Tuesday night, all Democratic candidates running to fill the upcoming vacancy for Hillsborough County Commission District 3 participated in a virtual forum hosted by the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association.
The current District 3 Commissioner, Les Miller, is restricted from running for reelection due to term limits.
Candidates who participated in the forum include former Tampa City Council members, Frank Reddick and Thomas Scott; Gwen Myers (pictured); Sky White; and Rick Fernandez.
Moderated by Creative Loafing Editor-In-Chief Ray Roa, the forum lasted a little over an hour, featuring candidate answers to questions drafted by OSHNA in advance of the forum, which is streaming in full at the bottom of this post.
Questions covered a variety of topics, including land and economic development, recent votes on Tampa’s TBX/TBNext project for transportation, and how candidates plan to connect with members of the community once elected.
Each candidate was allowed one minute to introduce themselves before the moderator began posing questions to the panel, including some pointed questions posed directly to specific candidates.
Throughout the course of the forum, each candidate clung to certain talking points informed by their occupational experience and campaign positions. Late-entry candidate Fernandez’s record of transit advocacy stood out as his most prominent position, even as he moved to connect his position on transportation priorities to issues of affordable housing and quality of life for District 3 residents.
Entering the race months after several of the other candidates running for BOCC, Fernandez has entered the race to mixed reactions. As the only non-Black candidate running for the District 3 seat, some have expressed concern about the possibility of him replacing the single Black commissioner on the board and his ability to adequately represent the members of the district. The issue did not come up in the Tuesday forum.
Candidates Sky White and Thomas Scott provided notably impassioned responses throughout the forum, and each received targeted questions asked of them specifically.
White, a full-time nurse and former candidate for a county-wide BOCC seat in 2018, was asked whether she believes her lack of experience serving in a government role detracts from her candidacy.
White, who is the only candidate to have received both local and national endorsements thus far, reframed her lack of experience in government as an asset, emphasizing the utility of her experience as a nurse, District 3 homeowner, and community activist to bring fresh ideas to the table that prioritize the needs of her constituency.
“[I’m] fighting for patients during the week, fighting for my community on the weekend,” White said, highlighting her drive to continue campaigning in her community despite obstacles imposed by the coronavirus pandemic, as well as typical challenges candidates can face in running for local office. “I’ve learned to be a peacemaker in the midst of chaos.”
A recurring message from White throughout the forum was her assertion that it’s time to move away from reelecting “career politicians” who have, from her perspective, had the opportunity to make tangible changes for the community—and failed to deliver.
Former Tampa City Council members, Reddick and Scott, challenged this messaging—and at several points, Scott and White engaged in back-and-forth debates on this and other points.
Myers, who is active in the community as a member of several local boards—including the Hillsborough County Healthcare Advisory Board and African American Advisory Council—provided answers similar to other candidates, with some appearing to follow suit after her strong answer on plans to engage with her constituency if elected, for example.
However, it was White, Scott, and Fernandez that gave the most memorable answers to posed questions, if not always due to the content of their answers as much as the charisma and passion emanating from the articulation of their positions.
All candidates agreed upon the need to engage with the constituency of District 3 regularly and to make themselves accessible to concerns of community members. There was also widespread agreement on improving city transit options and infrastructure—despite some differences strategically—and the need to prioritize affordable housing and economic development for the disproportionately marginalized district.
White at one point criticized the answers of other candidates on a question regarding action plans for protecting community members from the inevitable “big storm” likely to hit the Tampa area in the future.
While most other candidates—with the exception of Fernandez—emphasized the need for residents to respond swiftly to evacuation orders, White challenged this point, reminding the audience that, for many people, economic barriers render such a strategy inadequate and even impossible for residents who live paycheck-to-paycheck, or otherwise lack the financial resources to flee.
She compared this to the current recommendation for people to quarantine—an option not financially feasible for residents deemed “essential workers”. White asserted she would work with the county’s Emergency Policy Group (EPG) to provide assistance to low-income communities so that they may have the means to evacuate safely.
Pastor Thomas Scott, for his part prioritized the economic development of the district as a key part of his platform. He extended this to the need for equitable employment opportunities—acknowledging racial and ethnic disparities— and investing in beneficial opportunities for land development, including housing.
Reddick similarly echoed the need for equity in District 3 neighborhoods, acknowledging the need to address underfunding in the district, prioritize job creation, and “invest in communities”—a task he does not believe the county is currently doing.
In his closing remarks, Reddick doubled-down on his commitment to listen to the needs of the community and earn their trust.
Scott listed off some of his more notable endorsements, including endorsements from City Council member, Luis Viera, county sheriff Chad Chronister, and current District 3 commissioner, Les Miller. Like Reddick, he asserted the community can “count on [him]” to deliver on improvements for the community. Reddick countered by saying he’s not concerned about endorsements from politicians who don’t live in District 3 since he’ll be answering to the citizens who vote for him.
Fernandez asked for voters to “vote for yourself,” stating his desire to gain and keep the trust of the district if elected, and ensure that by the end of the two-year term, his constituents would know his name and be happy to re-elect.
Myers accentuated her commitment towards bringing “strong leadership” to the district, being accountable to her constituents, and not only hearing the concerns of the district but reporting back to community members who come to her with concerns.
Last in the candidates’ closing remarks was White, who ended the forum by affirming her own commitment to actualizing meaningful changes for the community, stating how in her 36 years, the district has largely looked and remained the same, despite promising statements from local elected leaders to address the most urgent needs impacting community members.
In the next two weeks, the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association will be hosting two additional forums—with at least one moderated by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s Colin Wolf—for candidates running for the Hillsborough County School Board, beginning next Wednesday with candidates for District 5.
Early voting for the upcoming primary election begins August 3 for Hillsborough County. Election day is August 18. The county elections office will begin mailing out ballots to those who opted to vote by mail on July 9.
Full disclosure: This writer is a former volunteer for Sky White’s 2018 BOCC race.
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This article appears in Jul 2-8, 2020.