District 7: One More Vote, Dec. 6

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Jim Davison (center) is flanked by former opponents and now ardent supporters Avis Harrison (left) and Cyril Spiro (right).

After spending months just trying to get voters familiar with their names in a crowded six-person race, Hunter’s Green residents Jim Davison, an emergency room doctor, and Luis Viera, an attorney, are ready to start talking about issues and getting voters who live in the City of Tampa to the polls one more time — on Tuesday, December 6, in case you didn’t know.

“I think the name recognition part is pretty much over,’’ said Davison. “Now it’s about turning out the people that you think are going to vote for you.”

After taking the top two spots at the Nov. 8 General Election, Davison and Viera are headed to the Runoff Election on Dec. 6 to decide who will replace Lisa Montelione and serve her final 16 months representing District 7, which includes all of the city-based Neighborhoods in New Tampa, on the Tampa City Council. District 7 is a large and diverse area which runs north from Waters Ave. to County Line Rd., and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida area.

Early voting for the runoff continues through t0day, Sunday, December 4.

Despite entering the race last and raising only $14,000 for his campaign — easily the least of the all the candidates — Davison received 9,158 votes in the general election, or 30.6 percent, winning 13 of the 20 precincts that cast ballots on Nov. 8. He was second in five others. Davison, 62,  celebrated his win on election night with chicken wings at the Hunter’s Green Tennis & Athletic Center.

Viera, who has raised more than $80,000, far more than any other candidate in the race,  finished with 6,689 votes, or 22.3 percent, to advance to the runoff. Viera did not win any precincts but was second in 10 of them and third in eight others.

“It was a difficult race,” Viera says. “We fought for every single vote.”

Arbor Greene’s Avis Harrison, a former school teacher, was third (4,781), followed by former police officer and Copeland Park resident Orlando Gudes (4,218), Cory Lake Isles resident Dr. Cyril Spiro (3,719) and La Gaceta editor Gene Siudut (1,319).

Now that the race has been whittled to two candidates, Davison and Viera say they are eager to start focusing more on issues that were overshadowed during the last campaign, due to the number of candidates and the overwhelming presence of a nasty and contentious presidential election.

Here are some of the issues both candidates say they will focus on if elected:

TAXES: Davison says the biggest difference between he and Viera is their position on taxes. “I never saw a tax Luis was not in favor of,” Davison says, adding that he would work to roll back the millage, or property tax rates, in New Tampa. He claims they haven’t been rolled back since 2008, and ad valorem taxes will set a record in 2018 to offset any cuts.

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Luis Viera with supporter Mike Suarez.

Viera, 38, says he is in favor of a robust development of District 7’s communities. But, he says it is foolish to expect that those things can be accomplished simply by rolling back taxes. 

“We certainly cannot, given the development we need in this city and our communities, just frivolously lower taxes,’’ Viera says, adding that he isn’t pro-tax, but, “I haven’t seen a tax reduction that Jim is clamoring for that will benefit the community.”

Both candidates agree that New Tampa should receive a larger piece of the pie made with its tax dollars, in the form of the same community enhancements being made in west and south Tampa’s parks, as well as downtown. “Downtown needs to be spruced up but not at the expense of its neighborhoods,” Davison says.

Viera has long-referred to New Tampa as a “donor district,” and also does not agree with the way tax monies are dispersed.

“We give way too much of our money to downtown Tampa without proper development of our neighborhoods (in North Tampa),” Viera says.

TRANSPORTATION: Davison has been a transportation activist in New Tampa for nearly two decades. He adamantly opposed government initiatives like GO Hillsborough, which sought a half-cent sales tax to pay to fix and maintain existing roads, relieve congestion and build new roads.

luisDavison says those promises were lies, and that the money is already available in future budgets to help with transportation without more taxation.

That has been a theme of Davison’s in this campaign — that government officials aren’t being honest with the numbers. He says the city claims the half-cent tax would raise $3.5 billion over 30 years. Davison says that figure is actually closer to $6 billion, creating essentially a slush fund for the city. He says he has stacks of papers that prove it.

“Lets just say this: Jim is skeptical of a lot of things,’’ Viera says. “This goes back to the issue of being able to work with others. When you presume they are liars, you say they are lying to you.”

Viera says Davison is making “unfounded accusations” and, “to the best of my knowledge, I’ve never seen anything to prove that the mayor’s office is lying to us.”

