Martinez called Florida 170 times on government cell phone
By BILL ADAIR
Published April 2, 2004
WASHINGTON - Mel Martinez used his government cell phone for more than 170 calls to Florida in the two months before he resigned from the Bush administration to run for Bob Graham's U.S. Senate seat, according to federal records.
Democrats have alleged that last fall, when Martinez was housing secretary, he used government phones to make a flurry of calls to line up supporters in Florida. But the Martinez campaign says the Democrats are playing politics.
Martinez spokeswoman Jennifer Coxe said federal law allows Cabinet officers to make political calls and that the phone records, obtained by the St. Petersburg Times under the Freedom of Information Act, are irrelevant and don't indicate he did anything wrong.
"Everything has been approved by the (Department of Housing and Urban Development) general counsel and strictly follows the letter of the law, the intent of the law and any ethical guidelines that are set for Cabinet members," said Coxe. "There is not one thing that Secretary Martinez has done that even comes close to crossing the line of what is proper."
The actual number of calls to Florida in his final two months is probably larger than 170 because HUD redacted details about his cell phone calls to home telephone numbers, and because no records were available for Martinez's office phone.
Under federal law, political appointees such as Martinez who have been confirmed by the Senate are allowed to use their offices and telephones for political purposes, according to the Office of Special Counsel, which enforces laws on political activity by government employees.
But the calls are prohibited when the political activities cost the government money.
The Office of Special Counsel has said local political calls are permitted and do not need to be reimbursed. But the office has not given an interpretation about long-distance.
HUD rules allow employees to use government phones for personal calls if there is "minimal additional expense."
It's impossible to identify many of the people Martinez spoke with because his phone bill does not provide details about incoming calls. Also, HUD redacted home numbers in the records because "release of this information would constitute an unwarranted invasion of personal privacy."
The Martinez campaign provided the Times with a partial list of the redacted numbers he called. The records indicate Martinez made a wide range of calls to people including his wife, children and his health club. He called two close friends who are Republican activists, former state GOP chairman Al Cardenas and Ken Connor, a candidate for governor in 1994.
He called Connor on Nov. 11, one day before the news broke that Martinez was planning to run for Senate. Connor said he has had many conversations with Martinez about a possible campaign in the months before his announcement but did not recall if it was discussed in the Nov. 11 call.
"I couldn't tell you whether that was discussed in that call or not," Connor said. "We have been friends for 30 years and we sometimes talk daily."
On Thursday, the Times obtained an e-mail message sent this week by Scott A. Keller, HUD's deputy chief of staff, to several Tallahassee lobbyists alerting them to the amount Martinez has raised for his campaign in a short period of time.
"Mel will be announcing $1.7M in 55 days," Keller, a former Tallahassee lobbyist, wrote in the message, which was sent from his HUD e-mail address.
Brad Woodhouse, communications director for the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, said the e-mail message, Martinez's phone calls and his frequent trips to Florida were improper use of taxpayer money.
"This just is further evidence that Martinez was using - and continues to use - HUD, a government agency, to further his own political aims," Woodhouse said. "It should raise alarm bells for the taxpayers and the voters of Florida."
HUD spokesman Jerry Brown said Keller's e-mail was sent on his own time and was allowed by government rules. But Brown said Keller "realizes the error of his ways" and "you definitely won't see any more from him."
Coxe, the spokeswoman for the campaign, said Keller had joined HUD after Martinez left and that the former secretary had no control of his e-mail.
She said the Democrats were "levying baseless accusations, hoping that they can somehow weaken Secretary Martinez as a candidate in a desperate attempt to keep the seat in Democratic hands."
- Times staff writer Steve Bousquet and researcher Kitty Bennett contributed to this report.
