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School Board Member — District 6

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

School Board Member — District 6

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School Board Member — District 6

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Research as of Oct. 23, 2026

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

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Hillsborough voters countywide are choosing a District 6 School Board member in a nonpartisan runoff. The candidates are Kenneth "Ken" Gay and Karen Perez. Perez, the board chair, is a licensed clinical social worker who has served on the board since 2018. She focuses on student mental health, school safety and transparency. Gay retired after 39 years in Hillsborough schools as a teacher and assistant principal. He focuses on support for teachers and budget scrutiny. In the August primary, Perez got about 48 percent, just short of a majority. Gay got about 27, and Sally Harris Williamson about 25. Both oppose an elected superintendent, the subject of Referendum 1. Perez is endorsed by the teachers union, Equality Florida, the Sierra Club and Ruth's List. Gay is on the Hillsborough County Republican Party's slate. WUSF reports he is mostly self-funded. No poll was found. In county reports, Perez had raised about 52 thousand dollars through October 2, and Gay about 38 thousand through October 16. Creative Loafing Tampa Bay's editors back Perez as the most qualified, and object that the county Republican Party is Gay's largest donor in a nonpartisan race. Both Tampa Bay Times editors recommend Perez, citing her experience and skill set. Research as of October 23, 2026. Sources and the full picture are on this page.

Official sample ballot wording

School Board Member, District 6 · Vote for one

Nonpartisan, countywide seat

  • Kenneth "Ken" GayNonpartisan
  • Karen PerezNonpartisan
Mark your ballot: School Board Member — District 6
EditorialWhy Creative Loafing picks Karen Perez
  • The race is nonpartisan, but Ken Gay's largest donor is the Hillsborough County Republican Party, which gave him $5,000 in September and endorsed him. CL describes that party as anti-union and fixated on DEI, Muslims in classrooms and transgender students.
  • CL says voters are tired of culture-war bait in school board races.
  • Perez, a social worker and strong public school advocate, is the most qualified, and CL sees no reason not to re-elect her.

Colin Wolf, Creative Loafing voting guide 2026: Hillsborough County Commission, School Board and referendums

Where it stands

FactCounty · School Board, District 6 (Nonpartisan runoff)

No poll. Perez 48% in primary

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

Lead recommendationEditorialCreative Loafing Tampa Bay, Oct. 23, 2026

Creative Loafing’s pick

Karen Perez

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

  • The race is nonpartisan, but Ken Gay's largest donor is the Hillsborough County Republican Party, which gave him $5,000 in September and endorsed him. CL describes that party as anti-union and fixated on DEI, Muslims in classrooms and transgender students.
  • CL says voters are tired of culture-war bait in school board races.
  • Perez, a social worker and strong public school advocate, is the most qualified, and CL sees no reason not to re-elect her.

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

Creative Loafing’s reporting on this race (4)

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

1.6×Karen Perez has raised 1.6 times as much as Kenneth "Ken" Gay.

Raised by each campaign (county reports)

  • Karen PerezNonpartisan · incumbent

    $59.4Kas of Oct 16, 2026

    Monetary contributions only; in-kind help ($9.4K) is not counted in the comparison.

  • Kenneth "Ken" GayNonpartisan

    $38Kas of Oct 16, 2026

    Approximate; a $14,601 contribution from himself appears in two reports and may be counted twice.

Figures from the money map research, compared like for like. Outside groups' spending isn't counted unless noted.

What the research holds

Counts from every page and file
Polls
0
Money-map edges0 with money
1
Network edges
2
Progressive support
9
Progressive oppose
0
Right-leaning support
2
Right-leaning oppose
0
Sources
18
People & groups
13

Tampa Bay Times

EditorialMoney map

Karen Perez (both editors)

The Times' case
The editors call Perez the better-qualified candidate: calm, thoughtful leadership since 2018, a voice for people who are often overlooked, a push for more open board business, steady support for school safety, and pressure on the district when it fell short. Her social-work and mental-health background helps struggling students, and they back her plan to keep traditional public schools competitive with charter and private schools. She has “the experience and the skill set” the board needs.
The other side
The Times describes Gay, 67, as a former teacher and administrator who now works for a nonprofit that teaches health and safety lessons to students, and notes he lost a board race two years ago. It says that in his interview with the editors he had trouble laying out a clear vision for the district.

EditorialAs recorded in each guide

Progressive guide
Both Gallaty and Brink recommend Perez (Oct 4)
Right-leaning guide
Both recommend Perez (Oct 4)

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

Nonpartisan, countywide runoff. WUSF reports Perez as a Democrat and Gay as a Republican; registration not checked

Primary notes

August results: Perez 48.27%, Gay 27.23%, Sally Harris Williamson 24.50%.

Karen PerezIncumbent10 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Labor
Reproductive rights
LGBTQ+
Progressive & community organizing
Civil rights & civil liberties
Kenneth "Ken" Gay0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Notes

  • WUSF (Oct 8) says he "does not have public endorsements," but the Hillsborough GOP lists him on its slate card and gave his campaign $5,000 on Sept 21 (county finance reports). Both candidates oppose an elected superintendent (WMNF).

Conservative side, as noted in this guide

Gay: Hillsborough GOP slate card (slate) and a $5,000 contribution from the party on Sept 21 (county finance reports). His campaign paid Patriots4America $100 for an event table in July, and his Facebook shows an appearance at one of its events; neither is an endorsement. No Moms for Liberty endorsement found.

Searched, nothing found

Florida Freedom to Read Project, Moms Demand, Planned Parenthood, NOW, Our Revolution, Indivisible, WFP, Run for Something, Dream Defenders, FLIC, Faith in Florida, Young Dems, Stonewall Dems.

Right-leaning lens

LensOpen the guide

Nonpartisan, countywide runoff. WUSF reports Gay as a Republican and Perez as a Democrat; registration not checked

Primary notes

August: Perez 48.3%, Gay 27.2%, Sally Harris Williamson 24.5%. Moms for Liberty hasn't invested in school board races this cycle (Florida Politics).

Kenneth "Ken" Gay2 support · 0 oppose

SupportEndorsement

Republican Party & officials
Anti-abortion & religious conservative

Notes

  • WUSF (Oct 8): "mostly self-funded and does not have public endorsements." That conflicts with the party slate card above and with the Hillsborough GOP's $5,000 contribution to his campaign on Sept 21 (county finance reports). He opposes an elected superintendent, as does Perez.
Karen PerezIncumbent0 support · 0 oppose

No listings found in this guide.

Progressive side, as noted in this guide

Perez: HCTA (teachers union), Equality Florida, Sierra Club, Florida Rising, Ruth's List, Hillsborough LGBTQ+ Democratic Caucus.

Searched, nothing found

Moms for Liberty (national or Hillsborough), DeSantis, Florida Citizens Alliance, 1776 Project PAC.

Terms

Definition

Sources

18 in the registry, official records first · All sources
Show 8 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