Davison is in favor, however, of the ongoing Tampa Bay Express (TBX) project, which will primarily widen I-275, I-75 and I-4 with 91 miles of express or toll lanes. “Without more lane capacity on 275, that will strangle District 7,’’ Davison says.

Viera, a TBX supporter, says transportation is a huge issue and an important need, with $8-billion in needs in the coming years that need to be paid for. Realistic solutions, he says, cannot be implemented unless there is funding to pay for them.

COMMUNITY NEEDS: The 2017 budget unveiled earlier this year by Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has $4.72 million in it for Fire Station No. 23, which will be located at 20770 Trout Creek Dr., behind the AutoZone and Christian Brothers Automotive off Bruce B. Downs Blvd.

Also in the budget but unfunded — and opposed by Davison — are plans for another fire station, No. 24, earmarked for the K-Bar Ranch area off Morris Bridge Rd.

Davison says that as someone who has spent much of his career in the emergency medical field, he doesn’t think New Tampa needs another fire station as badly as it needs more paramedics, as he claims 80-85 percent of 9-1-1 calls in New Tampa are for medical reasons. Davison adds, however, that he would like to a see a police station built in our area and an expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center, which has been promised twice and never delivered by city officials.

Viera says he thinks a firehouse in K-Bar Ranch is necessary, especially as the area grows and expands.

And, he wonders if Davison is for community development, how can he expect to pay for such enhancements?

“You’re going to have more parks and rec centers, but you’re also going to cut your taxes?,” Viera asks. “Voters should be suspicious of that. You can’t serve both sides. It’s math: 2+2 equals 4, and Jim is for the 4, not the 2+2. I am for the 2+2. It’s a reality that if you make investments, you need revenue (to pay for them).”

KINNAN-MANSFIELD: New Tampa’s 100-foot stretch of unconnected road continues to befuddle local politicians. Despite some movement earlier this year — as Montelione and Pasco County District 2 Commissioner Mike Moore tried to force the issue — the connection of Kinnan St. in New Tampa to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe remains in limbo.

Both candidates say they want the roads connected. Davison says the city should pay the $500,000 for a traffic study that Pasco County is requesting in order to move the connection along.

Viera says the link should have been made long ago. He says it is, “symbolic of the kind of respect we don’t get in New Tampa. If this happened in South Tampa, it would be fixed immediately. We need a sense of urgency on it.”

GETTING THINGS DONE: Because Viera has a long list of endorsements from high-ranking local Democrats like U.S. Congresswoman Kathy Castor and City Council chair Mike Suarez, as well as Montelione, Davison says Viera will just become part of the problem on a City Council already filled with Democrats.

“Luis is a nice guy but has fallen into that same political trap of telling people what they want to hear,’’ says Davison, whose most recent endorsements have come from former opponent Avis Harrison and District 63 State Rep. Shawn Harrison. “That upsets me about him. I thought he was better guy than that. That’s disappointing.”

Viera says Davison, a registered Republican and Donald Trump supporter who relishes his role as an outsider, lacks the temperament to work with others and get things done. On a Council with six other members, Viera says diplomacy will get more things accomplishment for New Tampa.

“I think that issues of temperament are important,’’ Viera said. “I believe you achieve results with vigor, and by being resolute, not by being the type of person who will make accusations and be a loose cannon.”

Rep. Harrison’s Support Of Avis Harrison A Headscratcher For Jim Davison

State Rep. Shawn Harrison urges voters to support Republican candidates at a candidate fair held in Carrollwood on September 13. (Photo: North Hillsborough Republican Club/Facebook)
State Rep. Shawn Harrison urges voters to support Republican candidates at a candidate fair held in Carrollwood on September 13.
(Photo: North Hillsborough Republican Club/Facebook)

When District 63 State Rep. Shawn Harrison, a Republican who is running for re-election on Nov. 8, stood before a crowd at a candidate fair sponsored by the North Hillsborough Republican Club at Carrollwood Country Club on Sept. 13 and urged them to help put a Republican on the Tampa City Council for the first time since he had served on the council, Jim Davison, M.D., couldn’t help but smile.

Dr. Davison, a longtime Hunter’s Green resident and a friend of Harrison’s, had just spoken a few minutes before to the same crowd, and he viewed Harrison’s comments as something of an unofficial endorsement of his candidacy in the District 7 race.

But, it wasn’t.

The next day, Harrison sent out Facebook invitations for a fund raiser he hosted at his home on Sept. 22 for one of Davison’s opponents – Arbor Greene resident Avis Harrison, a former elementary school teacher and registered independent who proudly touts her lack of experience and is no relation to Shawn.

