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Facts matter.

Answers to common questions about Jackie's record, with a public source for every fact.

The facts on Jackie's record.

Jackie is a Republican, and she has never hidden it. This race is about Hillsborough: your county taxes and fees, your roads, your drainage and how your money is spent. Here are the facts, with a public source behind every one.

01 The question

What does the County Commission actually decide?

Your county taxes, fees, roads and drainage. Not Washington.

  1. The seven-member Hillsborough County Commission sets county tax rates and fees and decides how county money is spent. It adopted this year's county tax rates on Sept. 24, 2026, by a 5–1 vote, with Harry Cohen voting yes. [Hillsborough County record]
  2. It makes the big spending calls, too. On Aug. 28, 2026, Harry Cohen voted for $796 million in public money for a Rays stadium, including $360 million of Community Investment Tax. It passed 5–2. [WUSF]
  3. It has no vote on federal law or national politics. Jackie's platform for this office is local: traffic, growth, public safety, taxpayers and flooding. Read her plan.
The bottom lineJackie is a Republican and has never hidden it. But Washington won't fix our flooding or lower our county taxes. That's the County Commission's job, and it's the job Jackie is running for.
02 The question

Would Amendment 3 mean cuts to police and fire?

Not if the county budgets for public safety first. That's Jackie's plan.

  1. Amendment 3 raises the homestead exemption for county, city and special-district property taxes to $150,000 of assessed value in 2027 and $250,000 in 2028. School taxes aren't affected. It needs 60% of the vote to pass. [HJR 1-F (2026)]
  2. Since FY2021, the county's yearly property-tax levy has grown by more than $600 million, from about $1.0 billion to $1,619.9 million in FY2027. [Florida Dept. of Revenue · FY27 budget record]
  3. Jackie supports Amendment 3. Her plan funds public safety first: deputies, firefighters, EMS and emergency managers. See her plan.
The bottom lineHomeowners deserve relief, and the county can find savings in more than $600 million of growth before it ever touches public safety.
03 The question

What would Jackie do about flooding?

Put drainage and flood protection first in the county budget.

  1. Jackie is a civil engineer, licensed in Florida since 2006, with a civil engineering degree from USF. Meet Jackie.
  2. Her plan makes infrastructure resilience a priority in every county budget, puts stormwater improvements and flood mitigation where neighborhoods need them most, and gets storm preparedness ready before hurricane season, not after. Read her plan.
The bottom lineHarry Cohen voted for $796 million in public money for a ballpark. Jackie's priority is drainage before the next storm.
04 The question

Where does Jackie stand on homeowners' insurance claims?

When homeowners' time to file claims was cut, Jackie voted no.

  1. In 2021, the Legislature cut homeowners' time to file a new claim to two years (SB 76). Jackie voted no, one of six Republicans against it. It passed 75–41. [House vote]
  2. Across her Florida House campaigns (2016–2022), property insurers, their trade groups and agent PACs gave $15,000 of the $1,612,994 she raised. That's under 1%. Counting every insurance-related donor, it's about 3%. [Florida Division of Elections]
  3. A 2019 insurance bill, HB 301, passed the Florida House 114–0 and the Senate 37–1. Nothing in it lets insurers deny or underpay claims; its closest link to claims is a 60-day pause on bad-faith notices after either side asks for an appraisal. [Florida Senate · House bill analysis]
The bottom lineWhen homeowners' claims were on the line, Jackie voted with homeowners, against her own party.
05 The question

What did Jackie's budget votes do for schools and roads?

The 2018 state budget raised school funding.

  1. Jackie voted for the 2018 state budget (HB 5001). It raised K-12 school funding by $484.8 million and funded a $9.9 billion transportation program. It passed the House 95–12. [Senate bill summary · House vote]
  2. Two other measures sometimes cited, HJR 7001 (2018) and SB 7070 (2019), contain no budget cuts. HJR 7001 requires a two-thirds vote of the Legislature to raise state taxes or fees, and Florida voters approved it as Amendment 5 with 65.7%. SB 7070 created a state scholarship program. [HJR 7001 · SB 7070]
The bottom lineThe budget Jackie voted for raised school funding and paid for a $9.9 billion transportation program.

Harry Cohen's record

Here are the votes Harry Cohen has cast on the County Commission.

$796M

Public money for a stadium

On Aug. 28, 2026, Cohen voted yes on the county's share of a Rays stadium: $360M of Community Investment Tax, $303M of tourist tax, $103M of other county funds and $30M of federal disaster-recovery money. It passed 5–2.

Florida Politics · WUSF

$1.6B

A year in county property taxes, up from $1.0B

County property-tax levies grew from about $1.0B in FY2021 to $1,619.9M in FY2027, up more than 60%. Cohen voted yes on all six budgets, FY22 through FY27. Every one from FY23 on was set above the rolled-back rate, which Florida law treats as a tax increase.

Florida Dept. of Revenue · FY27 budget record

6–1

The only vote against a spending review

On April 2, 2025, the Commission voted to take part in the state's review of county spending. Cohen cast the only no, saying the Commission already does that job.

Creative Loafing Tampa

For unincorporated homeowners

In Town ’N’ Country, parts of Westchase and Citrus Park, and the rest of unincorporated District 1, the county garbage assessment went from $289 to $533 a year over five increases. Cohen voted yes on each one; the 2026 increase passed 4–3. [Hillsborough County]

This seat was decided by 827 votes.

It will be close again. Every contribution and every volunteer shift reaches the District 1 voters who will decide it.

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