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<\/a><\/p>\n\u201cI look forward to working with you on the issues our residents care most about, including greater access to affordable housing, child care, and public transportation. These priorities are critical to responsible growth, environmental preservation and modernizing infrastructure. Together, we can help build a County government that is more accessible, accountable, and truly reflects the people it serves.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rodriguez\u2019s honorary host committee includes, among others, Tampa City Council members Alan Clendenin, Lynn Hurtak, Guido Maniscalco and Luis Viera; Hillsborough County School Board members Nadia Combs, Lynn Gray, Karen Perez and Jessica Vaughn; former Hillsborough County Commissioner and former University of South Florida President Betty Castor; former state Sen. Janet Cruz; former Hillsborough County Commissioner Kimberly Overman; and former Tampa City Council member and current Florida House candidate Mike Suarez.<\/p>\n
The host committee includes local business leaders and political insiders such as Erin Aebel, Karen Clay, Bryan Farris, Rick Fernandez, Rick Fifer, Andy Johnson,\u00a0Neil Manimala, Stephanie Poyner, Hoyt Prindle, Taylor Ralph, Michael Reeves, C.L Townsend and others.<\/p>\n
Rodriguez, a former regional director for former Republican U.S. Sen.\u00a0Mel\u00a0Martinez, filed paperwork last week to run<\/a>. Rodriguez, a Democrat, is so far the only candidate challenging Wostal.<\/p>\n Rodriguez is\u00a0a career public relations expert<\/a>, having run her own PR firm, AR Public Affairs and Strategic Solutions, since 2009. She also worked from 2014 to 2017 as a senior manager of executive affairs for the Hillsborough County Aviation Authority.<\/p>\n Prior to that, she served as marketing communications director for the Helios Education Foundation and Communications Director for the 2012 Tampa Bay Host Committee for the Republican National Convention.<\/p>\n Rodriguez was previously registered as a Republican but changed her political affiliation in 2019, saying the GOP left her and no longer reflected her values as a Christian.<\/p>\n Rodriguez was born in Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory, and raised in the Tampa Bay area. Her campaign will focus largely on the affordability crisis that is plaguing not just Hillsborough County residents, but those throughout the state and nation.<\/p>\n Rodriguez also said she would prioritize infrastructure spending and expanded transportation options to break gridlock in Hillsborough County, calling such moves \u201ccommon sense.\u201d<\/p>\n District 7 is elected countywide, where Republicans hold a voter\u00a0registration advantage<\/a>\u00a0with nearly\u00a0292,000 voters compared to nearly 273,000<\/a>\u00a0Democrats. With another more than 217,000 independent voters, Rodriguez\u2019s experience as both a Republican and Democrat could help bridge the voter registration gap by enticing moderate voters.<\/p>\n That could be especially true in a Midterm Election year expected to favor Democrats amid frustration with federal policies under the\u00a0Donald Trump\u00a0administration and GOP trifecta in Washington.<\/p>\n Historically, the party in power in the White House suffers losses in Midterm years, and this year is not expected to be any different. But it\u2019s worth noting that in the last Midterm cycle, in 2022, Republicans overperformed in Florida even as they underperformed elsewhere in the nation.<\/p>\n That was also the same year the Hillsborough County Commission\u00a0flipped red<\/a>, with the defeat of two incumbent Democrats, shifting the board from a 5-2 Democratic advantage to a 4-3 Republican majority. Wostal was first elected that year, defeating incumbent Democrat\u00a0Kimberly Overman\u00a0with\u00a0more than 52% of the vote<\/a>\u00a0despite being significantly underfunded.<\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/UBER_FL_insurance_728X90_010526.png\")
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