RIP Erica Garner We Love You Here In Tampa!
Deanna
Pamela
Connie
Ashley
Beth
Jae
Dayna
Maria
Russell
Elvis
Andrew
Jose
Michael
Marc
Joe Chillura Courthouse Square Park, Tampa
Thursday, January 4, 2018
The State Of Tampa Politics: Russell Hires
What was the state of Tampa politics in 2017? I’ll answer, but before I do, I want you to know that these are the things, really, that when you read this list, you realize that you could have written this. And by the way, I admit it. I can’t tell you much about the state of Tampa politics before 2017, but I can tell you what happened in 2017.
I did. I happened. I showed up. I participated. I became a leader. I did not wait for things to happen. I made things happen. I went to fund raisers. I donated to candidates. I went to meetings. I attended trainings. I talked, and I listened. I became involved in a campaign or two. I phone banked. I went knocking on doors. I became a member of the DEC. I voted. I gave voice to issues and ideas that I care about. I shouted from the rooftops! I persuaded. I was persuaded. I wrote to my member of the House. I wrote to my Senators. I called them, too. I went to the Women’s March. I went to other protests, too. I signed petitions. I asked other people to sign petitions. I sacrificed. I learned and I grew. I thought about this stuff way too much. I made many new friends, and lost a few. I went to the Florida Democratic Party Convention. I helped build and grow the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay.
The state of Tampa politics in 2017 is vastly improved, and by reading the list above, it’s because I/we/you did all of those things together. And we did them in greater numbers, with more voices, and more volume. We were heard loud and clear. Separately, I’m sure someone reading this did something valuable that isn’t on this list, and that should be celebrated. I’m proud of what we have achieved together, and I look forward to putting our hard work to the test in 2018 to get more Progressives in office, where they belong.
Russell Hires
I did. I happened. I showed up. I participated. I became a leader. I did not wait for things to happen. I made things happen. I went to fund raisers. I donated to candidates. I went to meetings. I attended trainings. I talked, and I listened. I became involved in a campaign or two. I phone banked. I went knocking on doors. I became a member of the DEC. I voted. I gave voice to issues and ideas that I care about. I shouted from the rooftops! I persuaded. I was persuaded. I wrote to my member of the House. I wrote to my Senators. I called them, too. I went to the Women’s March. I went to other protests, too. I signed petitions. I asked other people to sign petitions. I sacrificed. I learned and I grew. I thought about this stuff way too much. I made many new friends, and lost a few. I went to the Florida Democratic Party Convention. I helped build and grow the Democratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay.
The state of Tampa politics in 2017 is vastly improved, and by reading the list above, it’s because I/we/you did all of those things together. And we did them in greater numbers, with more voices, and more volume. We were heard loud and clear. Separately, I’m sure someone reading this did something valuable that isn’t on this list, and that should be celebrated. I’m proud of what we have achieved together, and I look forward to putting our hard work to the test in 2018 to get more Progressives in office, where they belong.
Russell Hires
Wednesday, January 3, 2018
The State Of Tampa Politics: Kevin Beckner
For 2018-2019, I predict that the political climate in Washington and Tallahassee continues to grow increasingly toxic with partisan politics and it becomes increasingly difficult to pass progressive legislation. At the local level, however, opportunity abounds for passionate individuals who have a desire and unwavering commitment to serve their community as a member of the Hillsborough County Commission, School Board or Tampa City Council.
Kevin Beckner
Mariella Smith for County Commission 2018
Visit her website here
Like her on Facebook
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2003
We have been waiting to post this for a very long time!
Check her out on this blog here and here
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“Mariella has been a tireless advocate for our neighborhoods and our environment. Mariella has spent decades working for smarter growth and transportation investments that will get us out of gridlock. I look forward to serving on the County Commission with Mariella Smith so we can work together to build a prosperous future for Hillsborough County.” County Commissioner Pat Kemp
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“Mariella has been a tireless advocate for our neighborhoods and our environment. Mariella has spent decades working for smarter growth and transportation investments that will get us out of gridlock. I look forward to serving on the County Commission with Mariella Smith so we can work together to build a prosperous future for Hillsborough County.” County Commissioner Pat Kemp
Andrew Joseph, III Memorial Weekend 2018
February 9 – February 11
Take a stand we can never be silent. Remind Tampa, Florida of it's own lingering injustices. Remember Andrew Joseph, III killed at 14 years old, Safety First Denied. Let's remain coordinated and steadfast in our commitment for truth, transparency, justice and accountability.
