Opinion: County needs four better years

A Times Editorial

County needs four better years

Hillsborough County Commissioners are entering the election season with few positive accomplishments to show the voters. The county has no transit plan or strategy to finance health care. Growth management is an afterthought, and the commission nearly ran off the county administrator. When board members aren't sniping among themselves, they're snapping away at critics -- the public, the business community, other local governments. No wonder people who attend the public hearings are asked not to ridicule commissioners by name.

Given this backdrop, "four more years" is hardly an incumbent's best campaign slogan. The number of credible candidates who have already announced to run is a measure of the frustration in many parts of the county over the style and substance of this commission. It is too early to judge these nascent campaigns. But none of these serious candidates is running on a single issue. Most are dissatisfied with policy across the board and are genuinely concerned about the board's working relationship with its staff and other governmental agencies.

Regardless of the outcome, these electoral challenges could move the board in a positive direction. Ronda Storms may see the need to moderate her tongue to keep her commission seat. Stacey Easterling will have to break out of her cocoon. Jim Norman and Tom Scott will have to explain an ethical mistake they made in intervening on behalf of a political supporter. The Republican Party will have to energize moderates to maintain its majority of the seven commission seats. The Democrats will have to field new blood. And with two of the six seats up this year having only two-year terms, the winners will have a greater imperative to keep their campaign promises.

In this election, the challengers have an opportunity to turn incumbency into a weakness. It's a fair rap. The commission earned it, and it should be an issue this fall.