Robin Lockett at WMNF in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 17, 2025. Credit: Ray Roa / Creative Loafing Tampa Bay
After going to bat day after day for residents at Tampa City Hall, Robin Lockett wants a change of scenery.
Last month, the 61-year-old Regional Director of Florida Rising’s Regional filed paperwork to become the next State Representative for District 63 where Dianne “Ms Dee” Hart-Lowman is termed-out.
Two other Democrats—Jacqueline Coffie-Leeks, and Conrad Schupay—have also filed to run.
Coffie-Leeks is the Executive Director at Bethesda Ministries, and Schupay a veteran of the armed forces who now works on risk management for Citi. He spent two years working at The City of Tampa assisting City departments in project management.
Hart-Lowman told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that she is 100% supporting Lockett’s candidacy, citing the work her preferred-successor has been doing on the ground for more than three decades.
“She’s worked on housing stability for renters and voting rights. She is working, and has worked on, the very same issues that we’re currently dealing with up there right now, and it won’t stop this year. It’ll be back next year, and the next year,” Hart-Lowmann added. “So I believe that she will definitely be a true fighter for the people of Florida.”
The development comes three years after Lockett took longtime, well-liked Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco to a runoff for the District 2 seat in city hall.
Lockett—who started community work in her early-30s when she worked on a Fair Districts Amendment and as a NAACP Political Chair—told CL that while she didn’t end up a councilwoman, the journey was a win.
“Running for city council, that was the best thing I did. The race allowed me to listen to people outside of my ecosystem,—and it gave me a brighter vision in regards to what Tampa really needs,” Lockett added.
Named “Best Public Servant Not On The Taxpayer Dime” the 2023 Best of the Bay awards—Lockett will officially launch her campaign on Tuesday, March 31 during a kickoff celebration at The Well in Tampa’s Jackson Heights neighborhood.
Reached by CL, several Tampa City Council members noted how Lockett constantly shows up at city hall, without fail, to advocate for Tampeños.
Early voting for the 2026 Primary Election runs Aug. 3-16, with Election Day on Aug. 18. The deadline to register or change parties is July 20, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections.
This is a developing post.
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This article appears in Mar. 05 – 11, 2026.
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