A handful of candidates have signed up to try to succeed an icon in local government.
Jan Platt, a Democrat, has spent 24 years on the Hillsborough County Commission, championing environmental protection, public libraries and open government. She is stepping down from the District 6 at-large commission seat because of term limits.
Democrats and Republicans both have choices for nominees to replace her. They all pledge to bring cooperation and respect to a fractious board.
The Democratic primary features Bob Buckhorn, a former Tampa City Council member and mayoral aide, and Ed Austin, a former Tampa Bay Rowdies professional soccer player who is now a university administrator. Political newcomer Willis "K.C." Bowick is also running as a Democrat.
The GOP has Brian Blair, a former wrestler and gym owner who narrowly lost a bid for a commission seat two years ago, and J. Steven Cleveland.
Only Buckhorn, 46, has been elected previously. He served eight years on the Tampa City Council before seeking the mayor's job won by Pam Iorio in 2003. In this race, he says, experience counts.
The departures of Platt and Commissioner Pat Frank this year will leave a void in historical perspective on the commission he says he can help fill.
Coming from a more collegial, nonpartisan City Council, Buckhorn said he knows how to work across party lines, even though he is known for his ability to spar, too. He was known for fighting some big spending plans and led the effort to create a rule requiring strip club dancers to stay at least 6 feet away from patrons.
Buckhorn said he could have supported tax increases considered last year for road construction, and the commission missed an opportunity when it blocked a massive renovation plan for Central Park Village, a blighted area near downtown.
As a commissioner, he said, his first order of business will be restoring public respect in the board through credible planning for major projects.
Austin doesn't entirely disagree. But he says he doesn't believe the public is looking to another former politician to revive the commission.
"If it's broken, you don't replace it with used," he said. "You replace it with new."
Austin, 52, is a native of Scotland who grew up in northern New Jersey. After playing for the Tampa Bay Rowdies in the late 1970s, he went on to marketing duties for the team. He later worked as a director of real estate for AAA Auto Club South and is now director of marketing at Saint Leo University.
He said the range of experiences has allowed him to tackle challenges. He said he will help keep the commission from getting distracted with small issues and will concentrate on big ones.
Bowick, 53, a landscaper, said the biggest challenge facing the county is homelessness. As a commissioner, he said he would concentrate on creating jobs and developin g programs that help people find work. He is also an advocate of a light rail system.
Bowick has been arrested eight times since 1968 on charges including carrying a concealed weapon, burglary and grand larceny. He pointed out that he hasn't been arrested in 13 years, and said the charges involved a time when he and some friends, on a dare, stole cigarettes from a warehouse, and an altercation with someone who refused to pay him for his work. Bowick said he didn't expect his criminal record to harm his chances. "It wasn't any murders or anything like that," he said.
On the Republican side, Blair, the former wrestler and former owner of four Gold's Gyms, narrowly lost to Pat Frank in his first bid for the commission two years ago. Blair is touting his experience running a multimillion-dollar business. "Even though a government is not a business," he said, "I believe it should adopt good business principles."
A native of Gary, Ind., he said he grew up poor with few prospects. This, he said, gives him an appreciation for other people's viewpoints, and it will make him a "uniter, not a divider."
His campaign stumbled two years ago after a 2-decade-old police domestic abuse complaint surfaced. An ex-girlfriend accused him of beating her, but n o charges resulted from the report.
Today, Blair emphasizes his marriage, his children and experience teaching youth sports. He has been a member of the commission's Citizens Advisory Board and a frequent critic of the planned construction of a new history center in Tampa, which he believes could be housed in the vacant former federal courthouse.
His opponent in this primary came late to the race and has had trouble raising money. But, he said, don't count him out.
Cleveland, 47, has been working in the contracting business for several years with companies that build and repair water, sewer and wastewater systems. He said that experience has led him to the belief that government needs a common sense approach. Growth is needed for prosperity, but it ought to go where there is infrastructure to serve it, he said. "I want citizens to know that we're doing what's right," he said.
THE DEMOCRATS
ED AUSTIN, 52, of Odessa is a native of Scotland who grew up in New Jersey. He received a bachelor of arts in political science at Hartwick College in New York and a master's in education at East Stroudsburg State University in Pennsylvania. He was a professional soccer player for the Tampa Bay Rowdies and later became the team's marketing director. He has been a director of real estate for AAA Auto Club South, chief operating officer for the Tampa Bay Mutiny soccer team and is now an administrator at Saint Leo University in Pasco County. He is married. ASSETS: home, vehicle, furniture, art, clothing. LIABILITIES: Mortgage. SOURCE OF INCOME: Saint Leo University, Bank of America. WEB SITE:www.voteedaustin.com
BOB BUCKHORN, 46, of Tampa, a native of Evanston, Ill., is a principal with Dewey Square Group, a public affairs firm. He was previously a Tampa City Council member from 1995 to 2003 before making an unsuccessful run to become mayor of Tampa. Before getting elected to the council, he was a special assistant to Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman and a director of governmental affairs for the Builders Association of Greater Tampa Bay. He has served on several civic boards. He is a graduate of Pennsylvania State University. He is married with a daughter. ASSETS: home, boat, stocks. LIABILITIES: mortgage, automobile, bank loan. SOURCE OF INCOME: Dewey Square Group. WEB SITE: bobbuckhorn2004.com. E-MAIL:buckhorn2004@earthlink.net
WILLIS "K.C." BOWICK, 53, of Thonotosassa, a native of Tampa, is a landscape engineer and owner of K.C.'s Lawn Landscaping Tree Co. He is a graduate of Enterprise High School. He has coached Police Athletic League teams and has held leadership roles with groups that work with troubled children, including president of New Horizon of Men and chairman of the board of directors for Youth Leadership Development Center. He is also past president of the Jackson Heights Youth Educational Town Center Advisory Board. He is married with three grown children. ASSETS: home, automobile. LIABILITIES: loan. SOURCE OF INCOME: His business and wife's family counseling business. WEB SITE: freewebs.com/kcbowick. E-MAIL: kc1132003@yahoo.com
THE JOB
Commissioners approve a $2.9-billion budget, run the Environmental Protection Commission, approve local ordinances and decide all zoning issues. The District 6 seat is at-large, and is voted on by all residents of Hillsborough County. The winner will serve a four-year term. The commissioner job pays $84,213 a year.
THE REPUBLICANS
BRIAN BLAIR, 47, of Tampa, a native of Gary, Ind., is a former professional wrestler with the World Wrestling Federation and other associations, and the former owner of four Gold's Gyms. He attended Saint Leo University and the University of Louisville before entering wrestling. He has worked as a motivational speaker for the group SERVE, and has volunteered with the Forest Hills Little League and the Police Athletic League wrestling program. He has served for the past year on the county commission's Citizens Advisory Committee. He is married and has two sons. ASSETS: home, rental property and investments. LIABILITIES: none. SOURCES OF INCOME: rental property, interest dividends, autograph sessions. WEBSITE:www.brianblair.com E-MAIL:brianblair@brianblair.com
J. STEVEN CLEVELAND, 47, of Valrico, a native of Brandon, is a general contractor and works with companies that build wastewater, water and sewer treatment systems. He attended Hillsborough Community College, Tallahassee Community College and Florida State University. He later enlisted in the Marine Corps, serving a little more than two years before receiving a medical discharge. He is a construction manager for Marlof Environmental and a consultant to American Water Services. He has previously been active with Heritage Crest Community Development District. He is married with three children. ASSETS: house, land. LIABILITIES: mortgage, automobile, credit card. SOURCES OF INCOME: American Water Services. WEB SITE:www.stevencleveland.com
