Hillsborough County GOP Corruption

The Fox Guarding the Hen House

"The one essential advantage Dougherty had for the EPC gig was an intensive lobbying campaign on her behalf by influential business and development interests. In the real world, if powerful business and development types were aggressively pushing for their choice to lead an agency charged with protecting the environment from business and development concerns, one might well conclude such naked special interest arm-twisting would be a disqualifying factor. In Hillsborough County, such wheeling and dealing leads to a coronation."

Daniel Ruth on Janet Dougherty's new Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission gig. here

Commissioner Victor Crist Slithers Out

here

"Go Hillsborough" Is A Sham

Omar K Lightfoot Community Center 
in Temple Terrace

My survey form, Rail is not even an option.

When i asked why, they told me to write it in on the back.

As you can see here Transit routes and bike lanes 

 are our top priority.

Yet according to this, it is not.

Thank you to this very nice gentleman

(Brian of Hillsborough County)

For helping me out.

Tea Partier Sharon Calvert and Florida GOP Victor Crist were there.

We say, NO RAIL?,

NO NEW TAXES!

GO Hillsborough Meeting Today In Temple Terrace

One of our last chances

"Good luck with that," That’s what one Tribune columnist said about Commissioner Hagan talking about a balanced transportation referendum for more options.

It’s a dare. Some think we won’t stand up to make sure we have options. 

We need to make it loud an clear to every doubter, naysayer, and tea party insider that it’s time to work together to create new transportation options for everyone. This is one of our last chances to be heard. Come out tonight for just 15 minutes:
Don't let these corporatist Republicans ruin our future.
If you Dems would of voted Pat Kemp would be in office and we would not be dealing with Higginbotham. No one even ran against Hagan.

Omar K Lightfoot Community Center
10901 N 56th St
Temple Terrace

http://connecttb.com/april28

Rid Hillsborough County of it's Right Wing infestation

Brand GOP: Victor Crist and Al Higginbotham

Two years ago hundreds of people demanded that we start the conversation on transportation, the commissioners responded by creating Go Hillsborough to find out what the public wants. 
The number one selection of 16 categories: transit.

Yet, two Commissioners 

Victor Crist and Al Higginbotham 
told the Tampa Tribune they intend to derail the Go Hillsborough public input process before it’s over. What's worse the public proposal isn't line with what citizens have already asked for: there is ZERO transit included.

County Commissioners, We join others in asking you do three things:

1) Keep your promise and listen to the public: they want a balance including transit

2) Work with other leaders to come up with a transportation proposal for all citizens 
& for future generations

3) Stop trying to derail the process by making proposals before it is over

here

Could this be the year Democrats take the Hillsborough Commission?

Pat Kemp and Elizabeth Belcher are trying to defeat Republican Commissioners Al Higginbotham and Victor Crist, respectively, and give Democrats a 4-3 edge on the board. here

Help them out. Pat Kemp, Elizabeth Belcher

Why, in a county where Democrat voters outnumber Republican voters by about 60,000, is it a foregone conclusion Republicans control the county's governing body? 

VOTE 11.4.14

The stain on Hillsborough County's reputation

 A majority of the commissioners — four of the seven — have expressed to the 

Tampa Bay Times their qualified support for expanding Hillsborough's human rights ordinance to also ban discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity in hiring, housing and public accommodations. here

Democrat Les Miller and Republicans Victor Crist and Sandy Murman told the Times they support barring discrimination against gay and transgender people, but would need to see the actual ordinance in writing first. Commissioners Al Higginbotham and 

Mark (Sailors Haven) Sharpe, both Republicans, wouldn't weigh in before Wednesday.

One local conservative activist has started mounting an effort to defeat the ordinance. Terry Kemple, a Hillsborough School Board candidate, called the offices of several commissioners Monday to express his concerns. "It's bad policy, and this is a huge issue," Kemple said in a phone interview. "This puts government in the position of trampling on people's religious liberties in favor of people's sexual preferences."

Hillsborough County Corporate Welfare

$300,000

To ensure that two major film productions make their movies in the county.

