Hagan Has Competition For District 2 Seat

By STEPHEN HAMMILL, The Tampa Tribune

http://www2.tbo.com/content/2007/sep/12/me-hagan-has-competition-for-district-2-seat/
Published: September 12, 2007

ODESSA - Keystone Civic Association President Tom Aderhold says he will run for the District 2 seat of the Hillsborough County Commission.

The seat, occupied by Republican Ken Hagan, will be up for grabs in the next general election, Nov. 4, 2008.

Last week, Aderhold met with Dave Storck, chairman of the Hillsborough County Republican Party, to announce his intention to run as a Republican. He plans to file by the end of the week.

'I've gone through the final door, and there's nothing stopping me now,' Aderhold said.

As for whether local Republican officials will welcome a challenge to Hagan, only time will tell. 'I haven't got any sense that they are dissuading or discouraging me,' Aderhold said.

Aderhold, 63, became president of the Keystone Civic Association in April. Since taking over, he has made resurrecting a once-active membership a priority.

He was involved when a settlement was reached in a legal battle over a proposed elementary school. In 2004, the association sued the county to overturn zoning approval to build a school in Keystone. A settlement was reached last year. The Hillsborough County School Board agreed to pay the association $45,000 toward the association's legal fees. The school was approved, but this year it was put on indefinite hold after another elementary opened in the area.

Aderhold said the effect of that settlement is far-reaching. 'It sets the stage for how other neighborhoods in the county can fight the school board,' he said.

This won't be Aderhold's first foray into politics. He started a run for the same seat on the commission six years ago but pulled out of the race early.

'The timing wasn't right,' he said. 'I didn't have the necessary resources.'

Now, he says, he has achieved some notoriety. 'My visibility has increased dramatically in the past six months,' he said. 'I've built up the capital.'

'Plus Barbara his wife and I are retired and stable now,' he added.

Aderhold cited what he calls 'a groundswell of anticommission feelings' behind his decision to challenge Hagan.

'Judging by history, there's always been an anticommission sentiment in Keystone,' Commissioner Hagan said.

The 39-year-old Hagan first was elected to the county commission in 2002. District 2 covers north Hillsborough County. 'I had primary and general-election opposition both times I ran. I welcome it,' he said.

'He's trying to minimize the anticommission sentiment,' Aderhold responded. 'It is not confined to Keystone. It is countywide.'

Reporter Stephen Hammill can be reached at (813) 865-1523 or at shammill @tampatrib.com.