Mitch Perry
Buoyed in part by a very successful inauguration fundraiser/birthday party at an Ybor City craft brewery this past week, Hillsborough County Commission District 6 candidate Brian Willis touted his first fundraising totals in a press release issued Friday.
The 32-year-old Tampa lawyer and transit activist raised $45,537 in April, the first month he has been campaigning and collecting money. His campaign says that’s the third best start to for a county commission bid in the past decade, trailing only current commissioners Ken Hagan and Al Higginbotham in their races for countywide office last year.
“In just one month 181 people donated to the campaign and over 1,600 people supported us,” Willis said in a news release. “Thanks to them there is no question that we are going to raise the resources and have the support to run and win countywide.”
Although exact figures havn’t been released, a substantial part of that $45,357 came from a successful birthday party/fundraising event on Wednesday at Coppertail Brewing, which was swarmed with supporters, most who looked to be under 35
By contrast, the current youngest member of the Hillsborough County Commission is Stacy White, 42.
Farther west on Kennedy Boulevard, the Tampa City Council recently received an infusion of youth when 30-year-old Guido Maniscalco was elected to that body. 44-year-old Harry Cohen had been the youngest member on council until Maniscalco’s election.
Willis says that a campaign video released on April 6 has been watched over 5,880 times, and he has gained over 1,600 supporters since then.
“I feel like Brian is one of the few candidates for county commission I’ve seen in a long time that are understanding of the issues that we face over here in east Hillsborough,” says Bloomingdale resident Jereme Monette. “A lot of them are kind of stuck down in the Tampa area, and to get over here east of I-75 and have somebody understand the issues over here is a big deal for me.”
Hannah Strong moved to South Tampa with her husband two years ago from Denver, and says that the 32-year-old Willis “seems wise beyond his years.”
She says she became an immediately impressed with his work on transit issues, and became excited when he said he would be running for office.
“I live in south Tampa, where the majority of my friends probably identify as Republican, but when I talked to them about the kind of things that Brian is doing, they’re excited. I feel like he really could cross political barriers, because he’s a real estate lawyer, he has a sense of the business community.”
The Willis camp produced a list of the ten most successful first month fundraising totals over the past decade – headed by Hagan and Higginbotham, both of whom raised more than $300,000 total in their races. Both of course, had served on the commission for many years and had much higher recognition than Willis currently does.
Willis running against Pat Kemp and Marisol Blanco in the Democratic Primary for the District 6 seat, scheduled for August of 2016.
aiser/birthday party at an Ybor craft brewery last week, Hillsborough County Commission District 6 candidate Brian Willis is touting his first fundraising totals in a press release issued out on Friday.
The 32-year-old Tampa attorney and transit activist took in $45,537 in April, the first month that he has officially been campaigning for office and collecting money. The Willis campaign says that is the third best start to for a county commission in the past decade, trailing only current commissioners Ken Hagan and Al Higginbotham in their races for countywide office last year.
“In just one month 181 people donated to the campaign and over 1,600 people supported us,” Willis said in a press release. “Thanks to them there is no question that are going to raise the resources and have the support to run and win countywide.”
Although exact figures have not been released, a substantial part of that $45,357 came from a very successful birthday party/fundraising event last Wednesday at Coppertail Brewing, which was swarmed with supporters, including a majority of people who looked to be under 35 years of age.
By contrast, the current youngest member of the Board of County Commissioners is Kevin Beckner, who is 44.
Farther west on Kennedy Boulevard, the Tampa City Council recently received an infusion of youth when 30-year-old Guido Maniscalco was elected to that body. Until then 44-year-old Harry Cohen had been the youngest member on council.
Willis said a campaign video released on April 6 has been watched mmore than 5,880 times, and that he has gained more than 1,600 supporters since then.
“I feel like Brian is one of the few candidates for county commission I’ve seen in a long time that are understanding of the issues that we face over here in east Hillsborough,” Bloomingdale resident Jereme Monette said. “A lot of them are kind of stuck down in the Tampa area, and to get over here east of I-75 and have somebody understand the issues over here is a big deal for me.”
Hannah Strong moved from Denver to South Tampa with her husband two years ago. She said Willis “seems wise beyond his years.”
She said he immediately impressed with his work on transit issues, and became excited when he said he would be running for office.
“I live in South Tampa, where the majority of my friends probably identify as Republican, but when I talked to them about the kind of things that Brian is doing, they’re excited. I feel like he really could cross political barriers, because he’s a real estate lawyer, he has a sense of the business community.”
The Willis camp produced a list of the 10 most successful first-month fundraising totals over the past decade — headed by Hagan and Higginbotham, both of whom raised more than $300,000 total in their races. Both of course, had been on the commission many years and had much higher recognition than Willis does.
Willis is running against Pat Kemp and Marisol Blanco in the Democratic Primary for the District 6 seat, scheduled in August 2016.
