of his Democratic predecessor, Bob Graham, and created additional protections for Florida’s surface waters, including Lake Okeechobee, Tampa Bay, Lake Jackson, the Kissimmee River, and other areas. He aggressively sought to eliminate wasteful spending projects sponsored by members of the legislature, and increased spending on the state’s drug control programs. He was regarded as a "rising star" in Republican politics. However, his support for a sales tax on services during his first year in office drew much criticism from his own supporters. The Democratic-controlled legislature passed the proposed tax, and Martinez signed it into law, despite opposition from within his own party. After less than a year, when he abruptly withdrew his support for the tax (replacing it with an increase in the traditional sales tax on goods), his credibility in the public eye sank.
Two years later, in 1989, after a U.S. Supreme Court ruling allowed states greater flexibility to restrict abortions, he called the Florida Legislature into special session in an effort to pass anti-abortion laws. None of the governor's proposals made it out of committee and his approval ratings sunk to around 24%.
In 1990, Governor Martinez was defeated in his re-election bid by former Democratic Senator Lawton Chiles. After he left the governor's mansion on January 8, 1991, Martinez was tasked by President George H. W. Bush to be the Director of the National Drug Control Policy (or "drug czar"). He now operates an international business consulting firm in Tampa.
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