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Democratic Black Caucus Concludes Successful Candidates Forum
Hillsborough County Early Voting Locations
The Hillsborough County Democratic Black Caucus (HCDBC) began this election cycle with the sound statement of supporting candi- dates/elected officials that “Speak to OUR Issues.” It was its intent to make a stern stance and follow-up with sev- eral actions within the com- munity.
The caucus members began canvassing in several areas, knocking on doors, along with reaching out to voters person- ally known by the members, to ask them to stand with the group until the candidates and elected officials “Speak to OUR Issues.” They collected several hundred signed commitment cards supporting that en- deavor.
A listening tour was held in which the candidates came out to speak to the Executive Board and all members of the HCDBC. Each candidate had 10 minutes to speak about is- sues. During the meeting, no questions were asked by the Caucus members; they just made notations.
If the group did have ques- tions, they waited until the forum addressed the concerns. Some came prepared while others chose to recite their bi- ography.
During election time, the community saw a lot of candi-
ROBIN LOCKETT HCDBC President
dates that suggested they knew the issues and the community, so everyone was invited to come up with the solutions. A platform was provided without interruption.
There were four candidate forums in four different parts of Hillsborough County to allow the community at differ- ent times to come out to listen to, and ask questions of the candidates.
The locations were: St. John’s Cathedral, Beulah Bap- tist Church, St. James AME, and Bible-Based Fellowship Temple Terrace. All had great attendance, and each church provided a great environment for each event, and allowed the community to come out, not just to listen, but to ask ques- tions that concerned them.
A candidate debate was put together as a conclusion of all previous educational events that were held. This was a great time to allow the two op- positions to debate the issues along with including the Black and Hispanic communities. The event was a great success and the attendees were able to see both candidates side-by- side to compare and listen to exactly who was really speak- ing on the issues.
The sole purpose for the event was for the community to know more about who they are voting for, and not to vote blindly down the Democratic line. People came out to be en- gaged and empowered by the process, and to also let the can- didates know that they have clear expectations of them, and not to take their vote for granted.
The entire event was in- tended to provide a platform, not for the candidates that are running, but for the commu- nity.
Robin Lockett is presi- dent of the HCDBC, and she along with other members, staff and some volunteers, worked countless hours to make sure these forums were handled properly, and af- forded all of the candidates and those in attendance an op- portunity to be heard.
Early voting began in Hillsborough County on Monday, October 24th. It will continue through Sunday, November 4th. Registered Voters can cast their ballots at any one of 16 locations be- tween the hours of 7 a.m. until 7 p.m.
The locations are as fol- lows:
Bloomingdale Public Library, 1906 Bloomingdale Avenue, Valrico;
C. Blythe Andrews, Jr., Public Library, 2607 E. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd.;
Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. 26th Floor;
Jan Kaminis Platt Re- gional Library, 3910 S. Manhattan Avenue;
Jimmie B. Keel Re- gional Library, 2902 W. Bearss Avenue;
Keystone Community Center, 17928 Gunn High- way, Odessa, FL
New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd.;
North Tampa Branch Library, 8916 North Blvd.;
Plant City, Bruton Me- morial Library, 302 W.
McLendon Street, Plant City;
Riverview Branch Li- brary, 10509 Riverview Drive, Riverview;
Robert L. Gilder Elec- tions Service Center, 2514 N. Falkenburg, Rd.;
SouthShore Regional Library, 15816 Beth Shields Way, Ruskin;
Temple Terrace Pub- lic Library, 207 Bullard Parkway, Temple Terrace;
Town N’ Country Re- gional Library, 7606 Paula Drive, Tampa;
Upper Tampa Bay Re- gional Public Library, 11211 Countryway Blvd., Tampa; and
West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W. Union Street.
Voters will be required to provide one or two forms of identification. Acceptable identification includes: a Florida Driver's License; Florida ID Card issued by the Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles; U. S. Passport; Debit or Credit Card; Military ID; Stu- dent ID; Retirement Center ID; Neighborhood Associa- tion ID; or Public Assistance ID.
Study Says Face Recognition System Prone To Bias
According to a report released by the Center on Pri- vacy and Technology at Georgetown Law, facial recog- nition software used by some law enforcement agencies is prone to racial bias.
One of the largest law enforcement agencies in the country that uses the software is the Pinellas County Sheriff’s Office. The study says the system’s database has flawed software and is a recipe for false arrests.
The system used by the Pinellas County Sheriff’s
Office is called FACES (Face Analysis Comparison Ex- amination System). It has more than 30 million images in its database shared by more than 30 other agencies. It allows authorities to quickly check possible suspects’ identities without the need to sift through stacks of photos that can be very time consuming.
The Study says the software is racially biased be- cause it relies on mug shots for input data and because a disproportionate number of African Americans are
arrested more are in the system. It also said that the databases are rarely purged of people who are found innocent. That means they stay in the database to be searched over and over again.
The report also indicated that the software does not do a god job of making out darker faces, which could lead to false hits.
In Pinellas County, the system is accessed 5,000- a-month.
PAGE 10 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY TUESDAY, OCTOBER 25, 2016