Solutions, not excuses.
Traffic, flooding, your county taxes and public safety are the County Commission's job. Here's how an engineer would do it.
Fix traffic. Plan for growth.
Growth is inevitable. Poor planning is not. Hillsborough has studied its traffic problems for years. Jackie wants the work done.
- Speed up the transportation projects that have already been studied and planned.
- Invest in infrastructure strategically and efficiently, so every dollar moves traffic.
- Build the roads before the rooftops. Infrastructure should keep pace with new development.
- Explore innovative transportation alternatives that fit how Hillsborough actually moves.
Harry Cohen voted to put $360 million of Community Investment Tax, the county's infrastructure sales tax, into a stadium.
Flooding is an engineering problem. Jackie is an engineer.
- Make infrastructure resilience a priority in every county budget.
- Stormwater improvements and flood mitigation where neighborhoods need them most.
- Storm preparedness that's ready before hurricane season, not after.
Harry Cohen voted for $796 million in public money for a ballpark. Jackie's priority is drainage before the next storm.
Families watch every dollar. County government should too.
Before the county asks anyone for more, it should show where the money goes and prove the waste is gone.
- Transparency and accountability in how county dollars are spent.
- Eliminate waste and put core services first.
- Spending discipline across every department.
The county's yearly property-tax take grew from $1.0 billion in FY2021 to $1.6 billion in FY2027. Harry Cohen voted yes on every budget. [See the record]
Amendment 3: lower property taxes for homeowners.
Jackie Toledo supports Amendment 3.
Ballot title: “Increased Homestead Exemption; Lower Cap on Increases in Non-homestead Property Assessments.”
- 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, then adjusts for inflation. Today it’s about $50,000.
- School property taxes and flat fees, like garbage and stormwater, aren’t affected.
- Caps yearly assessment increases on rentals, second homes and businesses at 5%, down from 10%.
- Needs 60% of the vote to pass. If it passes, it takes effect Jan. 1, 2027, and first shows up on November 2027 tax bills.
Recent polls: most show majority support
A St. Pete Polls survey for Florida Politics (Oct. 5–7), which described the measure as eliminating taxes, found 42% yes and 35% no. Source
Supports Amendment 3. Since FY2021, the county’s yearly property-tax revenue has grown by more than $600 million. Homeowners deserve relief, and the county can find savings in that growth before it touches public safety.
“I do not think it’s hyperbolic or bombastic to point out to people that there is no possible way to make this work without making major cuts in public safety expenditures or funding them through another mechanism that will cost money that comes from somewhere.”
County Commission meeting, June 17, 2026 · Florida Politics
* Campaign estimate for a typical (median) homesteaded home in District 1, based on the 2025 certified tax roll, 2026 county tax rates and 2025 city and special-district rates; assumes rates stay the same. School taxes and non-ad valorem fees such as garbage and stormwater are not affected. Actual savings vary. Ballot language: official ballot summary · HJR 1-F (2026).
The first job of local government.
Public safety is the most important responsibility of local government, and it should come first in the county budget.
- Fund public safety first: deputies, firefighters, EMS and emergency managers.
- Storm readiness, so first responders have what they need when it counts.
- Safer roads, building on her texting-while-driving law.
Received the Florida Sheriffs Association’s 2019 Friend of the Sheriff Award, the year her texting-while-driving ban became law, and sponsored the House companion to the 2022 law cracking down on human trafficking in hotels.
Keep the Rays. Not with infrastructure dollars.
Jackie wants the Rays to stay in Tampa Bay. But the Community Investment Tax is an infrastructure tax, and infrastructure money should build infrastructure.
- Spending discipline: core services before big-ticket extras.
- Transparency on major deals before the vote, not after.
- Ask tough questions and demand accountability on every major contract.
Cohen voted for $796 million in public money for the stadium, and cast the only vote against joining the state's review of county spending (6–1). [Sources]
Lower costs for Hillsborough families.
Housing and insurance costs are squeezing working families. County government can't fix everything, but it can stop making it worse.
- Responsible growth that protects established neighborhoods.
- Transparency in development decisions, so residents know what's coming.
- Housing options tied to transportation in the urban core.
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. Harry Cohen voted for every increase.
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.