Page 4 - Florida Sentinel 7-24-20

Sentinel Recommendations
The Sentinel Editorial Board’s Recommendations For August 2020 Election
“Change will not come if we wait for some other per- son, or if we wait for some other time. We are the ones we've been waiting for. We are the change that we seek.” ― Barack Obama
If not now... when?
As we are quarantined with a virus that has already
killed 600,000 people worldwide with no end in sight, life and events are still taking place. With that said, the Florida Sentinel Editorial Board had to do things differ- ently this Election Season.
Our Board normally meets face-to-face with the ma- jority of candidates, however we decided to take the safest route and send each candidate specific questions to help us determine who to endorse. We also polled community leaders, former elected officials and attorneys to help us make the best decisions. On that note, we would like to thank everyone who assisted us.
We are hoping with the possible trickery that could happen with COVID, mail-in ballots and the uncertainty that our votes may not be counted, WE must still forge ahead and understand that every VOTE, is important.
The August 18th primary election is crucial, so please vote.
Representative in Congress District 15
According to reports, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee listed the 15th District as one the group is seeking to flip from Republican to Democratic control in the 2020 election.
Florida's 15th Congressional District includes portions of Hillsborough and Polk Counties. This seat is now held by Ross Spano, a republican. The I-4 corridor is crucial in the 2020 election. Three candidates are running for the Democratic slot. Black people make up 13.7% of this con- gressional district and could possibly elect the Democratic candidate for the seat. With so much on the line, and the Black Lives Matter movement in full gear, electing an- other Black person to Congress would be a positive move- ment for change.
Candidate Jesse Phillipe graduated from King High School, where he played on the school’s football team as a running back. After high school, Phillipe joined the Marine Corp., and served for six years, and was deployed to Iraq. He received a bachelor's degree in Public Policy, and also a Juris Doctorate in Law. During the pursuit of his law degree, he worked in several jobs in the public sec- tor working for a telecommunication company for three years. Philippe has excelled in his life by graduating with 2 degrees and has served his country.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Jesse Phillippe.
State Representative District 70
The State Representative, District 70 seat covers the southern end of St. Petersburg and parts of Manatee, Sarasota and Hillsborough Counties, and is currently held by Wengay Newton, D-St. Petersburg, who is vacating his seat to run for Pinellas County Commission.
The Board reached out to community leaders in Pinel- las to get feedback on the best choice in this contest. Civil Rights attorney, Michele Rayner was the majority pick of those we spoke to. Many believe she will be able to hit the ground running. Candidate Michelle Grimsley re- ceived some positive comments too, however, Rayner’s law background, community activism and ‘knowing the turf’, was what pushed her to the top.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Michele Rayner.
Clerk of The Circuit Court and Comptroller
This one is a bit tricky for us, because only Kevin Beckner responded to the questions sent to he and his opponent Cindy Stuart. In past elections, the Sentinel Editorial Board did not support Kevin Beckner when he ran for County Commission in 2008 and for re-election in 2012, or Cindy Stuart’s initial run for School Board. Both won and served multiple terms, however, some of the issues we felt strongly about in our decision back then surfaced.
Beckner was the only other Democrat on the County Commission board with Comm. Les Miller, the lone Black. Miller often found himself out on a limb by him- self, because Beckner oftentimes had his own agenda,
and did not support his fellow Democrat, Miller. Stuart in the beginning as a School Board candidate and then eventual winner appeared clueless about the plight of Black children within the school district, and eventually showed our community where her allegiances lay when she did not support former School Board mem- ber Doretha Edgecomb, breaking a tradition of a rotat- ing chairmanship of the board to support April Griffin. This struck a nerve with some members of our Board. However, it’s politics, and a choice has to be made, so we consulted with several people outside of our Editorial Board to help us weigh the pros and cons of both candi- dates. After much back and forth, the final vote came back for Beckner. Beckner’s background and the answers to
our questions helped with the decision.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Kevin Beckner.
Tax Collector
It’s not surprising that Nancy Millan sent in re- sponses to our questions, and April Griffin did not. Our Board has a lot of history with candidate April Griffin, who is a former member of the Hillsborough County School Board, and absolutely none with Nancy Millan, who is a 30+ year employee of the Tax Collector’s office.
The Sentinel Board, however, has never supported Griffin, mainly because she gave the impression that she did not need the Black vote to win.
Also, although we don’t know Millan, Griffin’s at- tack on Millan’s kinship with former Florida Attorney General Pam Bondi and her changing parties struck a nerve with not only our Board members, but others in the community. The feeling mainly, is there is so much nega- tive happening in the world right now, you have to ques- tion who is the worst person in this scenario, the friend of a former controversial politician or the brick thrower. Be- sides, we also knew Pam back in the day and she was al- ways responsive when she represented the State Attorney. Sure we viewed her differently after she became the big- wig, but again, it’s politics.
