Page 2 - Florida Sentinel 1-7-20

Year In Review
Newsworthy Events That Took Place In 2019
JANUARY
BY IRIS B. HOLTON Sentinel City Editor
On Friday, January 4, 2019, the new leadership of the Hillsborough County Branch NAACP was sworn into office.
The new officers sworn in were: Ms. Yvette Lewis, President; Daryl Richard- son, 1st Vice Presi- dent; Joe Robinson, 2nd Vice President; Ms. Janelle McGregor, Secre- tary; and Ray Campbell,
Treasurer.
Members of the Executive
Committee-At-Large who were sworn into office are: Norman Harris, Ms. Lenora Spearman, Ms. Darele Campbell, Ms. Norene Copeland Miller, and Jarvis El Amin.
The family of sixty-three- year-old Clennon Fletcher reported him missing from the Colonial Assisted Living Facility on January 1st. He was last seen on December 26th. Officials had not posi- tively identified the body of a man pulled from the Hills- borough River. However,
family members believed it was Mr. Fletcher.
Mrs. Gwen Myers an- nounced her
intentions to
run for the
Hillsbor-
ough
County
Commis-
sioners District 3 Seat. Mrs. Myers is a Tampa native and a graduate of Henry B. Plant High School (1972), and Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University (FAMU 1976), past President of Gamma Theta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc., and holds membership in several organizations.
The Tampa Bay Area Dental Association (TBADA) honored Dr. William F. Marsh dur-
ing its 67th Anniversary Banquet.
Dr. Marsh was being hon-
ored for his dedication and commitment to preserving the mission and legacy of the TBADA. Dr. Marsh is mar- ried to Mrs. Joyce Marsh, and is the father of 2 adult children, and a grandson.
Dr. Marsh graduated from dental school in 1970, and in 1974, he began work-
ing as a public health dentist in Lakeland; and in 1975 he opened his private orthodon- tic practice in Tampa.
For months, residents have wondered if former State Rep. Ed Narain
would run for the Mayor’s Of- fice. He de- cided that he would not pursue a
public office at that time. Now, a State Certified at- torney, Narain said al- though the encouragement is there, he just doesn’t feel the time is right for him to seek
the office.
The passage of Amend-
ment 4 on the November 2018 ballot restored the vot- ing rights of hundreds of for- mer convicted felons.
According to the new law, ex-felons not convicted of murder or felony sex of- fenses could now vote as long as they have completed their sentences.
Eight residents qualified for the Office of Mayor of the City of Tampa. They were:
Former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor, City Councilman Harry Cohen, Dick Greco, Jr., former Hillsborough County Judge, Christopher “Topher” Morrison, D a v i d Straz, Jr., City Councilman Mike Suarez, and busi- nessman Ed Turanchik. There was also one write-in candidate.
FEBRUARY
The Hillsborough County Branch of the National Asso- ciation for the Advancement of Colored People, (NAACP), held its Annual Freedom Fund Banquet on Friday, February 1st.
The theme for the ban- quet this year was, “Defeat Hate: Vote.” The theme lends itself from the National NAACP’s 109th Annual Con- vention held last summer.
The keynote speaker was former Tallahassee Mayor Andrew Gillum. Mayor Gillum made history when
he became the first African American to win the Democratic Party in the
General Election. He was barely defeated in the race for Governor.
The duties of Chairman- ship were shared between Ms. Donna Douglas and Ms. Andrea White.
Bishop Thomas Scott
was the re- cipient of the Living Bridges Award. The “Mar- cus Gar-
vey Unsung Hero Award” was presented to the Open Café. Elder Willie Florence Gainer accept it on behalf of the restaurant.
The “Ida B. Wells Un- sung Hero Award” was presented to Carl Warren, Sr., Ph. D.
Ms. Fran Tate was cho- sen as the recipient of the “Ella Baker Unsung Hero Award.” Rev. Dr. Russell L. Meyer was the recipient of the “Rev. Fred Shuttlesworth Unsung Hero Award.”
The Second Annual Tampa Bay Walk N’ Roll To Cure Ataxia was held. Ms. Darlene Harris is the President of
the Tampa
Bay Ataxia
Group. She
said all pro-
ceeds will
benefit the
National Ataxia Foundation.
There were five candi- dates for the City Council Board who had qualified. They were: Joseph Citro,
Alan Clendenin, David Loos, Jr., Craig A. New- man, and Walter Smith, II.
There were three candi- dates for District 2: John Godwin, Charlie Mi- randa, and Joe Robinson, a Tampa businessman.
The competitors in the District 3 Seat were: John Dingfelder, Nicholas Glover, Stephen Lytle, and Ms. Vibha “Ms. V” Shevade.
The City Council District 4 candidates were: Bill Carlson, Sal Guagliardo, Jr., and Ms. Lee Lowry.
Candidates vying for the District 5 City Council Dis- trict were: Ella K. Coffee, Todd Cole, Orlando Gudes, Jeffrey Rhodes, and Ralph Smith.
Voters had two candi- dates to choose from for the District 6 and District 7 City Council Seats. Guido Man- iscalco and Wendy Pepe were competing for the Dis- trict 6 seat.
In District 7, Quinton Robinson and Luis Viera, the incumbent, were com- petitors for the District 7 race.
Senator Kamala Har- ris (D-CA), announced on ABC’s Good Morning America her intent to run for President of the United States in 2020. She also had ties to Tampa through her Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority sisters, Ms. Karen Hayes, and Judge Lisa Campbell, both Tampa natives.
As part of the Black His- tory Celebration, the Robert W. Saunders, Sr., Li- brary featured the works of local artists. The first event
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