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We Can't Stop and Won't Stop.
info
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We Can't Stop and Won't Stop.
info
Clearwater Wants To Sell Our Land
This aerial view shows a 425-acre tract that the City of Clearwater is planning to sell in Hillsborough County. The vacant pasture land sits north and east of the Silver Dollar Shooters Club, along Patterson Road in the Odessa area. Complications are keeping the city from selling the land to Hillsborough County, which would preserve it for green space.
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Instead, the likely buyer is a multibillion-dollar company that owns the shooters club and a neighboring RV park. here
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Instead, the likely buyer is a multibillion-dollar company that owns the shooters club and a neighboring RV park. here
Tuesday, January 2, 2018
The State Of Tampa Politics: Maya Brown
2018 should be considered as a year of hope for Tampa Democrats. There are several opportunities to progress our local party this year. There is potential in the 2018 Election Cycle to pick-up wins in Senate District 18, House District 63, and County Commission Districts 5 & 7. With the right candidates and campaign strategy, these seats can be flipped. We have to work on bringing diversity into the party. Unfortunately, the 2016 Election left a very bad and wrong impression that frustrated voters will autonomously join the Party.
Yes, memberships did increase because of anti-Trump sentiments. However, if we analyze the demographics of Party makeup it doesn’t reflect the voters of color, particularly Black Women who are winning elections for Democrats. We’ve placed a lot of emphasis on running grassroots campaigns for candidates and issues. It’s crucial to get widespread community support and involvement. Yet, we’ve juxtaposed grassroots and well-oiled machine/campaign structure. Fundraising isn’t the antithesis of grassroots. Money helps to fund the local and community efforts of a campaign. Yes, volunteers are great and also crucial, but you shouldn’t burn out the same 5 people. Donors give because they believe in you and the impact you can make in office. These two worlds can and should coexist. We’ve still got to address our lack of transit efficiency. Transportation is an intersectional issue. By continuing to patch-work solutions, we negatively impact our economy and environment. Hopefully, with the gains of Democrats to the BOCC,
we can give Commissioners Miller and Kemp some help to implement solutions. The Homestead Tax Exemption and Voter Rights Restoration amendments are two issues that should be our priority. There have been a lot of people hard at work getting petition signatures for the Voter Rights Restoration Amendment – thank you! We have to continue working hard to reach our goal of getting it on the ballot, and getting to 60% of the vote. The Homestead Tax Exemption is going to have substantial consequences if passed. If we could get a few groups to work on educating voters about the amendment, we could see success
here as well.
here as well.
I am excited about the number of candidates running for office this year. However, I am nervous about the risk of forfeiting attainable wins because we lack cohesive coordination and strategy. This isn’t to chastise any particular person, but to highlight that we’ve got serious work to do and fast. Here are a few suggestions: 1. Host a strategic planning session with all of the Democratic clubs and caucuses and invite the local activist groups. Here, we can begin to bridge the gap between activism and public service and work together to avoid crowded primaries, over-utilization of limited resources, and a developing a winning strategy for seats in Hillsborough County. We keep talking about building a bench in Tampa, but it seems that when it’s time to launch campaigns, we are frantically searching for anyone to run instead of having a plan for that seat at least a year out.
You’ve got to acknowledge that the Republicans have mastered the implementation of bench-building, which has cost Democrats a lot of losses. As soon as there is parity here, there’ll be significant progress. 2. Train candidates, campaign staff, and volunteers. It’s imperative to train all three components of a campaign team because it isn’t productive to have 1/3 of the team understand the process. We’ve got to step our game up when it comes to ensuring our candidates are qualified and have a war chest of resources to be successful. Bring in professional political operatives to dive deep into campaign strategy and invest in long-term infrastructure. As aforementioned, we have a lot of potential. We can’t stand in our own way anymore. Let’s work together and rake up some wins!
