Hillsborough voters to decide on nine-member commission

Hillsborough County residents will vote on a charter amendment this election that expands the county commission from seven to nine members.

The measure would eliminate the three at-large seats currently held by commissioners representing the entire county. Instead, all nine seats would be single-member districts. If the amendment passes, each voter would elect one commissioner directly. The board would expand further to 11 members if the county population reaches 2.5 million.

Under the current system, voters cast ballots for one of four district representatives and three at-large representatives. This structure means every elector chooses a majority of the seven-member board. Rep. Michael Owen, a Republican from Apollo Beach and former county commissioner, introduced the amendment to state lawmakers earlier this year.

Owen stated that the current setup concentrates power in Tampa and dilutes the influence of suburban voters. "Currently in Hillsborough County, we have 7 county commissioners," Owen said. "So it would get rid of the 3 at-large and make 9 single-member districts."

The ballot initiative includes a provision requiring a majority plus one vote of the commission to appoint or remove the county administrator and county attorney. It also requires this supermajority to propose amendments to the county charter. Owen wrote in a recent letter to the Tampa Bay Times that this requirement closes a loophole in voter-approved term limits.

"The charter has an escape hatch: hit the limit in a district seat, run countywide, or vice versa, and the clock resets," Owen wrote. "That is how one commissioner first elected in 2002 is still on the board 24 years later, having gone from a district seat to a countywide seat and back."

Owen also noted that a single-member district system would make it easier for residents to contact their specific representative regarding local concerns.