TAMPA, Fla. — In less than a month, voters in Tampa's District 5 will have the opportunity to bring their voice to the ballot box. There will be a special election to fill a vacancy for the office of Tampa City Council Member, District 5, in the wake of Gwendolyn Henderson's passing.
Election Day for the Special Municipal Election will be Sept. 9, while early voting will run between Sept. 4-7.
Watch full report from Mary O'Connell
Before people cast their votes, ABC Action News traveled to different parts of the district to see what's important to neighbors.
Name: Christoria Humphrey
Age: 24
Neighborhood: Palmetto Beach
Important Issues: Flooding and city maintenance
As somebody who has lived here for a long time, I've seen that hurricanes and just a heavy rain in general causes flooding that can really affect homeowners and even people walking through the neighborhood.
What are you looking for in a City Council Member?
"A council member who is action driven. We've seen a lot of council members that motivate through speeches but don't really show up when it's time to make a plan for action, so definitely somebody who is more goal oriented," said Humphrey.
Name: Elenda Gardner
Age: 70
Neighborhood: Ybor City
Important Issues: Crime and safety
The crime. I prefer less, no crime, if it's possible, and watching out, helping out for the homeless people.
What do you hope the next City Council Member tackles when they're in office?
"Help supporting the people," said Garnder. "I'm just hoping that they continue taking care of the neighborhood, and it's come a long way. It's great. It has come a long way, really."
Name: Brandon Lopez
Age: 29
Neighborhood: East Tampa
Important Issues: Redevelopment
Just making the community look a little bit more nice...They do a great job, but I still think they could do a lot better, given the areas that we have like Westshore and Bayshore Boulevard. I know what we’re capable of, so that would probably be the most impactful thing that we could see.
What are you looking for in a City Council Member?
"Probably the most important to me is my community," said Lopez. "The most thing that I would want is policing of the community. Last hurricane season, there was a lot of debris and stuff that fell that I feel like could have been policed a little bit quicker to help the community restore faster."
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