Maya Brown
Third Parties - Your Time Is Now!
For third parties in this country working within the Democratic Party has to stop.
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A third party will never be built to reform the Democratic Party. The very notion has always been the fatal mistake of every third party. The Democratic Party cannot be reformed. The Democratic Party is not broken. It is doing what it is
supposed to do.
supposed to do.
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Collaborating with the Democrats has always ended with co-option, moving the third party to the right, ostracizing any stragglers and labeling them communist, and cementing the idea in people who are on the left that the Democrats are the only real option. here
The State Of Tampa Politics: Scott Shoup
2018 has the potential to be a breakthrough year for Progressive Democrats. In the aftermath of the 2016 election, we are witnessing increased grassroots organizing by a number of organizations committed to economic and social justice. To name a few : Organize Florida, NextGen, Democratic Socialist of America, Restorative Justice Coalition, Democratic Progressive Caucus of Tampa Bay, The Green Party, and Our Revolution. Unfortunately, many activists have exited the Democratic Party, believing that the Democrats no longer care about the poor and most vulnerable citizens
in our country.
in our country.
As a Progressive trying to push the Democrats to Left and it's Great Society/New Deal roots, I completely understand their reasoning. However, if all these groups can find some threads of commonality and help elect candidates to the B.O.C.C, Tampa City Council, Federal and State offices, we could maybe start to develop some momentum of having government by the people and for the people. Because the moral imperative of a Liberal Democracy is to help all its citizens, especially its most vulnerable.
Scott Shoup
Monday, January 1, 2018
Happy Progressive New Year
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#1. Local Cliques: Stop it! Invite others into your ranks. You continue in this manner you will not last. you need them as much as they need you.
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#2. Right Wing Democrats (Bourgeoisie): Having cocktail socials once a month is not going to cut it. (You know who you are. Why don't we ever see you at Protests? Rallies?) You have to get out there and do something. You sabotage our real chance for change and look what it got us. Don't blame the left, we have not been in charge. You want help from us, then nominate people we can all rally around.
Florida's 2017 Loser of the Year: Tampa Bay Times
The Tampa Bay Times
Ethically. Financially. Politically. Whoever garnered second place trailed by light years.
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The evidence is compelling. The hubris is off the charts. The hypocrisy shameless. Tampa Bay’s only remaining daily newspaper and its “nonprofit” parent have been in freefall for more than a decade but the moral cowardice and economic stupidity they displayed over the past year has been stunning.
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A newspaper endorsement traditionally has served as a lifeline to political candidates but one from the Times in 2017 more closely resembled a concrete life preserver. In its announced effort “to connect” with Donald Trump supporters, Poynter/Times managed to alienate the entire political spectrum in its circulation area.
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The Tampa Bay Times took more lumps than a seasoned oncologist. Its machinations triggered subscription cancellations and a still ongoing investigation by the Internal Revenue Service of Poynter’s claimed status as a 501(c)(3). Tampa Bay Times support for an issue or candidate is now meaningless in its home county of Pinellas; in Hillsborough and Pasco counties it’s kryptonite.
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By soliciting and accepting wealthy, right wing Republicans for $1.5 million each to bail itself out of a financial morass, Poynter ditched any vestige of impartiality, the vision of founder Nelson Poynter, or pretense of participating nationally in a fast evaporating rich journalistic tradition. Even this stab at influence peddling backfired.
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Poynter/Times, through its subsidiary Florida Trend, sifted through the state’s 20 million residents and named one of its investors, Kiran Patel, as “Floridian of the Year.” One must assume the other nine investors are waiting their turn to receive the honor through 2026.
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After going all in for Trumpite Rick Baker on its news and editorial pages, St. Petersburg Mator Rick Kriseman prevailed in his re-election bid. The intemperate, non-inclusive Baker stood no chance when voters read the slanted coverage and outright falsehoods that marked the Times election coverage. The Times not only never called out Baker for his deceitful campaign tactics, it abetted him.
