Jonathon Chavez
Jonathon Chavez (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners to represent District 4 in Florida. He lost in the Democratic primary on August 20, 2024.
Chavez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. Click here to read the survey answers.
Biography
Jonathon Chavez was born in Clearwater, Florida. He earned a high school diploma from Largo High School and a bachelor's degree from the University of South Florida in 2023. His career experience includes working in customer service.[1]
Elections
2024
See also: Municipal elections in Hillsborough County, Florida (2024)
General election
General election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4
Incumbent Christine Miller defeated Nicole Payne and Matthew Taylor in the general election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4 on November 5, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christine Miller (R) | 58.2 | 115,986 | |
 | Nicole Payne (D) | 36.4 | 72,455 | |
 | Matthew Taylor (No Party Affiliation) | 5.4 | 10,830 | |
| Total votes: 199,271 | |||
 = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
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Democratic primary election
Democratic primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4
Nicole Payne defeated Jonathon Chavez in the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | | Nicole Payne | 63.4 | 10,748 |
 | Jonathon Chavez | 36.6 | 6,216 | |
| Total votes: 16,964 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Republican primary election
Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4
Incumbent Christine Miller defeated Cody Powell in the Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4 on August 20, 2024.
Candidate | % | Votes | ||
| ✔ | Christine Miller | 68.7 | 19,328 | |
 | Cody Powell | 31.3 | 8,787 | |
| Total votes: 28,115 | |||
| = candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey. | ||||
| If you are a candidate and would like to tell readers and voters more about why they should vote for you, complete the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection Survey. | ||||
Do you want a spreadsheet of this type of data? Contact our sales team. | ||||
Withdrawn or disqualified candidates
- Michael Owen (R)
Endorsements
Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Chavez in this election.
Campaign themes
2024
Ballotpedia survey responses
See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection
Jonathon Chavez completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2024. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Chavez's responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.
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I was born in Pinellas County, and have lived in the Tampa Bay area my entire life. I come from a working class family. My dad was a server and self-employed carpet cleaner. My mom worked odd jobs during my youth until she found a career at the V.A. My family was was forced from our home during the great recession, and we have been renters ever since.
I studied economics and political science at USF, and was the first in my family to graduate a with a four year college degree. While at USF, I was a leading student organizer and activist. I founded the College Democrats at USF, and was a founding member of the student activist group Stand for Freedom Florida. We conducted major statewide student coordinating efforts opposing State intrusion into our universities and efforts by Tallahassee to target professors and their unions.
I proudly identify as a working class candidate. I have worked in food service to pay my way through college since I was 17, and continue to work even while running for office. I have interned for congresswoman Kathy Castor and the FDIC. In my free time, I have been a lifelong activist, most recently in support of abortion access.
My youth and experience lends me a unique capacity both to speak on the standard-of-living issues I am campaigning for, and I look forward to using my activist experience to the benefit of all in East Hillsborough.- As a gen Z candidate with a background as a student activist, I am exactly the sort of community advocate that residents in rural, underserved east Hillsborough county deserve. I am used to having to fight for the interest of communities that are frequently ignored by those in power, and have the dedication to see that fight through for months until we have achieved our needs. My constituents deserve a candidate like me with the energy and experience to organize and fight for them both in and out of the boardroom. Someone who is willing to go beyond the board to lobby on their behalf in the state and federal legislatures, if needed. I will always stand up for the needs of my constituents over the needs of big money and developers.
- As a young, working class candidate from a poor background, I am keenly familiar with the struggle of the average person in Hillsborough when it comes to spiraling cost of living. Until just months ago, I took public transit out of necessity. I am a candidate who understands what its like to worry if you will have enough money to both support my family and make rent this month. When I advocate for improving issues such as public transportation and increasing rent costs, it is not because of nebulous ideology. It is because I have personally dealt with these problems, and I know the burden I faced is less than many in the county. I will always work to improve the lives of everyone in the community, not just the richest neighborhoods.
- I am a proud to be the first in my family to graduate with a four year degree from a public university. As a young candidate, I am more keenly aware of the issues facing students and young people than any other in this race. I recognize the incredible opportunities that a life in public school has offered me, but also the challenges that the school system faces. As commissioner, I will tirelessly support all of our public schools. I will fight to increase teacher pay, ensure safe sidewalks in school zones, and to keep all of our schools open. School closures are especially devastating in more rural communities where the closest alternative may be several miles away or an unaffordable private school.
Another issue I am passionate about is public transportation. Bad public transportation entrenches poverty, especially in rural areas where transit costs are high. Hillsborough county is frequently ranked amongst the worst in the nation in terms of transportation options, and every year our local government does not work towards connecting all of our communities to HART, they are failing those communities.
I think it is important that elected officials regularly engage with the community they serve. Whether this be attending community events or hosting townhalls, officials should not only be easy for constituents to access, but should also make an effort to reach constituents themselves. This is the best way for elected officials to ensure they understand the needs of the community and are receiving relevant info regarding progress on issues they are trying to address.
Elected officials also have a responsibility to understand that their voice is crucial in shaping public discourse. An elected official should always be willing to share their opinion on issues to inform their constituents on their stances, and to use their voice to elevate the causes of the underserved. However, elected officials must also understand that their rhetoric carries great weight, and they should always take care to avoid stoking hatred and division through their words.
It was not until I was much older that I realized how important those voting queues were, and how excited they made people, including my own parents who were otherwise not very politically engaged. Obama was going to be so many things. A new president, a president from a new party, the youngest president, the first black president.
I have worked in various customer service positions ever since to support myself while pursuing my education. I am proud to be a working class candidate and am currently working as a Server.
Not only is it a super cool, reasonably realistic piece of near-future science fiction (perfect for a nerd like me), it also shares my optimism in our capacity as a species to achieve incredible things when we set aside our differences as much as humanly possible.
You could say that I got obsessed with Obsessed.
There really is no other name for it. From the moment I left home, I was a broke college student because my parents could not afford to support me. Working while pursuing my degree wasn't an option, it was a necessity, and the struggle to balance the two was quite severe at times. I've eaten more cup ramen than I care to admit. I chose to ride the bus to school, to work, to intern, not because I had any great love for HART, but because I quite literally could not afford to buy and maintain a car.
When my dad passed away during the height of the pandemic, and my mom was diagnosed with cancer not even a month later, I seriously considered taking time off of college because I knew I would not be able to save enough money to both pay my bills and to help pay hers while she was unable to work. If it weren't for the insurance she receives through her job at the V.A., I have no doubt that is the path I would have to have taken. It's painful to think of how close my family came to losing everything because of medical expenses, and to know that plenty of people have it much worse due to not having insurance at all.
(Thanks Dad, love and miss you)
In terms of accountability, local governments should strive not only to advertise public meetings as strongly as possible, but also to have those meeting happen at times that the average working-class person would not have to take time off of work to attend. Nobody should have to choose between putting food on the table and using the political power vested in them by our democratic system of government. Public comments should not be limited, and any member of the community willing to share their thoughts on an issue to the board should be allowed to do so.
Note: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.
See also
2024 Elections
External links
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Candidate Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 4 |
Personal |
Footnotes
- ↑ Information submitted to Ballotpedia through the Candidate Connection survey on July 18, 2024
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State of Florida Tallahassee (capital) |
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