New HUD chief viewed as strong manager

Urban and housing experts are still puzzling over why President Bush selected Melquiades R. Martinez, chairman of Orange County, Fla., as Secretary of Housing and Urban Development.

Oh sure, Bush gets diversity points for appointing a Cuban-American to his Cabinet. But some with a more cynical bent view the appointment as political payback. Martinez served as co-chair of Bush's presidential campaign in Florida and is a friend of Gov. Jeb Bush, the President's brother. Others say that by selecting a local legislator with a low profile and limited housing experience, Bush is signaling his lack of interest in HUD in particular, and in housing policy in general. Bush's housing proposals are minimal, and, when announcing his selection of Martinez, he got HUD's name wrong, calling it the department of "housing and human development."

Yet most housing advocates, as they learn more about Martinez's work in Florida, are seeing him in a positive light. Members of Congress and Washington policy experts who have been concerned about chronic mismanagement at HUD welcome Martinez's reputation as a good manager and strong consensus builder. Administrators of local housing programs around the country are looking forward to a Secretary who spent two years as the chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority and who should understand how HUD can help, and hinder, their work. Advocates for low-income families find comfort in Martinez's personal story: At age 15, he fled from Cuba to Florida, where he lived with two foster families until his parents also escaped to Florida. He worked his way through school and became a successful trial lawyer and powerful civic leader in one of the country's fastest-growing communities.

Martinez's true stripes will surface as he takes over responsibility for a department that has a reputation for corruption and laxity, and that has long been an unloved stepchild of Administrations and Congress. HUD's career bureaucrats were relieved that Clinton's housing chief, Andrew Cuomo, helped bring the department back from the verge of extinction by getting more money for its budget. But they were tired of Cuomo's relentless public relations machine, which churned out overly positive reports about the department's rebound.

Few expect Martinez to begin work with a predetermined, ideology-driven vision of change for HUD. Although he has already discussed shifting the responsibility for hundreds of HUD programs to state and local governments, Martinez's history suggests he is likely to take his time before making major changes. He is known for taking into consideration a wide variety of viewpoints before implementing reforms.

Yet he is unafraid to take action when he feels it is warranted. As the chairman of Orange County, he surprised private developers and builders by declaring a partial moratorium on construction of new residential projects in crowded school districts. While serving as president of the Orlando Utilities Commission between 1994 and 1997, Martinez overhauled the utility's ethics rules and spending practices and pushed for the resignation of its general manager.

Martinez also shook up the Orlando Housing Authority between 1984 and 1986 when he served as its chief. Jay Rose, a legal services lawyer who worked then with Martinez, said, "Residents had been concerned that the director of the housing authority didn't listen to them. Martinez responded by holding periodic board meetings in the housing developments. Before that, residents thought it was a waste of time to go to board meetings. But he changed that culture."

It's uncertain what kind of national housing agenda Martinez will pursue--he was not very specific in his confirmation hearing, other than to emphasize the importance of increasing homeownership rates for minorities.

Bush also has talked about increasing homeownership. He supports letting local public housing authorities give low-income renters up to a year's worth of vouchers to help with buying a home, and allowing them to use federal vouchers to subsidize monthly mortgage payments.

In general, housing is a bipartisan issue in the congressional committees that oversee it. Democratic and Republican members alike favor more assistance for homeownership, although Republicans have made stronger efforts to promote it. Many Democrats are increasingly calling for the federal government to pay for construction of more affordable housing. Sen. Christopher S. Bond, R-Mo., chairman of the Appropriations Subcommittee on Veterans' Affairs, HUD, and Independent Agencies (where experts say the real power to craft housing policy now lies), also wants to finance more construction. But Sen. Phil Gramm, R-Texas, chairman of the Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee, does not.

Martinez has until this spring to bring himself up to speed on federal housing issues. That is when he'll propose the department's new budget, which will serve as a road map of the Administration's housing and urban priorities. In his confirmation hearing, Martinez demonstrated energy and determination: "Far from being a caretaker, I intend to be very active."