Martinez, Robert, 1934-

Robert Martinez (born December 25, 1934) is a retired American politician who was the first person of Spanish descent to be elected to the office of Governor of Florida. He was the state's 40th governor and held the office from 1987 to 1991.

Born and raised in Tampa, Florida, he attended the University of Tampa, earning a B.S., and began his career as an educator in the local public school system before earning an M.S. from the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign. As head of the Tampa teachers’ union in the late 1960s, he led a strike against the city. He first entered politics with an unsuccessful run for mayor of Tampa in 1974, then won the office in Tampa's next mayoral election in 1979 and was reelected in 1983. During his second term as mayor, Martinez switched his party affiliation from Democrat to Republican. While Mayor, the city built one of America's first refuse to energy plants, a performing arts center,convention center, reconstructed the zoo, restored the 1915 City Hall building and annexed thousands of acres of undeveloped land that became new Tampa. He resigned the position in 1986 to focus on his ultimately successful campaign for the governorship of Florida.

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