GOP fields six: Though the candidates in the primary are all from the same party, their views cover the spectrum of political opinions.
By JANET ZINK
Published August 24, 2004
Six Republican candidates are vying to occupy the State House District 56 seat, being vacated by Sandra Murman because of term limits.
The sprawling district takes in parts of South Tampa, the port, suburban Brandon and quickly disappearing rural areas around FishHawk Ranch.
Four of the candidates come from the Brandon area, and two are from south Tampa.
Lisa DeVitto, an attorney who lives on Davis Islands, said she has much in common with the residents in east county, having grown up in North Florida's rural Suwannee County.
"There are many small communities throughout District 56 and one of my concerns which I think everyone shares is livable communities. Every single neighborhood has that in common," DeVitto said.
She is campaigning on her ability to quickly step into the role of lawmaker.
"The district needs someone who can hit the ground running," DeVitto said recently, noting that she has 17 years of experience on legislative issues.
She lists health and human services as among her top priorities. Those matters, she said, affect "our most vulnerable - children, the elderly, the disabled."
Trey Traviesa has lived in South Tampa just outside the district boundaries for three years. He has plans to buy a house on Davis Islands. He said he has a link to Brandon going back to the days he spent with his grandfather, who helped develop part of State Road 60. He said water and transportation are important to the whole region.
Traviesa promises to apply business principles to make state government run more efficiently.
"If we plan better and invest smarter ... there's at least a billion dollars that gets liberated to be invested in key priorities," said Traviesa, who has picked up endorsements from the Hillsborough County Medical Association, the West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association and the Tampa chapter of the American Institute of Architects.
Similarly, Chris Tompkins, a Brandon attorney, advocates a more efficiently run government. "I know where to cut spending rather than raising taxes," he said.
For example, he said, multiyear auto tags could cut the staffing for processing and save money.
"For the money you would use for staff, you could build roads," said Tompkins, who has been endorsed by U.S. Rep. Adam Putnam, State Rep. Faye Culp, the Florida Cattleman's Association and the Florida Farm Bureau.
Deven Wanda Carty says juvenile crime, medical malpractice reform and protecting law enforcement, firefighters, veterans and military professionals are her top priorities. She has been endorsed by veterans groups in Florida and Hillsborough County. A real estate agent, she objects to impact fees.
"All it hurts is the buyer because the builders and developers put them back in the sales price," she said.
Frank Shannon is trying to lure votes by positioning himself as the most conservative candidate.
"I'm conservative first. I'm Republican as a result of that," he said recently. "When I die, they're going to carve an "R" on my tombstone."
He accuses what he calls the "sacrilegious left" of "assaulting our traditions and our values in this society" and deems gay marriage "dangerous."
"There is the potential of life between a man and woman that lends a holiness to a marriage. A gay marriage can in no way possess that quality. It's destructive to our value system," he said recently. Tim Mimbs, who has lived nearly his entire life in Brandon, bills himself as a political outsider. "I'm not connected politically. I"m just trying to stay true to myself," Mimbs said. "I bring a more common man's approach."
Education, he said, is his top priority, as well as making sure voters are well-informed about important issues before they go to the polls.
"You send someone to the polls and ask them the question, "Are you in favor of the bullet train.' Well, sure, I am. But we don't provide the background; how it's going to affect the state and budget. That piqued my interest early on," he said. "We have to do a better job of informing voters on all the details."
The winner of the primary will face write-in candidate Cornelius "Neil" Cosentino in the general election in November.
THE JOB: Florida House District 56 extends east from Davis Islands to Valrico and south from Mango to FishHawk, Boyette and Riverview. House members serve two-year terms and earn $29,916 a year.
