Kevin Beckner has nabbed a prestigious endorsement from the national Victory Fund for his bid to become Hillsborough County’s next Clerk of the Circuit Court.
“Kevin Beckner has been a champion for equality by working to successfully pass a countywide Domestic Partner Registry, overturning a ban on Gay Pride, and getting a countywide Human Rights Ordnance passed,” said Aisha Moodie-Mills, president of the Victory Fund. “Kevin has also worked to balance the budget, attract new businesses to Hillsborough County, been a leader on improving the regional transportation plan, all the while passing measures to make Hillsborough safer.”
Beckner is a Hillsborough County Commissioner. He famously mocked former State Rep.and former County Commissioner Ronda Storms for her push to ban local Gay Pride by calling her out for not capitalizing the letters.
The Victory Fund works to endorse openly gay officials at all levels of government who show promise in supporting equality and pro-LGBT policies. Beckner is openly gay.
The endorsement could mean Beckner has access to some outside money. Durinp the last presidential election year in 2012, the Victory fund posted nearly $500,000 in total assets, according to a financial audit.
The group doesn’t just get behind candidates because they are members of the LGBT community. The Victory Fund puts candidates through a rigorous vetting process and looks for signs the candidate is likely to be successful and is running a serious campaign.
“We stand firmly behind Kevin in his bid for Clerk of the Circuit Court because he has the financial background, experience, temperament, and work ethic to improve the Clerk’s Office and be the CFO for Hillsborough County,” Moodie-Mills said.
Beckner has been a certified financial planner for 16 years. As a two-term county commissioner he has served as one of seven members to oversee a general and capital budget of more than $3 billion.
Beckner began serving in 2008 and has seen the commission through tough economic times and steep budget cuts. Beckner has backed programs in Hillsborough including a wage theft ordinance, domestic partnership registry, same-sex partner benefits for county employees, civil citation and a countywide violence prevention initiative.
Beckner also serves as a member of Tampa Rotary, past President of Leadership Tampa Bay, and serves on several nonprofit boards throughout the Tampa Bay area.
Beckner is running against incumbent Clerk, Pat Frank, and consumer lawyer Eric Seidel. So far, Beckner has out-raised both with nearly $150,000. Frank has raised just over $100,000 and Seidel just $60,000.
