One of the interesting races to watch on election night Aug. 24 will be the Republican primary election between Sandy Murman and Trey Rustmann in District 1 (with the winner likely – depending on a court appeal – to face Democrat John Dingfelder in November).
There are a lot of contrasts in this race, beginning with the fact that the 59-year-old Murman has an extensive resume of public service in Tampa dating back to 1996, when she began serving the first of eight years in the Florida House. She has served on various local organizations since then, though she did lose to Ronda Storms in a GOP primary for state Senate back in 2006.
She’s running against a relative newcomer to the Hillsborough political scene – 40-year-old Oklahoma native Trey Rustmann, who served with the Marines in Iraq during the 2003 invasion.
Their main difference of opinion regards the transit tax referendum.
This article appears in Aug 12-18, 2010.