Every 8โ12 years, the Tampa City Council and Mayor form a Charter Review Advisory Commission to review and update the cityโs governing charter โ the document that defines how our city government operates.
District 7 City Councilman Luis Viera appointed me to represent New Tampa on that commission.
His only instruction to me was simple: Use your best judgment and do a good job.
I took that responsibility seriously.
And Iโm proud to say we did something monumental.
We made Tampaโs city government more accountable, more transparent and more responsive to the people it serves.
People have every right to question government. In fact, they should.
Thatโs why I helped champion the creation of Tampaโs first-ever Inspector General.
The Inspector General (IG) will have the independence to investigate allegations of (governmental) corruption and wrongdoing without political interference or favor. The IG will be selected by a distinguished panel that includes the State Attorney, Public Defender, Chief Judge of the 13th Judicial Circuit, Mayor, City Council and others.
Why does that matter?
Because while the City Council has the authority to investigate allegations of wrongdoing, it has no dedicated budget to conduct those investigations. And, when elected officials investigate elected officials, there can always be questions about political motivation.
The Inspector General changes that.
It puts an independent watchdog inside Tampaโs system of government whose job it is to follow the facts and protect the public interest.
Only a handful of cities in Florida โ including Doral and Jacksonville โ have an Inspector General. Tampa is about to join them.
Alan Cohn (front left) sits on Tampaโs Charter Review Advisory Commission, which is helping the city update its charter & creating an independent Inspector General position. (Photo provided by Alan Cohn)ย
But, we didnโt stop there.
We also delivered a major win for the residents of New Tampa.
For years, Councilman Viera has fought to secure funding for parks, playgrounds, infrastructure and other projects our community needs.
But, getting funding approved doesnโt necessarily mean a project gets built.
Too often, residents are left wondering: What happened to that project? When will it be completed? Why is it delayed?
Thatโs changing.
Weโve created a new transparency system requiring the city to provide an annual progress report on major capital improvement projects โ including their current status, delays or problems and anticipated completion dates.
If taxpayers are funding it, they deserve to know whatโs happening with it.
Thatโs what good government looks like.
We made other important changes as well, and I look forward to sharing more about them soon.
The final changes to the city charter have now been approved and sent to the City Council and Mayor. They will ultimately go before Tampa voters next spring.
Iโm especially grateful to Councilman Viera for choosing me, trusting me and giving me the opportunity to fight for the people of New Tampa.
He asked me to use my best judgment and do a good job.
And I think we did.
And, this is exactly the kind of government I believe Tampa deserves: independent, transparent, accountable, and always working for the people.
Alan Cohn is New Tampaโs appointed representative on Tampaโs Charter Review Advisory Commission and a candidate for Tampa City Council, District 7
(Above) Dr./Chef Elliot Cazes will again be in the kitchen cooking up an amazing New Orleans-style feast at the โA Taste of NโAwlinsโ fund raiser to benefit Faces of Courage on Sunday, August 23, at the Arbor Green clubhouse.
Speaking of great chefs, while my longtime friend Elliot Cazes, M.D., may not be a chef in a restaurant (at least not yet), he certainly could be โ at least in one editorโs humble opinion.
After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans in 2005, Elliot (a noted local OB/GYN doctor and lecturer) and I hosted a benefit to raise money to send to the victims of that brutal Category 3 (by the time it hit Louisiana) storm.
I had so much fun watching Elliot create his famous chicken & andouille sausage gumbo and other NโAwlins cuisine items that I told him then, โYou know you could do this for a living.โ
Fast forward 21 years. โChef Elliotโ is still working as a doctor, but he and his wife Pam also have been helping a wonderful organization called the โFaces of Courage Foundation,โ a New Tampa-based nonprofit dedicated to supporting cancer patients and survivors.
According to FacesofCourage.org, the 501(c)(3) nonprofit founded by New Tampa resident Peggie D. Sherry in Jan. 2004, โprovides day outings, educational workshops and medically supervised overnight camps for women, children and families touched by all types of cancer and blood disorders โ all at no cost.โ The organizationโs motto is โNo one faces cancer alone.โย
Chef Elliot shares a laugh with student volunteer Caroline Perry at a previous event.
This yearโs Womenโs Cancer Camp, a weekend retreat sponsored by Tampa Bay Lightning owner Jeff Vinikโs Vinik Family Foundation, will be held Sept. 18-20, at Rotaryโs Camp Florida in Brandon. But, Elliot, who has been cooking for this incredible organizationโs camps for 20 years, says that, following the passing of another major sponsor, more money is needed for this yearโs camps.
To that end, he and Pam are hosting โA Taste of NโAwlinsโ dining event on Sunday, August 23, 4 p.m.-8 p.m., at the Arbor Greene Community Center (18000 Arbor Greene Dr.).
