Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 5-15-20

Feature
What Will The August 2020 Election Look Like In District 3?
RICARDO ‘RICK’ FERNANDEZ
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
With the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19) sweeping the world, Election officials are beginning to wonder what the 2020 Elec- tion season will look like.
Hillsborough County will have its first Primary Elec-
GWEN MYERS
tion on August 18, 2020, with early voting starting Au- gust 3, 2020.
For the Hillsborough County Commission, voters will elect 2 new people in Districts 1 and 3, both single- member districts, both serv- ing 2-year terms. Commissioner Sandra Murman (District 1) and
FRANK REDDICK
Commissioner Lesley “Les” Miller (District 3) have term-limited out.
In District 6, Commis- sioner Pat Kemp is seek- ing re-election as the incumbent in a countywide race.
Currently, one of the most talked about races in the Commission race is Dis-
BISHOP THOMAS SCOTT
trict 3. There are 6 candi- dates vying for the seat; 4 of them are African Americans. All are Democrats.
Also trying to get seated in District 3 are Ricardo “Rick” Fernandez (Dem) and Maura Cruz-Lanz (Rep).
According to information on the Supervisor of Elec- tions website, Fernandez is an Ybor City native, raised in Tampa Heights. A former Navy lawyer, he was a Share- holder at Shackleford Farrior firm and a lLegal Recruiter (among other titles) for Shutts Bowen and Fowler White (n/k/a Buchanan In- gersoll.
Since September, 2019, he has continued in the re- cruiting arena as Fernandez Consulting Services, Inc.
Among the Boards he currently serves on is the MPO Citizens Advisory Com- mittee, appointed by Comm. Miller in 2017. He is now Vice Chair of that Board.
Fernandez moved back to Tampa Heights in 2012 “to be a part of the community’s resurgence.”
The African-Americans vying for the seat are: Gwendolyn “Gwen” Myers, Frank Reddick (former City Councilman), Bishop Thomas Scott and Sky U. White.
For the first time since District 3 became a Single- Member District aimed to in- sure an African-American is elected, that may not happen in 2020. With COVID-19 hampering the election
SKY U. WHITE
process, gentrification throughout the district and the number of African-Amer- icans in the race, the seat may fall to 1 of the 2 Hispan- ics vying for the seat.
Who Previously Held The Seat
Rubin E. Padgett was first elected to the seat in 1985. He served two 4-year full terms.
Sylvia Rodriguez Kimbell was the first African-American woman to win the District 3 seat in 1990. She was re-elected in 1992, and became the first person in the State of Florida to conduct government busi- ness via teleconference as she struggled with cancer. She lost that battle at the age of 60 in 1994.
Rev. Thomas Scott
served 10 years on the Board representing District 3, serv- ing 3 times as chair. He also served 4 years on the Tampa City Coluncil, serving 3 times as chair.
A former State House of Representatives and Florida Senator, serving as the Mi- nority Leader in both, Com- missioner Miller was elected to represent D-3 in 2010 and has term-limited out. He is the current Chair.
The Numbers
There are 171,057 voters registered in District 3 as of Monday, May 11, 2020. Of that number, 94,990 are De- mocrats, 26,996 are Repub- licans and 48,000 fall in the ‘Others’ category.
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