Kelly Benjamin, a Tampa activist who lost a previous run for office in 2003, filed today as a candidate for the Tampa City Council District 6 seat and says he will be qualifying via petition. The incumbent is Charlie Miranda.
In an e-mail, Benjamin says that he's running a grassroots campaign to "add a new voice to the council based on the transition philosophy, local resilience, sustainability, and neighborhood empowerment."
Benjamin also says he'll be a voice for progressive ideas:
"While it's true that Tampa is a town that has traditionally taken to new ideas somewhat slowly (one of the last metropolitan regions in the country to address rail?), my campaign is being run in part to quicken that pace, to bring some fresh ideas to the council and a historical perspective on how we got to this juncture and how to avoid the same short-sighted pitfalls in city (and county) governing that led us to this state."
This article appears in Aug 26 – Sep 1, 2010.