After 10 years on the dais, Luis Viera officially vacates his seat representing District 7 on Tampa City Council on Nov. 2.
Viera, 48, got quite the sendoff at city hall (“Luispalooza,” really) last Thursday, as he leans into a run for Florida State House’s District 67 seat up for grabs since House Minority Leader Rep. Fentrice Driskell is term-limited.
Voters will elect a new councilperson for District 7 in March, but Tampa City Councilmembers will have to pick a new co-worker in the meantime.
The district starts north of Busch Boulevard, covering Forest Hills, Terrace Park, University Square, up to the New Tampa area.
Tampa’s charter states appointments for empty seats on city council must be filled within 30 days from the seats’ vacancy.
Viera’s co-workers also got the ball rolling on appointing his replacement by approving a timeline to accept applications to the appointment. Anyone can apply starting Tuesday, Nov. 3, at 9 a.m., with a deadline to submit the paper application at noon on Nov. 9.
Three people have already filed to run for the District 7 seat in March, and they all told CL they have plans to apply for the appointment.
- Dr. Patricia Alonzo
- Alan Cohn, retired investigative journalist
- Morris Lopez III, a Division Chief with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue.
Another name being floated for the seat is Gene Siudut, editor at Tampa’s 104-year-old tri-lingual newspaper La Gaceta.
Siudut told CL that he will apply for the appointment, and pointed out his long-running involvement in the district.
“In my volunteering for the New Tampa YMCA—coaching over 70 basketball teams over 10 years—serving on the Board of the New Tampa Performing Arts Center, City CRA Boards, and the County’s Human Relations Board, I not only have a good understanding of government, I am very close to my District 7 community,” Siudut wrote in an email. “For my adult life, I have given my time, energy, and passion to my community. I am ready for the next step.”
Siudut, who came to the Bay area in 1999 to work for La Gaceta, wouldn’t yet commit to filing his official candidacy for the District 7 city council seat. “I am taking this one step at a time and have made no concrete decisions yet,” he added.
On Nov. 17, remaining council members will hear from applicants and vote for Viera’s replacement in a special call meeting. That’s when applicants have two minutes to state their goals and qualifications for seeking the seat before a final vote.
Applicants must earn a majority vote to be appointed to council. That means whoever advances to the dais will have to earn a vote from four of the remaining six council members.
The last time Tampa City Council appointed a new member was in April 2022, when Lynn Hurtak landed in the citywide District 3 seat in a 4-2 vote.
Hurtak, who at the time was already a mainstay at city hall who served on numerous boards, prevailed over 23 people who applied, including some reportedly favored by Mayor Jane Castor.
Hurtak won election a year later on the strength of a grassroots campaign that beat out the connections of her opponent, former Florida State Sen. Janet Cruz.
“What separated me is that council knows me,” Hurtak told CL after the 2022 vote. “I come in front of them to speak. I’ve sat with them on other boards and commissions, that the council thought highly enough of me to recommend me for the variance review board.”
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UPDATED 10/21/26 5:01 p.m. Updated with comment from Gene Siudut.
This article appears in Oct. 15 – 21, 2026.
