Jas Warren’s Impact Fondly Remembered At Celebration Of Life At Wharton

When you know someone is a good person who has lived a life in service to others, you often still don’t really know the impact that person has made, or just how many people they helped — until you attend their Celebration of Life. 

Such was the case of former Wharton High theatre teacher James “Jas” Warren. As I mentioned in my page 3 editorial in our last issue, Jas passed away after suffering a heart attack at the age of 61, while he and his wife Renee were on a FaceTime call with their daughter Abby and her three sons. 

I had seen probably only four or five of the 100+ shows (including, I believe, two of his original works) Jas produced with his LSA (Lighting & Sound America) Repertory Theatre Company during his time at Wharton, and had spoken with him after most of those performances. It was clear at that time that his students — and their parents — loved him. And, as a native New Yorker who had seen at least 50-60 Broadway and Off-Broadway shows in my lifetime, the power of the performances Jas directed let me know just how good he was at his job. 

What I had no idea about, however, was just how powerful his impact was on his students until I attended the Celebration of Life held at Wharton on Nov. 8 in his honor. Even though I ended up leaving early because I had another event to get to, the hour+ I spent listening to his long-time friend and fellow Wharton teacher Carlos Rosaly, Jas’ daughter Abigail Rodriguez and son Jackson Warren, followed by at least eight of the dozen or so total speakers and performers that day, it was clear to me that I didn’t really know Jas Warren — or just how many children he impacted, how many lives he changed — at all. 

And I am as saddened by that fact today as I was uplifted by what I saw and hear that day. 

Act I — Abby, Evan, Jackson & Carlos 

I sat next to my friends Dr. Elliot and Pam Cazes, whose son Evan is one of Abby’s best friends. It was Pam who let me know that Jas had passed and when and where the Celebration of Life would be held. 

When I arrived, Evan and Abby were already sitting on the stage (photo), getting ready to sing the haunting “Those You’ve Known” from the Tony Award-winning musical “Spring Awakening.” How both of them were able to make it all the way through this beautiful, but overwhelmingly sad song is a tribute to the training both of them received from Abby’s dad. Believe me when I say that there literally was not another dry eye in the house: 

“Those you’ve known 

And lost still walk behind you 

All alone 

They linger till they find you 

Without them 

The world grows dark around you 

And nothing is the same 

Until you know that they have found you” 

When they finished singing, recently retired Wharton High math teacher (and baseball announcer) Carlos Rosaly — one of Jas’ closest friends and a fellow original member of the Wharton faculty when the school opened for the 1997-98 school year, was the first to speak.. 

Carlos recounted humorous stories of his long relationship at the school with Jas and their shared love of rock n roll. 

“The difficulty for us in his passage is that he wasn’t done telling stories and we weren’t done listening to him,” Carlos said. “We weren’t done watching it all on stage. And that’s our loss.” 

He also noted that Jas loved everything about the performances — “the auditions, the callbacks, the rehearsals, the running laps around the office, the vocal warmups, the read-throughs, the curtains up, the spotlights, the music, the show, he loved it all. Thank you, James.” 

Carlos also read a moving passage from the book Jesus in Blue Jeans by Laurie Beth Jones. But, it was all just getting started. 

Next up was Abby, who said her dad thought she never cried. “Well, Dad, I have never cried more in my life than I have in the past three weeks. Three weeks ago yesterday, I heard his voice for the last time. Every day since then, I wake up and hope that the nightmare is over.” 

She then retold the story of how she was on the phone with them when her dad was in the throes of the heart attack. After telling her mom to call 9-1-1, Abby waited to hear back from her. 

“Not too much time passed before I called my mom and they said ‘He didn’t make it.’ I remember standing in front of my fridge and dropping to the floor. I called my husband (who is in the Army) and said words I didn’t expect to end up saying, ‘Please come home.’” 

She added, “All I could think of were the things I wished I could have said if I knew it was his last moment…He was the kind of dad that everyone wanted and the kind of director that kids in other public schools dreamed of having. And I was lucky enough to get him. I idolized him…and there came a point where he thought I stopped, but I never actually stopped.” 

