Ken Hagan, the longest-serving Hillsborough County Commissioner (going on 15 years), announced last month that he’ll attempt to stay in the job by running in District 2 next year.
That ended the somewhat far-flung speculation (promoted by Hagan himself) that the Carrollwood Republican was considering a move to Tampa to run for mayor in 2019.
Hagan is all about bringing sports to Hillsborough County — he stays the point man in the region in working on bringing the Tampa Bay Rays across the Bay. He also was part of the team that led to Tampa hosting the College Football Playoff championship.
Hagan was also an unflagging champion of the Go Hillsborough transit initiative, but his influence couldn’t bring the majority of his GOP brethren to even support putting the measure on the 2016 ballot.
Hagan’s position at No. 17 stays constant from 2016.
Joe Henderson’s Take
“He is another guy who has been around forever. He prefers moving in stealth on big-ticket issues like a stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays in Hillsborough County, but now and then he’ll surprise you with a headline like he did in March. That’s when he tweaked the Rays for not showing “urgency” in choosing a stadium site. If the Rays lose Hagan’s support, they’ll either be in St. Petersburg forever or Montreal.”
For a complete explanation of how this list was created and who made up the panel that amassed it, please read here.
