Beach Park resident Jackie Toledo has a full life, but she wants more. A senior project engineer at CPH Engineers in Tampa, she’s also a mom to five kids, has created a summer arts camp for children and serves on the Tampa Mayor’s Advisory Council. Not bad for an immigrant who came to the U.S. from Peru at the age of five over three decades ago.
Now she’s running for political office for the first time in her life, and even though her two opponents in the District 6 Tampa City Council seat had better name recognition going into the campaign (Guido Maniscalco and Tommy Castellano), she’s doubled what they’ve taken in from fundraising so far, some two and a half months before next March’s primary election. And that was before her fundraiser at Ulele’s in Tampa Heights on Thursday night.
“It feels amazing,” she said as more supporters walked through the back of the eatery to greet her. “I never thought that I would have the support that I do.”
Toledo talks frequently about her engineering background as something that defines her worldview and personality. When asked about her political affiliation, she hesitates, saying that the race is nonpartisan. “I just can’t imagine making a decision based on party lines. As an engineer, that’s just not me. As an engineer I look at facts, and make my decisions.” (For the record, she’s a registered Republican).
Speaking just hours before President Obama was scheduled to address the nation on his executive action that will block any deportation for up to five million people living in the U.S. illegally, she said she favors a law that will allow a pathway to citizenship. “I think there are people who work really hard in this country and they just don’t have a pathway for citizenship. I think it’s very important that you do that, because a lot of people want to pay taxes. They’re hard workers.” She thinks of her parents specifically when thinking about the immigration experience. They moved to Northern California when she was just three to escape what was the beginning of a civil war led by the radical Shining Path movement. She spent two years with other family members back in Peru before rejoining her parents in the U.S. when she turned five. Years later they separated, with Jackie moving with her mom to Tampa, while her father moved to Orlando.
Politics is in her blood as her father once ran for mayor in a city in Peru. She says he inspired and encouraged her to take a crack at running for office.
“My dad has always said, ‘you should run, you have a really good experience, background and education (and) you’re really good with people’, but I really didn’t know anything about the political process.” So she applied to the Public Leadership Institute, a development program for those who are contemplating a career in public service but aren’t sure what’s required. Among those participating in her class were Ed Narain and Melissa Snively, who were both elected earlier this month; Narain to serve in Tallahassee as a state Representative from Tampa, and Snively representing east and south Hillsborough County on the School Board.
When asked what issues she’s most concerned about, Toledo talks about improving the city’s transportation system.
She supports the idea of presenting a referendum on transit in 2016 in Hillsborough County, but cautions that the “devil is in the details,” and isn’t ready to advocate for anything yet until the plan is actually completed (Hillsborough County officials intend on having such a plan ready to present to the public sometime next spring). In light of polling information just released that shows that the overwhelming reason that Greenlight Pinellas went down to defeat was the issue of the public’s sales taxes being raised, Toledo said no one should be surprised.
“No one wants a tax,” she flatly declares. “If there are other options, then don’t tax.” She says she’d like to explore public/private partnerships, and refers to JPMorgan’s $100 million investment this past spring to the city of Detroit designed to help redevelopment projects, strengthen workforce development and train entrepreneurs as something that Tampa should aspire to. “Let’s find partners like that. Then maybe we can find federal grants.” She mentions Bus Rapid Transit as being something maybe the county should aim for, but insists that “I will exhaust all options before I support a tax.”
Toledo also would like more done on infrastructure, expressing bewilderment that one hard rainstorm can leave certain streets in Tampa blocked to vehicles for hours, definitely a quality of life issue in the Cigar City. That’s a frequent complaint, butthere never seems to be enough money to pay for all of the stormwater projects that it would take to fix those problems throughout the city. She’d also like to “streamline” the permitting process, a frequent complaint by small business owners that Mayor Buckhorn has made strides in correcting since taking office.. She says that the city is moving in that direction, but wants to continue to pave the way to make Tampa an even more business friendly city.