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The resignation of sexual predator Jack Latvala, a Times stooge who, in his memorable, mercurial, disastrous attempt at becoming governor had the paper’s endorsement teed up. Tampa Bay Beat revealed the Republican legislator has a decades-long history of predatory behavior which the Times chose to ignore until his resignation. —Lawtrnce McClure’s landslide win in a Hillsborough County special election for state represrntative produced another Times loss. The newspaper supported Yvonne Fry, a pernicious purveyor of false narratives, and cried foul about mailers to district voters informing them of that fact. Bean
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The Poynter/Times rightward lurch was most evident in their support for St. Petersburg City Council candidate Justin Bean. With a wafer-thin resumé of civic engagement, the 30-year-old Bean had been arrested six times, a fact that the newspaper never acknowledged. Bean lied about his support for Donald Trump, then got trounced in the runoff by Gina Driscoll.
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In another council race, the Times supported Barclay Harless over Brandi Gabbard. The contest sparked little controvetsy and Gabbard won easily. —A complaint challenging the Poynter Instiute for Media Studies status as a non-profit has been received by the Internal Revenue Service. If the IRS finds that Poynter misappropriated or co-mingled funds, violated its mission statement, failed to adhere to the wishes of its founder Nelson Poynter or participated in political activity, the Institute would be on the hook for back taxes and penalties. In addition, its status as a 501(c)(3) charitable organization would be revoked. There’s more but you get the picture. Loser. Hands down. Judging from the tone and slant of Tampa Bay Times articles published in the past week, 2017’s comsummate Loser is gearing up to successfully defend its title in the new year.
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By Jim Bleyer - Tampa Bay Beat
The State Of Tampa Politics: Kent Bailey
Kent Bailey
Your Christmas Present from Florida GOP Dennis Ross
On the morning of December 22, Donald Trump signed into law the most significant change to our nation’s tax structure in recent memory. here
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Proudly standing out in front of this financial disaster was our own Representative Dennis Ross.
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He was proud to lead the charge and push through Washington’s billion-dollar version of Wall Street corporate welfare.
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Visit him at
Sunday, December 31, 2017
The State Of Tampa Politics: Jodi Tripp Perlman Cohen
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
Saturday, December 30, 2017
Friday, December 29, 2017
The State Of Tampa Politics: Asher Edelson
Meanwhile, our far right insists on playing the lemming while Washington commits embarrassing atrocities in spite of lessons not learned from the past (Dubya). Our far left insists on little to no compromise, and approaches the point where genuine allies cannot exist in a world where dialogue must be included. Our “middle” is not the true middle, but the right, as it is in most parts of the USA. With all of that being said, we Florida Democrats — Blue Dogs, Progressives, true leftist Activists — move into 2018 to win some elections and make good on issues that matter. The elephant in the room is the extent of deep red pockets in our Sunshine Bay Area.
We cannot rely on each Republican nominee being a pedophile, nor can we expect right wing voters to turn out against their Murmans and Crists and Hagans and Snivelys in support of a Democrat. I hope that left wing operatives can lend the Blue Party a hand and search out third party opposition to the GOP in upcoming elections. I hope that Democrats can GOTV and raise ample funds. Whatever we do here, if we do it correctly, we Democrats might be on to something for the rest of our country. Until that time, the state of Tampa politics needs a kick in the ass in order to secure decent policy making and sincere leadership.
Pun intended.
Pun intended.
Asher Edelson
Tampa NPA's And Progressive Democrats
"We can't stop at getting people to vote. We must challenge local politics. Show up to council, school board, and commission meetings. Dissect ordinances and agendas. Hold elected officials accountable. That's how people who don't vote will vote. That's how NPA will want to join the progressive dem cause."
Jae Passmore
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As NPA ourselves we recommend the clique free
Where everyone is welcome!
Thursday, December 28, 2017
Tampa Bay 2017 Superheroes 2
We left out a lot of heroes in our last video. We are sorry. Here are the rest.
(Some images are property of their respective owners)
Used with permission
Used with permission
Wednesday, December 27, 2017
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