To support our decision, we asked some key Black people in the Tax Collector’s office about Millan, who has worked her way up the ladder. All of the feedback we re- ceived was that she is well-liked, and has been key in her position under Doug Belden, a staunch Republican, with the elevation and hiring of Blacks and also was in- strumental in distributing monies to Black businesses in Hillsborough County.
Millan is also qualified to hit the ground running and will not need on-the job training. She is a Certified Florida Collector Assistant with certifications in Property Tax Ad- ministration, Management of a Florida Collector’s Office, and Duties and Responsibilities of a Tax Collector and The Collection of Licenses, Taxes, and Fees. Over the years, the Hillsborough County Tax Collector has become the Gold Standard by which Florida Tax Collectors and other local government agencies seek to follow.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Nancy Millan.
Board of County Commissioners District 1
County Commissioner Sandy Murman has term - limited and out and former City Councilman and mayoral candidate Harry Cohen is running against Jen Mc- Donald for the Democratic nod. Atty. Cohen is a person that the Sentinel Editorial Board has supported in the past, and we support him again.
Our history with Mr. Cohen runs a bit deeper. When the city imposed the panhandler debacle, Atty. Cohen assisted the Sentinel and helped create the ordinance to allow our paper men and women to continue selling the newspaper on the corners as they had been doing for decades. He helped us during a very critical time.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Harry Cohen.
Board of County Commissioners District 3
County Commission chair Les Miller has termed- limited out and the race for his seat is being sought by 5 candidates. The primary issue that Black people in our community should be focused on is, this could possibly be the beginning of the end of us having a person who looks like us on this Board, if we do not vote heavily for ONE (1) of the 4 Black candidates.
The reason is because a political ploy by some, to in- sert a white man into the race, and the allegiances that the Black candidates have throughout our community, will splinter the vote enough to set us back to the days before 1985, when no Black person was on this very powerful board.
District 3 has had a Black representative in this seat since 1985, (35 years) and here we are in 2020 facing a possible setback. Also, the Board con- sists of 3 white female Democrats that are very vocal and are often on different pages, so District 3 will need a per- son who is experienced and trained in the inner workings of county government to help navigate the needs of our neighborhoods.
The two best-known candidates are former Commis- sioner and City Council member Tom Scott and former City Council member Frank Reddick. Also running are retired county official Gwen Myers and Sky White. The lone white person is Rick Fernandez.
The Editorial Board was quite decisive in its choice for this race, however, because it is so important, we felt we needed to explain our reasons for choosing Thomas ‘Tom’ Scott as our pick.
Tom Scott is seasoned, already knows the ropes, and would hit the ground running. He also received high praises from various people who work for the county. Many responses we received were that he took the time to visit various departments as a commissioner to under- stand how they worked and what they do. Also, some on our Board feel that it takes up to 2 years for a new person to understand how things work, and we don’t have time for on-the-job training. Plus, Scott served as the chair- man of the County Commission Board in the past and this gives him a clear, and concise vision of what the perime- ters are to help our District move forward.
As far as Mr. Reddick is concerned, the Board felt that he was a very good City Councilman and worked hard to force some changes while serving. However, one issue that was obvious during his tenure was that he had an ad- versarial relationship with key folks in City government and that became problematic. The ‘bad blood’ left our neighborhoods in a lurch with not much getting done.
Candidate Gwen Myers is known for her club and church affiliations. When discussing her candidacy some feel that her aligning herself early on with issues led by white politicians and wannabe movers and shakers was not the best thing to do. Plus, some feel she might not be able to cut ties to them because they allegedly helped raise money for her campaign. Mrs. Myers retired as a County employee and has some experience from that perspective, but the Sentinel Board was not sure how that would tran- scend to a position as a commissioner.
Candidate Sky U. White is a young lady that is being backed by the Progressive Democrats. We don’t know much else about her.
As for Rick Fernandez, his entering this race, and not being discouraged by members of the Democratic party should tell us all something. Black Lives don’t mat- ter to them, and most importantly, there is nothing sacred when it comes to us and them.
Rick Fernandez and Sky U. White did not re- spond to our questions.
Voting in large numbers is a MUST if Black people are to keep a seat at the table.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Thomas ‘Tom’ Scott.
Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 19
The choice to retain Judge Michael Scionti to the bench did not require much discussion. Judge Scionti has proven time and time again that he is deserving of the honor. His belief that our current justice system places greater emphasis on punishment and incarceration, rather than education and rehabilitation is what has driven him to create a better system for juveniles and vet- erans. His background in the military having served valiantly in both Iraq and Afghanistan, and then return- ing home to serve in the Hillsborough State Attorney’s Of- fice, as an assistant statewide prosecutor and assistant attorney general helped prepare him. As a Circuit Court Judge, he presides over both Juvenile Delinquency Court and Veterans Treatment Court (VTC), two of Hillsborough County’s problem-solving courts that are having a positive impact on struggling veterans and at-risk children.
PAGE 4-A FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020