President Obama will be in Tampa Friday afternoon, appearing before adoring fans, no doubt, at the auditorium on the main campus of Hillsborough Community College.
CL had earlier reported that the president would be in town on Friday, traveling west on I-4 from his appearance at NALEO, the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials earlier in the day in Orlando. However we had been informed that he would be coming for a fundraiser, and an expensive one at that. Interesting to note why that's not happening.
Although it turns some people off that Obama is holding more fundraisers than any sitting president in his re-election year ever has, it makes sense in the respect that he's just trying to stay semi-competitive against his Republican counterpart and his friends. Obama's Super PAC isn't raising anything substantial. Meanwhile you've got figures like Sheldon Adelson who have already announced they'll give tens, if not hundreds of millions of dollars to Romney-oriented Super PACS.
Meanwhile the Hillsborough County Democrats are tired of getting their ass kicked in local elections. Party chair Chris Mitchell announced a new set of bylaws last night that he says is the way to make the party more competitive, though the changes were not met with universal approval.
CL was all about transit agency meetings on Monday. We spent the morning over at HART's event in Tampa, where technology was on the agenda.
Over in Pinellas County, PSTA held a workshop about its goals going forward, including a sales tax referendum that would help fund the beginnings of a light-rail system. The meeting attracted dozens of pro-transit advocates.
This article appears in Jun 14-20, 2012.