“She has been a family friend for several years, and I think she would be an excellent member of the City Council,’’ Harrison said.

Shawn had already co-hosted a fund raiser for Avis Harrison on Sept. 8 at the Avila home of former Tampa Bay Buccaneers head coach Jon Gruden, and raised more than $8,000. But, Davison was still surprised, considering what he heard at the candidate fair.

Dana Young, who represents Florida’s 60th District and is the Florida House majority leader, spoke right after Davison and also delivered glowing remarks. While the City Council race is non-partisan, it is no secret that Davison is a registered Republican and the only one so registered in a field that includes Luis Viera, Gene Siudut, Cyril Spiro, Ph.D., Orlando Gudes and Avis Harrison.

While Davison can’t refer to his party affiliation on campaign information because he is running for a non-partisan seat, Republicans who are not running for non-partisan offices are not bound by that rule.

“I just met (Davison) last night and this is a big deal,’’ Young said. “If you live in his area, he is the only Republican running for City Council, and he’s got like five Democrats running. So, if every Republican votes for him, he wins.”

Once the applause died down, Young added, “This guy is a Republican and if you are a Republican, you need to vote for him.”

She then turned the microphone over to Shawn Harrison, who is defending his Dist. 63 seat against Democrat Lisa Montelione, who is vacating the District 7 City Council seat for which Davison, Avis Harrison and the other candidates are competing.

“Everyone up here is a real quality conservative who you need to get out and support,’’ Shawn Harrison told the crowd. “I want to plug my friend Jim Davison, as well.”

Harrison also told the crowd that when he served on the City Council for eight years, he was, for some of that time, the only Republican.  Since he left, there haven’t been any.

“There are seven democrats on our City Council now and our mayor is a Democrat,’’ Shawn said at the candidate fair. “Can’t we have just one of us? Just one? Is that too much to ask? So we’re going to get out and support Jim in his efforts here. We need one out of those seven seats to be red.”

Harrison said since he was at a Republican event, he was appealing to the Republican voters. “Frankly, I’m not sure any voters from New Tampa were there,’’ he added.

Davison said he was then completely blindsided by Harrison holding a fund raiser in his home for one of his non-Republican opponents. But, he plans on staying loyal to his party and his friend.

“Am I still voting for Shawn?,” Davison said. “Yeah.  Am I disappointed? Yeah.”

Harrison says he has no obligation to support Davison just because he’s the only Republican in the race. He said Siudut has reached out to him for campaign advice, and he touted the endorsements he has received from Democrats in his race vs. Montelione.

“If you are a good candidate, party identification should play less of a role,’’ Harrison said. “I want the best person in that seat for New Tampa.”

MONEY GAME: The Gruden fund raiser for Avis Harrison helped launch her from the bottom of the fund raising race to near the top.

She raised $10,250 for the Sept. 3-16 filing period, putting her at $20,188.34 overall, right behind Viera and Spiro.

Viera, a Hunter’s Green resident and lawyer with Ogden & Sullivan, P.A., raised $6,195 during the most recent filing period, and now has $58,954 overall, which keeps him comfortably ahead of the rest of the field.

Dr. Spiro has raised $26,217.83 overall, the field’s second-largest fund-raising haul. Siudut, an editor with La Gaceta, has raised $18,630, while Gudes, a former Tampa Police officer, is at $15,766.10. Davison, who got into the race a little later, is at $7,395.30.

ENDORSEMENTS: Davison has offset his low fund-raising numbers by picking up some endorsements he says are as big as anyone else’s.

Davison received an endorsement from former Tampa City Council member Joseph Caetano, and another from Gus Bilirakis, the U.S. Representative for Florida’s 12th congressional district.

Caetano recently received 10,681 votes in his unsuccessful bid for the Hillsborough County School Board. Viera picked up an endorsement from the Tampa Bay Builders Association last week, which is generally considered an important “get” for candidates.

Field To Fill Montelione’s District 7 City Council Seat Expanding

The list of those seeking to replace Lisa Montelione on the Tampa City Council continues to grow as two more potential candidates have declared that they will run for the seat she is vacating to challenge Shawn Harrison for the Florida House District 63 seat, bringing the total to three people who have expressed their interest in running for the seat to Neighborhood News.