โWeโll be serving my chicken and andouille gumbo (yum!), red beans & rice (double yum!) and assorted po-boy sandwiches (triple yum!),โ Elliot says. โYou can eat it there in the clubhouse or take it to go.โ
Please note that, the food will be cash-only โ for only $20 per meal โ although additional donations will be accepted in cash or by check. โItโll be good food for a great cause and a great community,โ Elliot says. โWe hope to see you there on the 23rd!โ
For more info, visit FacesofCourage.org or see the ad below, but reservations are notย necessary or being accepted for this event. Everyone is invited โ you do not have to be an Arbor Greene resident to attend!ย
(l.-r.) Tampaโs mobility director Brandon Campbell, Mayor Castor, City Council chair Alan Clendenin, Viera & longtime West Meadows resident Brad van Rooyen in front of New Tampa Blvd. The dark gray strip is the first piece of the roadway to be resurfaced.ย
Note – we are aware that the resurfacing of New Tampa Blvd. is progressing nicely and is much further along than what appears in this story. The following story was written when the project had just begun the day before.
When I attended the official groundbreaking ceremony for the resurfacing of a 1.8-mile stretch of New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows on Aug. 5, I was thrilled to see that one of District 7 Tampa City Council member (and New Tampa resident) Luis Vieraโs most ardently-pushed projects was finally coming to fruition.
โThere are a few projects left that I am still working to get done before I leave office on Nov. 2,โ Viera told me after the ceremony also attended by Tampa Mayor Jane Castor, Vieraโs fellow City Council member and chair Alan Clendenin, City of Tampa Mobility Department director Brandon Campbell and long-time West Meadows resident Brad van Rooyen. โBut finally getting New Tampa Blvd. repaved has definitely been one of my top priorities.โ
But, with the first New Tampa Blvd. repaving already having started the day before the groundbreaking event, all of the dayโs speakers were thrilled to get this project finally started.
โSince the loss of the All For Transportation sales surtax,โ Mayor Castor said, โwhich would have been a great source of funding for paving projects like this throughout our city, weโve had to look at other options. Weโve used a lot of our General Fund weโve put into paving projects. Weโre also looking at our regional infrastructure accelerator and some other ways to not only solve our transportation issues, but also the safety and conditions of our roads.โ
She lauded the work of the cityโs two in-house paving crews, which she said, โThey can do our [paving] work at about half the price in about half the time [of using an outside contractor], so theyโve been doing a really great job.โ
Tampa Mayor Jane Castor & Dist. 7 City Councilman Luis Viera at the groundbreaking event for the resurfacing of New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows on Aug. 5.
Mayor Castor also noted that, โWe set a record in the City of Tampa last year, paving over 80 miles of roadways. But, even though that doesnโt begin to address the needs of our community, it really shows that we are focused on paving our streets.โ
She also complimented the cityโs โFix It Fastโ program. โAnyone that sees a pothole in a roadway, signs being down, anything like that, if you call, the goal is within 72 hours to fix that. And, most of them are done in 48 hours.โ
And finally, she said, โOne of the things weโve been very intentional about is making sure that weโre hitting every single neighborhood. If anybody has a question about our paving progress and what roads we intend to pave in the future, go to Tampa.gov. Thereโs a map that shows all of the paving thatโs been done and the streets weโre going to hit in the future.โย
She also noted, however, that while โitโs an inconvenience for our driving public to go over bumpy roads and potholes, for us, as that road deteriorates, it goes from a simple paving job to a rebuilding job. Every road in the city is graded, and we are hitting the worst first.โ
When introducing Viera, the Mayor said, โShort of jumping up on my desk with a map of New Tampa Blvd. saying โPave this or else,โ he has been on this project relentlessly. So, I want to say thank you to Luis and his persistence and for really being a champion for New Tampa.โ
Viera started his comments by saying that, โSince Iโve been in office, with K-Bar Ranch forthcoming, weโve gotten about $20 million in new parks funding for New Tampa alone and about 80% of that has been in partnership between City Council and Mayor Castor, who has proven herself to be, in my time, not just a good person, but a real supporter of New Tampa.โ
And of course, Luis reiterated his slogan that New Tampa โis the Alaska of Tampa. Most of the people in New Tampa arenโt from Tampa. Theyโre from up north and different parts of the world. Weโre religiously and culturally diverse and all we want are safe neighborhoods and just the basics. This project is a very big win for New Tampa.โ
Viera also mentioned that he and van Rooyen โwent to high school together. Brad helped me out on my first campaign and since I got elected, this road has been his Moby Dick and he is Captain Ahab. He is obsessed with this road because heโs a community leader here in West Meadows and heโs a wonderful person and a good friend and a great family man.โ
Next, Viera introduced Clendenin, whom he called, โa good friend, a good and decent person and a great community leader.โ
The Council chair started his comments by saying, โTo say that Councilman Viera is a champion for New Tampa would be the biggest understatement anyone at this [event] would make today. Iโve never met anyone as passionate about his community as Councilman Viera has been about New Tampa serving on City Council.โ
โ[Since] we started this, we have exponentially increased our paving budget,โ Clendenin said. โWorking with the administration, we have doubled our in-house paving crew. If you drive around the city, you see paving projects in every corner of the city. So, wherever you live in the City of Tampa, [your streets] are on our radar.โ
He added that, โWeโre making up for decades and decades of neglect of the roads not being paved. So, this isnโt a problem solved in one, two or three years; itโs a much longer-term project, but we will get to those roads.
