NY TIMES: Senator Martinez Resigns Early

August 7, 2009, 12:03 pm
Senator Martinez Resigns Early
By Bernie Becker
Susan Walsh/Associated Press Senator Mel Martinez is reportedly expected to announce his resignation on Friday afternoon.

Senator Mel Martinez, Republican of Florida, who had already announced he was not running for re-election in 2010, has decided to leave the Senate for good in the next few weeks, according to Senate Republican aides.

The Associated Press reports that in a letter to supporters, Mr. Martinez, 62, wrote that “my priorities have always been my faith, my family and my country, and at this stage in my life, and after nearly 12 years of public service in Florida and Washington, it’s time I return to Florida and my family.” The A.P. said that Mr. Martinez would formally announce his resignation in Florida on Friday afternoon.

Even though Mr. Martinez had said he would not seek a second term in the Senate, it was widely assumed that he would finish serving his current one through the 2010 elections.

Florida’s Republican governor, Charlie Crist, is among the high-profile candidates who have announced they will run for the seat. Under Florida law, Mr. Crist is responsible for selecting the interim senator who will replace Mr. Martinez. It’s widely expected that Mr. Crist will name a place-holder until the election.

Mr. Martinez was born in Cuba and was brought to Florida at a young age under the Operation Peter Pan program, a humanitarian effort in the early 1960s that placed him with foster families. He later was reunited with his family. More recently, he was Secretary of Housing and Urban Development during the administration of former President George W. Bush, before resigning to run for the Senate in 2004. During part of his current Senate term, he also served as general chairman of the Republican National Committee.

Just this past week, he broke from the party leadership to vote in favor of Senate confirmation of Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court, and lauded the nomination to the nation’s highest court of a Latina-American.