Storms Apologizes To Castor For Remark
Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms has apologized to Commissioner Kathy Castor for a verbal attack this week.
“I’m not going to use the excuse of being tired and these long hours,” Storms said late Thursday at the end of the commission’s budget hearing. “It was inexcusable, and I wanted to publicly apologize to her.”
Castor accepted the apology.
“Thank you very much, Commissioner,” Castor said.
Storms, a Republican, and Castor, a Democrat, have clashed before, but Storms’ statements at Wednesday’s regular commission meeting caught many observers off guard.
Commissioners were discussing how to spend $350 million in sales tax revenue. Castor suggested allocating $25 million to bolster neighborhood projects throughout the county.
“I just want you to understand I think this is nothing more than raw politics and looking for a byline on your campaign literature,” Storms said.
Castor is running for Congress.
“Either you’re the most incompetent politician in the history of the universe that you didn’t lay it on the table sooner. … I don’t spring it on people at the last minute.”
Castor defended the relevance of her suggestion.
Last month Castor criticized Storms’ late submission of an agenda item on the county bus service without advance details.
“It seems like government by ‘let me spring it on you,’ ” Castor said at the time.
Storms also offered a suggestion Wednesday that wasn’t on the meeting agenda and previously had not been discussed. She proposed dipping into an extra three years of sales tax money to pay for stormwater drainage and transportation work.
NEVER thought i’d see the day
i still want to glue newspaper to her windshield