โThereโs a commitment on City Council and the administration to make sure we have the funding and the other six people I sit with on City Council are absolutely committed to improving the cityโs infrastructure.
โIโm happy for New Tampa for this accomplishment. This is the first, not the last. And, we look forward to continuing this momentum.โ
Up next was Campbell, who said that, โYouโll probably notice that the contractor is not out here today because this road carries about 12,000 cars a day, which hopefully means that weโll have 12,000 happy customers at the end of this project. But, it also means that theyโre doing most of their work at night.โ
Campbell also noted that along with New Tampa Blvd., โwe recently repaved Commerce Palms and Compton Dr. as well โ and that really just highlights our commitment to not only New Tampa, but to all areas of the city.โ
He added that, โSo, far this year, weโre at about 30 lane miles of resurfacing and this project will ad three-and-a-half more lane miles to that bank as we make our way towards last yearโs record of 80 lane miles being resurfaced. Since 2019, we have resurfaced over 330 lane miles throughout the city, which I think is a testament to the commitment from the Mayor, City Council and my department.โ
The final speaker was van Rooyen, the president of The Promenade at West Meadows Homeowners Assn. โand I previously served as president of the West Meadows Property Owners Association. I also served three four-year terms on our Community Development District.
โI have lived here for 22 years and I honestly thought this project was never going to happen. But, while Marvel has Captain America, we finally got โCapt. New Tampa,โ Luis Viera.
โI want to thank Luis for listening to us. Heโs stayed engaged with the community. He heard our concerns and he advocated for us.
โNew Tampa asks for very little of the city. We have homeowners associations and CDDs who take care of our infrastructure, so all we ask for from the city are safe roads, mobility and public safety โ and this is the first administration that has heard our concerns. So, thank you to the Mayor, City Council and city staff for making this project a reality.โ
Viera has since posted that now with New Tampa Blvd. underway, โBefore I leave Council, I hope to see the โcut-throughโ finally being open for K-Bar Ranch, formal passage of $8 million for the historic K-Bar Ranch park, passage of our Public Safety Master Plan ordinance and some progress on provisional funding for a New Tampa Police Substation presence.โย
The 2026 Midterm Primary Elections are quickly approaching and one of the most interesting local races will be for the Hillsborough County Commission District 5 seat.
The incumbent in the race is Republican Donna Cameron Cepeda, whose Primary Election opponent on Aug. 18 is current District 2 School Board member Stacy Hahn, so both candidates are already known to voters. The winner of the primary will face Democrat and local urologist Dr. Neil Manimala, and was profiled in these pages back in February. Manimalaโs campaign currently has a huge fund-raising lead over both of his Republican opponents, as he has raised more than $165,000, compared with $81,000+ for Hahn and only $24,700 for Cepeda. (Note-These fund-raising numbers are from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections website and were accurate as of July 9.)
Dr. Donna Cameron Cepeda
Commissioner Cepeda (left) is a U.S. Army veteran and author, while previously working in finance and as an associate professor at Life Christian University (LCU). She earned a Bachelorโs degree from USC, along with Masterโs and Doctoral Degrees from LCU. Unfortunately, Comm. Cepeda did not respond to interview requests from the Neighborhood News.
Dr. Stacy Hahn
Hahn has served in Dist. 2 on the Hillsborough School Board since 2018. In addition to her time on that Board, she helped found Literacy is Key, a nonprofit to help improve early childhood literacy rates by expanding access to books. She is a longtime educator, serving as a public school teacher and professor at the University of South Florida. She holds a Ph.D. in Early Childhood & Special Education from the University of Florida.
Below is a brief question-&-answer session with Dist. 5 Republican candidate Stacy Hahn:
Neighborhood News (NN): Tell our readers why you decided to run for County Commissioner.
