Luis Viera is only a little more than a year removed from his first political campaign, and is already looking forward to his second one.
Viera, who represents District 7 (which includes the portions of New Tampa within Tampaâs city limits) on the Tampa City Council, has officially thrown his hat in the ring for the March 2019 City Council election.
Viera, who defeated fellow New Tampa resident Jim Davison by only 65 votes in a runoff election on Dec. 6, 2016, filed his re-election papers with the city on March 1.
âWe have an election about a year away, and I wanted to get started,â Viera says. âIâm very optimistic and very proud of our accomplishments for District 7. Weâve done a lot in a short time.â
Viera cited his work organizing both the North Tampa Veterans Association and the New Tampa Council, as well as his partnerships with community leaders when it came to Tampa city budget issues involving the New Tampa Recreation Center and his pet project â a proposed autism park in Tampa Palms.
âI think those are the some of the greatest things we can be proud of in the last one-and-a-half years,â Viera says. âWeâve worked hard on the rebirth of civic engagement in New Tampa, and I think weâve seen results. Itâs one of the things I want to continue to champion.â
Viera says that Gene Siudut, Orlando Gudes and Arbor Greeneâs Avis Harrison, all opponents in the 2016 primaries, have already endorsed his re-election efforts.
BIG START FOR DRISKELL:
Tampa attorney Fentrice Driskell, who has filed to run against incumbent Shawn Harrison for his State House District 63 seat (as we reported last issue), raised $40,805.18 in the first 22 days after announcing her bid. Driskell says that total is from more than 200 donors.
âI truly appreciate the outpouring of community support,â Driskell says. âWe are focused on common-sense solutions to the challenges we face every day in Hillsborough County and throughout Florida, from investing in education and transportation, to protecting our children with sensible gun laws.â
New Tampa Resident Luis Viera Has Stayed Busy Since Being Elected To The Tampa City Council
Thanks to Town Hall meetings organized by New Tampa resident and Tampa City Council member Luis Viera, City of Tampa officials are paying more attention to the people of New Tampa.
In December of 2016, New Tampa resident Luis Viera won a special run-off election for the Tampa City Council District 7 seat by only 65 votes.
He spent 2017 proving he was the right man for the job.
âI didnât vote for him,â said Tampa Palms lawyer Tracy Falkowitz, a lifelong Republican who voted instead for Vieraâs opponent (and fellow Hunterâs Green resident) Jim Davison). âBut Iâve already told Luis Iâll be first in line to campaign for him next time.â
Her reasons are simple, and explain how Viera helped shape a productive year for New Tampa (while also fighting for changes in other parts of District 7, like Forest Hills, Terrace Park and the University of South Florida area).
In 2017, he mobilized hundreds of New Tampa residents in an effort to ensure the city budgeted money for Fiscal 2018 for the expansion of the New Tampa Recreation Center (NTRC). He also spearheaded the effort to build a sensory-friendly park in Tampa Palms â in part because he has a brother who is autistic â and was a strong proponent for a new fire station (Tampa Fire Rescue Station No. 23) that will be built on County Line Rd.
Viera founded the New Tampa Council, and filled its Board with leaders from as many different local communities as he could. He also started the North Tampa Veterans Council and has attended countless Home Owners Association (HOA) meetings.
Viera held town halls. Instead of telling New Tampa residents they needed to go downtown to argue and fight for what they thought they deserved â as so many city and county officials have told them before â he brought government officials from South Tampa here.
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera hosted a town hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms in June that attracted roughly 75 local residents who came to discuss a number of issues., especially those related to the traffic in our area.
It was at one of Vieraâs first town halls, in June at the NTRC, that Falkowitz first met the guy she didnât vote for. She was there to tell Mayor Bob Buckhornâs Chief of Staff Dennis Rogero that it was ludicrous that the city wouldnât expand the rec center, which had a waiting list of thousands hoping to get into the NTRCâs popular gymnastics and dance programs.
