Mitch Perry
There is now a third Democrat running for the Tampa House District 59 seat being vacated by incumbent Ed Narain.
He’s Tallahassee native Walter Lee Smith II, who officially announced his candidacy April 18. Smith is the son of Jeraldine Williams, a civil rights activist and one of the first black students to attend the University of Florida in 1963.
“This is something that I felt was necessary,” he says about entering the contest. “I watched for years as all these things were unfolding. Environmental justice, unemployment issues, development, education. We have some really serious issues that we need to get resolved.”
Smith teaches courses involving construction and related activities in both West and East Tampa.
A graduate of Florida A&M University, he’s currently a host of the WMNF 88.5-FM radio program Sunday Forum and serves as an alternate on the Barrio Latino Commission in Tampa (this reporter also hosts a program on WMNF).
Attorney Sean Shaw and East Tampa businesswoman and activist Diane Hart entered the contest last month after Narain announced he would not run for re-election. Smith says he knows both and has had the opportunity to work with Hart at times in recent years.
“I love them both,” he says.
Shaw had raised $21,493 as of March 31, while Hart had raised $2,386 and loaned $1,500 to her campaign, according to campaign-finance reports.
HD 61 encompasses downtown Tampa, Ybor City, and Seminole Heights. It’s overwhelmingly Democratic in its composition, making the Aug. 30 primary the de facto general election.
