By Kelly Cornelius PoHo contributor & R-LAND activist
Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner proved once again Wednesday morning why he is the voter’s cure for ex-Commissioner Brian Blair. Beckner pulled item A-27 from the Consent Agenda (you know the place where they vote on fortunes to be doled out without even discussion). A-27 had buried in it an award to HDR. Yes, that same HDR, responsible for the controversial Lithia Pinecrest PD and E study, and the same HDR being sued for by Tampa Bay Water for its design on the cracking reservoir.
That item on the consent agenda even got past me but not Beckner. He pulled the item for discussion and said he would not support giving taxpayer money to them in light of the reservoir concerns until they had redeemed themselves. He got some arguments from Commissioner Jim Norman and even a county attorney, but Beckner stood strong. While he couldn’t get the support to completely blackball the company, he did get everyone’s support to send the item back to staff for further review.
Last week during budget talks, he presented fellow board members with an idea to save the Victim’s Assistance Program and the Consumer Protection Agency which were both on the budget chopping block. Beckner asked why should the cost for these programs be borne by law abiding citizens? He suggested that the officials charge criminals more for booking in order to support the Victim’s Assistance program and the Consumer Protection Agency. After all, it is the criminals supplying the need for these programs so shouldn’t they be funding them? Ultimately the sheriff has to approve these increases in booking fees that Beckner suggested. Beckner told the board “Crime doesn’t pay but I believe in Hillsborough County criminals will.”
I am just afraid that this guy is way too good to stay very long in Hillsborough’s little backyard game of politics. Might as well enjoy him while we can.
Posted by Mitch Perry on Apr. 13, 2009, at 9:41 am
By Mitch Perry
PoHo contributor Mitch Perry is the anchor of the WMNF Evening News on 88.5 FM community radio.
This is the story of a little-known South Florida mayor, a progressive anti-automatic weapons kinda politician with little name recognition and labeled with the tag “the gay candidate” in his quest to be the next U.S. senator from Florida. His name is Kevin Burns. More about him after we set the rest of the field.
Charlie Christ’s decision to wait until the end of the legislative session before declaring his political future has frozen most Republicans with fanciful ambitions of higher office through the first part of 2009.
But with three weeks to go before the popular chief executive announces whether he’ll run for re-election or opt to set his sights on Mel Martinez’s seat in Washington, some members of the GOP last week realized they can’t wait any longer.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 16, 2009, at 2:39 pm
Former Tampa Tribune reporter and LakelandLocal.com blogger Billy Townsend joined me and Alexandra Koutsogiannopolous, a friend of mine from poli sci grad school at USF and the director of programs at the Tampa Bay chapter of the United Nations Association-USA, for our weekly ‘HoCast taping today. Here are the results.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Mar. 12, 2009, at 6:13 am
OK, let’s start with a bit of media law: It is almost impossible to libel a public official, thanks to the protection of the First Amendment and Times v. Sullivan. Anyone who wants to win such a lawsuit not only has to prove he/she was defamed but that it was done with actual malice or reckless disregard of the facts. It is a very high hurdle to jump.
That’s why former Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair’s lawsuit against Kevin Beckner, who beat him in 2008 at the polls, reeks of sore loser rather than a principled stand for the truth.
Blair argues that Beckner leveled false allegations of self-dealing and racism that exposed him to “hatred, contempt” and “ridicule,” on his way to election victory.
“This wasn’t negative campaigning. It was false campaigning,” Blair said during a news conference to announce the suit. “My children have come home from school crying from some of the things that were said.”
Blair said he wants to restore his reputation and be compensated for lost wages and earning potential.
Earning potential??
As for Beckner, he isn’t taking it lying down.
“If Brian Blair’s looking for someone to sue, he should sue himself,” Beckner said. “He defamed his own character and integrity when he consistently voted for special interests and self interests instead of the interests of the people of Hillsborough County.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 22, 2009, at 11:52 am
County commissioners just voted down Kevin Beckner’s attempt to overturn a 2004 Ronda Storms prohibition against even studying domestic partnership benefits for county employees. The vote was 5-2, with Beckner and Rose Ferlita voting to get rid of the 2004 anti-study policy and Commissioners Jim Norman, Al Higginbotham, Kevin White, Ken Hagan and Mark Sharpe voting against it.
