New District Map Would Give Land O' Lakes Three County Commissioners

Since 1994, knowing which county commissioner to call was a snap for Land O’ Lakes residents.

Pat Mulieri has been the sole Pasco County commissioner to represent the sprawling district that covers the Land O’ Lakes area, stretching from the Suncoast Expressway to Interstate 75 and north to State Road 52 since her election 17 years ago.

She was last re-elected in 2010.

“It’s always been mine,” Mulieri said.

But if commissioners approve a new map dividing the county’s commission districts, Mulieri will share the central part of Pasco with two other members of the commission.

Every 10 years commissioners reshape the county’s five districts as new data from the United States Census reveal the past decade’s population shifts.

It is an attempt to make each commissioner’s district roughly equal in population. Commissioners are elected by all voters in the county but must live in the district they represent.

The change in districts also affects school board members.

On Aug. 16, commissioners and school board members reviewed four options for new districts and selected one as the best plan.

Commissioners will open a public hearing Tuesday to look over the selected option and others county staff members proposed as well as get the opinion of the residents.

The meeting will be at 1:30 p.m. at the West Pasco Government Center in New Port Richey.

Growth in the past 10 years in the Land O’ Lakes area forced Mulieri to give up some of the real estate she represented. The goal was to give each commissioner a district representing 92,939 people.

At one point, Mulieri’s District 2 had about 143,000 residents, she said.

“The district was just enormous,” Mulieri said.

The new map encompasses 93,203 people.

Under the proposed division, Commissioner Ann Hildebrand will take over a swath across the southern part of Land O’ Lakes from State Road 54 to the Hillsborough County line.

Commissioner Henry Wilson will take over from the Suncoast to the railroad line west of U.S. 41.

Changing from one commissioner to three could benefit residents of Land O’ Lakes on issues important to their section of the county.

“Now that we have three commissioners eyeing that part of the county, maybe we have more chances of getting a majority of the commission,” said Sandy Graves, vice president of the Republican Club of Central Pasco County.

“I think it will be good for us,” she said.

“I don’t have a problem with it,” said Kathy Dunkley, executive director of the Central Pasco Chamber of Commerce. “That’s a no-brainer to be represented by three commissioners.”

Hildebrand and Wilson are no strangers to issues in the Land O’ Lakes area. Both voted to approve money that will keep the swimming pool at the Land O’ Lakes Recreation Center open for a year when budget proposals called for it to close.

“We’ve worked with all of them at one time or another in the Chamber,” Dunkley said.

Hildebrand, whose District 3 had mostly been pinned to the southwestern coastal part of the county, now sees her district reach 30 miles to east of Interstate 75.

“Land O’ Lakes is a winner in this,” she said. “They’ll have more than one commissioner.”

Mulieri said her main concern about losing part of the district was who would represent Shady Hills.

“I believe Jack (Mariano) will do a good job,” she said. “They have a lot of needs there.”