Stacy Hahn (SH): For the past eight years, I have had the privilege of serving the residents of Hillsborough County on the School Board, overseeing one of the largest school districts in the nation and helping manage a multi-billion-dollar budget. I have spent my career focused on education, accountability and serving our community.
Iโm running for County Commission because Hillsborough County needs experienced, principled leadership focused on fiscal responsibility, public safety and responsible growth. Families deserve a commissioner who will protect taxpayer dollars, improve infrastructure, support law enforcement and ensure government lives within its means. My record demonstrates that I ask tough questions, make difficult decisions and always put the interests of the taxpayers first.
NN: What would you say have been your top achievements during your time on the School Board?
SH: Iโm proud of many accomplishments, but the one that will have the greatest long-term impact is strengthening the Districtโs financial stability while improving student outcomes.
I championed the Districtโs first formal fund balance policy, increasing our reserves to 10 percent, so taxpayers are better protected during economic downturns and emergencies. At the same time, we made difficult decisions to close underutilized schools, prioritize maintenance and new schools in areas of high growth, as well as focus academic resources where they directly benefit students.
This year, Hillsborough County Schools earned its first โAโ District grade (from the Florida Department of Education) in more than a decade. That success reflects years of improving accountability, supporting teachers, investing strategically and maintaining strong fiscal stewardship.
NN: What is your top priority should you win election to the County Commission?
SH: My top priority is making sure our infrastructure finally catches up with our growth. Residents spend too much time sitting in traffic, and too many communities have experienced rapid development without the roads, intersections and public safety infrastructure necessary to support it. We need to prioritize transportation improvements, synchronize road projects with new development and ensure growth pays for growth. At the same time, I will continue to prioritize public safety, protect taxpayers and make county government more efficient before asking residents to pay more.
NN: Many readers have expressed a variety of opinions on the proposed constitutional amendment to increase the homestead exemption to $150,000 in 2027, followed by an increase to $250,000 in 2028. Some believe that it will diminish essential services for county residents. Others believe itโs a needed action to address concerns. Where do you land on the proposal and do you think the county will need to make cuts to maintain public safety and other essential county services?
SH: Florida families continue to face rising housing costs, insurance premiums and everyday expenses. Providing meaningful property tax relief deserves serious consideration, and I support efforts that allow homeowners to keep more of their own money. That said, public safety remains governmentโs first responsibility. I will never support cutting funding for the Sheriffโs Office, Fire Rescue/EMS, or emergency management. If revenues are reduced, the county should first identify operational efficiencies, modernize technology, eliminate duplication and prioritize core services before considering reductions that impact residents. Responsible economic growth also expands the tax base over time, helping generate additional revenue without raising tax rates.
We should always look to make government work smarter before asking taxpayers to do more.
Many New Tampa residents are aware that District 2 Hillsborough County Commissioner Ken Hagan (photo below) used to live in Cross Creek. Fewer people probably know, however, that Hagan grew up in Carrollwood โ and he says both experiences helped him decide to fight for an indoor/ outdoor recreation facility in New Tampa โ all of which is located in his district.ย
โWhen I was in college,โ Hagan says, โI spent my summers working in the same county park in Carrollwood I grew up playing in. Then, when I was raising my family in Cross Creek, I realized that we didnโt have any county park facilities. So, when I first became the County Commissioner for the New Tampa area (way back in 2002), I decided to try to get a large county park built here.โ
Hagan says the county had purchased land in K-Bar Ranch, โand my original plan was to partner with the City of Tampa on a big park there, but the city killed that. (Note- K-Bar is now getting a city park of its own.) So, I was able to take that money and use half of it to redo Branchton Park (on Morris Bridge Rd. south of Cross Creek Blvd.) and the other half to build this facility here.โ
Hagan and other county officials cut the ribbon on the $8.6-million Cross Creek Recreation Center at 19019 Bassett Creek Dr. (next to Pride Elementary) on June 29.
In addition to completely revamping the 15-acre parkโs outdoor playground and adding shade shelters, new basketball courts, a walking trail and benches, the projectโs crown jewel is the 16,000-sq.-ft. rec center, which has a full-sized basketball gym, fitness (not yet stocked) and multipurpose rooms, classrooms and a public meeting space โ and recreation supervisor Kim Gilchrist and assistant rec supervisor Alex Spacone (photo, left) say the summer camp program was full for this summer, but there will be programming for children and adults throughout the year for those with a โWellness Access Pass-Cross Creek.โย
โThere are a lot more programs still to come,โ Hagan says. โI wish we had something like this when my kids were growing up here.โ Me, too, Ken!
For more info about the Cross Creek Rec Center, call (813) 744-5978 or visit FLHillsboroughweb.myvscloud.com. โ GN; all photos by Charmaine Georgeย
