Birdsong Mounts Another District 2 Challenge To Hagan 

Ken Hagan (right photo, center) talks to K-Bar Ranch residents at a recent town hall held in the community.

In 2002, when Ken Hagan first entered politics, north Hillsborough County, including New Tampa, was a Republican stronghold.

But the times, they have-a-changed.

Nowadays, not only is Hillsborough County blue, with 50,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans, but New Tampa also has followed suit.

But, that’s not all. In addition to New Tampa’s already blue-ish tint, Hagan was dealt a blow when District 2 was redrawn earlier this year, moving out some of the more reliable Republican voters. As a result, Hagan is feeling the pinch as the General Election on Tuesday, November 8, draws nearer (with early voting running from October 24-November 6, 7 a.m.-7 p.m.).

His campaign to hold onto his District 2 seat, which represents most of the New Tampa area he used to live in, has been the most difficult of his career.

“The district has shifted,” Hagan says. “But, we’re still confident we will win.”

Hagan, who grew up in Carrollwood but lived in New Tampa for more than a decade, won his first election for the District 2 seat in 2002 by more than 17,000 votes.  In 2004, he defended that seat with a victory margin of nearly 30,000.

In 2010, he ran for the countywide District 5 seat, and defeated Linda Saul-Sena by 32,000 votes.

A prolific fund raiser who quickly became one of Tampa Bay’s most powerful politicians, Hagan ran for the District 2 seat again in 2018 and was expected to win easily.

However, he was nearly washed out in a blue wave. Political neophyte Angela Birdsong was outspent $500,000-$30,000 but only lost by 6,000 votes, or 52%-48%.

It was shocking, and so was this: Hagan only won two New Tampa precincts, and Birdsong received 3,000 more votes overall from New Tampa residents.

Hagan, however, continued to push for some big ticket items in New Tampa. The New Tampa Performing Arts Center held its ribbon cutting last week, and Hagan has been working on that project for two decades.

Branchton Park off Morris Bridge Rd. is getting a massive upgrade, and the county broke ground on that project last month. And, Hagan is pushing forward with plans to build New Tampa’s first indoor recreation facility in the Cross Creek area, hoping to break ground early next year.

Hagan has a beefed-up resume to show New Tampa voters.

Angela Birdsong (center), with Hillsborough County commissioners Mariella Smith (left) and Pat Kemp.

And, he has raised $397,560 – far more than any other county commissioner running this election cycle — while Birdsong has raised only $65,590. Hagan also had outspent Birdsong through Oct. 7 by a $56,000-37,000 margin.

But will it be enough?

New district maps may provide Birdsong with the last little push she needs to knock Hagan off the County Commission, which is controlled by Democrats.

The map proposed by Commissioner Pat Kemp — which despite objections by commissioners Hagan, Republican Stacy White and Democrat Gwen Myers — passed by a 4-3 vote earlier this year and removed GOP-voting areas in Seffner, Valrico and Thonotosassa from District 2, while adding a large swath of the more Democratic-leaning University of South Florida area.

Hagan says the whole process was “offensive” and called it “the most partisan political exercise I’ve gone through.”

Birdsong, 61, acknowledges that the new maps helped her make the decision to run again, with the district shifting from +2 percentage points for Republican voters to +7 percentage points for registered Democrats.

“It’s going to be a footrace,” she says. “But, we like our chances. It looks very good for us.”

An insurance agent and mother of one, Birdsong said she has campaigned on many of the same issues she did in 2018, namely transportation, workforce training and affordable housing.

She has also made a concerted effort to reach out to minority groups that she feels are growing in northern Hillsborough County but are unrepresented in the county.

She has met with Caribbean-Hispanic, Muslim and LGBTQ groups, and continues to try and draw as many different underrepresented voters into her campaign as possible.

“I really would like to do more to help minority businesses do business with Hillsborough County,” Birdsong says. “I really want to work with minority young people entering high-paying union jobs. You know who can pay the rent? People with high-paying jobs.”

Birdsong has lobbed familiar charges at Hagan — that he is beholden to developers, for one — and says it’s time for a change. Hagan has served as a county commissioner for 20 years, and Birdsong says she will bring a fresh perspective to the area’s changing landscape and needs.

“He’s a career politician,” Birdsong says. “It’s time for him to retire.”

Hagan, however, says his experience has yielded a number of improvements in his district, especially for New Tampa. A longtime advocate and key player in the widening of Bruce B. Downs Blvd., Hagan always has been active in our area. 

While larger issues involving inflation, immigration and abortion dominate the national landscape and make separating Democrats and Republicans easy, the effect county commissioners can have on those issues is minimal. That’s why Hagan says blue wave or red wave, local voters should focus on results.

