In Tampa City Council race, Candice Cowen already has endorsements from state reps and school board members

Candace Cowen Credit: Campaign handout

Since announcing her run for Tampa City Council last month, Candice Cowen is off to a significant start.

The Tampa native running for District 3 leads in campaign donations, with $9,875 as of the last reporting period, as well as earning endorsements from State Rep. Michele Rayner, State Rep. Dianne Hart and Hillsborough County School Board Chair Karen Perez.

Lynn Hurtak holds the District 3 seat until May 1 of next year, as she runs for mayor of Tampa. So far, there are two other candidates on the ballot in District 3 for the 2027 City of Tampa Municipal Election: Garret Greco, grandson of former longtime Tampa Mayor Dick Greco, and marketing CEO Quinton F. Robinson.

Election Day is March 2, 2027; early voting days are still to be determined. The deadline to register to vote is Feb. 1, 2027.

Cowen works for the City of Tampa as a community development specialist and has a long track record of serving the Tampa Bay community.

Her platform focuses on affordable housing in the at-large Tampa district as the city faces a continuing growing population. Hillsborough County is estimated to increase by 397,000 new residents between 2025 and 2030, according to Plan Hillsborough.

“We need to grow responsibly, so that means providing housing opportunities while protecting neighborhood character, and investing in infrastructure, preserving environmental resources and just ensuring that Tampa can grow, live, work, and thrive all together,” Cowen said.

According to a report that tracks the Federal Poverty rate amongst households, ALICE, 44% of Hillsborough households live under the threshold to afford basic needs.

Before she asks for votes next year, Cowen points to an issue on the November ballot: Florida GOP-proposed Amendment 3, which would raise the homestead property tax exemption on non-school districts to $150,000 in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028.

When asked how she would make up the loss of tax revenue, Cowen told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, she’d lead council budget talks to “reallocate funds and acquire different funding.”

“I think that’s something that we definitely need to strategize through,” Cowen said. “I really do hope that we’re able to educate residents to understand the impacts of that [amendment]. I’m just trying to get everyone updated on what the impacts may look like, how that may impact their public safety, their public parks, and their access to different opportunities.”

Experts estimate that by 2027-2028, Hillsborough County will lose nearly $348 million in tax revenue and the entire state will lose nearly $5 billion in total homestead tax revenue, according to the Legislative Office of Economic and Demographic Research.

Cowen’s desire to run for public office stems from Tampa citizens supporting her in hard times. Before her daughter turned one, she was diagnosed with a rare type of cancer, Rhabdomyosarcoma. With the help of “spiritual and financial” support, her daughter went into remission, Cowen said..

“The community just supported us and surrounded us, and people volunteered,” Cowen said. “It was just an amazing time that just showed me what Tampa was truly about. It allowed me to focus on the healing of my daughter…and to this day she’s currently healed.”

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