Falkowitz was angry and vocal. Afterwards, Viera spoke with her and they ended up forging a partnership that extended to the New Tampa Council and included the efforts of Tampa Palmsâ Maggie Wilson and Warren Dixon, Cory Lake Islesâ Bob Parker, West Meadowsâ Brad Van Rooyen, K-Bar Ranchâs Craig Margelowsky and David Burman of Cory Lake Isles, as well as others.
During the decisive and harrowing all-night City Council budget meeting in September, New Tampa had nearly 50 residents in attendance, many speaking in support of the NTRC expansion after years of failed attempts.
The budget passed â and the NTRC expansion, sensory park and Fire Station No. 23 will all begin to take shape in 2018.
Everyone involved says that without Viera, it wouldnât have happened.
âI think thatâs accurate,ââ says Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn. âLuis, through a variety of means, has made sure New Tampaâs voices are being heard, either with him advocating or facilitating those conversations between our staff and the people that live here. In both cases, it was a very, very effective means of communicating.â
Ultimately, that was Vieraâs primary goal â to bring New Tampa together as one community, instead of a collection of fragmented neighborhoods. A Tampa Palms resident from 2006-12 and a Hunterâs Green resident since then, Viera says he felt New Tampa lacked an effectiveness cohesiveness.
A large contingent of New Tampa residents showed up in red shirts at both budget workshops to speak to the Tampa City Council about the importance of the New Tampa Recreation Center.
Hoping to stitch those communities together to help advocate for the area with one voice, Viera tried to be omnipresent.
âI tried showing up to as many New Tampa events as I could,ââ said Viera. âRibbon cuttings, openings…I wanted people feeling like their elected official is accountable, and accessible.â
His efforts, which he balanced with being a father to 10-year-old son Luis and working as a trial lawyer, have been lauded.
âHe invigorated a whole lot of residents,â says Wilson, a community consultant for Tampa Palms. âIâve lived here since 1989, and never has anyone in government service been as boots-on-the-ground and as active and caring across a wide variety of issues as Luis.â
Viera also has taken up the fight to connect Kinnan St. in K-Bar Ranch to Mansfield Blvd. in Meadow Pointe, which the city and counties have so far failed to do. He has met with Pasco County officials, and discussed the matter with Hillsborough County commissioners.
Viera is quick to decline all the credit for his 2017 accomplishments, however, instead deferring to the community he is helping to spark. By connecting them to the right people, he knows he can continue to make a difference and produce results for New Tampa.
âI think heâs had a superb year,ââ Buckhorn says. âSince the day he was elected, he hit the ground running and has not stoppedâŠhe was a forceful advocate for New Tampa, and the results speak for themselves. He made sure in our budget process that the expansion of the New Tampa Rec Center was in the mix, the sensory park was very near and dear to his heart, and until the very end, he was up there fighting make sure New Tampa voices were heard.â
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera hosted a town hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms that attracted roughly 75 local residents who came to discuss a number of issues., especially those related to the traffic in our area.
District 7 Tampa City Council member and Hunterâs Green resident Luis Viera has championed many causes since being elected last December, from starting a veteranâs council to creating a New Tampa Council to taking a hands-on approach to tackling issues at the New Tampa Recreation Center.
But, Mayor Bob Buckhornâs proposed Fiscal 2018 Tampa city budget has now given him another one. With $90,000 in the proposed budget earmarked for the design and study, it appears that a new âsensory-friendlyâ park could be in New Tampaâs future, to be located behind the BJâs Wholesale Club on Commerce Palms Dr. in Tampa Palms.
For Viera, whose older brother Juan has autism, creating parks for special needs children and adults is an issue that hits close to home.
âItâs a big issue for me,ââ Viera says. âThis park will be the first of its kind in Tampa. Frankly, this is the kind of stuff, that helps people, that you run for City Council for.â
A number of sensory-friendly attractions are being added across the country as more and more children and adults are identified as having Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), 3.5 million Americans live with ASD. Roughly one in every 68 children has been identified with ASD, and it is 4.5 times more common in boys (1 in 42) than girls (1 in 189). The prevalence of autism in U.S. children has increased by nearly 120 percent since the year 2000.
