Battleground Tampa Bay – A weekend read of what’s driving Florida politics

A weekend read of what’s driving politics in Battleground Tampa Bay. Sponsored by RSA Consulting Group, LLC.

GOVERNOR SCOTT ANNOUNCES FLORIDA HAS REELED IN “DOLPHIN TALE 2”

Gov. Scott’s office on Friday morning sent out a media advisory saying he would be making an economic development announcement at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium, which seemed like a unique venue for an economic development announcement. In part, it turned out, that’s because it was a unique economic development announcement.

@FLGovScott: Proud to announce @AlconEnt has chosen FL to film Dolphin Tale 2 at@CMAquarium. #ItsWorking

No word yet on how many jobs that will contribute to Scott’s goal of 700,000 jobs in seven years, though hooking the project will presumably bring down the dolphin unemployment rate in the Tampa Bay area. If you’re interested, here’s more on Dolphin Tale.

Florida Democratic Party Press Secretary Max Steele responded on Twitter: @MaxSteele: Rick Scott is spending $5 million in taxpayer dollars to bring Ashley Judd to Florida 

BILL FOSTER AHEAD OF FORD, KRISEMAN IN NEW POLL via Mark Puente of the Tampa Bay Times

St. Petersburg voters may not be overly enthusiastic about Mayor Bill Foster, but with the primary election a month away, they are not particularly dissatisfied with the job he’s doing either.  A Tampa Bay Times, Bay News 9 and WUSF Radio poll shows Foster leading his main challengers Kathleen Ford and Rick Kriseman collectively and in head-to-head contests. While 28% of the voters remain undecided before the Aug. 27 primary, more than 70% say he is doing either a good or average job as mayor. Foster captured 30% of the vote compared to Ford’s 20% and Kriseman’s 17%. While that suggests that more of those decided voters would opt not to give Foster a second term, Foster bests both Ford and Kriseman in individual matchups. It would appear that no candidate is generating great enthusiasm and that the African-American vote in St. Petersburg may continue to play a significant role in the outcome as it has in past elections. The poll’s findings come the same week that 61,453 ballots are being mailed to voters, the highest number ever for a city election.

AS EARLY VOTING GETS UNDERWAY, DARDEN RICE, AMY FOSTER LEAD CITY COUNCIL RACES BY WIDE MARGINS

On Tuesday, more than sixty-one thousand ballots will be mailed to early voters in St. Petersburg’s municipal elections. With a majority of voters indicating they will vote early rather than on Election Day, the races for Mayor and City Council could very well be over in July rather than August. In fact, if the latest polling from St. Pete Polls is any indication, the races for the District 4 & 8 seats on the City Council may be over already.  In District 4, civic activist Darden Rice has a wide lead over her next closest rival, Dr. David McKalip. Among likely voters, Rice receives 32% support, McKalip is a t 17%, Carolyn Fries is at 11% and Richard Eldridge is at 4%. Thirty-seven percent of respondents said they were undecided.

In District 8, Amy Foster holds a thirty-four point lead over her next closest opponent, Steve Galvin. Among likely voters, 44% say they support Foster, 7% support Galvin, 6% back Alex Duensing, and 5% are with Robert Davis. These numbers suggest Galvin is actually in danger of being passed by by Duensing or Davis.

PINELLAS REALTORS ENDORSE BILL FOSTER FOR MAYOR; KENNEDY, RICE, NURSE & FOSTER FOR CITY COUNCIL

Pinellas County Realtors are having their say on who is best for St. Petersburg property owners. Today, the Board of Directors of the Pinellas Realtor Organization (PRO) announced endorsements in the St. Petersburg races for Mayor and City Council.  PRO approves of these five candidates for the Aug. 27 primary election: Mayor: Bill Foster; District 2: Jim Kennedy; District 4: Darden Rice; District 6:  Karl Nurse; District 8: Amy Foster.  A screening committee, made up exclusively of PRO members, reviewed both candidate interviews and submitted questionnaires. They announced the choices in a press release Thursday.

SOME CANDIDATES ON THE ST. PETE BALLOT HAVE NEVER VOTED IN A MUNICIPAL ELECTION

Thanks to William Mansell of the St. Pete Patch, we have this fun one to share:  “Many candidates have little experience voting in the very municipal elections they are asking voters to participate in this August.”  While some like District 6 candidate Karl Nurse have voted nearly two dozen times since the 2004 election season, others like District 8 candidate Amy Foster have only participated in presidential elections.  Foster said she had her “a ha” moment that local elections mattered while helping with St. Pete Pride, and will take this message to voters. In his column, Mansell lists out each candidate’s voting record using info provided by the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections.

