BY IRIS B. HOLTON
Sentinel City Editor

Last year, former Senator Les Miller, Jr., campaigned for the County Commission and won the seat in November. His wife, Mrs. Gwendolyn Miller, who is currently a longstanding member of City Council, served as his campaign manager.

Commissioner Miller recently found himself justifying the hiring of his wife as his campaign manager. He stated during a telephone interview that she was paid in a lump sum after the campaign ended with left over funds.

“She ran my entire campaign for two years. She handled the volunteers, the walks, the telephone banks, everything. If I had to pay a campaign manager, I would have paid a minimum of $1,000 per week for the 104 weeks of the campaign.

“I didn’t raise that kind of money during the campaign. I paid her $10,500 for two years of work. I paid my campaign treasurer, and I made donations to some not-for-profits. If there had not been any money left over, she would not have received one dime.”

Commissioner Miller further stated that the person he hired to serve as his campaign manager in the past, retired and he wanted someone with experience to run the campaign. Mrs. Miller plans to retire at the end of her term as City Councilwoman. She has been re-elected for 4 terms on the City Council.

Panhandling Issue

During their regular County Commission meeting on Wednesday, the Commissioners discussed the issue of panhandling, but did not make any decisions. Currently, the panhandling ban in Hillsborough County prohibits all panhandling on county roads. There is currently a movement to have the ordinance inclusive of all state roads as well.

Commissioner Miller said some of those in attendance at the meeting wanted a designated period for the sale of newspapers.

“One newspaper company wanted a carve out for weekends for the sale of the newspapers. But I pointed out that the Florida Sentinel Bulletin publishes on Tuesdays and Fridays and that would put the Sentinel in limbo. “The amendment is moving forward and there is not going to be any carve out. Police will continue to enforce the ordinance,” Commissioner Miller said.