“The reality is, with local government, people shouldn’t look as hard at partisanship,” Hagan says. “The governor, President, Congress, I get it.  But locally, it should be, man, who is going to deliver the goods? And I’ve done that.”

USF’s New Tampa Business Climate Study Begins With Packed Meeting

Compton Park at Tampa Palms was packed for the first “New Tampa Business Climate” meeting organized by Master’s degree candidates at USF, where (l.-r.) Hillsborough county commissioner Ken Hagan, Tampa city councilman Luis Viera & State Rep. Fentrice Driskell were among those on the panel. Photos by Andy Warrener & Ricky Rodriguez.

In order to begin a study by students in Master’s degree programs at the University of South Florida as to why so many businesses have exited New Tampa the last few years, USF helped organize a unique meeting on July 16, featuring a panel of elected officials and local business owners.

The meeting was Phase 1 of the USF group’s efforts to study New Tampa’s faltering business climate as the students endeavor to figure out what, if anything, can be done to stem the business red tide.

A panel that consisted of the director of the USF School of Public Affairs (where the Master’s degree candidates are studying) Ron Sanders, Rotary Cub of New Tampa past president Karen Frashier, Oliver’s Cycle Sports owner Randy Myhre and three local elected officials (see below) was greeted by a packed house of spectators (who were mainly New Tampa residents; see photo on next page) at the meeting, which was held at Compton Park in Tampa Palms.

Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner Ken Hagan, District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and newly elected District 63 State Rep. Fentrice Driskell agreed to be on the panel because all of them share concerns about why major companies and mom-and-pop businesses alike are having so much trouble surviving, much less thriving, in zip code 33647. 

Sanders said that the study is being conducted by USF students seeking their Master of Public Administration (MPA) degrees in either Urban & Regional Planning or Public Affairs, after then-mayoral candidate (now Tampa Mayor) Jane Castor campaigned in New Tampa.

Castor said many local residents asked her why the business climate in zip code 33647 seemed so poor, especially when compared with the booming economy in Wesley Chapel, just to New Tampa’s north, on Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. and S.R. 56. 

One of those Castor was talking to just happened to be Sam Becker, a graduate assistant in the School of Public Affairs, and she asked Becker to look into what, if anything, USF could do to help her figure out what could be done to help New Tampa’s businesses. By the time Castor was elected in March, the wheels were already in motion.

“This meeting is the kickoff to Phase 1 of the study — to meet with the community,” Sanders said at the meeting. “Phase 2 will be individual interviews with community staples — elected officials, business owners and residents — such as those in this room. In Phase 3, the students will look at the literature (facts and figures) and the (business) practices going on in the area. For example, is (New Tampa’s situation) just part of a national phenomenon or are there local factors” causing our area’s economic gloom (or both)?

Although Hagan, Viera and Driskell all agreed that the meeting was important, there didn’t seem to be too much help for the USF students coming out of this first get-together.

Among the factors pointed to as to why so many businesses have closed in New Tampa were the high rents, the lack of tax incentives to open major businesses, and even some things brought up by Frashier and Myhre.

Frashier, who also is the co-chair of the Taste of New Tampa & Wesley Chapel, mentioned that New Tampa doesn’t have a large enough gathering place for major events, such as the Wiregrass Wobble 5K road race her club hosts (at the Shops at Wiregrass) every year on Thanksgiving morning, or the Taste (held at AdventHealth CenterIce), “So, we have no choice but to put on these events in Wesley Chapel.”

Hagan and Viera both touted the new Village at Hunter’s Lake development that will be home to a 20,000-sq.-ft. New Tampa Cultural Center, as well as several unique restaurants and retailers (as we reported last issue), but that those are all coming online in 2020 or even 2021.   

Myhre said he thinks that bicycle paths connecting the subdivisions in New Tampa would make getting to and from local businesses easier, without having to drive a car, but Hagan said, “Connecting communities is great, but have you seen how hard it is to get even one road connected between communities?” — an obvious jab at the whole Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd. flap between Hillsborough and Pasco counties.

Residents at the meeting also brought up how long the widening of BBD in New Tampa took, which affected local businesses, while one noted that S.R. 56, where so much of Wesley Chapel’s growth is taking place, currently has very few residences directly off of it. No one came up with any reason why this helped or how it has affected the economy in the Wesley Chapel.

For New Tampa’s businesses, the hope is that more answers will come out of Phases 2 & 3 of the study.

Commissioners Hagan & Crist Favored To Swap Seats In November

Hillsborough County commisioner candidates Ken Hagan, Victor Crist and Ray Chiaramonte are among those hoping to advance beyond Tuesday’s primaries to the Nov. 6 election.

