TAMPA, Fla. — When you walk into council member Luis Viera’s office in city hall, you’ll see his walls covered in photos and artifacts that inspire him.
“That’s, of course, Fannie Lou Hamer. My favorites here are Bobby Kennedy, this FDR clock is from 1944,” he said as he gave me a tour of his office.
Viera has represented District 7 since 2016, comprising North Tampa and New Tampa. “And my first race, I won by 65 votes. It was very close, very suspenseful,” said Viera.
If you ask Viera why he got into politics, he’ll tell you about his brother, Juan, who has an intellectual disability.
“You know, growing up with Juan was a big influence on my life, obviously, toward just issues of tolerance and empathy and compassion.” That empathy and passion fuels his desire to represent his constituents and those without a voice.
“You got to come from the heart and that’s something that I think unites all Latinos, which is that we aspire to come from the heart,” said Viera. “We’re all very emotional, so to speak. We wear our emotions on our sleeves.”
Raised in the Temple Terrance area, council member Viera is proud of his Cuban roots.
“I’ve always been proud to be a voice for all refugees, not just people who look like me, but all refugees because, again, that compassion that this great country had for my parents 60 years ago, it’s got to exist still today for people,” said Viera.
