La Gaceta Newspaper

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Democrat Nancy Millan and Republican T.K. Mathew are vying for the open office due to the retirement of Doug Belden.
Mathew is a businessman who was not available for our interview. He does advertise he would give expedited service to first responders and veterans. We think it’s pandering and don’t necessarily think it’s a great idea to have a policy that lets an off-duty fireman jump to the head of a line in front of other citizens who have been waiting. It seems like a recipe to create disgruntled customers.
Nancy Millan spent 31 years working at the tax collector’s office and is Belden’s choice as successor. She knows the office’s strengths and weaknesses and has ideas on how to make the office run even better. She wants to set up a system where customers can keep their appointments virtually. She wants to create more partnerships with companies such as AAA so there are more locations available for customers. She also wants to have staff members who can handle difficult cases that require reaching out to other agencies and governments in order to get the right documents for a driver’s licenses.
If elected, Millan is proud to be the first Latin and woman to hold the position. Millan is well prepared to take over leadership.
La Gaceta endorsed Nancy Millan for Hillsborough County Tax Collector.

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Incumbent Democrat Bob “Coach” Henriquez is being challenged by Republican D.C. Goutoufas.
We have a lot of respect for Goutoufas. Deaf at the age of four, he has overcome many hurdles and refused to let his impairment limit him. He graduated from the University of Tampa, ran for Tampa City Council against Eddie Caballero 30 years ago, had a career in banking, raised a family and is a small businessman. He’s been involved in his community and advocated for people with disabilities and is running for office again. This time, he can hear due to cochlear implants in each ear, but it’s limited.
Bob Henriquez is a Princeton graduate, former state representative, helped manage the Department of Children and Families in this area and won the office of property appraiser when scandal caused Rob Turner to lose the office.
Henriquez helped restore order to the office and became a certified appraiser to better his skills. Under his leadership, the office has won awards, reduced costs, increased efficiency, increased accessibility through technology and earned the community’s trust.
Goutoufas and Henriquez are clearly divided on one issue. Henriquez is committed to collect property taxes from some of the tenants of the port and airport. Goutoufas would forgive their taxes. We stand with Henriquez on the issue. If La Gaceta has to pay its taxes, so should big businesses such as UPS and Gulf Marine.
La Gaceta endorses Bob Henriquez for Hillsborough County Property Appraiser.

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Republican Sheriff Chad Chronister is being challenged by Democrat Gary Pruitt and no-party-affiliated Ron McMullen.
The challengers are both well-qualified with years of law enforcement experience. Both say they would provide better and stronger leadership and would continue the programs started and expanded by Chronister.
As with the state attorney, we think Chronister has done a great job and made many reforms we support. He is very nonpartisan in his relationship with other elected officials and on many issues.
Chronister has championed body cameras. He created pods in the jail for veterans in order to provide more services to that group. He is providing more drug treatment programs in jail and doing more vocational training to teach trades such as refrigeration and plumbing. He even offers support services for people up to 30 days after leaving the jail to help prevent recidivism. He has increased training and encourages more honesty and transparency among the ranks so that deputies report bad actors instead of protecting them.
The sheriff’s office is undermanned compared to some counties, but budget cuts due to COVID will delay addressing this issue. Crime is down and the sheriff’s office has avoided the ugly incidents that caused unrest in many parts of the county. It’s hard to argue with success.
La Gaceta endorses Chad Chronister for Sheriff.

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Republican incumbent Jackie Toledo is being challenged by Democrat Julie Jenkins for this South Tampa district.
Toledo has had legislative success with nonpartisan bills, such as texting while driving, and reining in and protecting youths from vaping.
Toledo also had a lot of success in bringing money to this county for infrastructure. As a Republican, she is on the wrong side of us on reproductive rights, issues regarding undocumented immigrants and a host of other partisan issues.
Julie Jenkins had a career in the travel industry with Holiday Inns and Virgin Atlantic Airlines. She also raised money for nonprofits, such as St. Peter Claver Catholic School and the Children’s Home.
Jenkins is now a small-business owner. Jenkins is always working, promoting and helping in her community. She is tireless. She is a pragmatic Democrat who will work to expand access to healthcare, pass commonsense regulations regarding guns and allow local governments to govern without constant interference from Tallahassee.
La Gaceta endorses Julie Jenkins for State House District 60.

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Incumbent Republican Mike Beltran is being challenged by Scott “Mr. H.” Hottenstein for the East Hillsborough County district.
Hottenstein, aka Mr. H by his students, is a civics teacher in our local public schools. His previous career was as a naval officer for 24 years. He ran for School Board two years ago and learned that Tallahassee wields more control of our schools than our local board. He is committed to improving schools, so he decided to run for the House.
Mike Beltran is a Harvard-educated lawyer who is running for his second term. Beltran is smart, he listens and has shown that while he is a conservative Republican, he’ll cross the aisle when he feels compelled by issues. He is a Second Amendment guy but has sided with Democrats on guns in schools. He supported a bill by Democrat Dianne Hart on prison reform. He also works behind the scenes to make some bad bills supported by his party better.
Republicans will still control the House by a large margin after this election. Democrats need Republicans to partner with who will listen to good ideas and support worthy bills if they are to have any success. We believe Beltran will work with Democrats when he feels it’s true to his values.
La Gaceta endorses Mike Beltran for State House District 57.

From “As We Heard It,” by Patrick Manteiga, Oct. 2, 2020

Democrat State Attorney Andrew Warren faces a challenge from Mike Perotti, who is in-house counsel for the Hillsborough County Sheriff.
Perotti spent years at the Sheriff’s Office, first serving under Cal Henderson. He has a wide range of experience there from law enforcement to the jail. He offers to do much of the same programs and reforms instituted by Warren except he says he can do them better. He also offers to be more consistent.
We were the only newspaper to endorse Andrew Warren when he ran to unseat Mark Ober. This time, we will have more company. We supported him in 2016 because he promised reform. He kept his promise. He concentrated his resources on prosecuting violent and repeat criminals and working on prevention, treatment and rehabilitation for the thousands caught up in the system from minor crimes due to drug addiction and mental illness.
He is also working to help low-income people to comply with the law instead of just fining and jailing them. Out of the 60,000 to 70,000 cases his office deals with each year, a staggering 10,000 or so cases are from driving on a suspended license.
Warren tells us when he got there, only about 4 percent of these people had their cases dismissed becasue they obtained a valid license. His office, by working with these people to resolve their fines and unpaid tickets that caused the suspensions, has resulted in around 35 percent getting their licenses restored and their cases dismissed. He has increased the use of civil citations and provided a balance between restraint in dealing with peaceful protesters and toughness in going after looters and arsonists.
La Gaceta confidently endorses Andrew Warren for State Attorney.