- This is a production of WEDU PBS, Tampa, St.

Petersburg, Sarasota.

[Music] Tampa Hispanic story runs deep.

The community we know today took root 140 years ago with the first cigar rolled in Ybor City.

Those immigrant workers built more than a neighborhood.

They built their own clubs, clinics, even hospitals.

Today, I sit down with former governor Bob Martinez.

He's a former mayor of Tampa and Florida's only Hispanic governor.

Then three local leaders join us on the set, a coffee roaster, a lawyer, and the head of the region's Hispanic Chamber of Commerce.

We'll talk about building a business here, what it costs to keep one open, and who leads this community next.

It's National Hispanic Heritage Month and Florida This Week is next.

[Music] Welcome back everybody.

I'm your host, Lissette Campos.

Right now National Hispanic Heritage Month is in full swing.

And so we begin today with someone whose leadership started in Tampa and took him all the way up to Florida's highest public office.

Former governor Bob Martinez was born in Tampa.

He was the city's mayor and then Florida's first and only Hispanic governor.

Thank you so much for joining us.

Lissette, it's great to be here with you.

An honor to have you.

You were the governor of our state, the 40th governor, from 1987 to 1991.

What would you say was your most wonderful accomplishment?

What would you say was, is the accomplishment that you're most proud of?

Obviously, the environment has been a big thing with me.

You know, Preservation 2000 was a ten-year program.

The state spent $3 billion and bought 1,550,000 acres.

It was the biggest land acquisition program in the United States at that time.

And then we have programs that clean up the water.

Tampa Bay really got cleaned up because of SWIM, which I advocated.

And and SWIM stands for the Surface Water Improvement and Management Act.

Yes.

And also had the South Water.

We had the water management districts manage it rather than the state agency.

And they did a wonderful job.

And what was, what would you say was the relevance of that?

What was so different?

Grasses were dying.

Marine life was in decline.

A lot of it was caused by government's wastewater treatment plants pouring their treated water into the bay.

And it was not totally cleansed in a way that a tertiary transplant would do.

So as a result, water got polluted, grass died, seafood was not plentiful.

It affected manatees as well because they are grazers.

They're eating the grass all the time.

So in essence, I think that program saved the bays across the state.

So I spent a lot of time on that subject.

And, uh, but in addition to that, one of the things that I think parents ought to be really, really thankful for is prepaid tuition.

That's right.

Florida...the Florida Prepaid College Plan.

You launched it in 1987.

Right.

And it allowed parents, family didn't matter who to purchase contracts, even pay by the month.

You didn't have to pay it all up front.

And the price of the tuition was guaranteed.

You wouldn't have to pay any more.

You could also buy as well.

A lot of people don't know this, but you could buy also for lodging and food.

What was that like to put that together?

Because when you created the Florida Prepaid College Plan, that was really a first.

How complicated was it?

- A developer by the name of Stan Tate out of Dade County approached me about this, and he had taken it on as a mission for whatever reason, and together we worked it.

I assigned my legislative staff to be sure that we could get it passed.

I made certain I didn't want government to run it.

I wanted a freestanding agency unrelated to the governor's office, unrelated to the legislature, to run it, just like I did with the lottery.

I did the same thing with the lottery.

- Florida lottery as well.

- We launched that year.

I didn't want civil servants.

I didn't want politics running those two agencies.

Uh, spaceports are another one.

Same way I felt that there were independent free of the politics of the day.

Run like a business.

That they would perform well and they have.

- So the Florida Lottery you started in 1988, the year after Florida Prepaid College both go into funding education.

Are the programs everything you had hoped they would be.

- It exceeded anything, particularly the lottery.

It exceeded anything we had expected.

Now the lottery oddly enough.

Florida's constitution prohibited lottery and casino and gambling.

But at the time I ran for governor, there were two efforts to amend the state Constitution.

One to make.

One was to make lottery legal.

The other was to make casinos legal.

Casino failed.

Lottery passed.

So it fell to my administration to implement it and that was, I forgot.

Maybe it was passed in 87.

I think part of it was, became operable in early 88.

And finally the whole thing got operable.

I think by late 88 or early 89.

And of course, one of the biggest in the nation, of course, our population now is one of the biggest in the nation.

But yeah, there were two successful ones, and I thought those two should run like a business and not like a government agency.

And I think I was right in promoting it that way.

So during your time in Tampa as mayor, you did something that I. I think that if it happened today, there would be chaos in politics.

You were a sitting mayor of Tampa and you decided to change your party affiliation.

And it was President Ronald Reagan who kind of really tried to convince you.

Tell us about how did that happen?

- So I get reelected, and on July 9th, I get a call from the White House.

And I'd been in the White House before with Jimmy Carter when he was when he was president, he said, saying that the president would like for me to meet with him.

