Because of redistricting, Lakeland’s U.S. Rep. Dennis Ross has to make himself more familiar in Hillsborough County. In his first two years in office, Ross represented District 12; now his newly redrawn District 15 has him covering much of Plant City, Temple Terrace, Brandon and Lutz.
In an interview for the Sunday Conversation column in the Tampa Bay Times, Ross talked about his effort to introduce himself to Hillsborough voters. For example, he has been busy holding several town hall meetings to listen to his new constituents.
Redistricting “cut Polk in half and it expanded us into Hillsborough,” Ross told the Times. “I don’t know if we gained an advantage, maybe nominal, about one or two points, but it gave us complete cities or areas in Hillsborough.
“Before,” Ross added, “we had half of Plant City and part of Brandon and part of Temple Terrace. Now, we have all of those areas.”
Ross believes the Senate bill on immigration reform is “good,” but first we should strengthen our borders and focus on guest workers and those with visas. When it comes to tax reform, Congress needs to show they are “going to reduce our expenditures and simplify our tax system to where we gain more revenue from a growing economy and not from raising the tax rate.”
