Trey Rustmann, a Republican who works as director of enterprise projects at Kforce, has filed to run for the District 1 Hillsborough County Commission seat in 2010.The post is now held by Rose Ferlita, who is expected to run for mayor of Tampa in 2011.

Rustmann, 40, is the second Republican to enter the race. Ruskin business owner Anne Madden filed in July. Tampa City Council member John Dingfelder, a Democrat, also is running for the seat.

Rustmann, a former Marine with an MBA from the University of Tampa, lives in South Tampa. He volunteered for Charlie Crist's 2006 gubernatorial campaign and John McCain's presidential bid, but this is his first run for elected office. He says one of his top priorities as a commissioner would be economic development, and with that in mind, he says he supports a one-cent sales tax to fund light rail in the county. "It's an economic development tool," he said. "Think about it. We invest in light rail, we're going to be creating jobs in the short-term. And light rail ultimately will attract more businesses to the county and create more jobs in the future."

For more information on Rustmann, go to www.electtrey.com.

Janet Zink, Times staff writer