Blair actions at EPC still raise red flags

As chairman of the Hillsborough County Environmental Protection Commission, Brian Blair tried last year to end the agency's regulation of construction around wetlands. The dispute ended in compromise, and Blair has since relinquished his chairmanship. But last month, Blair crashed talks between EPC employees and owners of a yard-waste processing company accused of breaking county rules.......more

The Chaplain Turns Water Into Whine

If you're a government apparatchik, seeing Hillsborough County commissioner and resident board parson Brian Blair barging through the door has to be the paper-pusher equivalent of the pol who came to dinner meets Mongo from "Blazing Saddles." Good grief, this guy appears to have crashed more events than Kato Kaelin, which might explain The Chaplain's presence late last year at an Environmental Protection Commission staff meeting.........more

Elephant Stampede 11.10.2004

On the day after conservative Republicans completed their takeover of Hillsborough County government:Brian Blair woke up groggy, trying to check his voicemail on a dead cell phone. He did not get to bed at the Hyatt downtown until well after 5 a.m. while watching late returns that showed him squeaking out a victory against Bob Buckhorn.
Ralph Hughes, one of the longtime architects of the emergence of Hillsborough conservatism, arrived early at his desk at Florida Cast-Crete, a pre-stressed concrete manufacturer, and reflected on how more and more Floridians are becoming fiscally and socially conservative.
At the Hillsborough Democratic Party offices, no one was answering the telephone.
The conservative revolution was complete.......via...PoHo

In this corner, the word 'Gestapo'

Just when you were starting to miss those big Hillsborough County Commission battles over protecting local wetlands, wrestler-turned-commissioner Brian Blair demands a rematch. Or at least gives us a glimpse of the commissioner we've come to know, and it involves the word "Gestapo.".........more

Hillsborough approves optical scan voting system

Hillsborough County citizens have voted for the last time on touch screen voting machines. Today, County Commissioners approved a $5.97-million contract to purchase voting machines from a new vendor, Premier Elections Solutions. The recommendation came today from Elections Supervisor Buddy Johnson......more

Kevin Beckner at EPC Meeting

Democratic big guns take aim at Blair

U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is co-hosting a fundraiser next week for Kevin Beckner, a Democrat who's challenging Republican Brian Blair for his Hillsborough County Commission seat. Castor served with Blair on the commission before winning her congressional post. Among the other Beckner backers listed on the invitation: State Democratic Party chairwoman Karen Thurman; Tampa City Council members Gwen Miller, Linda Saul-Sena and Mary Mulhern; state Rep. Betty Reed; and state Sen. Charlie Justice.
via...The Buzz