Sierra Club leader will run for commission seat

TAMPA - Denise Layne, who lost a race for the Hillsborough County Commission in 2002, has filed to try again. But this time, she's running for a different seat, in a different party.

Layne, president of the Lutz Civic Association and a statewide leader in the Sierra Club, received 15 percent of the vote in 2002 in a four-candidate Republican Primary won by Ken Hagan, who now represents the north Hillsborough District 2 on the County Commission.

On Friday, Layne filed to seek the countywide seat now held by Jan Platt, who's retiring because of term limits. Layne switched in September to the Democratic Party and said Democrats encouraged her to run.

"I feel a momentum of support already building that I didn't anticipate," said Layne, a 48-year-old paralegal.

The only other candidate officially in the race is Republican Brian Blair, who received 49 percent of the vote in 2002 running against Commissioner Pat Frank.

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