BLOG POST OF THE DAY: KATHLEEN FORD — THE ANTI-CANDIDATE via Benjamin Kirby on the St. Pete Patch

From Arkansas, to Virginia, to Florida, as a volunteer and as a paid staffer, I’ve been involved in every kind of political race, local to federal.  Every race has its own rules, but the candidates all have one thing in common: you have to run for something.  …Candidates who run against something simply for the sake of opposing it make terrible candidates.  Spoiler alert: they make even worse public servants.  Indeed, for as complicated as we seem to make them, all a political campaign involves is taking your answers to those questions I outlined above to the public.  Hopefully a majority of your friends and neighbors will agree with your answers and vote for you on Election Day.  It’s really that simple.

I have made an honest effort to understand what St. Petersburg Mayoral candidate Kathleen Ford is running for, and for the life of me, I can’t see it. She has built her candidacy around opposition to the proposed Lens design for the St. Petersburg Pier.  Opposing construction of the Lens is a perfectly fine position to take, but then what is the plan?  What is the vision?  What is life like under Mayor Ford with respect to the Pier?  I see no answers to that question.   Indeed, Ms. Ford’s website is fraught with a lot more anti-, and a lot less vision — and some outright falsehoods, actually.   Like her tea party friends, Ms. Ford is anti– everything.  If they get a chance, someone ought to ask her what on earth she is for.

***RSA Consulting Group is a full service consulting firm with expertise in the areas of government & legislative affairs, community affairs, strategic planning, as well as media & public relations.  RSA fully integrates all of these areas to achieve far-reaching results and yield high-impact successes for their clients.  When you choose RSA Consulting Group, you’re choosing a team well known for their exceptional work ethic, integrity and ability to accomplish the goal.  For more information, visit RSA Consulting Group’s website.*** 

KARL NURSE SPEAKS HIS MIND ON BILL FOSTER, POLICE AND HOW THINGS WENT WRONG WITH “THE LENS” 

St. Petersburg City Council chair Karl Nurse is proud of his accomplishments; working towards energy efficiency, neighborhood improvements and encouraging investment in Midtown. In a conversation with the editorial board of the Tampa Bay Times, the District 6 incumbent, who is now running for reelection, also had a few choice words about the St. Pete police, The Lens and Mayor Bill Foster. Nurse expressed the black community’s “disappointment” with the mayor is genuine, claiming that Foster “never really managed people before.” With crime up 10 percent in St. Pete, and higher in Midtown, Nurse blames the lack of police-resident relations for an “erosion” of policing in the community. However, Foster wasn’t only to blame; the trend of ignoring the city’s south side began with former Mayor Rick baker.

On the issue of The Lens, Nurse opposes the $50 million proposed replacement of the 1973 Pier. He feels that the city missed the opportunity to have a clear idea of what the residents genuinely want with the Pier. Nurse suggested the city could have used online polling and surveys provided in utilities bills to gauge general feeling about the Pier’s mission. He said officials first should have known what the Pier’s role would be, and then created a design that followed those requirements. Nurse also helped develop the idea that a new Tampa Bay Rays stadium could be built in the Gateway area, keeping the team in St. Pete, but he felt that the city attorneys got in the way of using it as an incentive in the negotiations.

ST. PETERSBURG POLICE CHIEF CHUCK HARMON DISPUTES CRITICISM via Mark Puente of the Tampa Bay Times

St. Petersburg Police Chief Chuck Harmon is pushing back against the criticism dished out Tuesday by City Council chairman Karl Nurse. Nurse levied the criticism during an interview with editors and reporters at the Tampa Bay Times. When talking about crime, Nurse called Harmon “a reactive guy.”  