Those on the autism spectrum take in information from their five senses just like everyone else, but cannot process it the same way and become overwhelmed. Being overwhelmed leads to those within the spectrum being unable to communicate and interact, leading to anxiety and, in parental parlance, meltdowns.
A sensory-friendly park, then, would stress serenity. Sometimes, it is subtle and barely noticeable changes â like the addition of gardens and artwork, different walking surfaces, more comfortable swings â that can distinguish these parks from others but still keep them accessible to everyone.
âI think it would have a huge impact for many families who canât participate in a typical park,ââ says Mindy Stevens, M.S., the program director for USFâs Center for Autism & Related Disabilities (CARD). âIt will definitely lead to (these affected) families being able to access their community more.â
Because so many donât understand what those on the autism spectrum go through, it often leads to bullying. Viera said his family still has painful memories of middle and high school, when Juan, who is now 46, was bullied.
âItâs something I grew up with, it was part of my life,ââ says Viera. âWe have a lot of work to do. Iâve certainly seen changes. You still see lots of bullying out there, but it is getting better.â
Stevens said her staff has already met with Mayor Buckhorn about the park, as well as many within the cityâs Parks & Recreation department. CARD will help train the proposed parkâs staff and volunteers, while also providing technical support.
While the groundbreaking for the park is a ways off, Viera says he hopes the see it open within two years, adding that it will be one of his big priorities over the next 12 months.âThe first sensory-friendly park in Tampa, to have it here, thatâs a big deal,ââ he says.
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera hosted a town hall meeting at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms that attracted roughly 75 local residents who came to discuss a number of issues., especially those related to the traffic in our area.
Town hall meetings are all the rage this days, with the operative word, in too many cases, being rage. Constituents are demanding answers from their representatives, especially regarding healthcare issues, and the disruptions and anger make national news on a seemingly weekly basis.
A New Tampa town hall, organized by District 7 City Councilman Luis Viera and held June 5 at the New Tampa Recreation Center, however, couldnât have gone any smoother.
âIt really shows that people are engaged,ââ Viera said. âThe next one we have will probably be even bigger.â
Here are five takeaways:
1. This Was A Good Idea
If youâve ever wondered what is really bothering people in New Tampa, the town hall, which attracted roughly 75 local residents, including many of the areaâs Homeownerâs Association presidents, was a good place to find out.
Outside of the usual complaints about taxes and transportation, those who attended raised a number of issues like trash on Cross Creek Blvd, local commercial buildings looking run down, bank foreclosed property causing a blight in otherwise well-kept neighborhoods and even concerns about the ability of ethnic minorities to worship safely.
This is exactly what Viera says he had hoped for when he scheduled the event. With code enforcement inspector Fred George and Tampa Police Department District 2 shift commander Kevin Schoolmeesters in attendance, some of the simpler questions raised will undoubtedly be answered. Most important, Viera said, was that a majority of those who raised concerns seemed to be satisfied with the answers.
For the bigger, more complicated issues, like transportation and the city budget, it was a step in the direction of creating a unified front when it comes to lobbying city hall for changes. Viera has already formed the New Tampa Council with this idea in mind.
âWe need a collective and unified voice,ââ Viera said.
Although Mayor Bob Buckhorn couldnât make it, his chief of staff, Dennis Rogero, did attend. And, while he didnât really have any concrete answers for those asking questions, he was certainly enlightening and honest, even if it meant telling people things they didnât want to hear.
More on that later.
2. The Big Issue
To quote Bob Parker of Heritage Isles, the biggest issue in New Tampa is âtransportation, transportation, transportation.â
While Pasco and Hillsborough counties remain at loggerheads over connecting the two at various points between Meadow Pointe and the K-Bar Ranch, traffic is a real concern for local residents along Cross Creek Blvd.
Bob Parker of Heritage Isles tells Luis Viera that trafiic, traffic and traffic are the big issues facing New Tampa.
The City Council recently okayed plans for 400 more homes to be built by M/I Homes in the K-Bar Ranch area. âYou should be ashamed,ââ Parker scolded, considering thereâs only two two-lane roads in and out of the area.
