Our Priorities: Guiding Tampa's Future
Audio Overview:
Priority #1. Choose People Over Portfolios: Making Tampa More Affordable
This pillar directly confronts Tampa's affordable housing crisis by prioritizing the needs of its residents over the financial interests of investors. That's right, people first. The aim is to achieve "More places to live. Less housing stress. Beautiful neighborhoods, lower bills, and policies that treat accessible housing like a human right not a luxury".
• Incentivizing Modular Housing Units: Introducing and incentivizing modular housing units at scale, through neighborhood pilots, with a target rent cost of under $700/month*, designed to be built "faster and smarter".
• Streamlined Remote Permitting & Zoning Reform: Reducing bureaucratic delays in construction by reforming permitting processes and zoning regulations to accelerate housing development.
• Vacancy Tax (1-1.5%): Imposing this tax on "long-term empty commercial investor-owned units." The revenue generated will fund the expansion of RMAP (Rent Subsidies for Eligible Households) and HRRP (Home Repair and Renovation Program). This directly challenges speculative real estate practices.
• Slumlord Accountability: Introducing "City-backed legal tools & an enforcement blitz" to hold negligent landlords accountable for substandard living conditions.
• All-Income Workforce Housing: Advocating for the development of such housing in partnership with "ethical developers," ensuring diverse housing options.
• Smart Impact Fee Reform: Optimizing the use of impact fees to "engineer a higher ROI for housing + infrastructure," by utilizing a Preferred Providers Network for contract procurement & broadly ensuring the efficient allocation of resources.
• Neighborhood Solar Microgrids: Launchingmicro-solar farms across Tampa neighborhoods through a subscription model to simultaneously lower utility bills and create grid resilience (particularly during storms) for residents; linking housing affordability with energy sustainability, all without the up front infrastructure and management costs for the city.
Priority #2. Safety Over Soundbites: A Modern Approach to Public Health & Safety
This priority aims to establish a comprehensive public health and safety plan rooted in wellness, community, and prevention, moving beyond reactive measures to create a city with less crime, more trust, and safer spaces.
• Mental Health & Crisis Response: We will expand co-responder teams, integrating officers with mental health professionals through local partnerships. This includes providing city-funded virtual and in-person therapy resources, awareness campaigns, community meet-ups, and post-crisis follow-up texts to offer ongoing support after incidents.
• Youth & Opportunity Programs: Our initiatives focus on launching the Tampa PD Youth Explorer Program, establishing coalition-led K-12 career pathways into emerging trades (like healthcare and public service), expanding after-school programs, summer jobs programs and hosting city-wide enrichment activities and improved field trips that leverage Tampa's existing infrastructure for improved educational experiences.
• Community Spaces & Wellness: We plan to develop designated "quiet zones" & wellness areas such as butterfly gardens, public animal sanctuaries, and better beaches, alongside establishing public resource centers for creatives and community building. (Like free Art Studios & Car Parks!)
• Police PR Reform focused on Visibility & Trust: We aim to re-prioritize the Tampa Police Department (TPD) on their mission of policing with the community and moving away from "over-policing." This includes introducing on-scene camera teams to document interactions and build trust, and utilizing digital tools & a newly commissioned Tampa Civilian Insights Council (TCIC) to review bodycam footage against complaints and automatically flag patterns in both misconduct and commendable behavior within the police force, while also providing real-time neighborhood-level safety updates.
• Leveraging Partnerships Over Punishment: We will engage business owners and local leaders as safety allies, conduct strategic public relations campaigns to humanize safety efforts, and make data-led policing decisions shaped by neighborhood-level trends.
• Disaster & Climate Safety: A critical component includes developing solar-powered shelters and cooling hubs to enhance resilience during emergencies. We will also implement proactive measures such as emergency kits and flood infrastructure, provide citywide discounted satellite Wi-Fi for reliable crisis communication, and promote green energy leasing to reduce city strain and household utility bills. This forward-thinking approach recognizes that climate change impacts are direct threats to public safety.
Priority #3. Choosing Access Over Authority: Creating a City Government That Works For You, Not Around You.
This pillar is dedicated to fundamentally transforming city government into a responsive and citizen-centric entity, operating "for you, not against you." The objective is to dismantle bureaucratic obstacles and cultivate an environment of transparency and accountability within civic administration.
• Launch the CitySync Initiative™: The cornerstone of our digital governance strategy is the CitySync Initiative, envisioned as a comprehensive "one-stop digital hub for everything from pothole updates to zoning maps, trash pickup to city council recaps all in plain English".
Detailed CitySync Components Include:
— AI-transcribed meeting summaries and real-time voting records: Making civic proceedings easily digestible and verifiable, fostering an informed citizenry.
— Better issue tracking and feedback: Providing a streamlined process for residents to quickly report issues, submit feedback, and track their resolution transparently.
— Neighborhood alerts: Offering customized updates on local construction, events, safety concerns, and city services.
— Real-time public sentiment tracking: Integrating public opinion and feedback directly into governmental awareness.
— Smart forms and digital assistant: Providing 24/7 assistance with city paperwork, permits, and various forms, reducing administrative burdens.
• Live KPI dashboards and a City Hall LED board: Visual tools to track the progress of campaign commitments and city performance metrics in real-time, hosted both online and in City Hall, lighting up as campaign promises are fulfilled.
• Eliminating Red Tape: Launch initiatives aimed at eliminating "red tape" and uncertainty, making the city "understandable, transparent, and accessible - from the palm of your hand.
Mobility Over Mayhem: A City That Works for All Commuters
This priority aims to establish a balanced and efficient transportation system where residents "shouldn't need a car to belong in this city," making it "more attractive to both drive or not drive in Tampa." The desired outcomes are less traffic, more options, and safer sidewalks. Our plan caters to a diverse range of commuters, optimizing vehicle flow while enhancing options for walking, cycling, and public transit.
• Redesign Dangerous Intersections: Improving safety and efficiency of traffic flow, seeking solutions beyond defaulting to roundabouts.
• AI-powered Traffic Signals: Using artificial intelligence to enable traffic signals to "respond to congestion and prioritize first responders," optimizing flow and emergency response times. This application of advanced technology aims to reduce commute times and significantly enhance public safety.
• Launch Microtransit Shuttles: Introducing flexible, on-demand shuttle services for "neighborhood-to-transit station access" to bridge the "last mile" gap in public transportation.
• Mobility Hubs: Dedicated spaces with "shaded seating, bike locks, rest stops, and affordable rides into the city," serving as central points for multi-modal transitions.
• Bike Lane Protections: Enhancing safety for cyclists with "Reflective guardrails, expanded ADA paths, shaded pedestrian routes".
• Public Transit Modernization: Exploring strategic partnerships and intentional procurement to activate existing train stations and underutilized rail corridors to expand and improve a real local public transit network.
• Toll-Free Express Lanes: Designating express lanes for "buses, first responders + discounted express access for residents and students," by opening up closed roads & promoting public transit and emergency services efficiency.