Harmon’s statement begins: “Councilmember Nurse, I just wanted you to know that someone brought the below link/article to my attention this afternoon. I have set with the Editorial Board myself a few times and have an understanding of how they function. As with any article, I am aware that there may have been information that was misinterpreted or is being misstated. I am also keenly aware that you are running for re-election and that some the information was your opinion or at least their interpretation of it. If the information is accurate, I am certainly disappointed that you have not had some prior discussions with me either publicly or in person over the last three years about these issues.  You know that I am a phone call away.  All that being said, I would like to take a moment to point out some factual information. On the issue of crime, crime was at a 40 year low last year and has been basically on the decline for the last decade. If you were referring to crime numbers this year, it is up 6.2% but it is still about 9% under the average of the last five years. I have always cautioned you about using month-to-month percentages because you are dealing with low numbers. It does not paint a true picture. …. Maybe the one that troubles me the most is the reference to being reactive. If that’s your opinion of me, fine, but the men and women of the St. Petersburg Police Department work hard for our citizens each day. They are creative and at times inspirational. Look at a few examples of what they have accomplished. We have officers now being proactive by tracking and paying attention to repeat offenders which has done a good job of reducing crime from those offenders…” Continue reading Harmon’s statement here.

***This week’s BATTLEGROUND TAMPA BAY is brought to you by Bright House Networks Business Solutions, your locally-based leader in advanced communications and networking solutions. Thousands of businesses from small retailers to regional school boards and national hotel chains have trusted us to provide Voice, Internet and Video services that are reliable, scalable and flexible. Coming soon, we’ll be offering Hosted Voice, the latest addition to our suite of voice services. Hosted Voice is our turn-key, cloud-based customized voice solution available to the small to mid-sized business as well as the large-scale enterprise, because at Bright House we have the right technology for any size business. Learn more.***

BUCKHORN’S NEW BUDGET 3% HIGHER, AT $830.9 MILLION via Kevin Wiatrowski of the Tampa Tribune

Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn this morning unveiled his $830.9 million 2014 city budget. The new budget is about 3% higher than the current one, thanks in part to rising property tax revenues. It’s a spending plan that adds $350,000 and two new inspectors to the city’s code enforcement staff at a time when the mayor is focused on reducing blight in some city neighborhoods. Five solid waste workers will be cross-trained to write tickets for code violations. The city also is filling two code enforcement vacancies under the current budget. “That will be 9 additional bodies that will be involved in the code enforcement process,” Buckhorn said. Other highlights from the budget include: A 2% pay hike for all city employees; 7 new staffers for the city’s parks department; No increase in the city’s tax rate.

RAYS AND ST. PETE NEGOTIATING STADIUM EXPLORATION DEAL via Chris O’Donnell of the Tampa Bay Tribune

With the Tampa Bay Rays climbing in the standings in recent weeks, the impasse between the team and city officials over Tropicana Field has faded from the headlines. Behind the scenes, though, Mayor Bill Foster and Rays principal owner Stu Sternberg have been talking, and city attorneys have been meeting with team officials to negotiate an agreement that would allow the team to explore other possible stadium sites. The most recent meeting with the city’s legal team took place Wednesday morning. The two sides have been discussing a proposal under which the Rays would be free to explore sites in Tampa and Hillsborough County after first conducting an extensive review of a proposed stadium site in Carillon, according to St. Petersburg City Council Chairman Karl Nurse. The agreement also would restate that the Rays are under contract to play at the Trop through 2027, he said. After not having met face-to-face for a year, discussions between Foster and Sternberg – the two central players in the stadium dispute – resumed Feb. 15, after Rays executives received supportive receptions during meetings with the Hillsborough and Pinellas county commissions. Tuesday, Sternberg spoke optimistically about his ongoing discussions with the mayor, who is fending off criticisms of, among other issues, his handling of the Rays stadium issue in a tough re-election campaign.

HAGAN, BUCKHORN READY TO TALK STADIUM SAGA via Richard Danielson of the Tampa Bay Times

Two of Hillsborough’s top elected officials stand ready to talk if the Tampa Bay Rays and city of St. Petersburg reach an agreement to let the team explore possible stadium sites outside of Pinellas County. But neither Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn nor Hillsborough County Commission chairman Ken Hagan is eager to reach for the public’s checkbook to cover the cost of a new ballpark.  “It’s got to be a partnership,” Buckhorn said Wednesday when asked what the Rays ought to know going into any discussion with Hillsborough officials. “Both sides have to have skin in the game. Obviously, the Rays have to have a lot more skin in the game than not,” he said. Hagan and Buckhorn welcomed the news that lawyers from the team and St. Petersburg City Hall have been working on a draft agreement to allow the Rays to look at potential stadium sites in both St. Petersburg and Tampa.

