Post # 322, Bob McKnight's Florida Commentary
Maybe the most popular member of the Florida Legislature during the Golden Age of the '70's and '80's.
Some legislators are just popular. They are popular regardless of the political party. One that I recall so well is former Representative Sid Martin, from little Hawthorne, near the University of Florida in Gainesville.
Sid and I arrived in Tallahassee the same day in 1974. I recall meeting him on the floor in the Organizational Session of the Florida House of Representatives. I noticed that there were a number of reporters talking to him about his plans for the upcoming Session. There were no reporters near me or my desk. When I looked up Sid's background, I saw why he was so popular with the press. He was a former Mayor of Hawthorne and for almost 20 years he served on the Alachua County Commission. He was a die-hard Gator and more liberal than almost any freshman member of the Florida House. The press loved Sid Martin.
He was so well-liked in the legislature that Republicans joined with Democrats to pass a law naming the University of Florida Business Incubator Program after Sid. It is now the model economic development engine for many other states.
Sid Martin was a big man--6 feet 6 inches and close to 300 pounds. But he was truly a gentile giant. I was honored to have served with in the legislature.
As he bellowed on the House floor so many times, "Go Gators."
Rest in Peace Representative Sid Martin.
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