Harry Cohen kicks off re-election campaign with overflow crowd and bipartisan support

Hillsborough County Commissioner Harry Cohen officially kicked off his re-election campaign Tuesday evening at a standing-room-only event at Pane Rustica.

The event drew so many supporters that they overflowed out of the restaurant.

Attendees supporting Cohen included three Tampa Mayors: current Mayor Jane Castor and former Mayors Bob Buckhorn and Sandy Freedman.

There was also a bipartisan show of support among civic and business leaders, elected officials and community activists, including Tampa City Council members Alan Clendenin, Charlie Miranda and Luis Viera, as well as former Clerk of Court Pat Frank, who made a cameo appearance days before her 96th birthday, drawing cheers from the crowd.

Cohen also received early endorsements from the Hillsborough County Firefighters, the Tampa Police Benevolent Association, and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

Speakers included former Public Defender Julianne Holt, Hillsborough County Commissioner Gwen Myers and Castor. They praised Cohen’s integrity and his track record of making tough decisions in the public’s interest. Chronister pointed to Cohen’s leadership in passing the Community Investment Tax and his advocacy for public safety and infrastructure improvements.

Cohen, who has twice won election in Republican-favored cycles, said he remains focused on serving all residents of District 1.

“Our community is dynamic, diverse, and constantly evolving,” Cohen said. “I’m running to keep bringing people together to get things done — and last night’s turnout shows how much we can accomplish when we do.”

The kickoff came after third quarter financial reports for Cohen’s campaign and affiliated political committee, Hillsborough Together, showed Cohen with about $267,000 available between the two accounts.

Cohen represents District 1 on the County Commission and is one of only two Democrats on the seven-member board, the other being Myers.

Cohen does not yet face opposition.

Cohen was first elected to the Commission in 2020, replacing former Commissioner Sandy Murman, a Republican. Prior to his service on the Commission, Cohen served two terms on the Tampa City Council. He ran for Tampa Mayor in 2019, finishing third before now-Mayor Jane Castor went on to defeat the late David Straz overwhelmingly in a runoff election.