Joe Henderson
Hillsborough County voters have given Property Appraiser Bob Henriquez another four years in office.
Henriquez held a comfortable 57-43 percent lead with 293 of 340 precincts reporting over Todd Jones, who was making his first attempt at public office.
“I’m very pleased and honored to have the opportunity to serve another four years,” Henriquez said. “We ran our campaign based on the results we have been able to achieve over the previous four years.”
Jones tried to paint Henriquez as a political insider whose credentials didn’t measure up to his. Jones pointed to his long career as a certified property appraiser.
“I’m an appraiser running to be an appraiser, not a politician,” he said.
But Henriquez, a former state legislator and local high school football coach, had the edge in name recognition against Jones, who was making his first try at public office. Henriquez also pointed to his record of both modernizing the office and reducing costs since he was elected four years ago.
The two men had decidedly different takes on how Henriquez was doing his job. Jones complained that 96 percent of appeal cases on property valuation were decided in favor of the county, while Henriquez said that taxpayers got relief through either a ruling or a settlement in about 85 percent of the cases.
Jones also criticized Henriquez for using aerial mapping as part of the appraisal process. Henriquez responded that he was required by law to submit aerial photos to the state.
