Newly Elected Hillsborough Commissioners To Be Sworn Into Office

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Hillsborough County will hold its investiture ceremony at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, Nov. 17 to administer the oath of office to the newly elected county commissioners.

The ceremony will be held in the second floor boardroom of the Frederick B. Karl County Center, 601 E. Kennedy Blvd. in downtown Tampa. The ceremony will be closed to the public.

Receiving the oath of office will be Commissioner Pat Kemp who was re-elected to the Countywide District 6 seat, Harry Cohen as the new commissioner for District 1 and Gwendolyn “Gwen” W. Myers as the commissioner for District 3.

Additionally, at 11 a.m., county commissioners will hold their annual organizational meeting, where they will vote on their new chair, vice chair and chaplain.

They also will determine commissioners’ assignments to various boards, such as Tampa Port Authority, Metropolitan Planning Organization and Children’s Board of Hillsborough County.

On Nov. 3, first-time candidate Democrat Gwen Myers won the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 3 race, defeating Maura Cruz Lanz by a vote of 87,233 to 33,396.

"I am humbled by the support and encouragement I have received from the incredible people of District 3,” Myers said. “It will take us all to move the ball forward on transportation, affordable housing, health care and the many other challenges facing our community. I am ready to get started and I look forward to continuing my service to Hillsborough County on the county commission.”

Myers will replace term limited Hillsborough County Chairman Les Miller on the board.

An early and strong advocate for the All for Transportation plan overwhelmingly passed by voters in 2018, Myers has served on Tampa Mayor Jane Castor’s African American Advisory Council, the Hillsborough County Health Care Advisory Board, the Salvation Army Adult Rehabilitation Center Council, the Corporation to Develop Communities (CDC) of Tampa, as well as civic organizations like the League of Women Voters and the West Tampa Chamber of Commerce.

Democrat Harry Cohen won the Hillsborough County Commission District 1 race, a seat held by Republicans for 14 years.

He won over Republican Scott Levinson with 91,458 votes to Levinson's 88,803 votes.

“I am tremendously grateful to the voters for placing their trust in me to represent their interests and their families on the Hillsborough County Commission," Cohen said in a statement. “After a long and hard-fought campaign, I am eager to get to work on the most pressing issues facing our community by fighting back against the spread of COVID, helping local businesses grow jobs, and planning ahead to responsibly manage population growth.”

"I look forward to working with my colleagues both on the Commission and across all levels of government in order to confront our shared challenges and improve quality of life for all residents of Hillsborough County,” he said.

Cohen served two terms on the Tampa City Council ending in 2019 and ran unsuccessfully for Tampa mayor. He is the legal counsel for the Circuit Court Pat Frank. He replaces Commissioner Sandy Murman who has held the seat since 2010 but couldn't run again due to term limits.

Democrat Pat Kemp will return to the District 6 countywide seat after winning a close race against fellow commissioner and former Florida House member Sandra Murman with 360,133 votes to Murman's 324,141 votes.

Kemp was elected to the Hillsborough County Commission in 2016 after serving as chief aide to Congresswoman Kathy Castor when Castor served on the Hillsborough County Commission. Kemp also served as aide to state Rep. Sara Romeo. An attorney, she worked both in private practice and for Bay Area Legal Services, providing civil legal services for low-income clients. She's also a former journalist, serving as news director and radio talk show host at WUSF and WMNF.

“I couldn’t be more thrilled," Kemp said. “I’m looking forward to the next four years.”