WHY IS THE STADIUM SAGA HEATING UP NOW? via Field of Schemes’ Neil deMause

“Still, maybe Foster and the council have decided that enh, go ahead and let Sternberg look at sites, then they can tell him how much money he’ll have to pay to get out of his lease early. And then Sternberg can complain about how he doesn’t have the money to do all this — don’t forget, not only doesn’t he have a site, but his stadium dream doesn’t have even the inkling of a funding plan — and it’ll be Tampa’s fault for not coming up with the money, instead of Foster’s fault for being obstructionist, or whatever he’s ostensibly doing by holding Sternberg to his lease. There’d be a risk here — if Sternberg is able to create some media momentum for a site elsewhere, then there’d be pressure on Foster to haggle over the price — but maybe Foster feels like he’s tired of not talking about stadium sites, and would rather not talk about stadium funding instead.”

***Moffitt Cancer Center is the only NCI-designated Comprehensive Cancer Center based in Florida. Learn more about our personalized approach to cancer treatment at either of our two locations at MOFFITT.org.***

Florida Senator Jeff Brandes traveled to the far corner of the country — specifically the Pacific Northwest — for some solid ideas on mass transportation issues at home. Last week, the chair of the state Senate Transportation committee went to Portland, Oregon for a conference of local legislators. They were invited to discuss what makes successful transportation policies, as well as how to adjust them for their own cities. In 2012, Travel + Leisure magazine ranked Portland as the best pedestrian and transit-friendly city in the U.S. The city provides its residents a diverse collection transportation options, including light commuter rail, streetcars, buses and zones of limited automobile access.

Brandes was just one of a number of state and city legislators from all over the country whose job was to learn from one of the most successful mass transit systems in the country. The key metric in designing the need for any mass transit systems is examining vehicle miles traveled (VMT). According to the Pinellas Suncoast Transit Authority (PSTA) in 2006, there was an average of more than 3.5 million trips made each day in Pinellas County. By 2035, that number could increase by ten percent to nearly four million trips per day.

“We really looked at how we would pay for transportation infrastructure in the future,” Brandes said. “We have a challenge in America. We have created an infrastructure based on fuel tax.”  Brandes wants Floridians to have a choice. For example, he would like to see the state working with insurance companies to be able to install devices in vehicles to monitor driving patterns as they do to lower insurance rates. Other options could be as simple as a fixed mileage fee, or as sophisticated as adding software to newer vehicles that upload mileage data monthly to the state. The Portland trip did give Brandes a few ideas on different ways to cut down drive times in the region, noting that it takes less time to go from TIA to the Don Cesar Resort on St. Pete Beach than it would to go to Madeira Beach, which is closer to the airport.

RESIDENCY OF ALL LEGISLATORS UNDER REVIEW via Jim Turner of News Service of Florida

Legislative leadership wants to know where House and Senate members are when they say they’re at home. With Sen. Jack Latvala raising questions about a number of Democratic lawmakers living outside the districts they represent, the top attorneys for the House and Senate have been directed to recommend standards for residency.  Meanwhile, Secretary of State Ken Detzner will be asked to get a list of where all 160 legislators are registered to vote. The letter said Gaetz and Weatherford want the voter registration information from Detzner by Sept. 1. No timeframe was set for the review of residency standards by the House general counsel and the Senate general counsel.

Latvala, the chairman of the Senate Ethics and Elections Committee, has recently expressed concerns about the residency of Democratic Sen. Maria Sachs, as well as Reps. Perry Thurston, Jared Moskowitz, and Hazelle Rogers. Latvala has also informed Weatherford’s office that he intends to forward a letter he received expressing concerns about the residency of Rep. Alan Williams. WCTV in Tallahassee reported Tuesday that Williams’ owns a homesteaded property outside his district and is partial owner of a property within the district.  Asked by a WCTV reporter where he lived, Williams responded, “Well I’ll tell you, it’s hard to sleep when you’re fighting for District 8.”

TERM-LIMITED REP. ED HOOPER ADDS AN IMPRESSIVE $22,410 FOR COUNTY COMMISSION BID

Raising several thousand dollars his June 24 campaign kick-off event, Rep. Ed Hooper raised $22,410 during the second quarter of 2013 for his bid for the District 2 seat on the County Commission. Hooper has raised $31,860 overall for his campaign. Brian Aungst, Ed Droste, and Judy Mitchell are among several Pinellas powerbrokers who donated the maximum $500 to Hooper’s campaign. Hooper, 65, currently represents District 67 in the Florida House but faces term limits preventing him from running for re-election. In January, the former Clearwater city commissioner and retired firefighter announced that he would challenge Republican incumbent Norm Roche for the District 2 seat in Nov. 2014. Hooper says he made the decision after tea party conservative Roche voted in 2011 against adding fluoride to the Pinellas County water supply. Hooper felt that the vote went against the wishes of most area residents.

