Martinez, Robert, 1934-

Variant names

Dates:

Birth 1934-12-25

Gender:

Male

Nationality: Americans,

Language: English

Biographical notes:

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.

As governor, Martinez initiated America's largest environmental land acquisition program, Preservation 2000. He proposed the Surface Water Improvement Management act that protects Florida's surface waters, including Lake Okeechobee, Tampa Bay, Lake Jackson, the Kissimmee River, and other areas. He helped get Florida's first solid waste management law passed and implemented Florida's Growth Management Act. He was an advocate of laws and rules that protected manatees and dolphins. However, his single term as governor was controversial due to the passage and repeal of an unpopular state sales tax on services and an anti-obscenity campaign targeting Miami rappers 2 Live Crew, who later recorded a derogatory song attacking Martinez. He lost his reelection campaign to U.S. Senator Lawton Chiles in 1990. After his time as governor, Martinez was appointed Director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy by President George H. W. Bush. Martinez held that position from 1991 until 1993, when he returned to Tampa and became a business consultant and a board member of several local educational organizations.