President Elect Announces HUD Secretary

Orange County, FL Chairman Mel Martinez was named by President Elect George W. Bush as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development on Wednesday. Though Bush flubbed Martinez's future title, calling the chairman - whose jurisdiction includes Orlando - "Secretary of Housing and Human Development", he touted the future's secretary's personal rise from a Cuban refugee to a prominent Central Florida attorney and County Commission Chairman. A strong Bush supporter, Martinez gained the President Elect's attention over other prospects-- partly due to some hard-line approaches to curbing growth, and partly because of the zeal he exhibited while inserting himself on the national political scene during the campaign.