[ad_1]
TAMPA, Fla. — The much anticipated special election is happening Tuesday for the District 5 city council seat in the City of Tampa.
Councilwoman Gwendolyn Henderson unexpectedly died in June, leaving her seat vacant, and now 14 candidates have qualified for the election happening today.
District 5 includes downtown, East Tampa, Ybor City and parts of West Tampa.
Click here to view or download a map of the district. (The District 5 map is located near the bottom of the page.)
Some pockets of East Tampa have seen recent development, however, many remain untouched and in need of affordable housing and economic development.
Chair of the East Tampa Community Redevelopment agency and Chief Strategy Officer for the Corporation to Develop Communities of Tampa Bay Dr. Jeffery Johnson says whoever wins the District 5 seat will need to enter city council as a fighter.
“This is where a lot of your families are,” Johnson said. “This is where some of your lower, marginalized communities are. And they need the support, they need the economic development, they need affordable housing. They need opportunities that other areas may see often, that District 5 may not see, so they have to fight immediately.”
Only residents of District 5 can vote in Tuesday’s election.
Because of the limited number of voters and the large pool of candidates, it’s likely none will get the needed 50% +1 majority of votes to win outright Tuesday. If that is the case, the top two candidates will participate in a runoff to be held on Oct. 28.
The winner of the election will serve the remainder of Henderson’s term through 2027.
The list of candidates running includes:
[ad_2]
Jason Lanning
Source link