Sharpe Seeks Reelection In Dist. 7

By MARK HOLAN of The Tampa Tribune

Published: Oct 14, 2006

TAMPA - Mark Sharpe ran and lost three races for Congress in the 1990s before being elected to the Hillsborough County commission in 2004.

Now he's campaigning again to retain the countywide District 7 seat, this time against fellow Commissioner Tom Scott, who is term-limited in his District 3 seat.

Sharpe said Scott's last-minute entry into the race means he has to pay more attention to county issues.

"It gives you the opportunity to get into the meat of the issues," Sharpe said.

So far, the two commissioners have avoided the intra-board political feuding that characterized the 2002 Republican primary contest between commissioners Jim Norman and Stacey Easterling.

Sharpe said his top issues during a second term include transportation, economic development and building a new emergency operations center shared by county, city and other agencies.

"We need to work with our city," Sharpe said. "Our job is to work together to solve problems."

Sharpe, a former Navy intelligence officer, is a detail guy and a bit of a policy wonk.

He said being chairman of the 2005 task force that overhauled the county's indigent health care plan was "like being a kid in a candy store."

While other commissioners pursued attention-grabbing issues like banning gay pride recognition or building new sports parks, Sharpe spent months studying mountains of reports about health care finances.

But Sharpe's keen interest in policy issues may also be his weakness as a politician.

"He needs to get involved in more issues that are exciting in the hearts and minds of the public," said former commissioner Joe Chillura. "He behaves more like an administrator than a politician."

Sharpe is considered a moderate Republican when compared to more partisan board members such as Ronda Storms and Brian Blair.

Shape withdrew his support from the $40 million amateur sports complex championed by fellow commissioner Norman and was an early supporter of increasing impact fees for school construction. He also sided with the board's two Democrats to provide $500,000 for a domestic abuse program rather than cut the funding to further reduce property taxes.

Chillura said Sharpe has a "strained relationship" with the county's GOP establishment because he votes his conscience, "not what's going to be the most palatable politically."

Sharpe doesn't think the relationship is strained.

"I think that's more a matter of perception," he said. "There are issues where I just saw it the other way. But I think people respected me, because they've come up to me and said, ‘You were fair and listened.'"

This year Sharpe began making regular end of the week visits to Hillsborough schools, meeting with students, teachers and administrators.

"I like getting into the meat and potatoes of how our schools are educating our kids," Sharpe said. "My favorite day is Friday."

In September, Sharpe also visited two University of South Florida political science classes. Professor Susan A. MacManus said many of the students seemed impressed by Sharpe's military experience and enthusiasm for education.

"He did a good job of telling why he got into politics," MacManus said. "He also talked about how he lost [three Congressional races]. He talked about the pain and how he thought he wouldn't get back in."

Sharpe said he loves teaching, and probably will return to the classroom when he's done with politics.

Chillura said Sharpe "has the will and determination to slay giants. I'd like to see him get a little more passionate about the things he believes."

Reporter Mark Holan can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or mholan@tampatrib.com.