Tag: Luis Viera

Dr. Jim Davison Vows To Win His Latest County Commission Run

Even though he’s previously run for three local offices and been involved in multiple citizen’s groups advocating on behalf of New Tampa, you still may or may not know long-time Hunter’s Green resident Dr. Jim Davison.

Davison, the recently retired emergency room physician whose first run was more than 20 years ago — in the 2002 Republican primary for the District 2 seat on the Hillsborough Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) held by current Commission chair (and Dist. 2 Commissioner) Ken Hagan — is now a candidate for the countywide (also known as “at large)” District 6 County Commission seat, a race that will be decided on Tuesday, November 5, 2024, the same day as the nationwide General Election for U.S. President.

But, there is a lot for the New Tampa resident to accomplish between now and then in order to make it onto that General Election ballot for the seat currently occupied by Comm. Pat Kemp, who can not run for the seat again, due to term limits.

For one thing, he will have to defeat South Tampa resident and U.S. Air Force Reserve staff sergeant Rico Smith (who is the lead field engineer for StemRad, an Israeli-American start-up company that develops and manufactures personal protective equipment against ionizing radiation) in the primary election that will be held on Tuesday, August 20.

As of the date of this story, there also are three Democratic candidates who also will face a closed primary in August, with the winner facing the winner of the Republican primary between Davison and Smith — although other candidates could still qualify to run in either primary between now and July 2024.

The Democratic candidates for Dist. 6 include former countywide Dist. 5 Commissioner Mariella Smith (who served from 2018-22); former citywide Dist. 1 Tampa City Council candidate Sonja Brookins (who lost a runoff against current Dist. 1 commissioner Alan Clendenin earlier this year); and former countywide Dist. 7 candidate Mark Nash.

Although Dr. Davison also lost the 2004 Republican primary for the at-large Dist. 7 County Commission seat won by former Commissioner Mark Sharpe, as well as the 2016 run-off election for New Tampa’s Dist. 7 Tampa City Council seat won (by 65 votes) by Councilman (and fellow New Tampa resident) Luis Viera, he says that he believes his fourth run for public office will prove to be the charm.

“I feel I can win the primary and the general election because I am now able to campaign 24/7 since retiring from medicine,” Davison says. “With my involvement in local politics and multiple county issues, like the (failed) sales tax, I feel that I can project what a majority of the electorate are feeling. I also will have and have committed greater resources to this (election).”

Davison promises that he is a true fiscal conservative who will have New Tampa’s back if he is elected.

“Back in 2002, New Tampa was struggling under rapid growth, just like many other areas of the county are struggling today,” he says. “County government was growing by leaps and bounds. I had seen politicians wrapping themselves in conservative ideals and patriotic symbols, only to see them forget those principles after being elected. New Tampa needed solutions then and it needs them now.”

He says that he also will be the candidate who will work hard to make good on his promises if he is elected. A big part of that, he says, is restoring the public’s trust in their local elected officials.

“Although there has always been a degree of mistrust between government and the people, it has reached new heights,” Davison says. “Covid and the recent sales tax issue are only the latest examples of complete lying and misrepresentation on the part of the county. As a member of the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization’s Citizen’s Advisory Committee (TPO CAC), I know the county (currently) has no intention of changing course. I run to not only present valid solutions, but to try and repair people’s distrust of local government by telling the truth and meeting their concerns.”

As For New Tampa…

Although Davison says it will be his responsibility to represent the entire county on the Commission, he won’t forget about the issues that are important to New Tampa with regards to the county.

For example, “The East-West Road connecting New Tampa directly to I-275 north of Bearss Ave. is no longer on the county’s Long Range Transportation plan,” he says. “New Tampa may have missed the best opportunity in 20 years when the Tampa-Hillsborough Expressway Authority was going to build it and run express bus transit from New Tampa to downtown Tampa, starting about 2025. When the Florida Dept. of Transportation (FDOT) removed the express lanes from the I-275 improvements north of Hillsborough Ave to north of Bearss Ave., the Expressway Authority couldn’t justify dumping more traffic onto a failed roadway. However, the possibility of an East-West Connector for New Tampa still exists. In addition, we need to look at what is going to happen with Morris Bridge Rd., County Line Road and road, bridge and sidewalk maintenance (see story on pg. 10) in the New Tampa area. We also need to look at local transit circulators and bus rapid transit to USF and beyond.”

He also believes that even though most of the communities in New Tampa are located within the city limits of the City of Tampa, the County Commission still has a lot of say about the future of our area.

