Skip to content
Board of County Commissioners — District 5

Loading search…

Your ballot: 0/23

Research as of Oct. 24, 2026. Early voting runs through Nov. 1; Election Day is Nov. 3. Check your voter info at votehillsborough.gov

Board of County Commissioners — District 5

County

Board of County Commissioners — District 5

Open in…

Listen: this contest in 1:32

Research as of Oct. 23, 2026

Read by a synthetic voice from this page’s research. A summary, not a recommendation.

Read the transcript

Every Hillsborough voter helps fill an open countywide seat, County Commission District 5. Republican Stacy Hahn faces Democrat Neil Manimala. Hahn has been on the county School Board since 2018. In the Republican primary she beat incumbent Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda, about 55 percent to 45. She is running on fiscal responsibility, public safety, and growth and infrastructure. Manimala is a urologist and a first-time candidate. He is running on growth and health care. Hahn is endorsed by the Hillsborough County Republican Party, Sheriff Chad Chronister and the Tampa firefighters union, and her committee has drawn money from developers and engineering firms. Manimala is backed by the regional labor council, Equality Florida, the Sierra Club, Florida Rising and Run for Something. No poll was found. In county reports, Manimala had raised about 228 thousand dollars through October 16, including 32 thousand he lent himself. Hahn had raised about 169 thousand through October 2, and her committee about 242 thousand. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's editors back Manimala, citing his plan to make it possible to live in Hillsborough without a car. The Tampa Bay Times editors split. Conan Gallaty picked Hahn, citing her experience and temperament. Graham Brink picked Manimala, calling it a close call. Research as of October 23, 2026. Sources and the full picture are on this page.

Official sample ballot wording

Board of County Commissioners, District 5 · Vote for one

Countywide seat

  • Stacy HahnRepublican
  • Neil ManimalaDemocratic
Mark your ballot: Board of County Commissioners — District 5
EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Neil Manimala
  • Manimala is the only commission candidate with a comprehensive plan to make it possible to live in Hillsborough without a car: better transit and less strain on the roads, which CL sees as the county's core growth, safety, cost and health problem.
  • CL expects him to work with both parties and calls him a hard worker with fresh ideas.
  • CL credits Stacy Hahn's eight years on the School Board and her primary win over incumbent Donna Cameron Cepeda, but argues Manimala is the one who can fix how the county gets around.

Valerie Smith, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums

Where it stands

FactCounty · County Commission, District 5 (Countywide, open seat)

No poll. Manimala leads in money

No polls found in the research. Research as of Oct. 24, 2026.

Lead recommendationEditorialCreative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 23, 2026

Creative Loafing’s pick

Neil Manimala

Why, as they argue it (our summary of their write-up)

  • Manimala is the only commission candidate with a comprehensive plan to make it possible to live in Hillsborough without a car: better transit and less strain on the roads, which CL sees as the county's core growth, safety, cost and health problem.
  • CL expects him to work with both parties and calls him a hard worker with fresh ideas.
  • CL credits Stacy Hahn's eight years on the School Board and her primary win over incumbent Donna Cameron Cepeda, but argues Manimala is the one who can fix how the county gets around.

Valerie Smith · Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums · every pick: the full guide

Creative Loafing’s reporting on this race (3)

Why this leads: The site owner's choice (Oct. 24): the recommendation that best matches the owner's values, shown first on every contest. Still an editorial: one outlet's opinion, not this site's.

The money gap

Fact

1.3×Neil Manimala has raised 1.3 times as much as Stacy Hahn.

Compares Neil Manimala's figure through Oct 16, 2026 with Stacy Hahn's through Oct 2, 2026.

Raised by each campaign (county reports)

  • Neil ManimalaDemocrat

    $228Kas of Oct 16, 2026

    Includes $32,000 he lent himself.

  • Stacy HahnRepublican

    $169Kas of Oct 2, 2026

    Her committee, Friends of Stacy Hahn, has raised $242K.

Figures from the money map research, compared like for like. Outside groups' spending isn't counted unless noted. The latest figures run to different dates, shown beside each amount.

What the research holds

Counts from every page and file
Polls
0
Money-map edges
0
Network edges
1
Progressive support
9
Progressive oppose
0
Right-leaning support
4
Right-leaning oppose
0
Sources
14
People & groups
15

Tampa Bay Times

EditorialMoney map

Split: Gallaty picked Hahn, Brink picked Manimala

One editor
Gallaty: Hahn “brings the experience and temperament” and connects dollars to “measurable outcomes.”
The other editor
Brink: “Rarely does a first-time political candidate have such a keen awareness… In this close call, Manimala gets the edge.”

Other editorial pages

Opinion columns, not endorsements

No other editorial page in the research has made a pick here.

Endorsements, both lenses

Neither lens is this site's voice

Progressive lens

LensOpen the guide

Countywide seat

Primary notes

Hahn beat incumbent Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda in the GOP primary, 54.9%–45.1%.

Neil ManimalaDEM9 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Labor
Progressive & community organizing
Civil rights & civil liberties
Stacy HahnREP0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Notes

  • As a School Board member, Hahn spoke against the elected-superintendent referendum, the same position the progressive groups take (WFLA).

Conservative side, as noted in this guide

Hahn: Hillsborough GOP, Tampa Firefighters IAFF Local 754; committee money from developers and engineering firms.

Searched, nothing found

Florida Conservation Voters, Planned Parenthood, Ruth's List, NOW, Our Revolution, Indivisible, WFP, Dream Defenders, FLIC, Faith in Florida, SEIU, AFSCME, UNITE HERE, Moms Demand, Sunrise, Hillsborough Environmental Coalition, 1000 Friends, transit advocates, Young Dems, Stonewall Dems.

Right-leaning lens

LensOpen the guide

Countywide seat

Primary notes

Hahn beat incumbent Republican Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda 54.9%–45.1%; Cepeda's backers didn't publicly cross over.

Stacy HahnREP4 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Republican Party & officials
Law enforcement & public safety (often bipartisan)
Neil ManimalaDEM0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Progressive side, as noted in this guide

Manimala: Equality Florida, Sierra Club, Florida Rising, Run for Something, Labor Council.

Searched, nothing found

Florida Chamber, Tampa Bay Partnership, Moms for Liberty.

Terms

Definition

Sources

14 in the registry, official records first · All sources
Show 4 more sources

Where sources disagree

All conflicts

No conflicts recorded for this contest.

Matched from the research's conflict list by contest, candidate, judge or measure name.

Where to vote