Abby also said that her earliest memories were on the very same stage in that Wharton auditorium. “He created magic on this stage,” she said. “Whether it was one of the One Act [plays] he’d spend all summer writing, or how he found the most perfect songs for those shows that he edited to perfection. He changed lives, not just through his art, but through who he was. He created lifelong friendships for most of us and introduced many of us to our spouses and our own families. And I’m living proof of that.” 

She also recounted how her dad officiated her wedding, how he supported her every time she announced she was pregnant, their Walmart runs during school, their trips to New York City to see Broadway shows. She also gave her many definitions of what grief is now that her dad is gone. 

“I will keep saying it: I don’t know how to live in a world where he doesn’t exist. He deserves so much more time and he has so many more stories to write…and to watch my kids grow up. Everything I am is because of him — my love of theatre, music, reading, writing, dark humor, everything. So, for now, I will still send a text when something reminds me of you, I will still cry for you and I will think of you every day and I will think about what life would be like if you were still here. Until we meet again.” 

Jas’ son Jackson (above right) said that, “Everywhere I look, he is there. I just can’t believe that he’s still gone.” Jackson said he wished his dad could watch another season of another show he loved. And how every moment that he thinks about his dad, “even the moments that I didn’t think would matter at all, are just so special. It’s just a lesson to learn — you never know how much time left you have with someone. Don’t live with regrets. Do what you want to do before it’s too late because you never know when it will be too late. I’m just glad that my final words to him were ‘I love you’ and I gave him a hug. It doesn’t solve anything, but it helps.” 

Act II — All Of His ‘Other’ Kids 

Next up was Tori Fuson, who sang an incredible rendition of the song “Leave Me Here” by Hem. This is just the chorus: 

“So, as I rise, I will reach for the livin’ 

And I’ll say no prayer 

Cuz tonight he brought me to heaven 

And left me here” 

Tori then added, “Mr. Warren was more than a teacher for us. He wanted to create the best works and he did, because he created all of us and that’s the reason we’re all here today. He taught us, at a very young age, about injustice and loss, love and human connection. He showed us that acting is not about pretending. It’s about telling the truth. He had a way of drawing discipline and authenticity from children, which is a really difficult thing to do. He changed every student who walked in his doors. And, for many of us, this auditorium was our home.” 

Tori was followed by Nicole Nouri, who put the Rolling Stones themselves to shame with her soaring rendition of “Wild Horses.” 

Nicole was followed by Stephen Arment and Lizzy Clark (left photo), who were both in Wharton’s first graduating class in 2000. 

Stephen, who is now the drama teacher at Durant High in Plant City, said, “There are a lot of ways to talk bout someone who shaped your life, but the truest place I could start is this. I loved being around him. He did not just teach theatre. He built families. Entire generations of us found our ‘people’ and our purpose under a new direction. When I arrived at [Wharton], he was one of the first people who made me feel seen for who I could become. We have each carried so many of his lessons with us. Not just how to block a scene, but how to make people feel seen before they even believe in themselves.” 

Stephen also said he remembered when Jas and Renee brought their newborn daughter, Abby, “in to meet us for the first time. He wasn’t just introducing his daughter to his students, he was introducing her to a community that she would always be connected to, whether she wanted to or not. It was like watching two parts of his world intersect — the family he went home to and the family that he built in this place. He poured so much of himself into us that we walked away feeling like we carried a piece of him into adulthood. So, to his family, thank you for sharing him with us.” 

Stephen concluded, “I became a high school drama teacher because of him. He wasn’t just teaching theatre, he was shaping what theatre education looked like across the board. He didn’t just attend [theatre] festivals, he helped build the blueprint for how they are run — the systems, the traditions, the way we gather, the way they create. So much of that traces back to him. So, thank you, Mr. Warren. We’ll take it from here.” 

