BY GWEN HAYES

Sentinel Editor

State Representative Darryl Rouson won the confidence of his fellow legislators last week when he was elected minority leader of the House of Representatives. He represents House District 70 (St. Petersburg) which includes a portion of southwestern Hillsborough County.

The Legislative session opens in Tallahassee on Tuesday, March 5th. Rep. Rouson said his first order will be to meet with his fellow Democrats during the first week to “give them a pep talk and wrap up the November 2012 election so that we may start on preliminary strategy for 2014 elections.”

The party picked up 5 seats in 2012. “Our job will be to keep those 5 and add to that number.

“Our goal will be to expand  the base of Democrats in the House of Representative; get energized to recruit good candidates for 2014 and raise sufficient funds with the idea of increasing seats and holding onto them,” he explained.

An attorney professionally, Rep. Rouson became an elected official in 2008 and has been re-elected in each cycle.

The Hillsborough County Democratic Party has said it is ready to begin working with Rep. Rouson.

“The people of Florida can rely on Rep. Rouson to make sure their voices are heard,” stated Chris Mitchell, Chair of the Hillsborough County Democratic Caucus.