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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 was the first American governor of Hispanic decent and the second Republican governor of Florida since Reconstruction. He attended the University of Tampa, receiving a bachelor's degree. He went on to earn a master's degree 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. He was re-elected mayor until 1986 when he ran for governor, taking office on January 6, 1987. As governor he continued the environmental protection programs of his Democratic predecessor, Bob Graham, and created additional protections for Floridas surface waters, including Lake Okeechobee, Tampa Bay, Lake Jackson, the Kissimmee River, as well as other areas. He aggressively sought to eliminate wasteful spending projects sponsored by many members of the legislature. He also increased spending on the states drug control programs. He was regarded as a "rising star" in Republican politics until he backed a law to tax services, for which later withdrew his support. However, by this point is was too late for him to have done so politically, and this controversy cost him most of his popularity and led to his defeat for re-election by former Democratic Senator Lawton Chiles. After he left the governor's mansion on January 8, 1991, we was tasked by President George H. W. Bush to be the Director of the National Drug Control Policy ("drug czar"). He now operates an international business consulting firm in his hometown of Tampa.
External links
Official Governor's portrait and biography from the State of Florida (http://dhr.dos.state.fl.us/museum/collections/governors/about.cfm?id=47)
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