Although Ferlita voted for the procedural motion to overturn Storms’ 2004 study prohibition, she was adamant that she would not support expanding benefits because of the county’s fiscal situation. “Thank you for raising this issue and making this morning more interesting than I probably cared for it to be,” Ferlita said. “Timing timing timing. The fact that you brought it up now raises a whole whirlwind of emotions.”
The opponents also cited the poor state of county finances. Jim Norman, however, answered Beckner’s call to be direct by saying, “I’m a conservative. I’m not ashamed of being a conservative. On this we differ, and you know we differ. I believe that family benefits should be between a husband and wife. That’s where I draw the line. You can make numbers work any way you want, but looking at your sheet and trying to do a quick analysis, there’s only 5 out of 67 counties offering this.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 20, 2009, at 4:01 pm
As I wrote about over the weekend, Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner will ask his colleagues on Thursday to allow staff to prepare a cost-benefit analysis of offering domestic partnership benefits in the county’s current renegotiation of its insurance plans.
That move has set off a firestorm of activity on the Christian Right, if two e-mails that I got my hands on are any indication. The first from the man that Beckner beat, Brian Blair:
From: Brian Blair
Sent: Sunday, January 18, 2009
Subject: Fw: New County Commissioner tries “stealth attack”! Please read and act – THIS IS VITALLY IMPORTANT!
Do you think with $250,000 in campaign donations we should have mentioned he [Beckner} was an Activist on several G.L.B.T. Boards and that a large percentage of his campaign donations came from out of State? I want to personally appoligize to all that suported me! May God Sincerely Bless you in 2009!
Brian
Here’s the e-mail he was commenting on, from Terry Kemple’s Community Issues Council:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jan. 16, 2009, at 8:14 pm
The Tampa Tribune reported that Hillsborough County Commissioner Kevin Beckner had put the issue of same-sex benefits on a future agenda, but I heard from Beckner late this evening, and he is worried that the Trib didn’t get the story right.
“This is totally going to get blown out of proportion,” Beckner said. “This has nothing to do with gay rights. It’s about what is best for our community.”
Kevin Beckner, Hillsborough County’s first openly gay commissioner, is about to reopen the potentially explosive issue of giving health care benefits to the domestic partners of county employees.
Beckner requested that commissioners discuss the issue Thursday at their regularly scheduled meeting. The last time the issue came up, in April 2004, a split commission instructed County Administrator Pat Bean not to take any steps to offer the coverage.
… Beckner’s gambit drew immediate fire from Mark Sharpe, considered by many to be one of the more-moderate commissioners. Sharpe said expanding government spending while the county and nation are mired in a financial crisis is “irresponsible.”
“We sit on the edge of economic collapse, and our government should be focused on tightening our belts and curbing spending,” Sharpe said.
Beckner said, however, he has not put approval for any domestic partnership benefits — for gays or straights — on the agenda. He wants the commission to overturn a previous board’s prohibition against staff studying the cost-benefits of such a change to allow county employees to examine the issue further, since the county is renegotiating its insurance package presently. He said he would not consider adding new benefits until its fiscal impact can be studied.
“The studies I have seen is that there is virtually no cost in adding these kinds of benefits to a health-care plan,” Beckner said this evening. “I contend this is a matter of economic development. If you want to talk about the rising cost of health care, two of the leading contributing factors are the uninsured and the underinsured. When we have the opportunity, when it is economically feasible to insure more people, … it results in long-term savings to our community.”
He said studies he has seen show that 67 percent of those who take advantage of such domestic partnership are of the opposite gender, not same-sex. Since a majority of Fortune 500 companies offer such benefits, it is time, he reasons, that Hillsborough County act more like the kinds of industries that it wants to attract to the region.
