Janelle Irwin Taylor
A local Democrat is hoping to flip a seat on the Hillsborough County Commission four years after it went red.
Dr. Neil Manimala, a board-certified urologist and lifelong Hillsborough resident, is running for the District 5 seat currently held by Republican Donna Cameron Cepeda.
Cepeda won the seat in 2022, unseating Democrat Mariella Smith in what turned out to be the political equivalent to the infamous Game of Thrones “Red Wedding.” Red was everywhere, with Republicans claiming control not just of the Hillsborough County Commission, but also of the neighboring Pinellas County Commission and making huge gains in the Legislature.
With President Donald Trump now back in office, Democrats hope frustration over economic uncertainty stemming from Trump’s tariff threats and “Big Beautiful Bill” that critics say hurts lower income Americans to the benefit of the wealthy will swing the pendulum back in their direction.
And that’s where Manimala comes in. While he didn’t mention Trump anywhere in his campaign announcement, it’s clear he’s running as a change candidate.
“Housing is out of reach. Child care costs more than some mortgages. Traffic congestion is turning our commutes into chaos,” he said in a campaign announcement. “I’m not here for politics-as-usual. I’m here to serve. I’m here for you.”
Manimala said his career in health care has shaped his view of public service, teaching him to listen, act with urgency and always put people first.
He wrote that policy decisions have directly impacted lives, including by reducing access to affordable health care, degrading neighborhood safety and eroding infrastructure resiliency.
The son of immigrants, Manimala is also running to ensure that everyone has a chance to succeed. He supports investing in affordable housing, reliable public transportation, smart growth and quality of life. He is also running to improve government transparency and responsiveness.
“I’m running because I know we can do better — and because I believe growth should work for all of us,” Manimala said.
Manimala was raised in Valrico. He earned both his undergraduate and medical degrees from the University of South Florida. He serves as a member of the Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board and the Health Council of West Central Florida, and is the President-elect for the Hillsborough County Medical Association. He is also a member of the American Planning Association.
Cepeda is an army veteran and author with experience in finance. In her 2022 campaign, she described herself as a “constitutional conservative.” Her platforms included bolstering border security, banning abortion access and stopping the “transgenderism agenda,” which Cepeda claimed was the “indoctrination of our children in our schools.”
District 5 is elected countywide where Republicans have a narrow voter registration advantage, with more than 287,000 voters compared to just over 270,000 Democrats. There are another more than 212,000 voters not registered with a party, a demographic critical for winning the district.
