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Panel to weigh plan to add fifth single-member district in Hillsborough

 
Published May 4, 2015

TAMPA — When the Hillsborough County charter was established in 1983, it created four commissioners seats in single-member districts and three elected countywide. It has been that way since.

But this week, the panel tasked with recommending changes to the county's charter will explore a proposal to create a fifth single-member district while eliminating one of the countywide seats.

It's not the first time the plan has emerged. County Commissioner Les Miller has advocated in the past for the county board to add a fifth district, but he couldn't get support from his fellow commissioners.

Now that battle moves to the Charter Review Board, a body that meets every five years with the sole purpose of weighing tweaks to the county's charter. On Tuesday, the board will look at Miller's proposal.

Miller said a change is necessary because the county has become too large to be carved into four districts.

"We now have over 1.3 million people, and it's time we made some changes," Miller said. "We're not 600,000 people anymore. So we need to draw districts that bring the people closer to their representatives."

Among the potential winners of a fifth district is the Hispanic community. If the district is carved out of West Tampa and Town 'N Country, as past proposals have envisioned, a large concentration of Hispanic voters there would have a better chance of electing one of their own.

That's not enough of a reason to win over former commissioner Jan Platt, who sits on the 14-member review board.

"Hispanics have won countywide before," Platt said. "So they don't need a district. They just need to go out and run."

Platt also noted that under the existing system, voters have a say in a majority of races — the three countywide seats and the commissioner representing the district in which they reside. That improves accountability, she said, and would be lost if a fifth district were added.

Miller called that a "weak argument" that hasn't prevented corrupt politicians from repeatedly getting elected.

"What difference does it make if you vote for four, three or one?" Miller said. "It doesn't stop anything bad from happening."

A two-thirds vote by the review board is needed to advance a change to the charter to the next step. From there, it goes to Hillsborough voters, who would weigh in via referendum in 2016.

Contact Steve Contorno at scontorno@tampabay.com. Follow @scontorno.