“This is not a gay rights issue,” he said. “This is about economic development. It’s not just about our employees. It is about our community.”
I attended the recent swearing in of Kevin Beckner (so that is what all of you Obama supporters felt like?) Still fresh from the euphoria of seeing a good guy win one (and watching incumbent Commissioner Brian Blair go down in flames), I later headed down to the public workshop that evening regarding the Lithia Pinecrest road widening project in eastern Hillsborough County. I had like six or seven hours in between these two events to just be happy that the people of Hillsborough made a good decision electing Beckner and since Commissioner Kevin “the people have spoken and I am switching teams” White (a longtime pro-development vote) seems to have gotten the message, just maybe NOW the residents would have a majority on the board (so that is what the late Ralph Hughes must have felt like!)
Hey, six hours of hope was good, wasn’t it? Turns out we have been duped by our county AGAIN! When Iand many others attended a meeting last year regarding the widening of Lithia Pinecrest we were told that the rural portion of it (now known as segment D) from Fishhawk to State Road 39 would NOT be widened. The staff assured us…………assured us.
That is why I thought it was fishy when I read this article promoting this year’s meeting that said it could to be 6 lanes all the way through. WTF? In fact, all I remember them talking about last year was possibly 4 lanes and that was only in the urban sections, so to read that they were now talking about 6 lanes all the way through raised many suspicions. So many of us decide to attend this year’s meeting, and it was Beltway deja vu. Lies, circles, and deflections.
There are sections of Lithia Pinecrest that are overloaded by traffic and need relief, but those are in the Urban Service Area, and make no mistake about it, those sections failed because new home construction was approved without appropriate infrastructure. You can thank past and a few current county commissioners for that. The section I am referring to is in the Rural Service Area and it serves us rural types just fine, thanks. Why are we opposed to widening on this particular stretch? Because plowing a bigger road through a rural area is nothing more than a recipe for sprawl. Six lanes with a median is 1-75!
We have been down this road before……..and we destroyed it!
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 26, 2008, at 4:13 pm
Here’s my column from this week’s print edition of CL. Happy Thanksgiving to you all:
It’s time to give thanks.
Enough with the things we hate: the recession and mindless campaign commercials and cash-strapped schools and unceasing cries to blindly cut taxes and congressional sex scandals. (Actually, I’m very grateful for congressional sex scandals.)
As we prepare for the holiday season, I feel grateful.
I’m grateful to have a job in journalism in a year where hundreds of my friends, colleagues and former students across Florida have been laid off from their journalism positions.
I’m grateful to continue to have a platform to write about issues that matter, like our suburban sprawl and need for better transportation. A year ago, I wrote that we needed to “Fix it now,” citing 10 problems our community and state faces. We’re not much closer to solving them today.
I’m grateful for people like Mariella Smith, Kelly Cornelius, George Nieman, Dee Layne and countless other civic activists in Hillsborough County who stood up for protecting our wetlands and never let up on Republican blowhard politicians. I’m grateful for their moral courage, even as Hillsborough commissioners demeaned their own Moral Courage Award by naming it after a late partisan ideologue.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 18, 2008, at 10:06 am
Today is investiture day for county commissioners on both sides of Tampa Bay. The contrast between what these new additions to the county boards means is stark.
In Tampa, where the Hillsborough County government has veered irresponsibly to the right over the past decade, the election of one man is going to make a huge difference. Kevin Beckner beat Brian Blair, who had formed a bloc with commissioners Ken Hagan and Jim Norman, often picking up votes from Democrat Kevin White and GOP colleague Al Higginbotham to approve pro-business, pro-development and anti-tolerance measures. Already, however, that power seems to have shifted, if only on certain issues. Beckner would vote with commissioners White, Rose Ferlita and Mark Sharpe to put a sales tax increase for rail transit on the ballot in 2010, a progressive move sought by Mayor Pam Iorio that the conservative bloc on the board fought against for years.
