Page 5 - Florida Sentinel 7-24-20

The Florida Sentinel Editorial Board Endorses:
Representative in Congress District 15
Jesse Philippe
State Representative District 70
Atty. Michele Rayner
Clerk of Court
Kevin Beckner
Tax Collector
Nancy Millan
Board of County Commissioners District 1
Harry Cohen
Board of County Commissioners District 3
Thomas Scott
Circuit Court Judge Group 9
John Schifino
Circuit Court Judge Group 19
Michael Scionti
Circuit Court Judge Group 30
Helene Daniel
Circuit Court Judge Group 31
Greg Green
Circuit Court Judge Group 39
Wendy DePaul
County Court Judge Group 7
Bill Yanger
School Board District 1
Steve Cona
School Board District 3
Alexandra Gilmore
School Board District 5
Henry ‘Shake’ Washington
School Board District 7
Jeffrey Johnson
Answer ‘No’ to any Tax increases
Sentinel Recommendations Continued
As a Circuit Court Judge, he helped to establish the VTC as a national model problem-solving court, where focus is placed on education, treatment, and rehabilitation. Judge Scionti believes high rates of incarceration can be attributed to the inaccessibility to adequate mental health services. As a Circuit Court Judge, he also oversees the treatment and re- covery of veterans and children, and strives to bring greater awareness to their needs in seeking more ad- equate mental health services. His goal is to reduce incarcerations through problem-solving.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Michael Scionti.
Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 30
The Sentinel Editorial Board read the answers to our judicial questions submitted by both Danny Alvarez and Helene Daniel and were inspired by both. We also feel both candidates would make good judges, because they both have had life and profes- sional experiences that would help those who would come before them. Atty. Alvarez is the only minor- ity in the race for judge and has community wide support. Atty. Daniel from all indications has strong connections with the Black lawyers we polled. Our decision came down to us listening to the advice of those attorneys who feel that Atty. Daniel should be the person we endorse.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Helene Daniel.
Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 31
The Sentinel Editorial Board read the answers to our judicial questions submitted by both Greg Green and Gary Dolgin and were inspired by both. The Board has interviewed Atty. Dolgin in the past and felt he had the temperament to be a good judge. However, this time around, the Board decided to support Greg Green, mainly because of his answers to our questions. The Board also re- ceived recommendations to support Atty. Green from the Black lawyers polled.
The Sentinel Editiorial Board endorses Greg Green.
Circuit Judge, 13th Judicial Circuit Group 39
The candidates for this race were far apart in phi- losophy according to the answers we received. Per- haps it is because Steven Stephens is an incumbent judge who was appointed by Jeb Bush 14 years ago and has never had an opponent since being appointed. His opponent, Wendy DePaul, however, is an attorney that has garnered the sup- port of many in the community because of her serv- ice. We yielded to the pool of attorneys we sought advice from and many were not familiar with Judge Stephens, but knew Wendy DePaul well.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Wendy DePaul.
County Court Judge Group 7
The only candidate in this race that responded to our questions was Atty. Bill Yanger. Atty. Yanger has represented single moms and stars. He has worked in the trenches to make sure his clients were represented well, and from all indications, would be a good judge in County Court. Atty. Yanger was also the choice of the majority of Black attorneys we asked.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Bill Yanger.
School Board District 1
Incumbent and present Vice Chairman of the School Board Steve Cona, III won this seat replac- ing Susan Valdes when she left to run for the State Legislature. He has three challengers. District 1 ex- tends from the northwestern corner of the county into Town ‘N Country and West Tampa. Cona’s three challengers are career educator and newcomer Nadia Combs, Benjamin “Floridaman” Greene and Bill Person, a retired educator and administrator who is making his third bid for a School Board seat. The schools in District 1 have done well. Our Board liked Bill Person in the past, but feel that Cona will be re-elected. However, if there is no majority winner, run-off elections will happen on Nov. 3.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Steve Cona.
School Board District 3
District 3 for the Hillsborough County School Board extends from the northern suburbs of Carroll- wood and Lutz through New Tampa and into the northern reaches of eastern Hillsborough, including Dover and Thonotasassa. This seat is open due to Cindy Stuart vacating to run for Clerk of the Cir- cuit Court. We were not able to distinguish who would be the best candidate with answers to our questions, however we did research each candidate and discovered that candidate Alexandra Gilmore is the lone Black candidate. She is well ed- ucated and has a son in the school system who ex- perienced some of the negative things that Black children in particular and children in general deal with in our public schools —- bullying and retalia- tion. The Board feels that with so much happening in America, our support of Ms. Gilmore is mer- ited. The fact that she threw her hat in the ring to bring about change is worth your vote.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Alexandra Gilmore.
School Board District 5
District 5 consists of 69 schools in the inner city and majority Black populated areas of Tampa. Many of the schools have struggled to pass the State re- quired tests, and have been the topic of many head- lines. Incumbent School Board member, Tamara Shamburger is being challenged for her seat by 3 opponents. Ms. Shamburger eked out a win in 2016 when Mrs. Doretha Edgecomb retired. While our Board did not support Ms. Sham- burger back then, she has proven to be a very vocal and present board member. Our biggest concern however, is that it is apparent that those who were on her team in the last election have jumped ship and are now supporting one of her opponents. While we wonder how this has affected her ability to lead without distraction, the strong pool of can- didates for her seat speaks volumes. The Board went back and forth discussing Shamburger and Washington. However, we believe either will do a good job for our children.
The Sentinel Board received responses to our questions from all of the candidates except Selena Ward.
Candidate Elvis Piggott has thrown his hat into the political arena in the past and feels his role as a pastor and mentored at a local elementary school has given him great insight on what is going on in District 5. Piggott is among the up and coming voices on the political front.
Henry ‘Shake’ Washington in our Board’s opinion is the best person to lead District 5. Mr. Washington has years of history and experience as a teacher, principal,, administrator and Area Su- pervisor that give him the best perspective to move our schools forward. Washington is also well-liked throughout the community and within the district. His calm and kind nature along with his ties to many Black principals and teachers, both active and re- tired within the community will be a strong coalition if he is elected.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Henry ‘Shake’ Washington.
School Board District 7
District 7 is an at-large District and its Board member represents all the schools in Hillsborough County, the 7th largest school district in the nation.
Former Board member Sally Harris and Jef- frey Johnson were the only 2 candidates to re- spond to our questions. Both are running against incumbent Board member Lynn Gray.
The Sentinel Board was very impressed with the credentials of Mr. Johnson, and has worked with him over the years with his very successful Girls Summit. Johnson is a pastor, and is proficient in policy development, collaboration, fiscal manage- ment, understanding of academic rigor, and leader- ship development. He is a husband, father and educational facilitator. He would bring a lot to the table if elected.
The Sentinel Editorial Board endorses Jeffrey Johnson.
We recommend you vote NO to any Tax increases.
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2020 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY FRIDAY PAGE 5-A