Voters decided three primary races for County Commission on Tuesday.
With current Hillsborough County Commission District 4 Commissioner Al Higginbotham’s term ending, the time has come for a new face to take over.
Republican Dr. Stacy White, won with 39 percent of the vote, beating out retired Tampa Police Detective Rick Cochran and Janet Dougherty, a well-known business woman in the county.
“I'm honored and humbled to have won this race. I look forward to serving all of the people of Hillsborough County,” said White in a statement.
Forty-one-year-old White, no stranger to the Hillsborough County School Board, faces only a write-in candidate in November.
Six candidates ran in the District 7 commission race to replace Hillsborough County Commission Chairman Mark Sharpe, who is leaving office in November because of term limits.
In the Republican primary, Al Higginbotham, 60, won with 66 percent of the vote.
“I have so much gratitude for my volunteers who have worked so hard,” Higginbotham said in a statement. “We are going to get a good night's sleep because we have a lot of work between now and November.”
None of the other three Republican candidates had ever held public office before.
In the Democratic primary, Patricia “Pat” Kemp won with 65 percent of the vote.
Kemp, 57, said she would continue Sharpe’s support for transportation improvements.
“Our transit is woefully underfunded - 94th out of the largest 100 metro areas. We can’t keep young people here or serve our aging baby boomers unless we support a great transit system and walkable communities.”
Other races on the ballot included (winners in bold);
School Board District 2
- Sally Harris
- Michelle Shimberg
- Michael Weston
- Terry Kemple
- Dee Prether
- Melissa Snively
- Asher Edelson
- Alison Fernandez
- April Griffin (incumbent, runoff)
- Stacy Hahn
- Paula Meckley
- Dipa Shah (runoff)
- Lee Sierra
- Randy Toler
County Court Judge Group 12
Norman Cannella Jr.
Chris Nash