The new additions to the centrist Pinellas County Commission move that board further to the right, with one bringing a strong fiscal conservative bent (Neil Brickfield) and the other bringing social conservative credentials (Nancy Bostock). Don’t expect to see the Pinellas board ever become as intolerant or destructive as the 1996-2008 Hillsborough boards were, but an inexorable shift toward less government is definitely in the cards.
Posted by David Warner on Nov. 6, 2008, at 9:37 pm
The votes have finally been counted in Hillsborough County, and shockingly enough, the good guys (or rather, the good guy and gal) won. And both wins could pretty much be considered upsets. Kevin Beckner, whose lead in the county commission race had been evident since election night, pulled ahead of incumbent Brian Blair for good with the final count: 55.26% to Blair’s 44.74% (259,831 to 210,399 votes). Yup, he trounced him.
And, with a justice that can only be called poetic, incumbent incompetent Buddy Johnson — the man who presided over the Hillsborough vote-count debacle — lost to Phyllis Busansky in the race for Supervisor of Elections.
Ya think Buddy will call for a recount?
UPDATE: The answer appears to be no. Johnson conceded defeat at about 6 p.m., according to TBO.com:
“Anything we can do to make her transition smooth, we will,” Johnson told reporters. “There’s a lot of big issues to deal with.”
The supervisor dodged questions about his handling of the election but praised his staff.
“The pressure they have been under in this election is tremendous.”
The Timesreported that Johnson also said: “You may not have seen the last of Buddy Johnson.”
Posted by David Warner on Nov. 6, 2008, at 4:53 pm
It’s November 6, 2008 in Hillsborough: Do you know who your county commissioner is?
No, you don’t. And that’s exactly what Kevin Beckner’s campaign manager, Mitch Kates, predicted. He’s currently slightly ahead of incumbent Brian Blair, who has yet to concede as early votes are still being counted.
Check out Kates’ prescient concerns from this video, shot at 10:30 p.m. on Election Night at Gaspar’s Grotto in Ybor City:
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 6, 2008, at 2:21 pm
The counting of more than 80,000 early votes continues today, and at the latest tabulation (from late last night), challenger Kevin Beckner has opened a 22,839 vote lead over incumbent Brian Blair, who may have attended his last meeting as a commissioner:
Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair said this morning he is not ready to concede defeat in his race with Democrat Kevin Beckner.
… “I’m an athlete,” Blair said this morning during a break in a commission meeting. “I’m running until the race is over.”
Commissioner Rose Ferlita, who has often crossed swords with Blair over environmental issues and other matters, wished Blair well if the ultimate vote total went Beckner’s way.
“In the event you are replaced by someone else, I want to thank you for your service and say good luck and Godspeed,” she said.
Posted by David Warner on Nov. 6, 2008, at 1:09 pm
It might be a little premature, but some local wag circulated this email inviting folks to the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners’ meeting today to celebrate the putative last day of Brian Blair, even though the vote-counting isn’t yet complete in the race between him and Kevin Beckner, who is currently in the lead:
Fellow Celebrators,
Tomorrow is what I’m calling the Not-So-Regular BOCC Meeting. You may not have realized it yet, but it will be Brian’s last meeting as commissioner. Beckner will be sworn-in on November 18 and he will assume full duties as of that date. I confirmed this with Commissioner Ferlita’s office this morning.
So what should we do tomorrow to mark Brian’s passing??? Should we bring in a cake??? Should I bring my guitar and we sing, “For he’s a jolly good fellow”??? Should we pass around copies of the want ads???
It might be better if we use this as an opportunity to educate and motivate the others on the board, kind of like a “lessons learned” session. In other words to convey to them that having powerbrokers with money behind you sometimes leads to a false sense of security, and that as powerful as the special interests are, they can’t save you if the public believes that you’ve betrayed their trust.
Remember, it’s your last chance to say goodbye to him as a commissioner.
And don’t forget, I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the evil-doers show up to pay their last respects and tell him what a wonderful job he’s done. I know the rest of he gang of 5 will be singing his praises tomorrow.