âI feel like I live on an island,ââ Parker added, âand there are two causeways, Bruce B. Downs (BBD) and Morris Bridge Rd.â
That lack of options is preventing people from getting to hospitals, and making the long drives to work in Tampa unbearable. âItâs killing New Tampa,ââ he said.
Rogero said the city is well aware of the issue. âYou are right, you might as well live on an ocean,ââ Rogero said. âWe hear the horror stories. Thatâs one of the reasons I live in South Tampa. We looked here. Itâs beautiful up here. But, I didnât want to add a couple of hours in commute time to my schedule.â
That might be unsettling â to hear the mayorâs Chief of Staff confess to avoiding our area because of the traffic â but Rogero was honest and admitted he didnât have any answers.
Viera didnât expect answers. But the Hunterâs Green resident is advocating for some âincrementalâ changes.
One that should sound good to residents of Cross Creek âIsland,â is a third left-hand turn signal onto Bruce B. Downs at the very busy intersection that Viera said he will propose.
Another possibility that was raised: Putting the controversial East-West Connector back in the MPO.
Jim Davison, who narrowly lost to Viera in the City Council runoff in December, applauded his former opponent for the town hall and the New Tampa Council, and suggested a second town hall, perhaps with a more narrow focus on one topic, like transportation.
Viera said he hopes to hold another one in December.
3. Getting The Short Shrift
Rogero got an earful from local attorney Tracy Falkowitz, who lives in Tampa Palms, about the plight of the New Tampa Rec Center.
Mayor Bob Buckhornâs Chief of Staff Dennis Rogero explained that the New Tampa Recreation Center expansion isnât high enough on the cityâs priority list to receive funding, while Tampa Palmsâ Tracy Falkowitz argued that it should be, due to the amount of money the area provides the city in property taxes.
For the second time in five years last year, the City Council voted to provide funds for a different project â the Cuscaden Park pool in Ybor City â instead of the rec center, even though a $1.5-million, 14,000-sq.ft. expansion of the facility was originally included in recent budget drafts.
Despite spending $3.2 million on renovating the Cuscaden Park pool and re-opening it last August, it was closed again in April for more repairs. It has since re-opened.
âThis area has been short-shrifted every year,ââ Falkowitz said. âThat money needs to come back. This amazing facility does so much with so little. We want our expansion. Every year that money allocated for here gets sent somewhere else, and itâs my understanding that this year itâs not even included in the budget.
She added, âIt constantly sends the message: New Tampa, just send us your money, then sit down and shut up. Thatâs what weâre all being told. So as the budget guy, what are you doing to make sure the community gets what it deserves and was supposed to be given to us six years ago.â That statement drew the nightâs loudest round of applause.
Rogero said, however, that it is a misconception that what an area pays in property taxes, it will get back in enhancements. It is a misconception, in fact, shared by quite a few residents.
âWe allocate one big pot of general funding for the priorities of the city, city-wide,ââ Rogero said. âWe donât necessarily try to return dollar for dollar to any particular area. Thatâs simply not the way property taxation is set up.â
Rogero admitted that there is a need in New Tampa for the expansion â the dance and gymnastics programs have roughly 800 students and the waiting listâs cup runneth over â but as each priority is paid off, âby the time we get to the New Tampa Rec Center on the list, weâre out of money.â
Viera said he wasnât surprised at all that people remain angry about the rec center. âItâs the reason we held the town hall there,ââ he said. âI think itâs symbolic.â
4. Did Someone Say Secession?
Falkowitz ended her comments by mentioning that instances like the rec center expansion being cut out of the budget is why the subject of New Tampa de-annexing from the City of Tampa came up in the last election (and continues to come up). âWhat would the city do without the funds from (New Tampa),ââ Falkowitz said, which got at least two people in attendance to clap. âWe are very, very unhappy with how we have been treated by city of Tampa.ââÂ
âFrom the cityâs perspective,â Rogero replied, âwe donât feel that weâre mistreating New Tampa.ââ
There were a few people in the room who didnât agree with Rogero, including former City Councilman Joseph Caetano, a longtime proponent of New Tampaâs secession.
