In all three of her elections,Storms ran on a "responsibility" platform,believing strong moral principles from voters,politicians and other public officials were key for there to be responsible government. [5] In addition to simply acting in a "morally responsible" fashion,Storms was also a proponent of sunshine laws,believing that people can only trust government officials when they can see for themselves that they are not corrupt. [5] Storms' other platforms included strong constituent service and family values,helping make the cost of living affordable for military families,and lower taxes. [5]
Issues
Florida A&M School of Law
In the summer of 2000,alumni from Florida A&M University asked the Commission for a $1,000,000 commitment to start a School of Law in Tampa (the main branch of Florida A&M is based in Tallahassee). Storms,attending the meeting that night,said "We can get them through law school,but we can't get them to pass the Bar." She then later claimed that she had meant that creating a historically black law school will not increase the number of minority lawyers in the state. [8] The comment met with much controversy in the black community of Tampa,as well as with the Florida A&M alumni still living in Florida,as it was perceived that Storms made a remark that minority students were not smart enough to be capable of passing the state Bar exam.
When asked if the comment about minorities being capable to pass the Bar was offensive to her,Mary White Darby,president of the Florida A&M Tampa alumni association,responded,"How could she not offend you?" [8] Carolyn Collins,former vice president of Florida A&M's national alumni association,said,"I don't think (Storms) is important enough. All someone has to do is look at her track record or watch her on TV and see how she responds. She has not been stable in some of her comments." [8] After the backlash,Storms took on a more conciliatory tone and openly apologized,stating that she is not a racist,and personally tried to make amends with Thomas Scott,who at the time was the only black member of the Commission. He said of her,"She wanted me to understand that she isn't a racist,and that is not my perception. She's a very vocal person. It's just her style." [8]
Even though her comment created controversy,Storms was adamant in not allowing Florida A&M to open a law school in Tampa. It was eventually opened in Orlando in 2002.
Child abuser sterilization plan
In 2004 and 2005,Storms tried to introduce a law which would approve sterilization for men and women convicted of child abuse in Hillsborough County so that,in her view,child abusers would not be able to continue to produce children that would become abused also. [9] The original motion was approved by all commissioners in attendance in February 2005. [9] When the County Attorney,Renée Lee,made it known to Storms that only the state legislature could pass such statutes,not the County Commission,she made it high priority to lobby for the bill to various legislators. Originally the bill called for sterilization to be voluntary,but between February and April 2005,Storms rewrote the bill,which would make sterilization a mandatory part of sentencing. [10] The Florida legislature turned down Storms' bill in 2005,citing lack of time to discuss it. The bill also did not come up for discussion in 2006,meaning the ruling from the Commission in early 2005 does not have any legal standing.
Ending county funding to Planned Parenthood
In 2005,Storms called for the elimination of funding for a teenager outreach program funded by Planned Parenthood,which teaches adolescents about safe sex,drugs,gangs,and family violence. The refusal for funding was passed by the board by a vote of 5-2. By doing so,the Commission cut off any aid to Planned Parenthood,as the county does not fund any other Planned Parenthood initiatives. [11]
After Barbara Zdravecky,who oversees Planned Parenthood for 15 counties throughout central Florida,asked Storms to reconsider her proposal on July 21,2005,Storms said she told Zdravecky,"I am pro-life and you're not...There is nothing you can say or do for me to support you. Thank you very much for your comments." After the exchange,Storms recalled smiling at Zdravecky and thanking her again for her request to reconsider. Zdravecky,however,recalls that Storms was much more blunt,saying "I am pro-life,you are pro-death" twice. Recalling her side of the events,Zdravecky said,"I have to say I was pretty shaken. I'm used to taking hits. But I was surprised at her lack of humanity...I believe anyone who professes to be a proponent of Christianity would treat me with more dignity than the way I was treated." [11]
Positions on gay issues
In June 2005,some library patrons complained about a book display at the West Gate Regional Library in Town 'n' Country honoring June,which is Gay and Lesbian Pride Month. [12] Storms heard about the complaints and decided to put to a vote to ban such book displays in county libraries. On June 15,however,she moved for the Commission to "adopt a policy that Hillsborough County government abstain from acknowledging,promoting or participating in gay pride recognition and events,little g,little p." In effect,by adding the footnote "little g,little p," the county would be abstaining from acknowledging,promoting or participating in any recognition or events for gay pride at any time,not just during "Gay and Lesbian Pride Month," with "big G and big P." [13]
The vote was passed 5-1,with Commissioner Ken Hagan out of the room during the vote,and Kathy Castor dissenting,saying "I think it's inappropriate for government to promote discrimination." Storms then asked that an addendum be placed upon the bill,that it cannot be repealed without a super majority vote of at least 5-2,and a public hearing. This time Hagan joined the vote and the addendum was passed 6-1,with Castor again being the only dissent. In the public hearing portion of the meeting,which occurred before the meeting,many people spoke out against the removal of book displays,not knowing of the impending vote. The policy was repealed by the Commission on June 5,2013,with a 7-0 vote. " [14]
Vonn New,the central Florida director of Equality Florida,an LGBT rights group,said,"I think that Hillsborough County commissioners sent a very clear message that not everyone is welcome here. I think it's shameful what the commission has done." Reverend Phyllis Hunt,the pastor at the local Metropolitan Community Church,said,"I'm stunned,disappointed and shocked that there was zero conversation about the vote." [13] Storms never mentioned removing gay materials from libraries,which are still included in libraries throughout Hillsborough County.
In October 2005,Kathy Castor proposed a statute which would prohibit discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation in the workplace in Hillsborough County,in both the public and private sectors. The statute,which was once law in Tampa,was repealed in 1995 and rejected in 2000. The commissioners,led by Storms,voted 5-2 to reject Castor's statute. Castor and Thomas Scott were the dissenters. Storms then asked for a motion to raise the number of votes needed from commissioners to place the issue on direct referendum to county voters from four commissioners to five. [15]
In December 2005,Joe Redner,who owns the nationally known strip club Mons Venus,filed a lawsuit against every Commission member except for Castor,alleging discrimination as a result of the June 15 vote. At the same time,Redner,who people had believed was straight,came out on a WFLA-AM morning show broadcast. [16] Redner and Storms had fought before,most recently in November 2005 over a donation Redner had made to needy children. Storms had been a longtime foe of Redner,as she has tried to curtail Redner's business on many occasions,due to his occupation,in Storms' words,as the "purveyor and seller of female flesh." [17]