It would be interesting if he didn’t show up tomorrow, fearing that he might have to face those goodbye speeches from the diehards.
With only seven precincts left to be counted, Kevin Beckner has a nearly 20,000 vote lead and appears to have won the Hillsborough County Commission seat now held by Brian Blair. One big caveat: Those “precincts” are mostly absentee and early vote totals, which mean tens of thousands of votes remain outstanding. The Hillsborough elections office stopped counting at 3:30 a.m. with 6,000 absentees and 86,000 early votes left to be tallied, according to the St. Petersburg Times and online elections returns.
First, the issue of uploading early votes must be addressed. As of early Wednesday, only half of the 26 early voting machines had been tabulated. The county received 146,332 early votes, but it is not known how many remain to be counted.
Next, officials must access votes from machines in the outstanding precincts, Temple Terrace Presbyterian Church, a combined precinct, and New Mt. Zion Baptist Church in Tampa. One machine in each precinct was causing problems, Dominguez said.
Then officials also still have to count 6,000 absentee votes received Tuesday which weren’t scheduled to be counted until today. [Canvassing Board chairman Judge James] Dominguez estimated that counting the votes from the precinct machines and the absentee ballots would take about four hours.
But based on Beckner’s performance in early voting and his large lead, we project him the winner in this seat. According to the elections office tablulations, 60,384 early ballots had been counted when the count was halted early this morning. That would leave about 86,000 left to count. To close the 20,000 vote gap in early returns, Blair would have to win 62 percent of the outstanding early ballots, where Beckner has won 68 percent of the early vote counted so far. That dramatic turnaround in early voting results seems extremely unlikely.
Here are the most current vote totals from the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections:
Brian Blair (REP)
47.38%
180,599
Kevin Beckner (DEM)
52.62%
200,586
How did Beckner do it? Early voting and staying close in the absentees, which usually break big for Republicans. Beckner built his 20,000-vote lead among early voters, a group that appears to be only partially counted still this morning. Blair is beating Beckner in absentees by only 158 votes.
Choice Polling Absentee Early Vote Prov Unscan Total Percent
Brian Blair 113,48 47,981 19,129 0 0 180,599 47.38%
Kevin Beckner 111,508 47,823 41,255 0 0 200,586 52.62%
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 5, 2008, at 2:52 am
At nearly 2 a.m., it still wasn’t clear, owing to another massive screwup by Hillsborough Supervisor Buddy Johnson that saw elections returns trickle out of his office when almost everyone else in the state had the job done.
Kevin Beckner was ahead by nearly 18,000 votes with 312 out of 323 precincts reporting. Republican pro wrestling veteran Brian Blair had run behind from the first returns, a surprise given the fact that the absentee ballots were among the first counted and they run heavily toward to the GOP. Beckner and his troops had set up a party at Gaspar’s Grotto in Ybor City, hoping to celebrate a win. They settled for watching Barack Obama’s victory speech and then huddling around a few laptops trying to figure out why the county race wasn’t settled yet. Beckner ended up leaving after 1 a.m. without a conclusion to his quest.
The race between the progressive Beckner and social conservative Blair dramatically illustrates the split that exists in Hillsborough County, shown in this map from the elections office; Beckner’s winning precincts are in blue, Blair’s in red and the outstanding precincts shown in grey:
David Warner reports in from Kevin Beckner’s party at Gaspar’s Grotto in Ybor City:
“The mood is jubilance with an undercurrent of jitters. Both cmpaign manager Mitch Kates and Beckner’s most active volunteer Mark Nash, are wondering out loud why so many precincts have still not been counted. But it hasn’t stopped lots of people from hugging Beckner, congratulating him, and saying this is an historic night and this changes everything.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Nov. 4, 2008, at 12:00 pm
Controversial Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair sent out this e-mail to supporters this morning:
A Special Election Day Message From Brian Blair
Dear Friend,
As a child, I remember the feeling I had on Saturday morning heading out to the baseball or football field to play. It was Game Day and the anticipation of the start of the game was exciting and euphoric.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Oct. 1, 2008, at 2:31 pm
UPDATE: Neither Blair nor Beckner has spoken to Creative Loafing about this story, but a Tampa Tribune reporter tells me Blair has now produced a campaign check cut to CBS Outdoor on Sept. 19 and insists he paid for all his campaign advertising himself.
