Florida Friend

The name Bob Martinez carries significant weight in politics, locally and statewide, given he was both mayor of Tampa and Florida Governor.

Martinez also served a stint in President George H.W. Bush's cabinet, and he named a young Jeb Bush Florida Secretary of Commerce. Then there's this: Martinez considered former President Ronald Reagan a friend, both before and after the 40th president persuaded Martinez to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican in 1983.

But come this January, the 77-year-old Martinez will have been in private industry for 20 years since his last political position, when he was director of National Drug Control policy under Bush. Those 20 years equal the time he spent in public office.