As we reported in last issue’s News Briefs, Tampa Palms resident and local attorney Luis Viera had stated that he is exploring a run for the District 7 seat. Joining Viera in expressing their intent to run for Montelione’s seat when it becomes available are Cory Lake Isles Community Development District (CDD) chairman Dr. Cyril Spiro, M.D., M.B.A.; and Tampa Palms resident and La Gaceta (Tampa’s largest Spanish language newspaper) assistant editor Gene Siudut.


Since Montelione has filed to run for the state legislature, state law requires that she resign and vacate her council seat by June 10 of this year, according to Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office spokesperson Gerri Kramer.

Although all three of the people who have expressed their interest in the seat so far are New Tampa residents, District 7 is actually a large and diverse area which runs north from Waters Ave. to County Line Rd., and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida area.

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Dr. Cyril Spiro

Dr. Spiro, who has served on the Cory Lakes Isles CDD for nearly five years, is currently the Chief Medical Information Officer at HealthAxis, a Tampa healthcare information technology company that in 2013 bought M.D. Web Solutions — which Spiro founded in 2004.

Dr. Spiro also founded a not-for-profit organization, the Sunshine Board Cooperation, which is designed to make government more effective and transparent and facilitates cooperation between representatives and their constituents through open online workshops, or forums. The Cory Lakes Isles CDD has been an active user of the workshops to facilitate action.

Dr. Spiro also  says that as a city council member, he would emphasize technology, particularly online communications between government officials and their constituents, to fight for what residents in an area really want and need.

“I very much believe in using technology for improving democracy,’’ Dr. Spiro says. “We have used (resident) survey systems in Cory Lakes Isles with great success. That’s very exciting to me. It’s something that I think can be carried across the country at all levels of government. It will make government more effective at doing what the people want.”

Dr. Spiro, who received his M.D. degree from the University of Maryland Medical School in Baltimore, has also developed Lotterease, software that is used in charter schools to manage their lottery systems, like at Terrace Community Middle School (TCMS) and Lutz Preparatory School and others.

He says he has worked with Montelione on previous issues, including helping with resident surveys in District 7.

“We did some surveys in North Park, between Busch Blvd. and Fowler Ave.,’’ he says. “There, the primary concern is crime. When you go north to New Tampa, it’s transportation. For each of those areas, you have to be aware of what those needs are. Oftentimes, the city will address needs of groups that make the most noise. I’d like to help identify with data and more evidence what’s really in need of most repair.”

Dr. Spiro has lived in New Tampa for 13 years, with his wife of 18 years, Laura. The couple has two children, Arden, 12, and Alenna, 14.

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Gene Siudut

Siudut (pronounced Sue-Dit) grew up in New Jersey before moving to Florida in 1999, where he landed a job at La Gaceta, which is renowned for being the only trilingual (English, Spanish, Italian) publication in the U.S.

As an assistant to the editor and columnist for La Gaceta, Siudut says he has been active on the city’s political scene, as well in the community in and around Ybor City.

“I’m familiar with everyone on the (current) city council,’’ he says. “I feel it’s a job I can do.”

The longtime Ybor City resident, married two years ago to wife Keri and a newly-transplanted Tampa Palms resident, Siudut says the job requires a fighter who is willing to get in the ring for the New Tampa area’s fair share of the city’s budget dollars. He says he would fight for both New Tampa and the USF area.

“New Tampa needs to have a strong voice,’’ he says. “Whatever the issue, you have to keep fighting for those dollars.”

The 42-year-old is president of the Ybor City Lions Club, a Board member of the Ybor City Development Corporation (YCDC) Executive Committee and chair of the Ybor City Retail Arts and Special Events Committee, which operated with a $1.2-million budget.

“The focus of city government is downtown, and everyone has to fight for city dollars to get their fair share, so that’s a good stepping stone,’’ he says.

Siudut has served as vice-chair of the Hillsborough County Human Relations Board (the county’s anti-discrimination board), and has done volunteer work for The Cuban Club Foundation, Cigars For Soldiers and the Ybor Mural Project.

Siudut says he has a strong understanding of  how city government works after watching it closely and interacting with the players for 17 years. He says that has helped sparked his own interest in serving. “I actually got the itch about five years ago,’’ he says, adding that he had initially planned to get into politics in 2019, at the end of Montelione’s current term. Her decision to leave the city council, however, expedited those plans.

“This is a window of opportunity,’’ Siudut says. “After 17 years working in Ybor City, I understand that number 1, the squeaky wheel gets the grease and number 2, you have to keep asking. No one is going to ask, ‘You know, I really wonder if Tampa Palms needs anything.’”