Candidate Profile 2024: Kenneth Gay For Hillsborough School Board

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — Kenneth Gay, a retired educator, is running for the Hillsborough County School Board District 5 seat.

He faces three opponents in the Aug. 20 primary election: Elvis Piggott, incumbent Henry Washington and Tamara Shamburger, who qualified as a write-in candidate.

If no candidate wins a majority of the vote, the top two vote getters will face off in the Nov. 5 general election.

Early voting in the primary is underway in Hillsborough County through Saturday. After that, voting takes place in person on Aug. 20 at polling locations throughout the county. Find your voting precinct here.

Patch sent a questionnaire to all candidates in the District 5 race. Piggott, Shamburger and Washington didn’t respond.

Find Gay’s responses below:

Name:

Kenneth Gay

Age:

65

Occupation:

Formally retired from (Hillsborough County Schools) in June of 2022, with 39 years, however, I was immediately hired by More Health of Tampa Bay to teach health and safety lessons to youngsters throughout Hillsborough County.

Why are you running for office?

I've gotten to the point that I've told myself I'm no longer going to sit on the sidelines! I believe that my experience and education are well-suited to address the many issues our district is facing.

What do you think are the top three issues the school district is currently facing?

Addressing issues related to struggling schools, addressing retention of experienced teachers and administrators in our buildings, and addressing absenteeism are key concerns.

Learn more about Gay at his campaign website and on his Facebook page.