When it was Lindsay’s turn to speak, she paid Stephen one of the best compliments she could: “I just have to say that I had the honor of watching Stephen run a rehearsal at his school today and he is Mr. Warren. There were so many ‘Warren-isms’ that I felt as if I was a student there myself.” 

She also said that “I’m deeply grateful to stand up this day, in this auditorium, a place stitched with memories, to celebrate the life of someone who didn’t just shape my high school experience, but helped to shape me.” 

Lindsay added, “Mr. Warren was brilliant, passionate and, let’s be honest, a little terrifying. He knew when to challenge us and when to protect us. His office felt like the safest place in the world. It was where we cried, we laughed, we vented and we dreamed. I remember he showed us what looked like a baseball card of a young pop singer no one had ever heard of. He said, ‘Believe me, she is going to be huge.’ We rolled our eyes and thought this is just another weird Warrenism. The pop singer? Britney Spears.” 

That was when I left the building, but it’s clear to me that Jas Warren left behind so much more than just hundreds of high school theatre awards. He built hundreds of young people into amazing people, not just amazing actors. 

I missed the final performance of the day, but Elliot Cazes recorded it for me (above right): Green Day’s “Time Of Your Life.” 

Just perfect.

St. Mark Choir To Perform For Pope Leo XIV In Rome!

Dr. John Paul Cappa (center, with brown sport jacket) is bringing members of the St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church Choir on a “Peter’s Way” tour of Italy, including final stops in Rome, where the choir will perform for Pope Leo XIV, and have a Papal audience at Vatican City. (Photos by Charmaine George) 

I’m not Catholic, but I can’t help but feel proud to have seen and heard the amazing choir at St. Mark the Evangelist Catholic Church on Cross Creek Blvd. perform shortly before 15 members of the choir and St. Mark director of music Dr. John Paul Cappa before the group embarked on a 10-day “Peter’s Way” tour culminating with a performance for Pope Leo XIV in Rome. 

St. Mark director of music John Paul Cappa 

Dr. Cappa, who has served in his position at St. Mark the past 18 years, has made this pilgrimage to perform for the Pope with two previous choirs — the St. George Parish Choir of Erie, PA, and the Mother of Sorrows Parish Choir of Murrysville, PA — but this will be the first time he has brought a group from St. Mark on such a journey. 

After watching the choir rehearse prior to Sunday Mass at the church, all I can say is that this is a truly talented group of singers of different ages who will do St. Mark and the entire New Tampa community proud when they perform for the Pope and 2,000 people at the St. Paul Center, next to the Vatican. 

Pope Leo XIV (Photo source: Wikipedia.com) 

“And, all of these folks are local,” said Dr. Cappa. “It’s really a blessing to be able to take this group on this journey.” 

He noted that, unlike his previous Peter’s Way tours of Italy, the St. Mark group is starting its tour on the western coast of Italy — Milan, Turin (to see the Shroud), Naples, Amalfi, Sorrento, Positano and Pompeii — and ending with a mass with the Pope at the Vatican. “A lot of the choir members and musicians are seasoned travelers who have been to Venice, Florence and Naples before,” he said, “so we’re doing a different trip this time.” 

And, even though he has brought groups to perform for the Pope before, “It’s a different Pope now. And, it is always exciting and an honor to perform for the Pope.” 

Soprano soloist Ashely Shalna 

It’d been years since I had attended a service at St. Mark, so I didn’t realize that the church’s choir has 30 singers, including soprano soloist Ashely Shalna, bass soloist Marty Angiulli and accompanist Maureen Hartung. “But, when some of our college students come back during breaks, we have as many as 42,” Dr. Cappa said. 

Of that group, he added, only 15 actual choir members will make the trip to Italy, “but with spouses and other church members, we’re bringing 37, I believe,” he said. 

Bass soloist Marty Angiulli 

On Nov. 2, the day photographer Charmaine George and I visited — and 9 days before the group was leaving for Italy — there were at least a dozen incredible musicians from the Florida Orchestra, as well as some USF professors, practicing and performing with the group for the 10:30 Sunday Mass. The rehearsal of composer Gabriel Fauré’s “Requiem” hymn with these woodwind, brass and string musicians was absolutely captivating. 

