Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

In April, Commissioner Pat Frank decided to quit the commission to run for Clerk of Court. Republicans who want to succeed Frank include Bob Blair (no webpage), Jim Davison, Deb Oxley, and Mark Sharpe (also no webpage). Blair and Oxley are running for public office for the first time. Davison and Sharpe have lost campaigns before.

Davison came in third in the 2002 GOP primary for the District 2 seat that Ken Hagan won. A resident of New Tampa since 1993, he claims that his experience with the county gives him an edge over the other candidates. He points out that the total revenue the county collects has doubled to $1.4-billion over the last decade, yet very little of that is spent on transportation. A top priority is to trim wasteful administrative costs to finance more roads. Therefore, raising impact fees or the sales tax would be unnecessary. Why he’s running. Unique stance on issues.

Sharpe has lost races for the U.S. Congress in 1992, 1994 and 1996. He was born at MacDill Air Force Base. He’s currently an analyst on weapons of mass destruction in the Naval Reserve. One of his main concerns is security, and he wants to seek greater coordination among various agencies to improve security. Combining city and county functions would also cut down on spending. By Sharpe said the county could save money while improving services. Instead of raising taxes, he prefers to entice more high-tech companies to move here.

Blair’s top priority is the county’s youth. He wants faith-based groups to provide some of these services. He says he is antitax and would bring a “common sense” approach to the job, demanding better response times for fire rescue and better roads in New Tampa.

Oxley’s accounting background gives her an expert look at the budget. The county has transportation needs, and wants more money devoted to road construction. Like the other candidates, she says the answer is not higher taxes, but better money management and innovation. Other issues.

Sharpe has won endorsements from the Tribune, the Times, and now, Sticks of Fire.

For District 6 on the Republican side, there are two candidates. J. Steven Cleveland, has been in the contracting business for several years with companies that build and repair water, sewer and wastewater systems. That experience has led him to believe that government needs more of a common sense approach. He is tired of the haphazard growth of the county.

The other choice is Brian Blair, formerly part of the Killer Bees. Blair lost to Pat Frank for a commission seat two years ago. Blair thinks government should be run more like a business. He grew up poor which gives him an appreciation for other people’s viewpoints, and it will make him a “uniter, not a divider.” He has served for the past year as a member of the commission’s Citizens Advisory Board and he believes the history center should be in the old federal courthouse. Sticks of Fire gives Brian Blair the nod here.

The District 6 candidates facing off in the primary next Tuesday include a pair of Republicans, and a trio of Democrats.

The Democratic primary features Bob Buckhorn, a former Tampa City Council member famous for the (now largely unenforced) rights-trampling six foot rule. Buckhorn said he knows how to work across party lines, and his first order of business will be restoring public respect. Another choice would be Ed Austin, a former Tampa Bay Rowdies professional soccer player promises to help keep the commission from getting distracted with small issues and will concentrate on big ones. He supports a strong urban center, and is endorsed by the Times and the Tribune. Political newcomer Willis “K.C.” Bowick said the biggest challenge facing the county is homelessness. As a commissioner, he said he would concentrate on creating jobs and developing programs that help people find work. He cares about neighborhoods, safety, children and seniors, and is also an advocate of a light rail system. He has something of a criminal record.

In this race, Blogwood suggests anyone but Buckhorn, and with good reason. Sticks of Fire will also recommend Ed Austin. And it’s not only because his website details that he is: • A rotten, but reasonably enthusiastic golfer and • A Beatles and Bruce Springsteen aficionado.

For Scripps; A larger but environmentally sensitive site? Or a smaller (but still adequate) site. Jeb! helps along with the decision: Environment, Schmenvironment.

For the first round of District 4, you Republicans have a choice between Dennis Cadle, Ronda Storms (no campaign webpage), and James “Tag” Tagliarini. If you’ve kept up with county commission news or any issues where the city and county must interact, you know that Ronda Storms is as crazy as a loon. On his website, Cadle (endorsed by the Times) addresses several local issues, and at least sounds as if he wants to make a difference. Cadle and his wife are raising five children here, so he should be concerned about the future of this county. Tagliarini is a retired police officer, a long-time member of the community, and has worked on many local campaigns and is endorsed by the Tribune. Sticks of Fire recommends Dennis Cadle.

The District 2 primary features incumbent Ken Hagan and newcomers Rod Gaudin and Tom Jones. As both the Tribune and Times point out, Hagan has really done nothing in his two years on the commission. Hagan has been endorsed by Hillsborough County Firefighters. Rod Gaudin promises “priority solutions for basic needs” but the only solution he lists on his website is to add automatic traffic sensors to all intersections. Tom Jones (endorsed by both dailies) also proposes no definitive solutions on his website, but claims to get “neighborhoods to work together” to address Hillsborough County issues. In a case where none of the candidates are overwhelmingly impressive, I would suggest Tom Jones, in the hopes he does more than Hagan has.

When the Tribune announced their endorsements for County Commission, they started the piece with this:

“Most of the public’s attention is on the presidential campaign, but the races that will most directly affect the lives of Hillsborough residents are those for the county commission.”

A most accurate viewpoint; one that was previously mentioned by the gax. However, looking at TBO’s election cover page, you can’t really tell they mean it. Most of the page is devoted to the presidential race. You can get to their local endorsements fairly easily, but for an overall picture, you have to search harder. The smaller headlines at the bottom provide some insight, but without reading the article, you may not be able to tell what race they are even talking about. Of course, this could have everything to do with what the general public is interested in, since the race for Prez is dominating most political conversations.

The Times has a better, more prominent and easy to find format for all the races, and just today (thanks Norwood) have included a very comprehensive “Know Your Candidates” section which highlights each race in each nearby county. I cannot find the Weekly Planet’s endorsements, but when I do, I’ll let you know.

Anyway, I have been wanting to address the local races here, and for various reasons, have not had enough time that the subject truly needs and deserves, so without much fanfare (or substance, for that matter), I finally will begin to highlight the local races, starting with the Hillsborough County Commission. Stay tuned!

Good news: Florida Politics is back. They were without power and internet access for a time. I’m happy to see nothing worse befell FP.

More local blogs found recently. I found most of these because of the Charley blogging or the recent buzz for the upcoming Tampa Bay Blogger Fest.

From Brandon, Sharp as a Marble breaks all the rules.
Land O’ Lakes Orange Haired Boy got a cushy new gig.
Longtime Lakeland blogger Sekimori went stupid shopping.
Online Morgan got a job, but kinda doesn’t want to go.
Pasco’s bloggerel outs NJ Gov McGreevey as a fraud.
College Confidential just got here to attend USF.
East Coast JAP helped to console a friend going through a breakup.
Gonzonia is having a bad day at work.
Parannoying has no use for bathroom attendants.
Tiny Little Dots has tiny little dots running around everywhere.
And last, but not least, a Devil Rays fan blog: Ya Gotta Believe.

Check out all of these local blogs. And if one of these blogs is yours, go link your site to Tampa Blogs.