Viera is strongly opposed to the idea. âIâve never thought that was a good idea,ââ he said, adding that if people knew what that entailed, they would be opposed, too.
5. Organize & Be Heard
Brad Van Rooyen, who is on the New Tampa Council, and Davison asked a simple question in regards to tax monies â how can New Tampa get the city to pay attention to its needs and to increases services to the area.
Rogero echoed what Viera has been saying, and really, the reason for town halls like this â make your voices heard.
âI have to tell you, it could be that some of you have shown up to the budget meetings, but I can guarantee all of you havenât,ââ Rogero said, âbecause thereâs typically less than a dozen people there. I appreciate your emails, and your phone calls, but when itâs a billion-dollar budget and another half billion of capital improvement projects, your city council is looking at an empty room. I canât tell you what prioritization comes to their minds. I can almost guarantee you, though, it wonât be yours.â
Talk of taxes, transportation, budgets and secession aside, most in attendance seemed to be looking for answers to simple problems, like beautifying Bruce B. Downs â Viera is already talking to officials about getting mowers out to New Tampa more frequently — and local commercial buildings and taking care of bank-foreclosed homes.
George, who admits his code enforcement department is understaffed, encouraged people to call in complaints to (813)-274-5545, because he canât see everything.
Others remain concerned about the countyâs plans to stop courtesy buses for students who live within two miles of their school, which will result in students having to cross over BBD by foot. (Walking pedestrian bridge, anyone?)
Residents seemed pleased with the TPD, and were complimentary about the service they receive, like the visits you can get from officers when you are on vacation just by calling (813) 931-6500. And code enforcement and police requests while on vacation can also be filed via TampaGov.net, the cityâs website.
Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who represents District 7 (which includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida area), insists he will represent New Tampaâs best interests, but he also says he canât do it alone.
Thatâs why he has created the New Tampa Council, a collection of representatives from local neighborhoods that he hopes will soon carry weight when it comes to getting things done in the area.
Still relatively new, the New Tampa Council has met a few times, and is still hoping to add members before it becomes a full-fledged and effective organization.
âThe idea is really twofold,ââ says Viera, a Hunterâs Green resident. âOne, itâs to help give me ideas from each neighborhood, so I know what they want and what is important to them. Secondly, I hope the Council can help effectively lobby the city.â
Along the same lines, Viera is hosting a New Tampa Community Town Hall on Monday, June 5, 6:30 p.m.-8:30 p.m., at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms.
Viera will host representatives of the Tampa Police Department and Tampa Code Enforcement, and issues like transportation, crime, code enforcement, parks and recreation, the city budget and others will be discussed.
Many of the things discussed at the town hall could end up on the New Tampa Councilâs agenda as well. Viera says the members of the group are trying to develop a platform and purpose for the council.
Because New Tampa is a bit âcompartmentalizedâ (where residents are more identified by which community they live in than in other areas of the city), the needs of the entire area can sometimes take a backseat. The New Tampa Council is hoping to, in some cases, erase any barriers between the communities.
âHunterâs Green, Tampa Palms, Cory Lake Isles, Heritage Isles (and others), they all have their own concerns,ââ Viera says. âBut, they are separated when it comes to lobbying the city. The council could bring those groups together (with more of a collective voice). I think that could be a real game-changer for New Tampa.â
Viera also has been active in appointing local residents to some of the cityâs many advisory boards.
Included in those appointments are Michael Stephens of Grand Hampton (City of Tampa Charter Review Commission), Rob Gidel of Tampa Palms (Metropolitan Planning Organization Advisory Board), Joe Farrell of Grand Hampton (Citizens Advisory Budget Committee), Cory Person of Cross Creek (Civil Service Review Board) and Mike Gibson of Tampa Palms (Code Enforcement Magistrate).
Viera also continues to hold meetings for the newly formed North Tampa Veterans Council (picture above), which he says has been drawing 15-20 people to each of the three meetings the group already has held.
To contact Luis Viera, call (813) 274-7073 or email him at Luis.Viera@tampagov.net.