Janelle Irwin Taylor
Kimberly Overman, the Democrat running for the countywide Hillsborough County Commission District 7 seat, is getting financial backing from transit activists, according to the latest campaign finance reports covering October 6-12.
Tampa residents Michelle Cookson and Mauricio Rosas both contributed small donations to Overman’s campaign. Hillsborough County Commission incumbent Pat Kemp also kicked in $100 this report.
Cookson runs the group Sunshine Citizens that advocates for robust transit solutions and opposes roads-only efforts in the region. Rosas is a frequent face at pro-transit events and regularly emails county commissioners with his thoughts on transportation problems.
Kemp has long been a proponent for transit solutions and is a vocal opponent of the 41-mile bus rapid transit project as currently proposed. She says she supports BRT, but only if it is done right, which she argues is not currently the case.
The proposal would put the bus route along Interstate 275 from St. Petersburg to Wesley Chapel.
Overman continues to lag behind her Republican opponent, Todd Marks, for the seat being vacated by Al Higginbotham, who is retiring.
Marks has raised $267,000 to date compared to Overman’s $129,000.
Marks raised $15,000 during the latest reporting period; Overman raised $10,000.
Overman is also lagging in cash-on-hand with about $12,000 left in her campaign coffers compared to Marks’ $93,000.
The cash disparity is largely due to Overman’s lack of high-dollar contributions. Her average contribution is $179 while Marks’ is $556.
Marks brought in eight top-dollar $1,000 contributions from Maria Kletchka, a Tampa resident, Newland Real Estate Group, Phantom Administrative, HFO Development, KMDGR Investments, Henderson Family Office financial services, 422GH Aviation, Wade Trim in Michigan, HNTB Corporation, Victory Oil Management, Vonderburg Properties and FMI-VP, a Colorado-based investment firm.
Overman brought in just three top-dollar contributions from the IOUE Local 487, an operating engineer union, Maryland resident Judy Nicklason, Woodbury Payton, a Tampa Limited Liability Company.
She also received $250 from former Florida Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink.
The two are also running against Green Party candidate Kim “Klarc” O’Connor. O’Connor has raised just $26,000 to date.
The third party candidate is most well-known for her work on the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District. She resigned earlier this year amid allegations that she smoked pot while staying in a hotel on taxpayers’ dime. O’Connor admits she smokes pot, but denies she did so in the hotel in question, according to the Tampa Bay Times.
