October 14 – County Commission and City Council

Due to some scheduling conflicts, we’ve made some additions to our October 14th program. Tampa Tiger Bay Club will host two candidates for Hillsborough County Board of County Commissioners (Jeff Zampitella and Pat Kemp) and five candidates for Tampa City Council (Avis Harrison, Cyril Spiro, Gene Siudut, Jim Davison, and Orlando Gudes)! The program will begin at 11:30 a.m. at the Italian Club, 1731 E 7th Ave, Tampa, FL 33605.  RSVP today!

Jeff Zampitella
Jeff Zampitella (D) has been a resident of Hillsborough County since 2004. He is an international airline pilot that is active in his home community and neighborhood associations. His website claims that his experience as a pilot allows him to be able to exercise “calm, logical reasoning; understanding how to get from one destination to another safely and efficiently; empathizing with people of every background and walk of life; and taking charge when the situation demands swift, measured action.”

A first-time candidate for elected office, he believes that his 32 years of experience in aviation and with public interaction position him to tackle effectively the issues and opportunities that we face Hillsborough County. “Chief among these are the continuing failure to envision and implement effective plans to construct and rebuild the necessary infrastructure to meet the challenges of the next decade and beyond. Think safe, efficient, transportation options. Think storm and waste water solutions. Think improved education options; better healthcare; and so many more issues that have languished for years.”  From http://www.electjeffz.com/

Pat Kemp
Pat Kemp (D) is a lawyer in private practice who has also worked with Bay Area Legal Services. She was formerly the Chief Aide to Congresswoman Kathy Castor when she served on the Hillsborough County Commission. Additionally, Kemp has been the chair of the Hillsborough Democratic Party, conservation and legal chair of Tampa Bay Sierra Club, and has served on the Board of Tampa Crossroads for Veterans and Homeless.
Additionally, she is the mother to two children, Alex and Ella, who are both in their early 20s and in college. From http://electpatkemp.com/about-pat-kemp/

Pictured, clockwise from top left, are Avis Harrison, Jim Davison, Gene Siudut, Luis Viera, Orlando Gudes, Cyril Sprio. Image from http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/candidates-seeking-tampa-council-seat-have-rich-rxe9sumxe9s-20160914/

Tampa City Council District 7 includes 20 precincts in northern Tampa and New Tampa. This election became necessary when Lisa Montelione resigned her seat to run for the State House. The election is Nov. 8. If no one gets a majority then, the top-two finishers will go to a runoff on Dec. 6. Bios below from http://www.tbo.com/news/politics/candidates-seeking-tampa-council-seat-have-rich-rxe9sumxe9s-20160914/

Jim Davison, 61, an emergency room doctor who lives in New Tampa. He has been active in transportation issues, including co-founding and serving as the first chairman of the New Tampa Transportation Task Force and working to postpone Hillsborough County efforts to schedule a referendum on creating a sales tax for transportation projects. He has served on the county’s Indigent Health Care Advisory Board, Health Care Task Force and Emergency Medical Planning Council.

Orlando Gudes, 49, who served as a Tampa police officer for 26 years before retiring. In 2005, after coaching with the Police Athletic League and middle and high schools, he founded the Unity Youth Football Conference, a football and cheerleading league focused on both athletic and academic performance for poor to middle-income youth. As the league’s executive director, he has seen the group work with more than 8,000 boys and girls.

Avis Harrison, 52, a former first-grade teacher in Escambia County who has been a member of the New Tampa Junior Women’s Club and a board member for the Tampa chapter of the National Council of Alcohol and Drug Dependency. She is a home-school evaluator and a member of the parent-teacher association at Corbett Preparatory School.

Gene Siudut, 43, an assistant editor at Ybor City’s La Gaceta newspaper since 1999 and a nationally syndicated columnist with Bleacher Report. He is vice chairman of the Hillsborough County Human Relations Board and president of the Lions Club of Ybor City, and is on the executive committee of the Ybor City Development Corp.

Cyril Spiro, 46, a doctor who founded and sold an electronic medical records company and founded two software companies, one that provides charter schools with a lottery management and parent communication system, and one designed to enable local governments to hold online meetings that still comply with Florida’s Government in the Sunshine law. He chairs the Cory Lakes Community Development District.

Luis Viera, 38, a lawyer with the Tampa law firm of Ogden & Sullivan who has served on the city’s Civil Service Review Board since 2011 and whose community activities include serving on the boards of the Hillsborough Achievement Resource Center and New Horizons Group Home.

Sandy Murman and Tim Schock were each invited but declined the invitation due to scheduling conflicts. Murman has a personal calendar conflict, Shock has a prior group engagement, and Viera had a previously scheduled legal matter for a client.