So I decided to buy my own plane ticket and pay my own costs, since I knew this was political, that this was not city.

So sure enough, I fly to Washington.

I think it was a 2:00 meeting, something like that, and going to the Oval.

As I walk into the Oval Office, when I got called in.

Uh, President Ronald Reagan gets up from behind the desk and Vice President George Bush was also in the office.

So he walked up to me and said, uh, Bobby, I'm Ronnie, because people still call me.

A lot of people call me Bobby, including my wife.

Mary Jane still calls me Bobby.

So he had been briefed that people are close to me, still call me Bobby.

So after about 20 minutes of this banter back and forth, finally the president says, you know, mayor, you and I are much alike.

So I said, here it comes.

And he said, uh, I was once a union leader.

And you represented the union.

Uh, you had to break a wildcat strike.

And I had to break the wildcat strike by the air controllers.

I was once a Democrat, and now I'm a Republican.

And the only thing you haven't done, like me has become a Republican.

And I wish you would.

So I said, Mr.

President, I'm honored that you would feel that way.

But this is a major decision, and I don't make a major decision without my wife.

And I will let you know should I make that decision?

Well, we talked about it for about a week or so.

So on July 29th, I think in the morning, uh, I called the White House and told the White House to let the president know that I was walking over with my wife, Mary Jane, to change party affiliation.

So they must have notified the media because I didn't.

And I knew they would.

So Mary Jane and I walked from City Hall, City Hall to the courthouse and reregistered as a Republican.

- And history was made.

Yeah.

You have had an amazing career.

Uh, with such a legacy that few can really replicate.

What would you want the next generation of Hispanics in Florida to know about our state?

- Well, I'm going to tell you what I what I do when I talk to young people, uh, high school or college level.

And I look out there and I see a lot of students that appear to be of minority background, either by race or ethnicity either way.

And I tell them about what I was told when I was moving my way up by some of those I went to school with who still weren't thinking about yesterday instead of tomorrow.

So you may hear that because of your race, you can't succeed.

Or you may hear because of your ethnicity, you can't win.

And that was in my case, some believing that because of my ethnicity that I couldn't win in a race where there are not enough people ethnically voting to get me elected.

Then you'll hear, well, you're not of wealth.

And if you're not of wealth in this country, you cannot succeed.

And of course, I was not of wealth.

I wasn't poor, but I wasn't wealthy.

So someone with your background, how are you going to access people that can raise the money you need to make a major campaign for governor?

Then I tell the students all those things are heard from those who felt they couldn't get out of where they were, and none of it was true.

When I won and when I lost, I carried the Panhandle, the most non ethnic group you can find because there was no no truth to it.

So I want you to understand there is no truth.

If they're trying to tell you you can't do something, it doesn't mean you'll succeed at what you want.

Not all of you are going to be mayor.

Not all of you are going to be a governor.

Not all of you are going to be a drug czar.

But you're going to be somebody if you believe in yourself.

- We so appreciate you joining us, Governor Martinez.

Thank you very much.

Before we move on to the panel, a quick reminder we are less than one month away from the midterm elections.

Voters will choose a new governor of Florida.

A new U.S.

senator will fill several congressional seats and select the next mayor of the city of St.

Pete.

And that's not even the full list.

Vote by mail ballots are already going out.

You can still request a mail ballot by October the 22nd.

Please note that early voting starts on October the 19th in most counties.

Election day is Tuesday, November the 3rd.

And now, joining me at the desk, we want to welcome Roberto Torres, the co-founder of Blind Tiger Coffee Roasters.

Amy Ruiz is a Tampa attorney, the founder of Amy Ruiz Law.

She's also Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc's 2026 Hispanic Woman of the year.

And also here is Mercedes Young, president of the Hispanic Chamber of Commerce of Tampa Bay.

Welcome, welcome, welcome.

Let's start with what stood out to each of you when you were listening to Governor Martinez.

Roberto,8 I'd like to start with you.

- I think I think the way that he remembers fondly all the accomplishments that he had through his administration and how groundbreaking they were and how it exceeded his expectations.

That's that's really what stood out for me.

- Yeah.

Amy.

- I love all of his accomplishments.

Um, starting from the water project to Florida Prepaid, which I benefited from.

And now my children are enrolled as well.

I thought that was groundbreaking and it's been incredibly successful.

- Mercedes.

- It really struck me how he revered the family concept, how he will not make a decision without his wife.

Very wise man.

- Even though it was the president of the United States of America asking him, he wasn't more important than his wife, Mary Jane, at home.

Yes.

[laughter] So let's talk about enterprise.

You know, this year, Ybor City, our pioneer neighborhood, marked 140 years since it began.

Um, let's talk about that entrepreneurship spirit.

Roberto you started your Blind Tiger Cafe Coffee Roasters in that neighborhood.

