Monday, October 02, 2006

Candidate Forum needs your help!

As mentioned in earlier posts, the 2006 Central Tampa Candidate Forum will be held on October 10th at 7:00pm at the Stetson Law School, 1700 N. Tampa Street. The forum is being sponsored by Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association, South Seminole Heights Civic Association, Southeast Seminole Heights Civic Association, Tampa Heights Civic Association, Riverside Heights Civic Association, Sulphur Springs Action League and B'Gosh - Business Guild of Seminole Heights.

There will be a meet and greet period from 6:00 - 6:55 with the formal question period running from 7:00 - 9:00. Candidates for County Commission in Districts 3, 5 and 7, State Representative in Districts 47, 58 and 58, State Senate in District 18 and the gubernatorial race were invited. There are currently 11 confirmed attendees (see list below). Presubmitted questions will be asked by the moderator, Rob Lorei, news director of WMNF, and will be addressed to either the state or county candidates. Each candidate from that group will have a chance to respond. The questions will alternate between state and county. We are leaning towards fewer questions with more time to respond in order to encourage candidates to expand upon their stock campaign responses. If there is time remaining after the presubmitted questions, the candidates will take questions from the floor.

Forums such as these are more successful when they respond to the specific concerns of the audience and the area in which they live. We specifically invited only candidates from local races that actually represent all or portions of the associations sponsoring the event. These are the races that can most directly impact our neighborhood. To that end, we need to hear from you. What topics would you like covered? Do you have any specific questions to submit? We will be reviewing the questions on Thursday and finalizing them over the weekend.

Invited Candidates:
Governor - Jim Davis (D) - No response
Governor - Charlie Crist (R) - Declined
State Senate 18 - Arthenia L. Joyner (D) - No response
State Senate 18 - Eric T. Suntich (WRI) - No response
State Rep 47 - Kevin Ambler (R) - Accepted
State Rep 47 - Daniel Suarez (D) - No response
State Rep 58 - Alfred Ruiz (R) - Accepted
State Rep 58 - Michael Scionti (D) - Accepted
State Rep 59 - K.C. Bowick (R) - Accepted
State Rep 59 - Betty Reed (D) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 3 - Kevin White (D) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 3 - Ken Anthony (R) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 5 - Jim Norman (R) - No response
County Comm. Dist 5 - Joe Redner (D) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 5 - Yamel Christina Arronte (NPA) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 7 - Mark Sharpe (R) - Accepted
County Comm. Dist 7 - Thomas Scott (D) - Accepted

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Omy.

I see the prior post isnt acceptable?




Listen Im new here I would like some idea what this building is next to when I attend
I am not so familair with Tampa St.

I do know it heads toward the downtown area .What is this building located near I have to have a visual to help me with directions. I am dyslexic.

Thanks

Newbie

Rick said...

it is on your right just before you would access the 275 on-ramp from Tampa St.

Anonymous said...

Wow, Crist declined. The closer it gets to election the less impressed I am with him. I had decided to vote for him until I read the article that he gave his baby up for adoption. This gave me major reasons for concern.

Anonymous said...

Yes, then he tried to say it wasn't his. However, by law, it is illegal for him to have signed the paper I guess when you are a political star on the rise, you do what it takes and NOTHING gets in the way.

Anonymous said...

I would like the candidates to address homeowners insurance and the built in inequity of the current property tax situation.

Anonymous said...

Any updates on responses from the candidates??

Anonymous said...

I feel compelled to note, not that I care, that it is not true Mr. Crist gave up his baby. Mr. Crist is gay; it appears his handlers would rather people think he abandoned a child, another sad commentary on Republican values. In any case -- Thanks to whomever is responsible for organizing the forum. We are new to the area and it will help us get to know the attending candidates for local seats.

Anonymous said...

CORRECTION DANIEL SUAREZ ATTENDED THE CANDIDATES FORUM OCTOBER 10 HIS OPPONENT "KEVIN AMBLER"DID NOT ATTEND IT. PLEASE CORRECTED. THANK YOU