The vote was unanimous, but the ringleaders were GOP

Ken Hagan who is backing "The Infiltrator"

and Al Higginbotham who is backing "Seven Hindustani"

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Tampa's Community Cats

Commissioners voted 6-1 to approve an ordinance that would  

trap, neuter, vaccinate and release stray cats as a strategy

for controlling their population......more

This guy Republican Victor Crist voted no

No New District

Hispanics who spent years pushing for a Hillsborough County Commission district that would enable them to elect one of their own thought that was finally going to happen Wednesday. But commissioners rejected the idea, refusing in a largely partisan vote to put the issue on the 2014 ballot. Commissioners voting in opposition, Victor Crist, Sandra Murman, Ken Hagan and Al Higginbotham all republicans. Mark (The next politico to leave the GOP.) Sharpe joined Democrats Les Miller and Kevin Beckner in backing the proposal........more 

GaYBOR Proclamation

In the recent past, it would seem almost unthinkable that the Hillsborough County Commission would salute a group promoting the region to gay business owners and tourists. But something stirred at Hillsborough County Center this week, when the commission's gay board member circulated an annual proclamation heralding GaYBOR Days in the Ybor City historic district. For the first time in the event's six years, a majority of the seven-member board has signed it.  Ken Hagan signed it, a Republican who in the past has declined to sign the proclamation. So did Republican Mark Sharpe. Republicans Sandra Murman Al Higginbotham and Victor Crist did not. Mr. Crist said he first wanted to review marketing brochures for the event that he said in the past have not been "family friendly."
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Is it just me or does Crist remind you of Gene Hackman's character Monroe 'Eagle' Cole in the film
Welcome to Mooseport?

A Fired-Up Kevin Beckner

Sue Carlton: Duking it out in the name of diversity

 If you are forming a panel to empower minorities, should a racist get a seat at the table? Does tolerance mean tolerating bigots — who are, by definition, intolerant? And does Terry Kemple — conservative Christian activist and Hillsborough School Board candidate who speaks out against gay rights — belong on a board that's supposed to be about diversity?

Kevin Beckner, the openly gay commissioner who proposed the panel, put it this way:
 "Why would you want to serve on a board you don't believe should be in existence?"

Which led to one fired-up discussion between Beckner and
Victor Crist, who with three other Republicans voted for Kemple.
Commissioner Les Miller voted to table it indefinitely!
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Standing-Up-For-Squirrels Crist

Hillsborough County government can be progressive, at least when it comes to cats. This week commissioners approved a smart plan to reduce the terrible number of animals killed at the county shelter yearly. Well, except Commissioner Standing-Up-For-Squirrels Crist who said he was "leading the cause for the squirrels and the birds … who will lose their lives as a result of this decision." Crist apparently did not buy the argument that feral cats are already out there. And by the way, what do you think of "Leading the Cause for Squirrels" as a campaign slogan?
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We Won -- Again

Yesterday morning over 50 citizens helped represent you in front of the Hillsborough County Commission to get the conversation started there about how to create more options after two and a half years of silence. We won. It was a unanimous vote to bring the cities and transportation agencies to the table within 6 weeks to find a way to create economic development and improve quality of life by creating more transportation options. You made this happen. Many said it wouldn’t happen and that you couldn’t get it done, but the Hillsborough County Commissioners listened to you and we won.

Please take a minute to send the Commissioners a note to thank them for this step
– and ask them to keep moving forward.
here

Corporate Welfare In Tampa Bay

Hillsborough County commissioners approve $6.25M subsidy for Bass Pro Shops

Hillsborough County commissioners have approved spending $6.25 million to bring a Bass Pro Shops store to the Brandon area. The vote was 6-1 with

Commissioner Kevin Beckner casting the only "no" vote.

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Again Mr. Beckner does the right thing. Remember these other folks come election time. We can start here
Mary Mulhern, for Hillsborough County Commission, District 7

The Citrus Taliban: Hillsborough County Bigots

We all know someone who lives within Hillsborough County's borders. We should feel sympathy for those people, regardless of their sexual orientation, for having to live under the leadership of uninformed individuals only act as if they truly care about the well-being of all of Hillsborough County's residents.Four commissioners became tools of the far-right group The Florida Family Association,

Plans to unseat the four dissenting commissioners have already began
Steve Blanchard

Higginbotham, Hagan, Murman, and Crist

The goal, is for Hillsborough County to “stop embarrassing us, and embarrassing itself.
“To stop a bully is really easy. But silence to a bully is encouragement. And right now there are too many people who feel the way we do, who are very silently shaking their head at the County Commission.

And we need them to be vocal and visible.”
Those were the words of Nadine Smith, executive director of Equality Florida, speaking at a town hall meeting in Ybor on Tuesday night. The meeting was a response to the controversial 4-3 vote last month by the Hillsborough County Commission, rejecting creation of a domestic partner registry.

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