Dude, Former state Rep. Larry Ahern can’t even show up for virtual debates against the two-term incumbent, Democrat Janet Long. Ahern does have time, however, to load his campaign website up with the kid of jargon that Trump hat-wearing voters love. So he’s got no time to tell voters why they should vote for him, why would he have time to show up for us at work?
District 3 (at large): Charlie Justice
Republican Tammy Sue Vasquez wants to unseat incumbent Democrat Charlie Justice, but she hasn’t been very specific about how her plans would be an improvement upon those of Justice, who’s been a tempered legislator since he joined the commission in 2012. Plus, Justice used to chair the Tampa Bay Estuary Program. And Vasquez pretty much said she mostly joined the race when she grew fed up over being able to open her pet grooming business during the pandemic. Kudos to her for wanting to shake things up after growing disgusted with her own elected officials. We’re sticking with Charlie though.
District 7: René Flowers
Ken Welch is vacating this seat to run for mayor, and he’s said that René Flowers would be the best person for the office. Her opponent is Maria Scruggs, an NPA candidate with similar concerns as Flowers (local food deserts, renewable energy) and has been strong in her desire to go to bat hard for D7, which desperately needs its rep to work hard for constituents. Flowers, however, is a current Pinellas School Board member who has already served St. Pete City Council twice. She has the connections to get things done now, and should definitely listen closely to the concerns of those who voted for her opponent when she takes the seat.
See all of Creative Loafing Tampa Bay’s 2020 recommendations here.
Support local journalism in these crazy days. Our small but mighty team is working tirelessly to bring you up to the minute news on how Coronavirus is affecting Tampa and surrounding areas. Please consider making a one time or monthly donation to help support our staff. Every little bit helps.
Subscribe to our newsletter and follow @cl_tampabay on Twitter.
