U.S. Congress, District 14 (Downtown Tampa, East Tampa, South Hillsborough)
Democratic incumbent Kathy Castor faces a less-than-daunting challenge from newcomer Christine Quinn. It’s a wonder Republicans even bothered to run anyone in this easily Democratic seat, especially given Castor’s popularity and outspokenness on issues that matter to the district (even if it does have a few thousand new Republican faces due to redistricting). Quinn is a Trump supporter, and even stumped for him at one of his rallies over the summer.
So, yeah, this is a no-brainer.
CL recommends: KATHY CASTOR
State Attorney 13th Judicial District
Well-liked incumbent Mark Ober, a Republican, has been the county’s top prosecutor for 16 years. Former federal prosecutor Andrew Warren, his Democratic challenger, is nowhere near as well-known, and his campaign has gone incredibly negative. In some cases, attacks on Ober were unnecessary — such as dredging up key-card swipe records to baselessly accuse him of not showing up to work.
But opposition research also dug up comments in which Ober implied that a rape suspect who took a plea deal had been punished enough because he lost out on a baseball scholarship. Warren’s campaign also accused him of blaming an underage rape victim in a more recent high-profile case.
Attitudes toward criminal justice are evolving. It’s no longer cool to ask a rape victim what she was wearing, or to condemn a young African-American male to a lifelong entanglement with the criminal justice system on his first offense.
That’s why we appreciate the fresh, progressive approach Warren brings.
Our concern is his lack of experience, something early and persistent negative campaigning against the incumbent inadvertently reveals.
Whether Ober’s occasional tone-deafness constitutes grounds for dismissal is up to voters.
If reelected, we hope he’ll have an open mind on changing attitudes toward crime and punishment.
CL recommends: MARK OBER
State Senate District 18 (Tampa, Western Hillsborough)
Powerful State Rep. Dana Young (R-Tampa) is making a run for this newly drawn swing seat. She supports TBX and opposes Medicaid expansion. While she’s come around on an issue or two — namely Everglades restoration via buying up farmland south of Lake Okeechobee — she still supports a pro-fracking bill despite claiming she “opposes” fracking.
Young has three opponents in the race: Democrat Bob Buesing and independents Joe Redner and Sheldon Upthegrove.
Buesing, an attorney with Trenam Kemker, and Redner, an outspoken strip club magnate, have similar views on the environment, health care and the Second Amendment. Young and crew are spending millions to trash both. Some fear that Redner may split the progressive vote.
Don’t get us wrong, we like Joe Redner. Hell, in any other year, we’d have endorsed him. But our concern is that a Young win would allow business as usual to continue in Tallahassee, which is not good for any of us. Pragmatism, guys.
CL recommends: BOB BUESING
State House District 60 (South Tampa)
In the race for this seat, which State Rep. Dana Young is vacating to run for State Senate, land use attorney David Singer (D) faces Republican Jackie Toledo, a civil engineer who ran for Tampa City Council in 2015. It’s been kind of a boring race and the differences between the two are essentially run-of-the-mill.
And as the GOP-dominant status quo in Tallahassee is turning our state into a cesspool in more ways than one, we’ll go with the Democrat.
CL recommends: DAVID SINGER
State House District 63 (North Tampa/USF/Carrollwood)
Tampa City Councilwoman Lisa Montelione, a Democrat, isn’t all warm and fuzzy, but we say give her a shot representing this North Tampa district, which seems to swing every two years. GOP incumbent Shawn Harrison has kept an open mind about a few things, for example, Medicaid expansion. Meanwhile, Montelione has actually favored undesirable policies like red light cameras.
Key differences between the two: Harrison supports expansion of charter schools, TBX and Amendment 1 (see page 6). Montelione does not support any of those.
CL recommends: LISA MONTELIONE
Clerk of Circuit Court and Comptroller (Hillsborough County)
Year after year, Clerk of Circuit Court Pat Frank has demonstrated aptitude and open-mindedness. It’s a shame she even has a challenger on Tuesday, let alone that she had a primary challenger in August. She very much deserves to hang onto her job, and we seriously question whether this position should be elected on a partisan basis at all.
CL recommends: PAT FRANK
Board of County Commissioners District 6
This is a countywide seat that, for the past eight years, Commissioner Kevin Beckner has occupied but has to leave due to term limits. That’s a bummer. We hope he never underestimates the difference he’s made at the dais — be it on animal welfare, criminal justice reform and, obviously, LGBT equality. And the way he did it was pragmatic and with class, even as his conservative counterparts sought to drag him into irrational debates. We don’t want him to go away, but because he’s legally obligated to do so, we are glad that there is someone on the ballot who would carry on with that progress and then some. Pat Kemp has wanted to be a public servant for years, not for reasons of vanity or power, but because she cares deeply about advancing policy in the county and state that is both progressive and pragmatic. She’s sharp as hell and has the energy to do it.
Her Republican opponent, Tim Schock, is cool and all — much more so than Jim Norman, the scandalized ultraconservative bogeyman of the local far-right whom Schock bested in the polls. He’s a tad more toward the center… but not enough.
Frankly, Pat Kemp deserves this, and Hillsborough County needs Pat Kemp.
CL recommends: PAT KEMP
Across Counties
State House District 70 (Hillsborough, Manatee, Pinellas and Sarasota counties)
An easily winnable seat for a Democrat, the 70th comprises bits of four counties (because, basically, the legislature stuffed all the minorities from these counties into one district; class act, huh?). Two-term St. Pete City Councilman Wengay Newton, who termed out of his council seat last year, is the Democrat, and obscure newcomer Cori Fournier is the Republican.
Newton, sometimes long-winded and defiant yet passionate on the issues, hopes to advocate for juvenile justice reform, Medicaid expansion, equal pay for women and using those 2014 environmental land dollars as intended.
Fournier, meanwhile, has said he supports guns on college campuses, but there’s little else we know about him; his campaign has no website or Facebook page.
CL recommends: WENGAY NEWTON
State Senate District 19 (East Tampa, South St. Petersburg)
This gerrymandered seat has two contenders — State Rep. Darryl Rouson (D-St. Pete) and Republican newcomer John “Mr. Manners” Houman, who doesn’t appear to have serious party backing. The Florida GOP no doubt saw no way of winning this heavily Democratic “minority access” seat and thus didn’t spend the resources to vet/run anyone. Meanwhile, the Democratic primary had four contenders, and it was indeed Rouson who got money from Republicans in that race.
Rouson has been right on gun control and Medicaid expansion but may be a little behind the times on medical marijuana and a woman’s right to choose.
But he’ll probably win regardless, given the dynamics of the race and the district.
CL recommends: DARRYL ROUSON
This article appears in Nov 3-10, 2016.