But, Dr. Cappa — who has a Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) degree in Organ Performance from West Virginia University and is working on a second DMA degree in Choral Conducting at USF — says the choir will perform five pieces for Pope Leo: the “Orbis Factor” ordinary chant, the “Cantate Domino” by Giuseppe Ottavio Pitoni; the “O Domine Jesu Christe” by Giovanni Pierluigi da Palestrina; the “Locus Iste” by Anton Bruckner; and the “Adoramus Te” by Jacobus Clemens non Papa. 

I wish them all “Bonam Fortunam!”— GN


Some of the musicians from the Florida Orchestra 

Accompanist Maureen Hartung 

Benito Middle School Welcomes New Principal Jacqueline Enis!

The new principal at Benito Middle School on Cross Creek Blvd. is Jacqueline Enis, who plans to continue the New Tampa school’s tradition of “A”-rated excellence. (Photo provided by Jacqueline Enis) 

Jacqueline Enis is the new principal of Benito Middle School. 

Enis started in the role on Sept. 16, after former principal Brent Williams was tapped to lead Franklin Boys Preparatory Academy Middle Magnet School in Tampa. 

It was announced at the school board meeting on Aug. 26 that Williams would begin in his new role on Sept. 2. Hillsborough County Pubic Schools officials then acted quickly to interview candidates and appointed Enis to lead Benito, making the announcement at the School Board meeting on Sept. 9. 

Enis joins Benito after six years at neighboring Turner Bartels K-8 School, where she served as the assistant principal of curriculum. 

Prior to that, Enis had served as assistant principal of curriculum at Farnell Middle School since 2013. She began her career with Hillsborough County Public Schools in 2001, when she taught ESE language arts and reading and served as a reading coach. 

Enis says the transition to taking the reins at Benito has gone smoothly. 

“It’s absolutely awesome,” she says. “I love the community and I love what we’re doing for students. I’m happy to continue the legacy of those who came before me.” 

Benito has been a strong “A”-rated school for more than two decades. It has only two “Bs” in the school’s history, with the last one coming in 2001, so Enis says she isn’t looking to make a lot of changes on campus. 

“The students respect adults and have been very welcoming,” she says. “They tell me that they miss Mr. Williams, but they have embraced me and have made me feel at home.” 

Benito PTSA president Rob Taylor agrees with the students’ sentiments. “While we miss Mr. Williams, we are very excited to have Ms. Enis as our new principal,” Taylor says. “She seems on board with our goals of planning fun and exciting activities, events and rewards for students, and doing everything we can for our amazing teachers.” 

Enis says she’s happy to partner with the PTSA and volunteers on campus, and she likes to be accessible to parents. 

“I’m waving at them in the car line to make sure they recognize who to go to, whether they have positive things to share about their students, or concerns,” she says. 

Enis says her first few weeks at the school have been filled with one-on-one meetings with every employee on campus and that the teachers and support staff have been welcoming to her, as well. 

“I want to inspire students to succeed and help my school grow,” she says. “Benito is a place where learning is respected and there is collaboration. I want to continue to build those connections with students, staff and the community.”

The New Tampa Players (NTP) Present ‘Oklahoma!’ At The New Tampa Performing Arts Center (NTPAC) Oct. 18-19 & Oct. 24-26!

NTP’s production of ‘Oklahoma!” was supposed to debut tonight (Friday, October 17), but due to male lead Gabriel White Marin leaving the area this week for a his new role in a touring company production of “A Charlie Brown Christmas,” the opening night of “Oklahoma!” had to be moved from tonight to tomorrow night, so that the show’s choreographer Christan McLaurine could properly learn the choreography of the show’s classic fight scene in his new additional role as “Curly.” “It’s never easy to lose a show lead,” Paine says, “but I can’t think of a better reason to lose one! We’re all excited for Gabriel and know he will do great! We also know that Christan will do an amazing job as Curly!” 

