six months time
tommyEditor’s note: This is revised a bit from an earlier post.
There are now six months to election day.
Before we go over the people who want to make decisions for you, here’s a quick look at how the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners is stacked up.
First off – what is their job? According to the county website:
County Commissioners are directed to perform legislative functions of government by developing policy for the management of Hillsborough County.
The board also appoints a County Administrator (currently Pat Bean). The administrator along with her staff is responsible for the implementation of policies instituted by the board.
The board is made up of 7 officials. The first four each represent a different district within Hillsborough County. Depending on where you live, you could speak to (and therefore vote for) any one of 4 different commissioners. Check the map to see if you live in District 1, 2, 3, or 4. In addition, you have three other commissioners that purport to represent the entire county.
District 1 encompasses the west half of Tampa, all of South Tampa, Downtown, Harbour & Davis Islands, Palmetto Beach, and south down the coastline along Hwy 41 through Apollo Beach and Ruskin, all the way down to the south county line. Kathy Castor is leaving to pursue a seat in the House of Representatives.
District 2 includes the northern portion of the county. If your commute includes Bruce B. Downs, Northern US 301, Morris Bridge Road, Erlich, Bearss, or Lutz Lake Fern, you are likely in district 2. Ken Hagan is staying on, it is our hope that Hagan will utter a word or two sometime during the second half of his term.
Thomas Scott is leaving to run for the Tampa’s City Council (cannot find campaign website). He currently represents District 3 which is most of Central Tampa, parts of North Tampa (not New Tampa), Ybor City, East Tampa, and a bit of space south of 60 (Palm River). Overall, a very urbanized district.
District 4 is that “South County” you’ve heard so much about. It’s everything east of 39 and south of Hwy 60, except the coastline (district 1). The much beloved Ronda Storms is leaving to pursue a Senate seat. I am unable to locate a campaign website for Ronda.
Districts 5, 6, and 7 cover the entire county. Remember, in theory, each one of them represents all of us. For district #6, we are stuck with Brian Blair for another couple years. It is our hope Blair thinks a bit before uttering any words for his second half. You will have the opportunity to vote for representatives for districts 5 (currently Jim Norman, chairman) and 7 (currently Mark Sharpe).
So that’s the county commission. The entire board also serves as the Environmental Protection Commission. In addition, individual board members must serve on various other boards, authorities, and commissions such as the Hillsborough Area Regional Transit Authority, Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council, Tampa Bay Water, Aviation Authority, Expressway Authority, Sports Authority, Port Authority, Arts Council of Hillsborough County, Children’s Board, Metropolitan Planning Organization, etc.
As you can see, your county commissioners have a great deal of influence on many aspects of everyday life within Hillsborough County. Five of the seven seats are up for grabs, so the potential for your county to take a different direction is very possible.
We intend to introduce you to all of the candidates over the next few months, and hope to give you an idea of their plans for your home.
Tags: election '06, hc bocc, tampa
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