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Politics

GOP county majority now 6-1

Republicans gain another seat on the County Commission as conservatives rule the day. The results mirror how the county voted in state and national races.

By BILL VARIAN
Published November 8, 2006

TAMPA - Hillsborough voters elected an even stronger Republican majority to the County Commission on Tuesday in a year in which Democrats were hoping to make inroads at other levels of government.

The commission results pretty much mirrored how Hillsborough County voted in state and national races as well.

With almost all votes counted, Republicans won a 6-1 majority on the commission, gaining one seat.

In perhaps the most telling race, Republican District 7 incumbent Mark Sharpe, with two years on the board, ably fended off a challenge in a countywide race from veteran commissioner and Democrat Tom Scott, who must leave his current seat due to term limits.

District 5 incumbent Republican Jim Norman easily beat Democratic strip club owner Joe Redner and another opponent in the other countywide race, securing a fifth and final term on the board, even though Redner spent $173,000 on the campaign.

"We have a conservative county," said Norman, the commission chairman. "I believe our board will continue to be a conservative board."

Former Hillsborough County Republican Executive Committee chairman Al Higginbotham easily outpaced Democrat community activist Lisa Rodriguez in an open race to represent neighborhoods in the southern and eastern county.

Finally, two Tampa City Council members will to make the pilgrimage to County Center after securing open seats, Republican Rose Ferlita, who won in District 1, and Kevin White, who will be the lone Democrat, replacing Scott in District 3.

District 1

Ferlita, 60, beat Democrat Mary Mulhern with roughly 60 percent of the vote in the district that represents South and West Tampa and is being vacated by Democrat Kathy Castor.

Mulhern, 47, a marketing consultant and political newcomer, couldn't compete against Ferlita's name recognition, local roots and sizable war chest.

Attempts to reach Ferlita were not successful, including several made by Mulhern.

"If you talk to her, tell her I said congratulations," Mulhern said.

District 3

White quickly pulled ahead of Republican insurance agent Ken Anthony in the heavily Democratic district representing central and eastern Tampa, winning by a 2-to-1 margin. The director of corporate security for Rooms to Go, White, 41, started celebrating early with a full house at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City.

"I'm just glad this is over. It's been a long, hard road," he said. "It's good to be victorious."

White, a former Tampa police officer, has been on the Tampa City Council since 2003.

As a commissioner, White said, affordable housing, public safety and transportation will be top priorities.

District 4

In the race to replace Ronda Storms in District 4, Higginbotham, 52, cruised comfortably to victory. Higginbotham, a lobbyist, has singled out property tax relief as his top concern.

"I'm humbled by the response of the voters and all the folks who've helped us," he said, vowing to be "someone who is positive, someone who is going to be willing to listen and work with everybody and leave no stone unturned."

Asked about his victory plans, he said, "I'm going to cut my grass in the morning."

Rodriguez, 49, a community activist, campaigned against sprawling development and clogged roads in east and south Hillsborough.

"I gave it my best shot," said Rodriguez, who saw Higginbotham raise five times as much money. "We made him work for it. We showed him that money is not everything."

Jean Batronie, 60, who campaigned without party affiliation, garnered only a small fraction of the vote.

District 5

Norman of Carrollwood won the right to serve a total of 18 consecutive years on the commission. With Scott's departure, Norman will boast more years on the board than the rest of the new commission combined.

Norman, 53, easily beat Redner and Yamel Christina Arronte, a social studies teacher who ran with no party affiliation.

Norman attributed his victory to years of visiting constituents door-to-door and attending to neighborhood needs.

"When you really go grass roots like that, all that negative campaigning that came down on us didn't hit us hard," he said.

Redner, 66, lost his sixth, and most ambitious, run for local office. As of Friday, he had outspent Norman 3-2, bashing the incumbent on television and radio.

With almost 40 percent of the vote, Redner surpassed his previous best showing of 35 percent in a 2003 Tampa City Council race, and he got more than 108,000 votes. But Redner had hoped running as a Democrat rather than with no party would attract a larger, critical mass of supporters to join voters who had supported him in prior races.

District 7

Sharpe, 46, was finishing his first two years on the board when Scott, a 10-year-veteran, announced he was taking him on. Scott, 53, was seeking to become first African-American elected to a countywide commission seat, but Sharpe won by a comfortable margin.

"I'm honored and really excited to have an opportunity to serve a full term," Sharpe said. "I think people had confidence that I was a fair and even-keeled commissioner."

Sharpe is considered a moderate Republican who sometimes votes with Democrats. Scott is viewed as a conservative Democrat who often sides with the Republican majority.

Scott believes many voters put an emphasis on party labels.

"When you look at the vote, it is apparent that the Republicans pretty much voted the straight party line, and independents also looked like they voted for Republicans," Scott said. "I think the voters made a decision, and I'm one of those people who support whatever the voters decide."

Times staff writers S.I. Rosenbaum, Janet Zink, Brady Dennis and Bill Coats contributed to this report.

[Last modified November 8, 2006, 01:45:22]