Martin Garcia named to succeed the late Steve Burton on Hillsborough County Aviation Authority

Well, so much for those Sam Rashid rumors (UPDATE: Or maybe not. Read below).

Governor Rick Scott announced today that he has named 57-year-old Martin Garcia to succeed the late Steve Burton on the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority. Garcia is currently the founder and managing director of Pinehill Capital Partners, a private investment firm.

Burton passed away in April from complications after a heart transplant.

Garcia is a longtime friend of Attorney General Pam Bondi, and served as her campaign manager in her successful run for Attorney General in 2010. According to a Sunshine State News report written by Kenric Ward in 2011, Garcia was part of trio of Republicans who worked on together to get Bondi elected.

This article appears in Jun 20-26, 2013.