DEVEN WANDA CARTY, 32 , graduated from Brandon High School when she was 16 , and attended Hillsborough Community College and the Bay Area Legal Academy in Brandon. After working for several years as a sales person and legal assistant, she ran her own commercial and residential cleaning business from 1995 to 1997. She volunteers for Big Brothers Big Sisters, serves on the Republican Executive Committee of Hillsborough County and the Plant City Republican Women's Club. A vegan, Carty is president of the Green Elephants Society of Florida, a Republican group that supports environmentally responsible legislation. Carty lives in Riverview. She is married and has no children. ASSETS: Four houses, collectible cars, retirement accounts; LIABILITIES: Mortgages; INCOME: Real estate agent, Coldwell Banker; E-MAIL: votedeven@aol.com
FRANK SHANNON, 42, a former president of Right to Life Hillsborough, moved to the Tampa area from New York when he was 11. He graduated from Tampa Catholic High School and earned a bachelor's degree in political science at the University of South Florida. He is working on a master's degree in public administration at USF. He works for Hobby Town USA, and is a member of Nativity Catholic Church, a lifetime member of the National Rifle Association and serves on the Cockroach Bay Aquatic Preserve Management Advisory Team. He is divorced and has two daughters. ASSETS: none. LIABILITIES: none . INCOME: retail sales, Hobby Town USA. WEB SITE: www.shannonforstatehouse.com E-MAIL:FXShannon@aol.com
TREY TRAVIESA, 34, is a fourth-generation Floridian. His great-grandmother worked in a cigar factory in Ybor City. Ware Boulevard, in the heart of Brandon, is named after his grandfather, Earl Ware, who developed a large tract of land on State Road 60 in the 1970s. Traviesa earned his bachelor's degree in finance from Florida State University and a master's in business administration from University of Texas at Austin. The former banker and venture capitalist serves on the Tampa Bay Regional Planning Council and is on the board of directors for Trinity Cafe, which provides meals to homeless people. He lives in South Tampa with his wife and two children. ASSETS: home, stocks. LIABILITIES: mortgage. INCOME: senior technology executive at EDS Corp. WEB SITE:www.treytraviesa.com
TIM MIMBS, 31, is a fifth-generation Floridian who was born in Tampa and has lived in the Brandon area since he was 3. He graduated from Armwood High school and earned a degree in education from University of South Florida. After teaching fourth grade at a private school in Carrollwood for four years, Mimbs took a job as a corporate trainer. He declared bankruptcy in 1998. "I tried to help out someone and got myself into personal debt and couldn't dig out of it," he said. He is married and has no children. ASSETS: home, retirement account. LIABILITIES: mortgage, student loan. INCOME: corporate trainer at Medco Health Solutions, a prescription benefit management company, mortgage broker. E-MAIL: timmimbs@yahoo.com
CHRIS TOMPKINS, 34, a Brandon High School graduate, spent his junior year in Washington, D.C., as a congressional page. In his final year at the University of Florida's law school, he served as Student Government president. He spent his first years after law school working as a legislative aide for State Rep. Faye Culp in Tallahassee, where he helped write the state's Y2K plan. He has been a member of the Republican Executive Committee for Hillsborough County for 16 years. For 16 years, he also has been the elected supervisor of the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District. Tompkins traces his interest in public service back to his childhood, when his late father worked for the Florida Cabinet and U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis. Tompkins is single and lives in Brandon. ASSETS: one residence, two vacation homes, commercial real estate, stocks. LIABILITIES: mortgages . INCOME: attorney, small business owner. WEB SITE: www.christompkins.com
LISA DeVITTO, 47, grew up in Suwannee County in North Florida and has lived Tampa for eight years. She earned a bachelor's degree in history at Brown University and a law degree at Florida State University. She is a member of Gov. Jeb Bush's State Council on Homelessness and chaired the group for two years. She is a member of the Davis Islands Neighborhood Planning Task Force. Besides a private law practice, she spent three years as a legislative assistant to state Sen. Tom Lee, R-Brandon, as a legislative analyst for the Senate Committee on Government Operations, an assistant to the Senate attorney and as the staff attorney to the Charlotte County sheriff. She is married and has no children. ASSETS: home, bank account, retirement account . LIABILITIES: mortgage. INCOME: attorney. WEB SITE: www.lisadevitto.com ; E-MAIL: ldevitto@mindspring.com