“Bruce B. Downs (BBD) Blvd. is a county road, as is Morris Bridge Rd.,” he says. “New recreation areas and sports fields will be needed in New Tampa. Maintaining all county property in good repair is another. The property north of Cross Creek Blvd to the county line, and between Kinnan St. and BBD, is all unincorporated Hillsborough County. Keeping the residents of that area safe has to be the number one priority and the responsibility of the Board of County Commissioners.”

Davison says he also has been watching the situation with the Pebble Creek golf course closely and believes, “The Pebble Creek Golf Course situation never should have gone this far. The county has the money to purchase the property, using small amounts from several revenue streams. Both recreational trails, much needed sports fields for a whole host of sports from baseball and cricket to soccer and lacrosse could be built and the whole area constructed to facilitate a wildlife corridor. All of these are sorely needed in New Tampa. This is just good fair policy and would have great economic benefits. With the growth exploding north of us in Pasco, more homes and/or apartments and their traffic are not what we need here. If the county would purchase the site, everyone would come out a winner, including the present golf course owner.”

Dr. Davison, who has been married to his wife Diane for 43 years, has lived in New Tampa since 1993. They raised their four children and were deeply involved in their schooling and sports activities. For most of the last 30 years, Davison worked as an Emergency Room Physician at multiple local hospitals and was the medical director of South Bay Hospital in Sun City Center, as well as the volunteer director of the Sun City Center Rescue Squad. The last four years he has worked as a staff physician at Med Express urgent care centers.

He was appointed by the BOCC to the county’s Emergency Medical Planning Council and Indigent Healthcare Board and has served on multiple city and county boards and committees. He was appointed by Tampa City Council to the Transportation “Committee of 99,” and to the county’s Citizens Advisory Committee and Trauma Auditing Committee. He also is proud to have to lobbied city and county government for infrastructure improvements in New Tampa. From transportation, to recreation centers and ball fields in New Tampa, Dr. Davison’s voice was a constant at city and county meetings.

He says he has spoken with all of the Republicans county commissioners elected in 2022 and they have all been encouraging.

“There is much to do,” he says.

Why I Voted ‘No’ on Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s Proposed City Millage Increase

By LUIS VIERA

Tampa City Council District 7

In my years in public office, I have never seen such an uprising as I did over Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s budget proposal, which included a 16% millage increase (to 1.0 mils per $1,000 of assessed property value), with new spending.

For me, it was imperative, given the passion that I saw from local residents, that I come out early with what I thought about this proposal. From the beginning, I was opposed to the 16% tax increase or anything near it. To me, this budget said “yes” to everything and “no” to nothing — with a millage rate that came close to Miami’s. And, in a time of runaway inflation, I believed — and still believe — that this was wrong.

Nuance is not beneficial in politics — but it is useful when making good policy. I believe that, just because this tax overreached, it did not mean that we should reject all new revenue sources for critical needs. And to me, the city’s biggest critical need is public safety. I came out for a 70% cut in the tax increase sought by the Mayor — with the revenue going to public safety. The .3 millage rate (70% smaller than the Mayor’s proposal) I proposed would be able to fund all new public safety investments, and allow us to cut wasteful spending to make room for other spending proposals.

And, when push came to shove, I did what I told constituents I would do: I voted against Mayor Castor’s 16% tax increase at Tampa City Council’s September 5 budget hearing (which was voted down by a 6-1 vote), but motioned to pass a millage increase 70% smaller than the Mayor’s, with the additional funds received going to public safety. My motion ultimately failed — without a second from my fellow City Council members — but I stand by what I did. The City Council ultimately kept the millage rate the same as last year, by a 4-3 vote.

For years, I have worked to create a Tampa Public Safety Master Plan. The idea was to have a city-wide study to identify where our police and fire deficits are, how much it will cost to remedy those deficits and to have a frank discussion with taxpayers on the fiscal bridge to meet those expectations.

We have undeniable public safety deficits in Tampa — and these deficits will not be cured alone by cutting waste (although this, of course, is a necessity).

Our growing city’s public safety deficits are acute — and this is particularly true for New Tampa.

New Tampa suffers from longer response times for Tampa Fire Rescue (TFR) — especially in K-Bar Ranch, which currently is served primarily by Station No. 22 on Cross Creek Blvd.

And, North Tampa’s Fire Station No. 13 was the 54th busiest station in the entire United States. Although we have recently given that station some relief, more action is needed. Other areas of Tampa are falling behind.

