Sticks of Fire: a Tampa blog

Like district five, district seven represents the entire county.  Republican Mark Sharpe currently holds the post, and is being challenged by Democrat Thomas Scott

Scott currently represents district three on the Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners, but must leave that post due to term limits. From his campaign website - ON THE ISSUES :

Over the last ten years, I have been providing common sense solutions to unique problems facing Hillsborough County. I have been able to work with both Democrats and Republicans at the federal, state, and local levels to get things done. The future of our County requires strong experienced and proven leadership on important issues. Some of those issues include:

• AFFORDABLE HOUSING – As the initiator and Chairman of the Affordable Housing Task Force, we are working to make homeownership affordable for ALL citizens
• TRANSPORTATION – It is crucial that as a County we remain vigilant about the transportation needs of our citizens. Therefore, I introduced public forums to hear the concerns of our citizens and use that information to help design and develop solutions to the ever increasing transportation challenges. We must look at a number of options from road improvements, to infrastructure changes, to mass transit. Strong leadership will be required to address present and future transportation challenges.
• PUBLIC SAFETY – I strongly support the safety of all the citizens of Hillsborough County. Whether the issues are: gangs, illegal drug trafficking, or violence attacks on citizens, strong leadership is needed. I championed Operation Clean Sweep” aimed at cleaning up vacant lots and abandoned houses known for illegal activities.

I checked Mark Sharpe’s campaign website. He’s got issues, too:

Growth/Transportation Our community must develop and implement a long-range, multi-modal transportation plan, as well as create a first-rate transportation grid to support the forecasted growth. We also need to look well into the future and make concessions now for bus rapid transit.

Emergency Management Hillsborough County needs to be ready to handle natural disasters and/or other threats to our community. That means having having the capability to manage multiple threat scenarios and day-to-day operations in a multi-jurisdictional environment. We ought to be analyzing our current system and look for ways to enhance it. I convened a study group to 1) Evaluate the Emergency Operations Center’s (EOC) capacity to effectively respond to an “all hazard” environment; 2) Assess 9-1-1 Dispatch Center issues such as centralization; and 3) Determine ways to enhance communication between first responders, local law enforcement, Port and Airport Authorities, as well as other entities. Toward that end, the County is in the process of hiring an expert consultant to analyze and enhance our Emergency Operations Center that will vastly improve our ability to respond to a disaster.

Education With the voter approved class-size amendment and continued growth, we need to insure our children receive quality education as they are our future leaders. That means top-rated schools, higher-paid teachers and an acceptable student-to-teacher ratio. Following the recommendations of the Task Force On School Capacity (comprised of government and school officials, representatives of the building and development community, and concerned parents), as well as the joint agreement between the Hillsborough County School District and the Tampa Bay Builder’s Association, I personally supported raising the school impact fee. It was not an easy decision, but was necessary in helping the district make a dent in their land purchasing and school construction shortfall and to ensure there will be adequate school capacity to keep pace with the expected 5,000-6,000 new students entering our County’s school system each year.

Economic Development/Biosciences It has become increasingly clear that our community’s assets, particularly the resources for the life sciences at the University of South Florida and Moffit Cancer Research Center, play key roles in our future economy and greatly enhance opportunities for skilled, high-wage positions for our citizens. The County needs to take proactive steps to help adapt our business environment to support these industries, and take an aggressive new stance in creating economic development incentive programs for Bioscience industries.

Both of these candidates answered the Tribune’s questions. Check below to see the comparison.

QUESTION: How will you vote on the nonbinding referendum about regulating ad ult entertainment? As a commissioner, what will you do if Tampa declines to pass regulations as tough as those adopted by Hillsborough County?

• Tom Scott: My position and vote has [have] been clear in the past of not supporting ad ult entertainment, and it will remain the same in the future. As for the City of Tampa and its regulation, the city government is responsible for its jurisdiction and responsible for its constituents on this issue.
• Mark Sharpe: I will vote in support of the nonbinding referendum. I will work with the city to find ways that we can deal with this issue in a more unified manner.

QUESTION: What are the two or three most important steps Hillsborough commissioners can take to reduce traffic congestion and improve transportation?

• Tom Scott: I have been leading the charge in addressing this important issue. As chairman of the county commission in 2003, I held several major meetings with other municipalities and convened a transportation summit. I continue to gather information and data on the present and future transportation challenges and working through community-based meetings to get feedback from all our citizens.
• Mark Sharpe: Continue to invest in road upgrades, [and] intelligent traffic management systems, and seek alternative transportation routes that might also serve as high-speed evacuation corridors during an emergency. Work with the Tampa Bay Partnership, City of Tampa, other municipal governments and regional authorities to develop future mass transit alternatives.

QUESTION: What are the two or three most important steps Hillsborough commissioners can take to manage growth and provide more affordable housing?

• Tom Scott: Managing growth and addressing affordable housing remains at the top of the issues important to me. Being the author of the Affordable Housing Task Force and the hiring of an affordable housing officer is the start of a concentrated and deliberate effort to strategically address affordable housing.
• Mark Sharpe: The county must work to repair damage resulting from decades of growth without the supporting infrastructure. I support recent legislative actions requiring concurrent infrastructure upgrades with new growth. We need to work with the development community to provide strong incentives for building more affordable housing.

QUESTION: Does Hillsborough spend too much, too little or about the right amount of tax money on services and projects? What part of the county budget do you think could be cut to provide more tax relief?

• Tom Scott: The county commission has reduced taxes for 14 consecutive years, and I have been a part of that reduction the last 10 years. There are a number of quality services that the county offers to its citizens that are crucial for the overall quality of life, which is [are] paid through their tax dollars, and while reducing taxes is important, we must make sure that a good quality of life is not negatively impacted.
• Mark Sharpe: I support a wholesale, detailed re-examination of our county processes to find more efficient ways to provide services. I would like to see nonprofit agencies like the Crisis Center take on responsibilities that we currently share. This will result in a savings to the taxpayers.

QUESTION: How would you rate the performance of the county commission over in the past two years, and what is the single most important thing you could do as a commissioner to improve what happens in the next two years?

• Tom Scott: The commission has worked hard at addressing [critical] issues, and I continue to bring my visionary leadership and experience to the commission to address such issues as affordable housing, transportation including mass transit, public safety, protecting the environment, and I will do so for years to come.
• Mark Sharpe: The commission has tackled numerous challenges, from fixing the Indigent Health Care plan, which I co-chaired, to finding funding solutions to our overcrowded schools. We have established firm spending priorities with the bulk going toward roads and stormwater improvements. The commission should continue to work toward tax relief for overstressed homeowners and focus its energies on transportation improvements and quality of life issues.

QUESTION: What’s your position on changing county government to include an elected county mayor?

• Tom Scott: This is a decision that the citizens of Hillsborough County will decide in 2008. Once that decision is made, I will strongly support and embrace the decision of the voters of this county.
• Mark Sharpe: I do not see how adding another politician to the mix improves the quality of our government (see Dade County). I will work with the mayors of Tampa, Temple Terrace and Plant City, as well as city councils, to provide strong leadership and direction to our community.

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