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. . . but a heroine to her constituents
She reflects the views of many in her conservative, churchgoing district.
By MICHAEL VAN SICKLER
Published June 26, 2005
BRANDON - Ronda Storms has heard it all before.
Like when the Hillsborough County commissioner sought to cancel a public-access TV show she deemed obscene. Or when she tried banning public nudity.
Confused is what people called her. Too conservative for office.
She heard that refrain again last week, after convincing commissioners to adopt a policy that county government abstain from recognizing gay pride events.
But if the 300,000 people who live in her suburban district east of Tampa are any indication, Storms isn't confused or too conservative. For them, she's just right.
Storms represents a massive area stretching from the ranches and farms of Wimauma to the booming exurbs of Brandon to the Old Florida haven of Plant City.
Storms is the best-known political figure in the county's largest, most populated and fastest growing district. From a lifestyle, economical and geographical standpoint, her territory is worlds away from downtown Tampa, where protesters will hold a "Pride Is Back" march to the County Center today. Far from being a throwback, Storms epitomizes Hillsborough County's future, her supporters say. She represents communities populated by two-income families who struggle with mortgages and long commutes, people who get their spiritual, educational and social needs met by evangelical megachurches.
"I think Ronda took a strong stand," said Sandy McMillan, a 63-year-old Riverview resident who attends First Baptist Church Brandon, where Storms is a member.
"I support what she did last week because the Bible speaks out against gays. Homosexuality is an abomination to the Lord."
Asked by a WTSP-Ch. 10 reporter last week if she conducted a poll to gauge how her district felt about gay pride, Storms replied she didn't need to.
"Not at all," Storms said. "I know my district. I know my constituents."
* * *
For most of modern history, cities, towns and villages provided public places for people to gather and exchange ideas.
But beginning mostly after World War II, public places in U.S. cities ceded ground to private uses. Streets were widened for the automobile. Americans moved farther from cities and settled in bedroom communities that could be reached only by car. Malls took root and replaced town squares.
Brandon is such a place.
An array of corporate signs sprouts along its main drag, State Road 60, in a familiar pattern. Best Buy. Walgreens. Discount Auto Parts. Shell. It could be anywhere in Florida.
It's a development pattern that is all too common in modern America, said John Norquist, the former Milwaukee mayor who is president of the Congress for the New Urbanism.
"It cultivates a homogeneity that feeds a fear of the unknown," Norquist said.
About the only places in Brandon for residents to gather and socialize in large groups are the churches.
"There's no traditional town square," said Jon Coley, a political consultant who worked on Storms' campaign last year. "But if you drive it, there's a church on every corner. The people moving here are conservative and starting young families, and there's a demand for churches and what they offer."
It's a demand that Brandon's big churches - Bell Shoals Baptist Church, the Crossing Church - are eager to satisfy.
These churches mirror the suburban landscape. First Baptist has seven buildings surrounded by blacktop parking lots - just like a mall.
Dan Cosby, the associate pastor for the Crossing, which borders Storms' district, said his church provides child care, professional counseling and other programs seven nights a week.
"If you go back 70 years ago before the welfare state took over, churches were the center of the community," Cosby said. "We're seeing it again. Churches have become the gathering centers for our new communities."
Storms' district has 682 church-ownned properties - 108 more than in the urban district represented by Commissioner Kathy Castor, the lone vote against abstaining from recognizing gay pride.
Of course, not all churches or believers support Storms' position. A number of churches, including the Metropolitan Community Church of Tampa, participated in a gay pride rally and street festival in St. Petersburg on Saturday. Several people, including 20-year-old Hannah Springer of Tampa, held signs denouncing Storms and praising Kathy Castor.
Castor's precincts, which include downtown, South Tampa, and Channelside, split between Republican George W. Bush and Democrat John Kerry in the 2004 election.
By comparison, the two districts representing the bursting suburbs overwhelmingly voted for Bush, who proposed a constitutional amendment to ban gay marriages. They're also growing at rates nearly four times greater than the two districts that cover Tampa.
And no one does a better job of representing this emerging political reality in Hillsborough County than Ronda Storms, Coley said.
"She's a true believer," he said. "She votes her morals. Her constituents like that about her. Everyone knows her stance on social issues. Now the whole county is trending more conservative, more family-oriented, and it's the liberals who are in trouble."
* * *
In an interview with a WTSP-Ch. 10 reporter last week, Storms said the county's new policy didn't discriminate against gays. It just stopped the government from spending taxpayer money on promoting gay pride, she said.
"I don't think this has anything to do with discrimination," she said. "This has to do with whether Hillsborough County wants to promote gay pride. The vast majority in the unincorporated part of the county would say, "no."'
She could not be reached by the St. Petersburg Times for comment.
In dozens of e-mails from her district, which sent her back to office with about 75 percent of the vote last year, residents applauded her.
"We need leaders to reclaim our country for the good of all citizens. I think you are on the right track," wrote a Sun City Center man.
"Taxpayer dollars should not be spent promoting sexually deviant behavior," wrote a Valrico man.
"As a voting Republican, Christian, parent and resident of your district, you can count on our support," wrote a Plant City man.
"I do NOT want my tax money promoting vulgarity," wrote a Brandon woman. "Our young people are being pressured in school to accept and participate in immoral behavior. Our community does not need this weakness."
Storms politely thanked each one.
To the Valrico man who called homosexuality "sexually deviant," Storms replied: "Thank you for being supportive."
She signed it with a smiley face.
Times Researcher John Martin, WTSP-Ch. 10, and staff writers Bill Varian, Matt Waite and Jamie Thompson contributed to this story.
[Last modified June 26, 2005, 00:33:18]
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