Mitch Perry
As expected, Tampa attorney Bob Buesing has become the first Democrat filing in Hillsborough County’s newly created Senate District 18 seat. Tampa Republican state Representative Dana Young announced her candidacy for the seat back in January.
Buesing says if elected, he will donate his state salary of $29,600 to the Tampa Metropolitan YMCA because he says, the job “isn’t about me.”
“It’s about enriching the lives of those in need,” he says in a statement. “Let’s put egos aside, work together, and build a brighter future for all Floridians.”
“We keep telling the current Legislators what they need to do to improve lives and strengthen our community — but they are not listening,” Buesing says. “There are too many entrenched career politicians more interested in attaining power and moving on to the next stepping stone in their political careers rather than working to improve the lives of their constituents.”
Buesing says he’s for expanding early learning opportunities for children, for Medicaid expansion and for protecting the environment. “Rather than find common sense solutions to these problems, the Legislature continues to push extreme policies that are out of step with the needs of everyday Floridians,” he says.
Buesing hails from Appleton, Wisconsin. After earning his B.A. and J.D. from the University of Wisconsin, Buesing took a job at Trenam Law in Tampa in 1977 and has lived and worked in the community ever since.
Senate District 18 includes Avila, Carrollwood, Davis Islands, Lutz, MacDill Air Force Base, Odessa, South Tampa and Westchase.
