President Bush's appointed heads of the EPA and HUD have strong growth management records.
Melquiades "Mel" Martinez, selected by President-elect George W. Bush to be secretary of Housing and Urban Development, and Gov. Christine Todd Whitman, to be administrator of the U.S. EPA, both have been advocates of "smart growth" principles in their homes states of Florida and New Jersey.
Martinez, chairman of Orange County and former chairman of the Orlando Housing Authority, is best known in Florida for putting in place a moratorium on new housing starts unless adequate school facilities were available. In addition, he was appointed by Florida Governor Jeb Bush to lead that state's Growth Management Commission.
New Jersey's Gov. Whitman, who will administer the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, is well known in the Garden State as an advocate for open space preservation. She is credited with leading a nationally-recognized effort to preserve one million acres in New Jersey. A national speaker on smart growth, Gov. Whitman will lead an EPA that, in the past, has played a lead role in federal smart growth activities.
While it is too early to determine the Bush's administration's positions on sensible growth, these appointments are the first cabinet-level leaders who have worked in the trenches at the local and state levels on open space and growth management efforts.