***This week’s BATTLEGROUND TAMPA BAY is sponsored by Corcoran & Johnston Government Relations. One of Florida’s Top Lobbying Firms, Corcoran & Johnston has demonstrated the ability to navigate government and successfully deliver results for clients, time and again.  To learn more visit www.corcoranfirm.com.***

COMMISSION NIXES MILLAGE FOR STABILIZATION FUND via Suzette Porter of TBNWeekly.com

When Pinellas County Administrator Bob LaSala presented his balanced budget for fiscal year 2013-2014 during a regular commission meeting July 9, he proposed adding a new dedicated millage to fund a continuation of the service level stabilization account. During the recession years, the commission made budget cuts over the amount needed for any given year to build a pot of money to be used when the economy began to improve to provide a “glide path” to a “softer landing” in future years. Staff confirmed at a July 16 budget work session that $10.7 million remains in that account. Most of the money was used to balance the current year budget. LaSala proposed retaining the $10.7 and adding to it with a new millage rate of 0.2154 to establish a service level continuation account. The money would accumulate for use during the next recession, which he said is inevitable.

LaSala also proposed a millage rate increase for the general fund and emergency medical services fund. LaSala showed the impact of all three rate increases on a chart, using a single family home with a taxable value of $100,000, after a homestead exemption of $50,000. The total tax increase would be $55.36 – $26.50 for the general fund, $7.32 for emergency medical services and $21.54 for the service level continuation account. The increase would bring in an additional $14.1 million for the general fund, $3.6 million for EMS and $11.5 million for the service level continuation account. While the commission conceded that the service level continuation account was a good idea, no one supported funding it through a levy of additional taxes. Most said now is not the time to be placing an additional tax burden on residents.

DOES ST. PETE NEED UNIVERSAL CURBSIDE RECYCLING? via William Mansell of St. Pete Patch

St. Petersburg took another small step Thursday toward universal curbside recycling and no longer being the only major city in Florida without the service. City council voted unanimously to have city staff further explore costs and implementations of a universal program. Staff has until the end of the year to submit the report.  Mike Connors, public works administrator, told council Thursday that to continue existing trash collection services and add universal curbside recycling would add to the city’s budget. He said it is also hard to compare St. Pete’s sanitation budget to other cities because of services provided.  St. Pete, for example, offers brush pickup, help with rodent infestations and picks up tires/batteries at no additional cost to the taxpayers, Connors said. Mayor Bill Foster said the city will look hard at how to make a program work. “We are going to cost this thing out,” Foster said. “It’s not that I am against universal curbside recycling. It comes down to costs.

EXPERT: 4,000 NEW JOBS IN “PIPELINE’ FOR HILLSBOROUGH via Mike Salinero of the Tampa Tribune

A top local employment recruiter said Thursday that a handful of companies are strongly considering locating in Hillsborough County, with the potential of adding 4,000 jobs in the area. Rick Homans, executive director of the Tampa Hillsborough Economic Development Corp., made the comment while addressing the county commission during a budget workshop. Homans also told commissioners that to attract even more jobs, and move into the upper echelon of metro areas seen as desirable by employers and talented workers, it needs a mass transit system and a baseball stadium downtown.

Homans was at the workshop seeking a quarter million dollars more next year for the Economic Development Corp., a public-private partnership that serves as the lead economic development agency for Hillsborough County. He is seeking an increase from $450,000 to $700,000; the commission is set to decide this and other proposals Thursday.  Making the case for his request, Homans listed recent economic development achievements in the county, including the possible location of an Amazon.com assembly and distribution center in Ruskin with 1,000 jobs, the announcement by pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb that it will open a business office here with 579 new jobs, and Copa Airlines’ decision to begin Tampa-to-Panama flights.