Note — If you have tickets for tonight’s cancelled performance, NTP producing artistic director and “Oklahoma!” director Nora Paine says you can either have the cost of your tickets refunded or you can exchange them for any of the remaining available performances. Call the New Tampa Players Box Office at (813) 543-6252 if you haven’t already to make your arrangements.

As for the show itself, the heart of the American frontier comes alive on stage as NTP — New Tampa’s community theatre troupe — opens its highly anticipated production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” at the New Tampa Performing Arts Center.

Directed by Paine (who also directed NTP’s “Singin’ in the Rain” in 2024), G. Frank Meekins (“Grease,” 2023) and Karissa Barber (“Into the Woods,” 2025), the production captures the spirit and charm of this beloved 1943 musical known for its rich score, iconic characters and sweeping depiction of life in the early 20th-century Oklahoma Territory. 

A Classic Reimagined For The Community

“Oklahoma!’ is more than just a musical: it’s a celebration of resilience, hope, and love,” Paine says. “We wanted to stay true to the classic while also making it feel fresh and relevant to our community.”

From the opening strains of “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’” to the stirring finale, the show features standout performances from a terrific cast of local talent.

The multi-talented Mr. McLaurine, who wowed audiences as James “Thunder” Early in NTP’s production of “Dreamgirls” (he also was the incredible baritone voice of the man-eating plant Audrey II in NTP’s “Little Shop of Horrors”), steps into the role of Curly for Gabriel. Meanwhile, Isabella Ruano, a newcomer to the NTPAC stage, brings strength and warmth to the role of Laurey. The supporting cast — including NTP newcomer Madison DeBrino as Ado Annie, newcomer Tristan Horta as Will Parker, and long-time NTP veteran Michael Neary as the troubled farmhand Jud Fry — bring their roles to life with humor, heart and depth.

The Heart Of The Community, Too!

The production is a true community effort, involving more than 50 volunteers. Leading the team are costume designer Deb Lastinger, technical director Paul McColgan and scenic artist James Cass. Audiences will be especially delighted by the vibrant choreography by McLaurine and ballroom choreographer Erica Holland — a beautiful highlight of the show. 

Music directors Rick Barclay and G. Frank Meekins have teamed up to guide this 23-person cast and 14-musician orchestra through a score that will have you humming all the way home, including the title song, plus “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin’,” “The Surrey with the Fringe on Top” and many more.

Don’t Miss It!

Don’t miss your chance to experience “Oklahoma!” like never before and get ready to be swept away by the beauty, music and magic of this unforgettable production.

Buy your tickets now, before NTP sells out the rest of this six-performance run! Performances of “Oklahoma!” will be Saturday, October 18, at 8 p.m., Sunday, October 19, at 3 p.m., Friday & Saturday, Oct. 24-25, at 8 p.m., and Saturday & Sunday, October 25-26, at 3 p.m. Tickets are available at NewTampaPlayers.org and cost $22-$40. Also, see the ad below for more info. 

New Tampa’s Morris Lopez To Run For City Council!

Photo by Charmaine George

 I first met Morris Lopez 30 years ago, when he opened the original Amigos Spanish Café (later Las Palmas) restaurant in the same Pebble Creek Collection plaza where I moved the Neighborhood News office in 1995. 

Morris, who was born and raised in Tampa, and his wife Yvette (also in the photo) and their two daughters moved into a 1,600-sq.-ft., $89,900 house in the adjacent Pebble Creek community, “because it was the only place we could afford,” he says. 

At the time, Morris was only eight years into his now-38-year career with the Hillsborough County Fire Department, which did not then (and still does not today) have a location anywhere in New Tampa. 

So, how did the career Hillsborough County firefighter and current shift commander decide that he wants to run for the District 7 Tampa City Council seat being vacated in 2027 (or possibly before) by two-term incumbent Luis Viera? 