What would you say is different for the immigrant starting their business now?

- I think the opportunity is different.

I think the sentiment is different.

I don't believe that from the entrepreneur side that that the dream is no less or the opportunity to be resilient is no less.

Um, our, our particular path is really about obstacles, but we always find a way.

- And Amy, you certainly found a way.

You started your law firm in 2012.

Um, you know, what did it take to build your, your law firm?

And how have you seen the growth of other Hispanic owned businesses around you?

- Uh, a lot of grit and hard work.

I was a firm believer in grassroots marketing.

So I was out in every community event I could find.

I was constantly meeting people, just letting people know about what I did, and especially letting the Hispanic community know that I was fluent in Spanish and that I could speak to them in their own language and explain the law in their own language.

And it took a lot of hard work, but every year I just grew a little bit more and a little bit more, and it paid off.

- Would you say that both of you, Roberto and Amy, have seen more Hispanic owned businesses within your industries?

- I think 100%, yes.

- Absolutely.

- Mercedes, do you have a front row seat to, you know, business development in our community?

What would you say is the, the impact that Hispanic businesses have had, not just in Tampa Bay, but as a chamber official?

You see the big picture.

Tell us about that.

- Um, well, we are privileged to have also here, the Tax Collector is also a Hispanic woman, you know, Nancy.

So we get to get this tax every year.

And right now, 51% of the small businesses in our community are, you know, minorities per se or just small companies.

And that's when I say that means we're not minority with majority because 51 is more than 49.

So, um, but with that said, I have seen an incredible resilience regardless, in spite of whatever the opportunity is there, and we are here to take it.

And, you know, just to grow our families and not just going to work, but be a part of coming out of the airport, playing in, you know, the plane.

And you say, my company did that.

My company has a concession, my company did the, the floors, my company did the survey.

You know, you're driving through Tampa and Ybor City, and you can see an artist that just came here with a dream and a Hispanic artist was the one who painted that on the walls.

So it's just not only being an entrepreneur, but being a creator of your own, your own world.

- Which brings me to the point that the Tampa's earliest Hispanic communities really made a point of taking care of each other.

The mutual aid societies that were started, the Centro Asturiano, the Italian club, they all provided a lot of social services, not just the the the entertainment, but also medical care hospitals.

When you look at the health care industry now, the Affordable Health Care Act, you've got millions of people who have been dropped now.

How do you, as a business owner, Roberto, deal with navigate providing those health benefits for your employees?

- I think for us, the ask is simple: How can we be a resource to either provide a specific benefit or where they can find it?

Um, the, this particular rule about employees where your group is 50 or plus, um, we, what we try to do lately is partner up with Florida blue and they have a pretty good uninsured program.

- Find ways to.

- Make it work, regardless of whether, whether, if our pool of very young people, because our employees tend to trend between anywhere between 18 and 25 years old.

We need them to be part of the pool so that so that it lowers the cost of health care for everyone.

- And you know, those those earlier structures of the mutual aid society really provided that network, that safety net, um, not just in the health industry, but also immigration questions and, and social services.

Where do people go, Amy, now when they have some really serious questions about things?

Where does the community have to go now?

- There are different.

- Resources.

One in particular that I'm very fond of is Bay Area Legal Services, and they help a lot of people that don't have the means.

And I see them in court advocating for their clients and they're wonderful attorneys.

That's one resource.

Then there are other organizations too, as well.

For instance, I'm very involved with the Tampa Hispanic Bar Association and, and we've held what we call charlas or legal forums where we have workshops, attorneys from various types of law to come and give free legal advice.

So there are some avenues.

- And tariffs are something that we'd also like to talk about.

Tariffs have affected many local businesses.

Mercedes what are you seeing in terms of the Chamber of Commerce.

- Well it touches everybody all the way to the end.

Buyer.

All the way from the one that got up in the morning with a hope to go ahead and and build.

Like, for example, we have a company that they had to shut down because they built cabinets.

And that's actually the company that also did the work for the new courthouse that we have.

But the materials it's a project that could have been a budget of, let's say, $100 million, it turns easily into $129 million because the buyer absorbed the cost.

We pay the, you know, we pay the tariffs to get the materials we build it in.

But at the end of the day, we are in business.

So we have to sell it at a price that is according to the price of the materials.

So it affects everybody.

- Not just Hispanic businesses.

- No, not just Hispanics.

Yes, that's my point, everybody.

Yes.

- And there are there are other costs, right, to keeping your business open.

I'd like to ask you, Roberto, specifically, in the spring of last year, you held at the Blind Tiger, really a workshop with Congresswoman Kathy Castor, a roundtable discussion to hear about the problems of the community and really to engage in a lot of problem solving.

- I think the idea was to try to highlight what the unintended consequences are of placing a tariff on a commodity or a product that we did not get to produce in the US.