ST. PETERSBURG COUNTRY CLUB, HOMEBUILDER TAYLOR MORRISON WITHDRAW PLAN FOR MAJOR DEVELOPMENT IN LAKEWOOD ESTATES

In the face of growing opposition to a plan to build 115 townhomes proposed for a swath of land near the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve, the St. Petersburg Country Club (SPCC) and homebuilder Taylor Morrison have withdrawn an application with the City of St. Petersburg to move forward with the project. In a letter to Dave Goodwin in the city’s Economic Development department, Mike Kiernan, the president of the SPCC, reiterated his belief that the controversial project would have a positive impact for the Lakewood neighborhood and the long-term future of the Boyd Hill Nature Preserve. However, in response to a request for clarification on several technical aspects of the project, Kiernan wrote, “(We have decided to withdraw the June 28, 2013 application.” The plan called for the townhouses to be built on eight acres along the first three holes of the golf course facing the nature preserve. Katherine Snow Smith of the Tampa Bay Times reported in late June that representatives from SPCC and Taylor Morrison met with 60 Lakewood homeowners and fielded “many heated questions and complaints for more than 90 minutes.”

ST. PETE MIGHT CHANGE TAX BREAKS FOR SOME BUSINESSES via Josh Boatwright of the Tampa Tribune

Millions of dollars in tax breaks offered within the city’s enterprise zone have helped spur towering Beach Drive condominiums and the expansion of local day care centers. But after years of seeing the waterfront and downtown core thrive with new business and wealthier residents, city leaders say it’s time to move these incentives to other parts of town that need them more. A proposed change by the Enterprise Zone Development Agency would give businesses at the crossroads of Central Avenue and 34th Street and other depressed areas a chance to get state tax refunds for hiring nearby residents or building new hotels. At the same time, more than 600 businesses in places like Beach Drive, parts of the Grand Central District and even less affluent areas like 22nd Avenue South would be dropped from the incentive program to make room for the new entrants. Economic development officials say the changes reflect a shift in the city’s demographics as the new boundaries are drawn around viable commercial districts with the highest concentration of low-income residents nearby. The enterprise zone is just one of many programs the city uses to push redevelopment in high-need areas. Since 2006, scores of developers and businesses have received refunds totaling more than $7.6 million, according to city records. They’ve created 601 certified jobs.

***If you are interested in advertising on BATTLEGROUND TAMPA BAY, email [email protected].***  

ATTORNEY (AND JESUIT SOCCER COACH) ROBERT BAUMAN FILES FOR CIRCUIT JUDGE…

Robert Bauman, an attorney with the Morris Law Firm of Tampa, has filed as a candidate for Hillsborough Circuit Court, Group 34, a position held currently by retiring Judge James M. “Jim” Barton II. Bauman is perhaps best known for his work as the varsity soccer head coach at Jesuit High School since 1987 and in addition to a 571-124-69 record, the soccer team has captured five state titles and won the national title in 2001. As for his professional record, Bauman is a member of the American Bar Association, the Florida Bar and the Hillsborough Bar Association. He serves as the Boys Chair for Soccer with the Florida Athletic Coaches Association and on the Soccer Advisory Committee for the Florida High School Athletics Association. In addition to over twenty five years courtroom experience in private practice, Bauman worked in the office of the Hillsborough County Public Defender for three years

KICK-OFF PARTY SET FOR BAUMAN’S CAMPAIGN

Bauman invites you to his campaign kick-off party on August 29 from 4:30 – 7:30 p.m. at the Columbia Restaurant at 2117 E. 7th Ave in Tampa.  Bauman is running for the Group 34 seat.

MICHELLE SHIMBERG ANNOUNCES CANDIDACY FOR HILLSBOROUGH SCHOOL BOARD

Today, Michelle Popp Shimberg formally announced her candidacy for Hillsborough County School Board, District 2, filing all necessary documents with the Supervisor of Elections and opening her campaign account.   For more than 20 years, Shimberg has been a well-known and respected advocate for public school children in Hillsborough County. Along with 18 years on the Citizen Advisory Committee to the School Board, including stints as chair, vice-chair and scholarship chair, she has served in leadership positions on five other school-related organizations. She also served two terms as the national president of Delta Delta Delta, a women’s fraternal organization with more than 150,000 members, overseeing a multi-million dollar budget. 

DEPARTURE LOUNGE

Jillian Lusk is leaving her position with the St. Petersburg Chamber of Commerce where she was Advocacy & Economic Development Manager. She has accepted the Executive Director position at a Chamber near Greenville NC, according to Anne Drake