–
In the aftermath of my story yesterday about Brian Blair and who is paying for his campaign billboards, several activists showed up at the Hillsborough County Commission meeting this morning, with one reading my story into the record and at least one other demanding Blair resign.
The Kevin Beckner campaign, which is challenging the Republican Blair for his county commission seat, picked up the ball from there, issuing this news release this afternoon:
BLAIR BREAKS LAW
Brian Blair violates election law- Beckner campaign calls for Blair’s resignation
TAMPA: According to a disturbing news article in the weekly newspaper Creative Loafing, it appears that Brian Blair has violated campaign finance laws by participating in an ethically and quite possibly legally challenged campaign activity.
In the news story titled, “Who is behind commissioner Brain Blair’s campaign billboards?” it is revealed that “according to an invoice… controversial and prominent developer” Stephen Dibbs actually paid for the billboard. Contradicting the invoice the billboard’s disclaimer clearly states “Paid political advertisement paid for and approved by Brian Blair, Republican, for Hillsborough County Commission District 6.”
“Throughout this campaign I have focused on the real issues we face in Hillsborough County. I have also expressed that we need real change in our county that focuses on the people and not Special Interests,” stated candidate Kevin Beckner. “This unfortunate indiscretion that my opponent is involved in not only shows a violation of the law and the public trust but is a glaring example of how connected Mr. Blair is to self interest developers.”
“It is obvious that the self interest developers who support Mr. Blair will do whatever is necessary, legal or illegal, to re-elect Mr. Blair and maintain their power and influence over county government,” stated Beckner.
According to campaign finance laws individuals are limited to a $500 maximum contribution by individuals or $500 for corporate contributions. The news article states that the cost of the billboard in question was $2,500.
“Brian Blair should be begging the voters of Hillsborough County for their forgiveness instead of their votes right now,” stated Mitch Kates campaign manager for Kevin Beckner. “Mr. Blair not only broke the law, he violated the public’s trust. If Mr. Blair had any moral courage he would not only suspend his campaign he would step down from his seat on the County Commission immediately.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Sep. 12, 2008, at 5:22 pm
In the highest profile one-on-one meeting in the campaign so far, incumbent Hillsborough County Commissioner Brian Blair and challenger Kevin Beckner have taped an appearance for Sunday’s Flashpoint with Brendan McLaughlin on ABC Action News Channel 28.
The interview gets real lively about halfway through when the topic turns to social issues. Blair, a conservative, has fought against gay pride and the anti-bullying “Day of Silence” in public schools, gets an earful from Beckner, who is preaching more tolerance and fiscal planning.
Nearly 200 people showed up for Sunday night’s GLBTA Democratic Caucus of Hillsborough County, an evening of blues, booze and politics at Skipper’s Smokehouse. Some in the crowd were decked out in homemade Barack Obama T-shirts and SayNo2 stickers, urging people to vote against the anti-gay marriage Amendment 2 referendum in November.
The event, titled “The Times They-Are-A-Changin’,” featured live music from blues acts Soul2Earth, Rebekah Pulley & the Reluctant Prophets and Roppongi’s Ace, while participants mingled with candidates and checked out Hillsborough’s new voting machines.
An Obama campaigner chats with members of the crowd who stuck around despite a thunderstorm (photo by Amelia Harnish)
“We wanted people to come in and have some fun and talk politics,” said Sally Phillips, president of the GLBTA Caucus. “Our efforts for this are focused on getting out the vote… and to make sure that everyone knows the Democratic Party is here. “
Among the candidates roaming Skipper’s outdoor bar area were GLBTA Caucus member and endorsee Kevin Beckner, who spoke between sets about the need for Hillsborough County to come together to address “quality of life issues” such as transportation. Beckner is running for the countywide seat on the Hillsborough County Commission now held by Republican Brian Blair.
