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Politics & Government

Alex Sink Spurs Debate Over Democratic 'Tea Party' Think Tank, Redistricting and Brandon Representation

Republican Terry Kemple, a former candidate for Hillsborough's School Board, and Democrat Lisa Rodriguez, a former candidate for the county's board of commissioners, react to remarks by Alex Sink to the East Hillsborough Democratic Club.

Democrats hoping to win back seats in Florida will face a tough battle and a think tank isn’t going to solve it, says local conservative leader Terry Kemple, who couldn’t be more wrong, counters long-time Brandon resident and one-time Democratic Hillsborough County commission candidate, Lisa Rodriguez.

Their counterpoint views come in the aftermath of remarks in Brandon earlier this month by Democrat Alex Sink, who spoke at the East Hillsborough Democratic Club meeting about the party’s need — and push — for a think tank to counter the work of such efforts as the right-leaning Tea Party.

Kemple contends Democratic losses in 2010 were down to substance not style and the party is out of touch with the voters.

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“Holding the intellectual high ground isn't a function of establishing a think tank, it's a function of taking positions that make sense for the majority of Americans and that lead to future prosperity for our country,” said Kemple, a Brandon conservative political activist who ran unsuccessfully for the Hillsborough County School Board last year. He is president of the Community Issues Council, a Christian activist group.

“If they truly wanted to take the intellectual high ground they'd abandon this short-sighted view, designed primarily to appease voters in the next election, and replace it with a dramatic reduction in government spending and restrictive regulations.”

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 At the April 12 Brandon meeting of the East Hillsborough Democratic Club, Sink said Democrats, tired of ceding the intellectual high ground to opponents, are well on their way to forming a party think tank.

“There has got to be a place doing thoughtful, honest research that people can turn to,” Sink said. "We don’t want people saying Florida Democrats have no ideas.”

Sink, the 2010 Democratic nominee for governor, lost to Republican Rick Scott by a 1 percent margin. She previously served as the state’s chief financial officer, beating homegrown candidate and former state Senate President Tom Lee, in 2006.

 Decrying the abundance of think tanks and institutes on the right, Sink said it was time Democrats joined the fray. Helping small business growth, increasing employment and protecting the environment would be a few of the core ideas of the Democratic think tank.

The Brandon area also needs more equitable representation when electoral districts are redrawn this year, Sink said. “I’m tired of splitting our congressional representation over three people, none of whom lives near Brandon. Where’s our voice? We need to make these districts start making sense.”

Lisa Rodriguez, Brandon’s honorary mayor, a civic position earned in  an annual race that raises money for a charity, and a member of the Democratic club, said Sink is on the mark. 

“I agree totally with Alex Sink that it's high time that our area of Greater Brandon had a voice. I’ve lived here most of my life, since 1968, and seen this area grow by leaps and bounds. The Brandon area is a huge tax base for the county. However, dollar for dollar, we still lack in services for our area.

“Many of our elected officials [local, state, and federal] don't live in our area.  I can count them on one hand.  Even at the local level of the [Hillsborough County] Board of County Commissioners, our own District 4 commissioner doesn't live in Brandon. District 4 is way too large for one county commissioner. And, if more of our officials did live in Greater Brandon, we would see a difference because they would be a part of our community and care about what happens out here.”

Democrats need a history lesson when it comes to redistricting, Kemple said.

“For most of its history, Florida was a Democrat state with Democrats holding almost all elected offices. That has only changed over recent decades, not because of redistricting but because they forgot that the majority of Americans prefer limited government, personal responsibility, traditional values and a strong national defense. You never heard Democrats complain about redistricting until the time came that their bad policy decisions meant they would no longer control it.”

Jeff Perlman, a longtime Florida Democrat who served three terms as mayor of Delray Beach, said the party needs to start at the grassroots. New districts favorable to Democrats will hardly matter if there are no good candidates.

“We need to rebuild the party from bottom to top. There needs to be a concerted effort to identify promising up- and-coming candidates and provide coaching and support as they launch their careers on the local level. To date, there is no nurturing and so we see good candidates run for state office before they are ready. And once they lose they disappear.”

Democrats should be working with city commissioners and mayors once they prove they can handle the job, Perlman says.

“Instead, we keep spinning our wheels and hoping for different results. We need more good candidates. It's simple. And it's the party's responsibility to find, develop and support them. Right now, we have a dearth of candidates who can credibly run statewide and that will continue until we spend time, money and effort on building a farm team.”

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