For the Tampa Police Department, Tampa wants to fund, not defund, our police. Tampa rejects the Portland, Oregon-like vision of attacking or defunding our police. Rather, Tampa is willing to support our police through not only bumper stickers and slogans, but tax investments, too. Calls for community policing and hiring more officers will cost money. My proposal would still have funded our portion of a federal matching grant for 30 new police officers for Tampa.

This proposal for millage 70% smaller than what the Mayor proposed would have saved us from putting public safety at risk and having to purchase bonds for new fire stations — with more burdensome long-term debt for taxpayers. My proposal would allow us to have a millage rate that would cost the average homeowner just $6.00 a month more than they currently pay, but with proper funding for police and fire — and limited governmental debt.

I have taken heat from some for this — but that is fine with me.

I always say that I am in office to do what I think is right. Over the last nearly seven years in office, I have held about 65 town halls where I have listened to my constituents. In the end, I believe it is my job to — after consulting with those constituents — do what I think is right.

We know that neglecting public safety is not the right thing to do. While we can cut spending, a disproportionate amount of our city government’s budget goes to police and fire. I, for one, do not write political checks I can not cash. In other words, I do not promise the public more spending without being able to pay for it.

Our next step now is to find funds from other sources to fund not only public safety — but also housing and other priorities. We will do this before our second reading of the City of Tampa budget, which will be held on Tuesday, September 19.

We are locked in with our millage rate, and I will work with the other Council members to find sources for spending on priorities.

You, my constituents, know me. You know my heart and that I stand for what I think is right. Most important is that you know where I stand — and that I stand. I wanted to write this column to inform you about my centrist approach to this proposal so I could explain why I did what I did.

I have been your District 7 City Councilman for almost seven years. I can tell you that there has been no greater joy for me than to serve you. In doing so, I work with everyone — Republicans and Democrats — to get the job done. I pledge to continue to do that, all while letting you know what I do and why I do it.

City Millage Increase jane castor Luis Viera New Tampa

New Tampa All-Abilities Playground Wins Prestigious Award!

City of Tampa Natural Resources Division superintendent Brad Suder (right) accepts the Karen Jacobs Award on behalf of the city at the 33rd annual Americans with Disabilities Act awards celebration hosted by the Hillsborough County Alliance for Persons with Disabilties on Aug. 4. (Photo provided by the City of Tampa).

Congratulations to the City of Tampa and to everyone involved in the creation of the All-Abilities Playground at the New Tampa Recreation Center in Tampa Palms, which was named the winner of the 2023 Karen Jacobs Outstanding Accessible Place award by the Hillsborough County Alliance for Persons with Disabilities earlier this month.

The award, named for Karen Jacobs, a University of South Florida grad, paraplegic wheelchair athlete and advocate for the disabled who passed away in 1996 after a battle with colon cancer, also was won by the city in 2022 for the expansion of Freedom Playground in MacFarlane Park in West Tampa.This year’s Karen Jacobs Award was accepted by Brad Suder, the superintendent of Planning & Design in Tampa’s Natural Resources Division, who played an integral role in the creation of the All-Abilities Playground.

Dist. 7 Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera, who proposed the creation of the All-Abilities park in his district (which includes all of New Tampa), applauded the award.

“I was thrilled to see our All-Abilities Playground win this meaningful award,” Viera said. “This park stands as a moral statement that people with disabilities are a part of our Tampa community and family. For me, being the youngest brother of a man with an intellectual disability, this issue is very personal.”

Councilman Viera said that growing up with older brother Juan and watching his parents struggle to give Juan as “normal” a life as possible was a big influence in his life.

(l.-r.) State Sen. Jay Collins, State Rep. Fentrice Driskell & Tampa City Councilman Luis Viera at the Grand Opening of Tampa’s All-Abilities Park in Tampa Palms on Dec. 21, 2022. (Photo by Charmaine George).

“I just knew that I wanted to help other families living with similar situations,” Viera said. “I am very proud that the members of the City Council and Mayor (Jane) Castor agreed to fund and build this park.”

Raquel Pancho, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) coordinator for the City of Tampa, was one of the people who nominated the All-Abilities Park for this year’s Karen Jacobs Award:

“I am thrilled to nominate The New Tampa All-Abilities Playground for the Outstanding Accessible Places Award. (The park) is a state-of-the-art,10,000+-sq.-ft. playground that is designed for children with a wide range of physical, cognitive, sensory, and neuro-diverse abilities. It fosters wonderful opportunities for children with and without disabilities to seamlessly and effortlessly engage with each other.”

