The campaign regarding who will be the next representative for the Tampa City Council District 7 seat this week has turned into a series of dueling announcements regarding endorsements.
After Jim Davison announced on Wednesday night that Avis Harrison, who finished third in the District 7 primary vote last week, was backing him in the Dec. 6 runoff election, his opponent, Luis Viera, announced a slate of current and former lawmakers in Tampa/Hillsborough County on Thursday.
They include Hillsborough County Commissioner Les Miller, former Tampa City Council member Gwen Miller, House District 59 representative Sean Shaw, former state House District 59 representative Ed Narain and former Hillsborough County Commissioner and Tampa City Council member Thomas Scott.
All five are African-American Democrats. Veira is a registered Democrat, Davison a registered Republican in what is officially a nonpartisan contest.
“The support of these hard working public servants means a great deal to me and our efforts to move Tampa forward,” said Viera. “The campaign is gaining momentum and it can be seen in our support.”
The City Council met this morning for their weekly meeting without a representative from District 7, which will be the case until the middle of next month, after a successor to Lisa Montelione is selected by the voters.
Montelione stepped down from the council last month after more than five years of service. She lost a close battle against Shawn Harrison for the House District 63 seat last week. Like Montelione, Harrison also represented District 7 on the council. He announced his support for Davison earlier this week, while Montelione is backing Viera.
