Nash Seeks To Unseat Higginbotham in County Commission Race

The race for Eastern Hillsborough’s District 4 county commission seat pits Brandon High School graduate Mark Nash, a Democrat, against incumbent Plant City resident Al Higginbotham, a Republican.

Nash this year is looking to do for himself what he has already done for others  in Eastern Hillsborough County: unseat an incumbent.

Higginbotham is banking on winning another term to a seat he won easily in 2006 because, as he put it, “I’ve paid attention to detail, acted with integrity, kept my word and responded to citizen’s concerns.”

Nash believes his “vision for the future of this community with better job opportunities, expanded transportation options and smarter growth management decisions” will win him a majority at the polls.

Higginbotham coasted to victory in 2006, taking 55 percent of the vote and outpolling his Democratic opponent, Lisa Rodriguez, by more than 10,000 votes. A third candidate with no party affiliation garnered just 2 percent of the vote.

Boundaries for District 4 were redrawn last year, however. Under federal and county law, election boundaries must be reviewed, and changed if necessary, every 10 years to account for population shifts.

As a result, District 4 now includes the southernmost neighborhoods along Tampa Bay, including Sun City. The new District 4 boundaries cover all of rural Eastern Hillsborough, including Plant City. The Greater Brandon area north of State Road 60 — including Mango and parts of Dover and Valrico — were moved to District 2 under the new electoral boundaries. The area south of State Road 60 remains in District 4.

Higginbotham believes it will not make much of a difference.

“The fundamentals of campaigning and public service don’t change,” Higginbotham said. “My votes effect the entire county whether you live in the district or not. There has been little activity at this point [in the race] but once the primary is over it will get more active. Our plan is to get the message out by attending local events and walking the precincts while also continuing my duties as a commissioner.”

New boundaries or not, Higginbotham still has a decided advantage in District 4, according to electoral rolls.

Registered Republicans, 72,617, outnumber registered Democrats, 61,893, in District 4, according to a July 2 report from the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Office. Importantly, however, there are 38,296 registered voters in the district with no party affiliation and 7,314 registered as “other.”

Nash believes voters will look beyond party labels when casting their ballots.

“I grew up in Eastern Hillsborough County and a lot of people who are supporting me are registered Republicans. If people just look at party affiliation we are just going to get more of the same. We are not talking Republican or Democrat, we are talking about fixing problems we face every day.”

As of July 30, Higginbotham had raised $118,815 in campaign contributions, not counting in-kind donations. Nash's contributions totaled $22,970.12. Also in the race for the District 4 seat, with no party affiliation, is Joy Green, who's campaign total amounted to $5,780.

Profile: Al Higginbotham

Al Higginbotham was born in Plant City and has been married for 32 years to his wife, Devon. They have two grown children, Allen and Kaylon.

Paralyzed from the waist down after a spinal cord injury in 1995, he is vocal advocate on behalf of the disabled. His book about his experience, By Faith… I’m Still Standing, was released in 2001.

A University of Florida graduate, Higginbotham founded Market Place Real Estate, a residential real estate brokerage in Orlando, a firm he sold in 1991 when he returned to Plant City with his family.

Higginbotham was elected chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Party in 2003, going on to serve as the party’s state caucus chairman in 2005. From 2003 to 2006, he served as chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Party. He was elected to the county commission in 2006.

Since he joined the commission, Higginbotham has become an advocate for attracting new businesses to the area as well as streamlining costs in county government and greater openness in budgetary matters.

Visit Al Higginbotham’s website for more information or to contact the candidate.

Profile: Mark Nash

A Brandon native, Mark Nash’s family settled in Hillsborough County in the 1800s. He graduated from Florida State University with a degree in criminology. He attended Yates Elementary, Brandon Academy, Horace Mann Junior High School (now middle school), and graduated from Brandon High School in 1979. 

He spent the majority of his professional career at the Gillette Company, managing various business accounts along the East Coast. He returned to Florida in 1997 to manage the Gillette shaving business at Lakeland-based Publix Supermarkets and has resided in Hillsborough County ever since.

Nash worked with Democrat Kevin Beckner on his successful campaign to defeat Republican County Commissioner Brian Blair in District 6 in 2008. He later took a job as one of Beckner’s aides before going on to work with former Tampa City Council member Linda Saul-Sena in her unsuccessful attempt to unseat another Republican, District 5 County Commission Chairman Ken Hagan. 

Nash believes residents of eastern and southern Hillsborough County have had to bear the brunt of limited economic opportunity, poor growth management, and underfunding of transportation needs over the past six years, issues he believes he is best suited to address with his experience in the private sector.

Nash is not married but says he is “accepting applications.”

Visit Mark Nash’s website for more information or to contact the candidate.