Pancho’s nomination also noted that, “The All-Abilities playground also includes a sensory area geared towards children with autism, as well as an interactive art installation called “Wild Florida Parade,” which has tactile components so individuals who are blind or low vision can also enjoy the art component.”

Sherisha Hills, Director of Tampa Parks & Recreation, said, “This playground has truly set a new standard for inclusivity and accessibility that we continue to strive towards throughout our entire Tampa Parks system.”

All Abilities Park All Abilities Playground Brad Suder jane castor Karen Jacobs Outstanding Accessible Place Award Luis Viera New Tampa Raquel Pancho

Pride Elementary Hosts Parent Meeting With Viera, Vaughn & County

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera takes pride in his ability to organize public town hall-style meetings and bring folks together, apparently even when the city isn’t the primary focus of the meeting.

Case in point: Viera contacted District 3 Hillsborough School Board member Jessica Vaughn because a number of residents of K-Bar Ranch had contacted him about transportation issues at Pride Elementary and he felt a public meeting would help at least shed light on some of the concerns of these local residents (including some who live in the Hillsborough County-based developments of Cross Creek and Live Oak Preserve) to work on issues like buses, long pick-up and drop-off queues at Pride and the safety of the students, parents and staff at the school.

Vaughn agreed, and on June 7, about 30 Pride parents and local residents attended a meeting at the school hosted by Viera, Vaughn, Pride principal Paulette English and the director of operations for the Hillsborough School District Chris Farkas. Also on hand were Rich Reedy, the legislative aide to Hillsborough County District 2 commissioner (and Board chair) Ken Hagan, as well as the School District’s general manager for transportation Laura Hill.

The residents in attendance were mainly from a group of at least 45 Pride parents who live in the Andover Place apartments, which are located just under two miles from Pride and who had emailed Farkas because they all have to drive their children who attend Pride to school. The reason? As Vaughn explained during her opening comments, a new law passed by the state legislature dictates that students who live closer than two miles to their school are not eligible to be bused.

Vaughn also explained that the issue these parents have been experiencing is common throughout the District at many other schools. Meanwhile, Farkas said that although it is possible for the District to “charter” a bus for a specific group, “there is a huge shortage of bus drivers throughout the District. We’re about 275 drivers short right now, and we only receive about $30 million of the $64 million the District spends on transportation from the state, or about 41 cents of every dollar. The rest has to come from the District’s general fund, which is the same pot of money used to pay teachers, aides and staff.”

Farkas also noted that hiring additional drivers has been a priority for the District, but “when Pinellas County Schools pays their drivers about $4 more per hour than we do, it’s hard to attract more.”

He added, “If enough parents are willing to share the cost of that additional bus, it is possible we could at least look into it.”

Farkas also noted that Hill is responsible for the plan of how to get all bused students to and from school on time, “and we already have to drop kids off at Pride and then the driver has to go right back out and pick up the second group of kids and drop off again.” The buses also have to drop off the first set of kids at home and return to school to then drop off the second group in the afternoon, too.

“That creates another problem,” Farkas said. “If we have to have a third set of kids picked up and dropped off by that same bus, how early in the morning would the first set of kids have to be dropped off at Pride in order for all three busloads get to school on time each day?”

Parents who are driving their kids to school are not allowed to leave them there until 7 a.m., English said. And, Farkas added, “if a bus had to drop off the first ‘load’ of kids at 6:30, we would have to make sure that there was proper supervision for those kids to keep them safe. So, as you can see, it’s a logistical problem for us. It’s not an impossible one to work out, but it is an issue.”

Rec Center To Help?

*County Commissioner Ken Hagan’s legislative aide Rich Reedy (far left) discusses transportation issues at Pride Elementary with members of the community at the June 7 meeting.*

Reedy mentioned that he believes the new indoor county recreation center now in the planning stages adjacent to Pride would actually help with the number of parents currently queuing in line at the end of each school day once it opens — in 2024 — “because we will have additional parking over what currently is available (on a gravel parking area at Kinnan Park) at that site.” English said that the parking lot for that new rec center also would need to be available for Pride parents in the morning, or the parent queue would be even worse before school starts.

Reedy said he didn’t see why that would be a problem for the county.

“We already do a lot of co-locating with the School District at other locations,” he said. “Plus, the rec center would not be in use during school hours, so I can’t imagine that would be an issue.”

