For someone who had recently jettisoned a campaign manager, missed out on a close-call endorsement by the Tampa Tribune and was running late, Linda Saul-Sena was still in character. Still terminally perky and still looking like every one of those 59 years had been kind to her. She had just come from a campaign-ad shoot in Ybor City and was still buoyed by recent sorties outside her well-known South Tampa comfort zone.
The Hillsborough County Commission District 5 candidate seemed to have found the best voice to make her case to those who have labeled her too “Tampa-centric” for county-government work. To those who have characterized her passion for the arts and preservation as some sort of elitist malady.
She refuses, she underscores, to be a caricature. When she talks about preservation, she’s likely not talking about historic buildings’ facades. When she talks about sustainability as a top priority, she’s not talking about tree-hugging.
“As much as time allows, I’ve been meeting with people all over the county the last 10 months,” she says. “From Lutz to South Shore. The problems are so similar. These are folks who are where they are because it’s a great place to live. But it’s changing since they moved there. People don’t want the traffic. They don’t want apartments popping up where there used to be open fields. It’s too much development. And they’re saying: ‘Is this commission paying attention to us?'”
They’re happy to talk to her, she says, “because I want to protect the character of the area. It’s another part of advocating for sustainable communities. Not more sprawl. The smart thing is to invest where we already have infrastructure–and protect lifestyle.”
She likes to cite her MPO planning work–that pre-dates her 20 years on Tampa City Council–as proof that she’s grounded in the basics and nobody’s novice. While she’s proud, for example, of her role in getting Tampa’s cafe ordinance passed, she’s much more apt to reference her experience being a “catalyst” for the redevelopment of Kennedy Boulevard and Channelside–and how the same “collaboration” principle applies no less to more rural areas.
Some additional Saul-Sena outtakes: * “Cultural tourists spend more than sports tourists.” * “Every new home costs $11,000 for water, sewer and roads. We charge developers $3,000. Who do you think subsidizes the difference?” * “Collaborative efforts are critical. Government is one of the partners, not an obstacle to be overcome. You need to collaborate and then you need to stay on it. That takes tenacity.” * “I would anticipate tough county budgets for years to come. We need to work smarter. We don’t, for example need both (county and city) call centers. Cut back on overtime. There’s a lot of internal redundancy. ‘Existing practices’ can always use a set of fresh eyes.” * “It would be so short-sighted of us to not fund this (mass-transit plan). It means jobs in the short term, and it’s a value-added proposition. No, it’s not hyperbole or political rhetoric to say this area’s future success is at stake. We have to be competitive. It’s that basic. We really don’t have a choice. It will seriously impact our economy. We would capture federal dollars otherwise going to other cities. We lost $300 million to Charlotte by not moving earlier to put it on the ballot. I was pea green with envy when I went there.” * “Cuba has got to be part of an overall strategy of growing our international trade opportunities.” * “My fundraising comes mainly from individuals, and I’m proud of the diversity. Not a bunch of developers. There’s a correlation between who supports you and who you listen to.” * “We’re all in this together. We want to preserve what we have and grow smart. The health of our core affects the prosperity of our county. A healthy, vibrant city attracts visitors, jobs and visibility to the entire region.” * “I want a county where my college-age daughters want to come back here and get a good job.”