Luis Viera has gone hard for his constituents in New Tampa and North Tampa. Credit: Photo via City of Tampa

I was asked by Creative Loafing to opine on what Tampa needs for the coming years.

Sometimes, one sentiment can unite many issues. To me, it comes down to redefining who our “best and brightest” are.

Cities like Tampa are often told that our biggest challenge is attracting and keeping our “best and brightest,” with the inference that our best and brightest are only those from prestigious higher learning institutions.

We need to add some identities to who our “best and brightest” are in policy.
When I think about our “best and brightest,” I think about my late father Juan Viera. He came to the United States (to Tampa Heights) as a 16 year old Cuban refugee with nothing but the shirt on his back. He did not have a Masters from Brown University but had a Ph.D in toiling for his family. He learned that from his Dad, my paternal grandfather.

Think about recent graduates from Jefferson or Middleton—who see a Tampa where the middle class is now closer to the bottom than the top. Think about the young person who dreams of becoming a nurse, firefighter, cop or teacher—all service vocations – and questions whether Tampa‘s economy has room for their dream. Think of that young person coming home to MacFarlane Park from a military deployment looking for a shot in their hometown. Think about that HART bus operator who wonders if an expensive Tampa still makes sense for his family. Think about the mom spending two hours on a bus returning home from work to a child with a disability—courtesy of the region that spends less on transit than any other major metro area.

“We need policies that give these Tampeños a better shot at life.”

Too many Tampa legacy stories—our best and brightest—are left behind. And we need policies that give these Tampenos a better shot at life.

That means focusing on dignity and respect. Dignity and respect should never be left behind on the bargaining table of politics.

When we push for skilled trade apprenticeships, we give the best and brightest a pathway to the middle class through lifelong skills that can never be taken away. When we push for accessible housing for the hard-pressed middle class and the marginalized working hard to get into the middle class, we give those with the best and brightest dreams respect. When public safety response times do not depend on zip codes and when we promote Summer jobs for youth, we support equity. Investment in long ignored areas – like Sulphur Springs – with tools of market growth and development gives ignored communities hope. Giving communities impacted by runaway growth needed concurrent infrastructure promotes the well-being of working families.

Achievements in these areas should be marveled at and bragged about by politicians just like our Riverwalk, our Straz Center, our downtown or Channelside are promoted today.

So long as we define our “best and brightest” in such a limited way, we will continue to fall behind on these threshold issues that form the heart and soul of any city.

To commemorate the leap year, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay asked readers and local leaders to chime in on what Tampa Bay needs to be a better place in four years. These are some of the results of the “What Tampa Bay Needs” survey.

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