Well, first of all, Morris’ childhood home was in District 7 and he moved his family to Tampa Palms after selling Amigos three years after opening it. 

“I’ve been serving the public my entire adult life and I want to continue to serve,” he says. “And honestly, Luis has inspired me.” 

“It kind of came out of nowhere,” Morris said while sitting with Yvette and me in the restaurant at Tampa Palms Golf & Country Club. “Once I got promoted with Hillsborough County, after 38 years and getting promoted into admin, I dealt with a lot of events and the political side of it.” 

He added, “And, I met Luis (Viera) and got to know him a little bit, and became a fan of his, watched what he did out here and I just loved the fact that he was for all of the people and very much into public safety. And, he did a couple of things for us that were unexpected, including the tribute he did — and got City Council to do — for my grandfather, Morris Lopez I — and he’s actually working now on naming a street for him, which I think is very special — and I became a fan.” 

For those who don’t know, or read Luis’ Facebook posts, Tampa Police Patrolman Morris Lopez was gunned down from a passing car while on his patrol in Ybor City on July 9, 1949. He was only 25 years old. The case remains unsolved to this day. 

“I never got to meet my grandfather,” Morris said. “But, it was because of his service that I became a firefighter and I so appreciate Luis recognizing his service and his sacrifice.” 

So, when Viera announced that he was leaving his seat, Morris said, “Believe it or not, that’s the first time that I ever thought about it. For 38 years, I’ve been in public service and now, at an administrative level. The next thing for me, to continue to serve, is to move into some kind of non-partisan position like this — where I can actually have a voice like I have at my job. I think I can transition into [elected office] and do well.” 

A Lifetime Of Service 

Morris started his career with Hillsborough County Fire Rescue in 1987, as a firefighter at the Gibsonton station, but soon moved to his “home” area of District 7 and the University area, “at the two busiest stations in the county. I never thought I’d one day be able to maximize my career, but I’ve done it.” 

When I mentioned that his inspiration for opening his restaurant may have come from him doing a lot of the cooking during his 24-hour firefighter shifts, Morris said, “We don’t even allow the firefighters to cook now until they build their skills, but I’m not in the stations anymore.” 

But now, as a shift commander, he said, “I am responsible for that whole shift [for the entire county], so after 5 p.m. and on weekends and holidays, I’m pretty much running the entire department. It’s a lot different now than it was when I was a firefighter and my only responsibility was to clean toilets (and maybe do some cooking) and I only made $5.87 an hour — which is the reason my wife and I had to have a small business.” 

He started cutting grass out of his truck, “and I would take my crews to that deli that guy had [in the Pebble Creek Collection] and I became the first to bring Cuban food to New Tampa.” 

(L.-r.) Courtney, Danielle, Morris & Yvette Lopez & Yvette’s mom Onellia Martinez (Photo provided by Morris Lopez)

Yvette added, “We got married in 1990 and built our first house in Pebble Creek, because it was affordable. I was working at USAA (the giant insurance headquarters building in Tampa Palms) and we decided to raise our family here.” 

Although they are doing some remodeling at their home, Morris says that he still has the story we published in the Neighborhood News about Amigos back in 1995. 

Yvette also acknowledged that she and her husband were among the very few people living in New Tampa at the time, “who were both originally from Tampa. Most everyone else was from someplace else. They’d say, ‘You’re from Tampa and you live out here?’” 

It wasn’t long before Morris and Yvette decided to move to Tampa Palms. “The reason was because we had two young daughters (Danielle and Courtney) and I was — and still am — a very big advocate of the county’s public school system,” Yvette said. “My dad taught at Plant High School for 37 years. And I said, ‘These schools are good. We want to raise our children here.’ And what an experience we had, taking our children from Tampa Palms Elementary to Liberty [Middle School] to Freedom [High] and then to USF!” 

