TAMPA, Fla. — Ahead of the 2023 municipal elections, ABC Action News reached out to candidates running for office in Hillsborough County. The following statements have been submitted to ABC Action News by the candidate. Every candidate was given the same set of questions. These are their responses, unedited, in his/her own words.
Question 1: What is the most important issue facing your district?
Answer: The city's housing crisis is the most important issues facing District 6 today.
Question 2: How do you plan to address the affordable housing crisis in your district? What is your stance on rent control?
Answer: Tampa City Council has immense authority to shape our city through the comprehensive plan and land development code. I plan to work with all community stakeholders to revamp and revitalize our comprehensive plan and land development code so that we are eliminating universally agreed upon barriers that increase the cost and slow down the process for new housing getting built, while working to channel growth and density to the neighborhoods that want it, but still protecting and preserving the character of our historic neighborhoods. Additionally, I would like to prioritize a higher percentage of the CRA budget for affordable housing. Further, I would like to expand access to the Dare to Own the Dream (DARE) homeownership program that provides down payment assistance to buyers. The state of Florida preempts rent control laws and rent control will not fix Tampa’s housing crisis. This is largely a supply and demand issue and on Tampa City Council, I will do everything that I can to create the regulatory conditions that allow us to get new housing online as quickly as possible to reduce average rents. I also would support continuing to enhance the City of Tampa’s Rental and Move-In Assistance Program (RMAP). Affordable housing is the number one issue I hear about from residents, so I intend to do all that I can to fix this issue.
Question 3: What is your position on development projects in your district?
Answer: We have a housing crisis and need to get more housing supply online quickly. I am generally for new housing being built, but we need to build quality sustainable development that also fits within the character of our neighborhoods.
Question 4: How do you plan to address the growing issue of traffic congestion and pedestrian safety?
Answer: We must be multimodal in our transportation infrastructure. This starts at the very basic level of installing safe sidewalks throughout our city. Protected bike lanes and dedicated pedestrian trails must also be a priority. We must fix the sidewalk trust fund so that it is collecting enough revenue to pay for the actual cost of installing sidewalks. To fix congestion, we must get more people out of their cars and into public transportation. If elected to Tampa City Council, I would request to serve on the HART Board and TPO Board to advocate for the city's transportation interests. I also would push to have the city use its lobbying resources to advocate in the state legislature for more state appropriations for HART and for light-rail/hard-rail services, including those on the CSX tracks.
Question 5: How do you balance the need for economic growth while protecting our natural resources?
Answer: The economic growth of the future will center on renewable energy and green technologies. We can still promote and encourage growth while having sustainable development that is designed to put Tampa at the forefront of the 21st Century economy.
Question 6: Crime and public safety are issues of concern for your constituents. How do you plan to address them?
Answer: The best thing that the city can do to decrease the elevated levels of violent crimes is to get more officers on the streets, both as a deterrent to crime, but also to improve response times, as discussed above. Prosecution of those crimes is ultimately up to the State Attorney's Office and beyond the city's control. The city should also increase the use of police cameras, which residents I have talked to have requested. I would also consider adopting recommendations made by the Council on Criminal Justice and other institutions to work to reduce crime.
Question 7: Specifically, there has been a uptick in shootings involving teens, what are some of your solutions to reduce teen crime?
Answer: We need a city that is livable and secure for everyone. Providing a high quality of life to the highest number of residents will help reduce the economic anxiety of families that often leads to childhood crime. Additionally, we should work with Hillsborough County Public Schools on this issue.
Question 8: Is there anything else you would like to say that your constituents should know about your run for mayor?
Answer: I am a results-oriented leader. People love to talk about what they are going to do to fix problems, but few people undertake the tireless work required to fix them. However, just as important as undertaking the tireless work to fix problems is understanding what levers of power to push to effectuate actual change. I have a successful background of delivering results, both professionally, and in my advocacy in the community. In my professional career as an underwriter and assistant vice president, the SBA approved over $140 million in loan funding for loans I was involved in. I also was able to secure cosponsors in Congress for favorable legislation to improve SBA loan programs when others in the industry could not. When advocating for the community, I have been successful at mitigating harmful legislation and projects. In 2010, I identified a bill in the state legislature that would have harmed Florida State University, University of South Florida, and other state institutions by naming the University of Florida the state's sole flagship university and directing additional resources solely to UF. I organized local alumni oppositions from multiple universities and ultimately the bill did not go through as planned. For these efforts, I received an Award of Distinction from the Florida Public Relations Association in 2011. In 2015 and 2016, I worked with local activists to help stop the TBX project, which would have expanded our urban freeways to the detriment of our local community. The collective efforts of many great local residents has significantly narrowed the scope of the original TBX project. During the 2020 George Floyd riots, I saw an opportunity to bring our community together to end the negative impacts of racially discriminatory transportation policy. I presented a draft resolution on racial discrimination in transportation to the Hillsborough Transportation Planning Organization's (TPO) Citizens Advisory Committee (15-0), on which I serve as a member. After being appointed a chair of a committee to enhance the resolution, the resolution presented passed the CAC 15-0. I then presented the resolution to the full TPO board, which passed it 13-0. Now TPO staff must take into account the negative effects on our historically disadvantaged communities when planning transportation projects. On Tampa City Council, I intend to continue to be a results-oriented leader, who is not there to grandstand, but who will work hard to deliver results to this city on the big issues it faces.
WEBSITE: https://www.hoytfortampa.com
