by Joan Alagood

63 voters made all the difference when they elected Attorney Luis Viera over his opponent, Dr. Jim Davison in the non-partisan Tampa city Council, District 7 race last Tuesday.

Tampa's District 7 is comprised of 20 precincts representing almost 54,000 residents encompassing USF, North Tampa and New Tampa.    Only 9.5% of registered voters turned out for this close election.  2589 votes were cast for Viera and 2526 for Davison.  If only 3.25 more voters per precinct had been convinced to vote for the Conservative, the outcome of this Tampa election and the Tampa City Council itself would have become a bit more balanced.

Although the election was non-partisan, it is widely recognized that the entire Tampa City Council leans liberal.  Dr. Davison could have counter balanced this by offering his frugal, common sense conservative voice to the Council.  Because of the non-partisan nature of the election, the Parties themselves were by law not allowed to participate in the campaigns.

Tampa City Council deliberations recently have included such topics as funding, transportation, water and sewer, abandoned homes and economic growth.  Recently Mayor Buckhorn has been asked to consider identifying Tampa as a sanctuary city.  Decisions of the Tampa City Council immediately affect all 370 thousand citizens of the City of Tampa and most of the 1.3 million citizens of the County, as residents of outlying areas come to work, play and travel through Tampa.

Why Care?  This seemingly mundane election last Tuesday, December 6, may appear as if it only affected five thousand North Tampa area voters - while in reality, if you live in or drive through any part of Tampa, Candidate Viera, who won the election, and the decisions he makes forthwith, will affect you and your family one way or another for decades to come.

(As of Monday, December 12, the election results are still unofficial as the 10 day rule for overseas ballots is still in effect.)