Coffee has grown between between the Rust Belt of, of, of the country, of, of the planet I'm sorry.

And what, what we saw is that it doesn't just affect coffee, it also affects tea.

It also affects, you know, 90% of the of the raw materials, but single use disposable paper or plastic cups, lids, sugar napkins, wax paper boxes.

All of these materials that we get to use every day get affected.

And we've been paying them for the last ten years.

Um, which, which just sounds insane when I say that, but the only reason why we had that one is because coffee was affected on that particular tariff.

Um, and six years, six, six months after we ended up getting an exception for coffee.

And that's when the, when the Supreme Court found that the, that this particular tariffs were, um, not, not, not constitutional.

- Amy, when you've worked with clients in the community who have questions about immigration, I know that's work that you're very passionate about.

How are you seeing businesses being impacted by policies in immigration?

- I think there's a labor shortage.

- Um, particularly hitting the construction industry and the restaurant industry as well, because a lot of immigrants are the ones that performe a lot, a lot.

Most of the tasks behind the scenes, um, and many of them have either gotten deported or self deported themselves out of fear.

And, um, it's definitely had an impact.

- So I'd like to turn now from, you know, the community leadership, the influence that Hispanics are having, um, into how we can get more engaged.

Mercedes.

Tell us about the importance of having members of the Hispanic community on boards, on commissions, on leadership tables.

You yourself were, are the former chair of the National Association of Black Women in Construction.

Wow.

I mean, that is just quite impressive.

Explain to our viewers, how important is it to have Hispanics at that table?

- It's crucial.

Let me just give you an example.

This tax is always put out every year.

The government normally hires a company called think tank and they do.

They're the ones who do, um, the studies on the economic impact of all different groups in the United States and worldwide.

So we had in 2025, 4.4 trillion GDP economy, the fourth largest economy in the world is the Hispanic community.

We had a 2.8 trillion Hispanics impacting in consumption economy in the United States.

And we are the third largest consumer market in the world and growing faster and faster.

But needless to say, we are 20% of the total of the US population, 27% of the total U.S.

youth.

32% of the U.S.

birth, and from which 94% of those are English speaking.

So that's who we are.

We are here.

It is more than important.

It's crucial.

It's imperative because we are resilient and we are not foreigners here.

This is our community.

- Before we go, I'd like to ask each of you to share something that is special to you for Hispanic Heritage Month.

Amy, I know that for you it is being named by a Tampa Hispanic Heritage Inc.

as the Hispanic Woman of the Year.

Congratulations.

That's quite an honor.

Um, what does that mean for you?

- It is like you said, it is such an honor.

Um, I am so proud to have been recognized in that way because I, I wasn't expecting it, and I was just doing things that are natural for me.

Um, I've always been involved in community service organizations.

So it's just kind of part of who I am.

And I like giving back to the community.

That's something that just is fulfilling for me to be able to help others and to, you know, turn, turn around and raise somebody up behind me and help open doors for them like doors were open for me.

So it's just been an incredible honor.

You are a wonderful ambassador for us.

Roberto, what would you say is the thing that you want to focus on for National Hispanic Heritage Month?

- I think I think highlighting the opportunity and to tell our story.

We are the only ones that can tell our story better than anyone else.

Us Latinos or Latinas opened the most businesses at a faster clip than any other ethnicity in the US.

And we do it without access to capital.

We do it on credit cards.

We do it on borrowed cash.

And we're the ones that are redefining and opening the opportunity of what it is to have a small business.

Business owners face many obstacles, but what would you say is the biggest obstacle that Hispanic entrepreneurs are facing?

Yeah, I think I think it's this perception that perhaps we're not prepared or qualified or that we do not understand a specific industry, or that perhaps we got to be able to market to other Latinos in order to have a, like, a, like a legit business.

Um, we can do it in Spanish or English.

Mercedes, what about you?

What impacts me the most, especially at this month, is we get to be highlighted, really.

But it's the resilience.

It's just, you know, everyday business.

We get up in the morning full of hope and we're going to do it and we're going to do it again, and we're going to do it again.

And just to see the results we have, especially the state of Florida among the whole country, we are the ones with the most construction projects right now.

There isn't a corner that you turn that you do not see equipment being lifted.

And and you would always see us behind it.

And that is a pride of my heart for me.

- Thank you, all of you, for your time and for being here again.

Congratulations to you, Amy, for you at home.

If you'd like to join Amy at the Hispanic Gala, you can go on tampahispanic.org.

Again, our thanks to our panelists, Roberto Torres, Amy Ruiz, and Mercedes Young.

And thank you to former governor Bob Martinez.

To see the extended interview with Governor Martinez, go to our YouTube page, it's youtube.com/WEDUPBS.

We know you've got plenty of choices for your news and information, and we thank you for choosing us.

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