Page 3 - Florida Sentinel 9-29-15 Edition

Features
Local Republicans Seek To Stop ‘Go Hillsborough’ Transportation Fund Proposal
BY LEON B. CREWS Sentinel Staff Writer
The proposal by a group known as Go Hillsborough to establish a transportation fund has been derailed by local Republicans.
According to Commis- sioner Al Higginbotham (Republican), he believes if a vote was held, there would not be enough votes to sup- port sending a referendum to the ballot in 2016.
The proposed plan would include a half-cent sales tax that would put $3 billion into construction projects to im- prove roads and congestion in the area. It would also give money to HART to improve bus transportation, and allo- cate money for some type of rail system linking downtown to the airport and Westshore area.
Dozens of public hearings have been held to get feed- back from the community on the proposal.
Commission Chair Sandy Murman, also a Re- publican, is planning to intro- duce an ordinance that will more fully inform residents about who is trying to influ- ence their public officials.
The proposed ordinance would establish an Office of Professional Lobbyist Regis- tration within the county at- torney’s office. Lobbyists who visit county commissioners or county employees would have to register for a fee, and dis- close who or what interests they represent. The public would be able to search and track lobbyists and their in- teractions with county offi- cials online. Murman also wants to tighten the defini- tion of what a lobbyist is.
Republican Committee Chairperson, Deborah Tamargo, has gone on record saying the decision to oppose the referendum arose from local Republicans through the party’s precinct committeemen and commit- teewomen.
County Administrator Mike Merrill has asked the Hillsborough County Sheriff’s
COMMISSIONER
LES MILLER “Republicans and Tea Party members are afraid the refer-
endum will pass.”
Office to investigate the Go Hillsborough Transportation initiative that local Republi- cans have taken a stand against.
Last week, the Hillsbor- ough Republican Party Exec- utive Committee voted unanimously to oppose put- ting a sales tax referendum on the November 2016 ballot. Go Hillsborough leaders have recommended a sales tax in- crease over a 30 year period.
Commissioner Les Miller said the Republicans and Tea Party want nothing on the ballot increasing taxes.
“I think they are afraid it will pass. We haven’t even put it on the ballot yet.
“This is a group that has done everything to blow this thing up. I don’t think we’ve violated any ethics laws, but because the Republicans have blown it up, now the Sheriff’s Office is conducting an inves- tigation.”
Comm. Miller said he’s served as a Commissioner for 5 years, and they haven’t talked about the duty of a lob- byist.
“Let the people decide if they want to be taxed, not a group of Republicans and Tea Party members. They want to be conservative tax payers, and we have a $7 billion transportation shortfall that needs to be addressed.
“We haven’t even dis- cussed the language of the proposal. I think they are try- ing to suppress the will of the people.”
Attorney Throws Hat In Race For State Legislative Seat
BY GWEN HAYES Sentinel Editor
A young Bay area attorney has decided that she has some- thing more to offer the citizens of Florida’s District 59. The seat is currently being held by Democrat Ross Spano.
Atty. Rena Upshaw- Frazier is a local attorney with a focus on real estate liti- gation at Quarles & Brady, LLP.
Atty. Frazier is looking to serve the residents of Brandon, Valrico, Riverview and por- tions of Clair-Mel, Progress Village and Palm River. She plans to qualify by petition.
The Primary Election for this office will be August 30, 2016 and the General Election will follow on November 8, 2016.
A native Floridian and Brandon resident for the past 10 years, Atty. Frazier grad- uated from Hillsborough High School and earned her B. S. de- gree in Civil Engineering from the University of South Florida. She then earned her J. D. at the Stetson University College of Law. Atty. Frazier is a past member of the Board of Trustees of Brandon Re-
ATTY. RENA UPSHAW-FRAZIER
gional Hospital and currently serves on the Board of the Uni- versity Area Community De- velopment Corporation.
Her husband, Anddrikk Frazier, owns a local small business in the community. They are the proud parents of four children ages 1, 6, 11 and 18 years old. Their oldest daughter is a freshman cadet at the United States Air Force Academy. The family’s church home is Love First Christian Center in Riverview.
When asked why she’s run- ning for office, Atty. Frazier gave these pointers:
*“Every Floridian deserves access to quality, affordable healthcare to ensure they don’t have to choose between the health of themselves or their family and putting food on the table. The state must expand access to Medicaid so that 800,000 working Floridians, including 40,000 veterans, have access to the life-saving care they deserve.
*“Florida doesn’t just need new jobs, Florida needs good- paying jobs that ensure people who work 40 hours a week aren’t living below the poverty line. We must invest in educa- tion and job-training programs that allow Florida workers to be on the cutting edge of our most rapidly expanding indus- tries.
*“The level of dysfunction we’re seeing right now in Tal- lahassee is unprecedented in Florida. The people of District 59 deserve a Representative focused on their needs, not on petty personal disagreements.”
As our State Representa- tive, Atty. Frazier says she will work with both sides of the aisle to put good public policy before partisan bickering. She can be reached at www.re- naforflorida.com.
TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 29, 2015 FLORIDA SENTINEL BULLETIN PUBLISHED EVERY TUESDAY AND FRIDAY PAGE 3