Morris added, “We’ve only owned two residential homes in our entire lives. Pebble Creek was our ‘starter’ and I worked very hard to save enough money to afford a lot in Tampa Palms, when Yvette was pregnant with our second daughter (Courtney) — in 1997, after I sold the restaurant. I was still doing the landscaping and the money from the sale was the only way we could afford to move here. This is our forever home. We’re not going anywhere.” 

The Election Itself 

Morris said he has heard about some possible opponents for the Dist. 7 seat, but he isn’t concerned about whether or not he will have competition for it. 

“I haven’t really delved into that,” he said. “It’s more about finding out if I had viability [as a candidate] myself. I’ve gone down the list and looked at what kind of support I could get and I feel very comfortable about that. But, the most important thing is my wife and how important she is to me and whether or not she wanted us to take on this challenge.” 

Yvette smiled, “I honestly think it’s more of an opportunity. We’ve just celebrated our 35th wedding anniversary and I always say that the only thing he’s been committed to longer than myself is the Hillsborough County Fire Department. The one thing I will say about him is that he’s a committed, loyal man — as he is to me and as he is to his department, he will be to the people of this District and this city. I’ve watched him grow from being a firefighter to being a Division Chief and he has used that platform to represent where he came from and he can do that now.” 

She also noted, however, that, “We both grew up middle class and I used to think that you can’t really have a voice unless you have money, that money is power. But, you know what? Having a sincere desire to serve and help people and make a difference, I now think that’s what you really need.” 

Morris added, “I maximized my position with the Fire Department and I became a voice and I was able to do things for my people and actually plant seeds and watch them grow. I don’t want that to stop.” 

As an example of his voice, Morris said that, “We’ve made so many changes in Hillsborough County in the Fire Department. We’ve grown so much and to help with that growth — helping with quicker response times, knowing the area and being so involved for so long, and now, we’re going to be one of the best departments in the nation.” 

Morris said that he believes that if elected, he can finally get the additional ambulance unit in K-Bar Ranch that Viera has been fighting for with Tampa Fire Chief Barbara Tripp. “Until I became an admin, I spent 34 years in the union and I have to walk that fine line every day,” he said. “I have to protect my admin family in the Fire Department but also co-mingle with the union. I’ve been that mediator between our union and our admin because I was part of it for so long.” 

He added that, “When we lived in Pebble Creek, if there was a call for a cardiac arrest in our neighborhood, our Ladder Truck [from Hillsborough Station No. 5, north of E. Fletcher Ave.] would drive right past Tampa Station No. 20 on Bruce B. Downs in Tampa Palms. But now, we pay the city to cover [Pebble Creek, Cross Creek and Live Oak] because that’s the best way to get those county residents the best service at this time.” 

Top Priority: Keeping People Safe 

“My top priority will be public safety,” he said, “but also infrastructure and transportation and traffic. We’ve grown so much in Tampa, but there are things we can do to improve the services we provide, so those items will be most important going forward. What I’m going to bring to the table is that I’m an information gatherer and although I’m only one decision-maker (out of seven), I will have a voice. I will do what I do for people in my department and carry that over to the residents of the district and the city. I will have the same passion in office as I do now when I serve my people in my department. That’s what my platform is.” 

Yvette added, “Morris is the person you can go to if you have a problem. He will have a very open-door policy and the people need to know that he’s going to listen to every voice and help the city and county to work together.” 

And finally, he said, “The county has been so good to me, but my heart and soul are in the city. I don’t want this to be about my grandfather, but he gave his life for the city. My dad was two years old when that happened. He grew up without a father and I grew up with nothing. That’s my inspiration. I would feel like I was doing him an injustice if I didn’t try this, no matter how it turns out. 

“I looked into the viability, got my wife’s support and I realized this could happen.” 

If and when Viera vacates his seat next year — if he is able to gets elected to replace House Minority Leader Fentrice Driskell in House District 67 the State Legislature, “I will have an interview with the City Council. If that goes well, I could be appointed to the seat, but I still have to be prepared to run for it, too. I will file all of the paperwork by the first of the year. 

“This isn’t a political aspiration,” Yvette said. “He wants to run to make a difference.”