CFO Alex Sink, Florida’s highest ranking Democrat, and her husband, former governor candidate Bill McBride, also attended. Sink spoke only for a few minutes, but the crowd was pleased with her support. “There is change in the air,” she announced to numerous cheers and whistles.
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Jul. 17, 2008, at 9:41 am
Kevin Beckner, who faces a Democratic primary against Joe Redner and Dee Layne for the fight to do battle with County Commission Brian Blair in a Texas Cage Death Match, picked up another endorsement, this one from someone who carries weight in West Tampa and the party in general:
STATE REPRESENTATIVE MICHAEL SCIONTI ENDORSES KEVIN BECKNER FOR HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY COMMISSION
Kevin Beckner wins the support of yet another local leader
TAMPA: Adding to a growing list of endorsements and supporters, Kevin Beckner can now add state Representative Michael Scionti (D) District 58 to his list.
“The residents of Hillsborough County have a real opportunity for change and true leadership with Kevin Beckner. I am proud to support his candidacy and look forward to seeing him take a leadership role on the county commission,” stated Representative Scionti in his endorsement of candidate Kevin Beckner.
“I am honored to have earned the support of Representative Scionti,” stated candidate Kevin Beckner. “This endorsement and the groundswell of support we have been receiving is a clear signal that the residents of Hillsborough County are hungry for a fresh new voice on the county commission.”
“Representative Scionti and the many other local elected officials and organizations know a winner when they see it,” stated Mitch Kates campaign manager for Kevin Beckner. “Kevin’s message of change and his vision for the future of Hillsborough County are connecting with our local leaders and with the voters. Our campaign is continuing to grow everyday. We look forward to the Primary Election on August 26th and then on to a historical win on November 4th when we defeat Brian Blair.”
Posted by Wayne Garcia on Aug. 9, 2007, at 12:11 pm
That’s a lot of alliteration from anxious anchors placed in powerful positions, but nonetheless Hillsborough County Commission contender Kevin Beckner has jumped on Brian Blair’s latest gaffe in a news release this week:
BECKNER BERATES BLAIR
“Lead by Exampleâ€
TAMPA: In response to Brian Blair’s negative reaction to the idea of having commissioner’s pay frozen (”I wake up every day to try to make a difference in this community, but at the same time, I don’t want to take food out of my [children’s mouths] …” and “What it does is barely pays for what I have,”) Kevin Beckner candidate for Hillsborough County Commission District 6 countywide stated…
“With all the challenges Hillsborough County and its residents deal with on a daily basis it is high time they are represented by individuals who can lead by example,†stated Beckner. “Frankly I find it irresponsible that while budgets are cut, jobs are slashed and whole departments are being threatened Mr. Blair only shows concern for his own personal well being.â€
“Enough is enough, this county deserves a county commissioner who gets it,†stated Mitch Kates Campaign Manager for Kevin Beckner “What kind of role model for fiscal discipline is a guy who refuses to lead by example?â€
The back-and-forth over freezing salaries and cutting car allowances between Blair and fellow GOP Commissioner Al Higginbotham is a hoot and is the core of my PoHo column this week. Read TFA here.
Commissioner Kevin Beckner proved once again Wednesday morning why he is the voter’s cure for ex-Commissioner Brian Blair. Beckner pulled item A-27 from the Consent Agenda (you know the place where they vote on fortunes to be doled out without even discussion). A-27 had buried in it an award to HDR. Yes, that same HDR, responsible for the controversial Lithia Pinecrest PD and E study, and the same HDR being sued for by Tampa Bay Water for its design on the cracking reservoir.
County to come together to address “quality of life issues” such as transportation. Beckner is running for the countywide seat on the Hillsborough County Commission now held by Republican Brian Blair.
