There are several Hillsborough County Commission primary races that both Democratic and Republican voters will face on August 24, and on Sunday the Tampa Tribune came out with their endorsements in those races.
There are three races that are being closely contested, and one of them in fact be in essence the general election.
That would be the District 3 Democratic primary race between incumbent Kevin White, former state legislator Les Miller, and Valerie Godard, chair of the Hillsborough County Children's Boards. As this long campaign now climaxes in its final four week, it's just starting to get interesting, as voters decide whether they want to make a statement in supporting the scandal ridden White, or going either with the well known Miller, or the upstart Godard, who has worked energetically over the past year introducing herself to the electorate.
The Tribune, perhaps not surprisingly, is opting to bypass White with Miller, the longtime state legislator who lost a bid for Congress in 2006 to Kathy Castor and has been in the private sector since then, working at USF. And in bypassing White, they of course mention the incident with Alyssa Ogden, who a Hillsborough County jury declared had been sexually harassed by the commissioner in a 2009 trial.
We didn't expect great things from Commissioner Kevin White, but he nevertheless managed to disappoint.
While doing little for his district, White hired an attractive young aide who accused him of sexual harassment. The incident happened in Atlanta on an overnight trip unrelated to county business. It was no surprise that a jury found her more credible than White and awarded her $75,000 plus legal bills. Now the county is suing White to try to recover some of the $425,000 the case has cost taxpayers.
Despite the embarrassment and bad judgment that warranted his apology and resignation, White, a former police officer and city council member, still expects voters to believe he is the victim. Voters who believe that deserve what they get.
This article appears in Jul 22-28, 2010.