Who Speaks for City of Tampa; Hillsborough County? Citizens for Equal County Representation Proposes Needed Changes in Goverance.

We disagree with the Tampa Tribune that changing the Hillsborough power structure will bring about less backbiting. What could be worse than the cronysim going on now in the BOCC? . The Hillsborough County BOCC has demonstrated a lack of attention to issues for all Hillsborough citizens, particularly those who reside in Tampa.Intense self interest by commissioners with the exception of Commissioners Rose Ferlita and Mark Sharpe means that Tampa resident must fight for representation.

Example: absolute cluelessness of Brian Blair indicating that his length of time on the BOCC gave him more experience than Rose Ferlita on the Port Authority indicates his lack of knowledge of local political history. Commissioner Ferlita has lived in Tampa all her life and served on the City Council from 1999-2006.

Tampa City Council wants its own voice on the countywide Environmental Protection Commission, while the county commission wants majority control of the Tampa Sports Authority and more representation on the City-County Planning Commission.
A Tampa Tribune editorial on 11/11/07 notes:

The requests are unnecessary to give the public fair representation. They also threaten to split the local legislative delegation and increase the political rivalry between the city and county. With more tax cuts possible, the city and county should instead be cooperating on ways to consolidate more services and save tax dollars.

It's time for a change.

A newly formed political action committee proposes to change the way Hillsborough County residents elect commissioners.Citizens for Equal County Representation wants to get rid of three county-wide commission seats and replace them with smaller district seats.The group hopes to get 37,000 signatures on a petition in the next six months so the proposal can be put to voters on the November 2008 ballot.

If the county charter amendment passes, it would take effect in 2010.

It would divide the county into seven districts with equal populations. Currently, the commission consists of three at-large and four single-district seats.

Supporters of the proposal say it would provide a better geographic mix of representatives on the commission, make it less expensive to run a campaign and force commissioners to adhere to term limits.