Going into the new year, I am on the fence about politics in Tampa. Clean energy and juvenile justice are on a good path. Projects like restorative justice, affordable housing, houselessness and mass transit seem stuck in the mud. In addition, public schools are drowning in a quagmire of politics and limited resources.I see hope in the persistent pushing by several progressive organizations to keep human issues in the spotlight and offer up positive solutions. However, our most important goal should be to elect candidates for strategic offices who will fight with a moral compass and undying zeal.
Recent victories featured the election of Pat Kemp and Andrew Warren. There are a number of declared candidates who are focused on our stagnant system and offer supportive ideas to improve the lives of the PEOPLE (not the credit rating) of Tampa. We need to stand behind them and get them into office. As is true in the rest of our nation, contenders outside of The Party have difficulty raising funds to launch and continue their campaigns. If we do nothing else, we should support these folks so that their voices can be heard during the election process. We need to give voters a true choice.....not just a selection of the "least worse."
Jodi Tripp Perlman Cohen