Two county commissioners with long-time ties to New Tampa — former resident Ken Hagan and current Tampa Palms resident Victor Crist — will be hoping to win their Primary Elections on Tuesday, August 28, in their efforts to effectively swap seats in the general election on Nov. 6.

Both have been term-limited out of their current positions.

Comm. Hagan, who is currently the District 5 commissioner, a countywide seat, is running in District 2, which represents all of New Tampa, as well as Lutz, Temple Terrace and Thonotosassa. Hagan held the Dist. 2 seat from 2002-10.

Comm. Crist, currently the Dist. 2 commissioner, is running for Hagan’s Dist. 5 seat.

Hagan, 50, has been one of the highest-profile commissioners in recent months, due to his role as the county’s lead negotiator in luring the Rays to Tampa to play in a proposed $892-million stadium in Ybor City.

For his primary race against first-time office seeker Chris Paradies, Hagan had raised a staggering $484,374 at our press time. Paradies, a Keystone resident who has been critical of Hagan’s position as a political lifer who attempts to avoid term limits by jumping seats in order to stay in office, had raised $27,523.

Ken Hagan

Hagan, who has often been viewed as a pro-development commissioner, has been active in seeking New Tampa’s support in his current campaign. He has co-hosted two local town hall meetings with Dist. 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera and has been active in trying to get new parks built or expanded in K-Bar Ranch and Branchton Park off Morris Bridge Rd.

Hagan also proposed adding $250,000 to the county budget last year to speed up a potential connection of Kinnan St. to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe.

In June, FloridaPolitics.com named Hagan the ninth most powerful politician in Tampa Bay.

Democrat Angela Birdsong, like Hagan, a Carrollwood resident, has raised $21,674, and she awaits the winner of Hagan vs. Paradies. Birdsong has recently picked up her efforts in New Tampa, as she seeks to expand her profile.

Crist, 61, is running against Angel S. Urbina Capo in countywide Dist. 5.

A longtime local fixture, Crist has been a strong proponent of a New Tampa Cultural Center, which is expected to finally come to fruition — by 2020. He championed, as did Hagan when he served in Dist. 2, the idea of a New Tampa “town center,” which is now under development at the Hunter’s Lake project across from Hunter’s Green.

Comm. Crist had raised $121,300 at our press time, while Capo, a 47-year-old cybersecurity consultant, was at $6,768.

Crist talks to a group at Hunter’s Green Country Club last year about plans for a New Tampa Cultural Center.

Crist’s profile, connections and list of accomplishments in government dwarf Capo’s, and he is favored to win the primary. In Nov. 6, the winner will face Joe Kotvas, who is not affiliated with any party, and whoever emerges from the Democratic primary between Mariella Smith and Elvis Piggott.

Smith, a fourth-generation Tampa native currently living in Ruskin, is a 64-year-old small business owner and has been a longtime citizen advocate and community leader who could present a formidable challenge to Crist should she defeat Piggott, a 30-year-old church pastor who had been out-raised $73,978 to $20,315.

A crowded field is seeking the District 7 seat, which also is countywide.

Four Democrats – Ray Chiaramonte, Mark Nash, Kimberly Overman and Sky White — are running. All have either governmental or activist experience.

Nash has held the edge in fund-raising, pulling in $82,768, but Chiaramonte wasn’t far behind at $74,876, followed by Overman ($54,410) and White ($9,718.22).

Chiaramonte, who stopped in at the Neighborhood News office to talk county politics with editor Gary Nager, has been the executive director of the county’s Planning Commission, Metropolitan Planning Organization and most recently, the Tampa Bay Area Regional Transportation Authority (TBARTA, from which he elected not to renew his contract last year).

He says that as a lifelong Hillsborough resident and regional transportation specialist, he is the candidate in the best position to help focus on the transportation issues throughout our area. Look for more of Gary’s interview with Chiaramonte in these pages if he wins the primary.

Republican Aakash Patel, however, has raised more than all of them combined. With a $381,594 war chest (that tops half a million dollars when you include money raised by his political committee, Elevate Tampa), Patel also has some big-time endorsements from Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi, State House Speaker Richard Corcoran, former Speaker Will Weatherford and Congressman Gus Bilirakis.

His opponent on August 28, attorney Todd Marks, had raised $138,866.

School Board primary elections also will be held, though not for New Tampa’s District 3 seat, currently held by Cindy Stuart. However, a countywide seat in District 6 (to replace April Griffin) is up for grabs, and a field of six candidates will contend for the spot on Primary Day.