TAMPA, Fla. – Florida’s most ferocious spending watchdog has paid tribute to former Gov. Bob Martinez by naming one of its most prominent programs after him.
Florida TaxWatch held its spring meeting in Tampa this week. The event included appearances by state Attorney General Ashley Moody and CFO Jimmy Patrionis.
But the conference featured TaxWatch renaming its Citizenship Institute “The Governor Bob and Mary Jane Martinez Citizenship Institute,” after Florida’s first Hispanic governor and his wife of 67 years.
The program seeks to teach business leaders about the effects government and politics have on their firms.
Martinez, a Republican, served as governor between 1987 and 1991. Prior to that, he was mayor of Tampa, of which he is a native. He also is a member of TaxWatch’s executive committee.
According to the website Florida Politics, Gov. Martinez was a major force in helping launch the Citizenship Institute seven years ago.
At the nonpartisan group’s conference this week, TaxWatch President and CEO Dominic Calabro told the Martinez’s, “You guys, both together, epitomize what great citizenship is all about,” Florida Politics reported.
During his own comments at the event, Martinez noted, “Don’t let anybody talk you out of whatever it is you want to do. The institute plays a very vital role for those young people that come in and become part of it.”
After serving as governor, Martinez became the nation’s drug czar under former President George H.W. Bush. Besides helping guide TaxWatch, he is also a senior policy adviser to Holland & Knight, one of Florida’s biggest and most influential law firms.
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