![\"Community](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/Robin-Lockett-Photo-by-Ray-Roa-20251017_111947.jpg\")
Robin Lockett at WMNF in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 17, 2025. Credit: Ray Roa \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\nRobin Lockett at WMNF in Tampa, Florida on Oct. 17, 2025. Credit: Ray Roa \/ Creative Loafing Tampa Bay<\/p>\n
After going to bat day after day for residents at Tampa City Hall, Robin Lockett wants a change of scenery.<\/p>\n
Last month, the 61-year-old Regional Director of Florida Rising\u2019s Regional filed paperwork to become the next State Representative for District 63 where Dianne \u201cMs Dee\u201d Hart-Lowman is termed-out.<\/p>\n
Two other Democrats\u2014Jacqueline Coffie-Leeks, and Conrad Schupay\u2014have also filed to run.<\/p>\n
Coffie-Leeks is the Executive Director at Bethesda Ministries, and Schupay\u00a0 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.<\/p>\n
Hart-Lowman told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that she is 100% supporting Lockett\u2019s candidacy, citing the work her preferred-successor has been doing on the ground for more than three decades.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cShe\u2019s worked on housing stability for renters and voting rights. She is working, and has worked on, the very same issues that we\u2019re currently dealing with up there right now, and it won\u2019t stop this year. It\u2019ll be back next year, and the next year,\u201d Hart-Lowmann added. \u201cSo I believe that she will definitely be a true fighter for the people of Florida.\u201d<\/p>\n
The development comes three years after Lockett took longtime, well-liked Tampa City Councilman Guido Maniscalco to a runoff<\/a> for the District 2 seat in city hall.<\/p>\n Lockett\u2014who started community work in her early-30s when she worked on a Fair Districts Amendment and as a NAACP Political Chair\u2014told CL that while she didn\u2019t end up a councilwoman, the journey was a win.<\/p>\n \u201cRunning for city council, that was the best thing I did. The race allowed me to listen to people outside of my ecosystem,\u2014and it gave me a brighter vision in regards to what Tampa really needs,\u201d Lockett added.<\/p>\n Named \u201cBest Public Servant Not On The Taxpayer Dime\u201d the 2023 Best of the Bay awards<\/a>\u2014Lockett will officially launch her campaign on Tuesday, March 31 during a kickoff celebration at The Well in Tampa\u2019s Jackson Heights neighborhood.<\/p>\n Reached by CL, several Tampa City Council members noted how Lockett constantly shows up at city hall, without fail, to advocate for Tampe\u00f1os.<\/p>\n 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.<\/a><\/p>\n This is a developing post.<\/p>\n Pitch in to help make the Tampa Bay Journalism Project a success.<\/a><\/p>\n Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.<\/a><\/p>\n Follow us:\u00a0Google News<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0NewsBreak<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Reddit<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Instagram<\/a>\u00a0|\u00a0Facebook\u00a0<\/a>|\u00a0BlueSky<\/a><\/p>\n This article appears in Mar. 05 \u2013 11, 2026<\/a>.<\/p>\n \n\tRelated\n<\/p>\n \t