Bush Names Martinez to Be Next Drug Czar : Administration: Florida’s governor faces Senate confirmation. He would replace Bennett, who is the President’s pick for GOP chairman.

President Bush on Friday named outgoing Florida Gov. Bob Martinez to head the nation’s war on drugs, selecting a politician who stressed law enforcement in fighting his own state’s skyrocketing drug crimes.

In announcing his choice for director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, Bush said he was giving Martinez “a battlefield promotion for a leader who has earned his stripes on the front lines of the drug war. Gov. Martinez can and will hit the ground running.”

In his four years as governor, Martinez’s high-profile anti-drug policies emphasized tough penalties, law enforcement and prison construction over treatment and prevention. Despite this, drug crimes escalated significantly during his tenure.

But Bush praised Martinez, 55, as being an effective leader in the war on drugs.

“He’s been contributing to our national drug control strategy for over two years,” Bush said. “He stiffened the Florida code and then added the prison space to enforce it. . . . As a governor who signed more than 130 death warrants, he understands tough choices.”

If confirmed by the Senate, Martinez will replace William J. Bennett, the outspoken conservative who has served as “drug czar” for 19 months and now is Bush’s choice to head the Republican National Committee.

Sen. Joseph R. Biden Jr. (D-Del.), chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he was disappointed that Bush selected Martinez, but he promised to hold confirmation hearings shortly after Congress convenes in January.

“Mr. Martinez lacks the background and record to suggest that he is well-suited for this task,” Biden said. He said he looks forward to a debate with Martinez on Administration policies and whether he is willing to try new approaches.

Martinez is expected to bring a more businesslike approach to the job than Bennett, who was noted for his feisty, bully-pulpit rhetoric in bringing national focus on the drug crisis.

Martinez told reporters that he will continue to emphasize tough enforcement measures. “The balance is always being debated,” between enforcement and treatment and prevention dollars, he said.

Martinez, a former mayor of Tampa, Fla., became governor in 1987. He lost his reelection bid this month to Democratic former Sen. Lawton Chiles.

As Florida’s chief executive, he was the first governor to name a state drug czar. He also expanded prison space and served as spokesman on the drug issue for the National Assn. of Governors. He took a test himself to show that he was drug free.

He also pushed through the state Legislature laws mandating the death penalty for drug kingpins in certain cases and requiring tougher penalties for drug dealers who traffic near schools.

“Certainly I come from a state that has been a laboratory in the war on drugs. . . . I think we can point to successes,” Martinez said Friday.

Bush worked hard on Martinez’s behalf in the fall campaign, and the governor became the front-runner for the drug policy post almost immediately after his reelection loss.

The President traveled to Florida three times during the campaign to appear at Martinez rallies.