Others in attendance also wanted the panel to find ways for the county, city and school district to address speeding on KInnan St., including adding more street lights, cameras and even, possibly, a roundabout where Kinnan meets Bassett Creek Dr.

The panel also said that local residents should write to their elected state legislators — State Senator Danny Burgess and State Rep. Fentrice Driskell — to help address the two-mile-radius law and the lack of proper state funding for public schools. Viera said he feels that because of Florida’s private school voucher system, “public education has been abandoned by our state legislature.”

Chris Farkas jessica vaughn Luis Viera New Tampa Paulette English Pride Elementary Rich Reedy School School Bus

Viera, City Officials Talk K-Bar Ranch At Town Hall Meeting

District 7 Tampa City Council member Luis Viera says that he feels it’s necessary to host Town Hall meetings in K-Bar Ranch — New Tampa’s only major community that is still growing — at least twice each year.

“There’s so much growth happening in K-Bar, and the residents have so many critical needs when it comes to mobility, fire and public safety issues,” Viera told about a dozen K-Bar Ranch residents at his most recent Town Hall on Mar. 13. For that reason, he added that, “It’s important to bring as many city officials as possible — as often as possible — to K-Bar.

To that end, Viera brought with him Tampa Police Department (TPD) Dist. 2 Major Brett Owen, Tampa Fire rescue (TFR) District Chief Bob Brown and traffic safety coordinator William Porth from the city’s Transportation Mobility Dept.

Each of the speakers made a brief presentation and took questions from the residents in attendance at the meeting.

Here are some of the highlights of that Mar. 13 Town Hall event:

• Porth was the first speaker, as Viera said, “There’s always a new stop sign that needs to be added here,” and other transportation issues to deal with as K-Bar continues to grow. Porth mentioned that since the last time he visited New Tampa, “I have been named the construction project coordinator for the city’s ‘Vision Zero’ campaign,” which is working to reduce the number of traffic fatalities in the city to zero. It’s a lofty goal, but we’re going to continue to work on that.”

Porth also said that three new stop signs have been installed along K-Bar Ranch Pkwy., “which pretty soon, will connect through to Morris Bridge Rd.” He noted, however, that as the community gets closer to its build-out, “we may have to remove those stop signs.” Porth also said that the city is looking at increasing the speed limit on K-Bar Ranch Pkwy. from 30 to 35 miles per hour (mph), “because we agree that the speed limit is a little low, although if we raise it to 35, people will go at least 40 mph.” He also said the city is considering reducing the speed limit north of Pride Elementary to 15 mph.

In addition, Viera said he plans to meet soon with new Dist. 2 Pasco County Commissioner Seth Weightman (who replaced Mike Moore) regarding not only the Tampa-Hillsborough-Pasco connection at Kinnan St.-Mansfield Blvd., but also at two other planned road connections.

Also discussed was the possibility of adding a stop sign or, preferably (according to Porth) a traffic signal where Live Oak Preserve residents access Kinnan St.

• Viera also mentioned that of the 24 TFR stations in the city, four of the six stations located in New Tampa’s 33647 zip code, “have the city’s slowest response times.” TFR’s Brown mentioned that $1 million of the city’s public safety funding has been spent in New Tampa, including what is known as a “heavy rescue unit” at Station No. 21 on Cross Creek Blvd., “so we don’t have to wait for the unit downtown to be able to cut people out of their vehicles.” Stations 23 (in the Grand Hampton area) and 21 also have had their Basic Life Support ambulances replaced with upgraded Advanced Life Support units.

• Meanwhile, TPD’s Owen said that although there is “almost no crime out here” in New Tampa, “most of the calls we get are either about people speeding or kids going through people’s yards.” He also noted that there has been “about a minute increase in response times here, which may not seem like a lot, but it is a concern for us that we’re working to correct.”

• Viera also talked about the opening of one of his pet projects — the New Tampa All-Abilities Park in Tampa Palms — as well as the fact that there is land that is owned by the city in K-Bar that could become a new park, but it would be operated by the county. “But, I do believe New Tampa needs more city-run parks out here,” he said.

He also mentioned that the repaving of Tampa Palms Blvd. has begun and that New Tampa Blvd. in West Meadows will be next. And finally, Viera noted how important it is for all New Tampa residents to cast a ballot in the upcoming Municipal Runoff Election on April 25, where three citywide City Council seats will be filled.

k-bar ranch Luis Viera New Tampa politics