Who Is Building Stacy Hahn’s Campaign?
Campaign finance reports rarely reveal obvious wrongdoing. Most of the time, they just list checks, but sometimes those checks show voters exactly where to pay attention.
Stacy Hahn has raised over $169,000 for her Hillsborough County Commission campaign. Our review found that at least $63,850, or about 38% of all contributions, came from companies and individuals connected to construction, development, real estate, engineering, and architecture.
This does not mean every donor wants something from county government. However, many work in industries that are strongly influenced by commission decisions, such as rezonings, comprehensive plan changes, development agreements, infrastructure spending, impact fees, environmental rules, and the ongoing shift from open land to new buildings and more traffic.
Hahn’s contributors include Horus Construction Services, Ajax Building Company, PBK Architects, One Day Came, Signal Building Construction, Wharton-Smith, B&I Contractors, and Barr & Barr. Her reports also list many developers, builders, engineering firms, property companies, and real estate interests.
Apparently, all those companies independently surveyed the field and concluded that what Hillsborough County desperately needs is a former School Board member on the County Commission. Civic enthusiasm can be contagious.
One especially revealing cluster involves the Tampa Bay Rays’ new ownership group. Axios reported that after Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda questioned public funding for a new stadium, more than $40,000 was donated by Rays owners and related companies to Hahn, her Republican primary opponent.
The Rays ownership group is not simply a collection of baseball enthusiasts passing the hat between innings. It includes major homebuilders and developers with significant business interests in Tampa Bay. The County Commission has approved almost $796 million in county funding for the stadium and nearby redevelopment.
To be clear, the Rays-related contributions are part of the overall development totals and should not be counted separately. Still, the pattern stands out. The industries that rely most on favorable growth and land-use decisions are investing heavily in the candidate running for a countywide seat on the board that makes those decisions.
Legal contributions do not prove corruption, and no one should claim they do. But campaign money is not charity. Businesses usually do not donate to candidates just because they like their yard signs. They support candidates they think will listen to their concerns, respond to their calls, and look favorably on their projects.
We have seen the same pattern with Republican Commissioner Joshua Wostal. Our earlier review found he received a lot of financial support from development and real estate interests, and he voted to approve almost every development proposal we looked at, even those opposed by nearby residents concerned about traffic, flooding, crowded schools, and the loss of rural land.
Wostal sometimes complains about poor infrastructure, which is a little like approving every item on the dinner menu and then expressing shock when the table breaks.
Now, those same groups are helping fund Hahn’s move from the School Board to the County Commission. This does not tell us exactly how she would vote. It does tell us who believes her election would be a worthwhile investment.
People in Hillsborough County are already dealing with the effects of growth that often moves faster than roads, drainage, schools, and other public services can handle. Neighborhood concerns are listened to politely, thanked, and then often outvoted.
The real question is not if development will continue. It will. The real issue is whether the County Commission will demand responsible growth—or continue treating every remaining patch of open land as a development opportunity waiting for a campaign contribution.
Can our neighborhoods really handle more of the development-at-any-cost approach that Hillsborough Republicans seem so eager to continue?
The builders seem to think so. They are helping pay for the campaign.
Sources
- Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Stacy Hahn 2026 campaign-finance reports https://www.voterfocus.com/CampaignFinance/candidate_pr.php?c=hillsborough&ca=2661&committee=N&e=27&op=cv&rellevel=4
- Axios Tampa Bay, “Rays owners pour money into Hillsborough commission races” https://www.axios.com/local/tampa-bay/2026/10/13/rays-owners-pour-money-into-hillsborough-commission-races
- Associated Press, “Tampa Bay Rays set for new $2.3B stadium project after county and city approve financing plan” https://apnews.com/article/9be9d61b6bfad45b64a8e88cae1b6eb0
- Hillsborough County, Board of County Commissioners agendas, recaps and minutes https://hcfl.gov/government/meeting-information/agendas-recaps-and-minutes
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, Board of County Commissioners records https://www.hillsclerk.com/Records-and-Reports/BOCC
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, searchable commissioner voting records https://commissionvotes.hillsclerk.com/
- Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, Joshua Wostal campaign-finance reports https://www.voterfocus.com/CampaignFinance/candidate_pr.php?c=hillsborough&ca=2620&committee=N&e=27&op=cv&rellevel=4
- Hillsborough County Clerk of Court and Comptroller, 2022 BOCC vote-comparison report https://www.hillsclerk.com/documents/d/guest/bocc-vote-comparison-2022?download=true
- FOX 13 Tampa Bay, “County approves 280-home Lithia development” https://www.fox13news.com/news/lithia-housing-development-vote-county-approves-280-homes
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