Sonja Brookins

This page was current at the end of the official's last term in office covered by Ballotpedia. Please contact us with any updates.

Sonja Brookins

Nonpartisan

Prior offices

Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District Seat 4

Successor: Robert Morris

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Report an officeholder change

Elections and appointments

Last election

August 20, 2024

Education

Bachelor's

Austin Peay State University, 1992

Graduate

Prairie View A&M University, 1995

Other

Texas Chiropractic College, 1997

Personal

Birthplace

Tampa, Fla.

Religion

Christian: Baptist

Profession

Professor

Sonja Brookins was a member of the Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District in Florida, representing Seat 4. She assumed office on January 5, 2021. She left office on January 3, 2023.

Brookins (Democratic Party) ran for election to the Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners to represent District 6 in Florida. She did not appear on the ballot for the Democratic primary on August 20, 2024.

Biography

Sonja Brookins was born in Tampa, Florida. Brookins earned a bachelor's degree from Austin Peay State University in 1992 and a graduate degree from Prairie View A&M University in 1995. She also graduated from Texas Chiropractic College in 1997. Her career experience includes working as a professor. Brookins has been affiliated with LEADS, Guardian Ad Litem, the Democratic Caucus, and the Healthcare Advisory Board.

Elections

2024

See also: Municipal elections in Hillsborough County, Florida (2024)

General election

General election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large

Chris Boles defeated Sean Shaw in the general election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large on November 5, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Boles (R)	52.1	334,304
		Sean Shaw (D)	47.9	307,112

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 641,416
= candidate completed the Ballotpedia Candidate Connection survey.
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Democratic primary election

Democratic primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large

Sean Shaw defeated Joseph Ryan Taylor in the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sean Shaw	80.9	54,702
		Joseph Ryan Taylor	19.1	12,933

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 67,635
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Mark Nash (D)
• Mariella Smith (D)
• Sonja Brookins (D)
• Cynthia Fuentes (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large

Chris Boles defeated Jim Davison in the Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 6 At-large on August 20, 2024.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Chris Boles	59.0	39,193
		Jim Davison	41.0	27,207

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 66,400
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Rico Smith (R)

Endorsements

Ballotpedia did not identify endorsements for Brookins in this election.

2023

See also: City elections in Tampa, Florida (2023)

General runoff election

General runoff election for Tampa City Council District 1 At-Large

Alan Clendenin defeated Sonja Brookins in the general runoff election for Tampa City Council District 1 At-Large on April 25, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alan Clendenin (Nonpartisan)	64.5	16,244
		Sonja Brookins (Nonpartisan)	35.5	8,933

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 25,177
= 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.

General election

General election for Tampa City Council District 1 At-Large

Alan Clendenin and Sonja Brookins advanced to a runoff. They defeated incumbent Joseph Citro and Chase Harrison in the general election for Tampa City Council District 1 At-Large on March 7, 2023.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Alan Clendenin (Nonpartisan)	40.3	12,433
✔		Sonja Brookins (Nonpartisan)	22.5	6,927
		Joseph Citro (Nonpartisan)	20.1	6,194
		Chase Harrison (Nonpartisan)	17.1	5,271

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 30,825
= 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.
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Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Tamara Shamburger (Nonpartisan)

2022

See also: Municipal elections in Hillsborough County, Florida (2022)

General election

General election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 7 At-large

Joshua Wostal defeated incumbent Kimberly Overman in the general election for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 7 At-large on November 8, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joshua Wostal (R)	52.4	246,947
		Kimberly Overman (D)	47.6	224,530

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	Incumbents are bolded and underlined. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 471,477
= 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.
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Democratic primary election

The Democratic primary election was canceled. Incumbent Kimberly Overman advanced from the Democratic primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 7 At-large.

Withdrawn or disqualified candidates

• Sonja Brookins (D)

Republican primary election

Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 7 At-large

Joshua Wostal defeated Chase Harrison in the Republican primary for Hillsborough County Board of Commissioners District 7 At-large on August 23, 2022.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Joshua Wostal	50.6	43,013
		Chase Harrison	49.4	41,999

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 85,012
= 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.

2020

See also: Municipal elections in Hillsborough County, Florida (2020)

General election

General election for Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District Seat 4

Sonja Brookins defeated Mark Proctor and David Maynard in the general election for Hillsborough Soil and Water Conservation District Seat 4 on November 3, 2020.

		Candidate	%	Votes
✔		Sonja Brookins (Nonpartisan)	53.4	317,383
	Submit photo	Mark Proctor (Nonpartisan)	34.5	205,079
	Submit photo	David Maynard (Nonpartisan)	12.1	72,211

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	There were no incumbents in this race. The results have been certified. Source	Total votes: 594,673
= 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.

Campaign themes

2024

Ballotpedia survey responses

See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection

Sonja Brookins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2024 Candidate Connection survey.

2023

Sonja Brookins completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2023. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Brookins' responses. Candidates are asked three required questions for this survey, but they may answer additional optional questions as well.

Expand all | Collapse all

Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am a former Soil & Water Conservation Supervisor willing to impact my city with a new narrative…to increase economic opportunities. To change the trajectory of City Council to be reflective of the community it represents. My education includes B.S. in Varying Exceptionalities with a minor in Economics. A M.Ed. In Counseling and a doctorate in Chiropractic. I have collaborated with partnerships on a global level with successes across the board in education, healthcare, environmental justice, and budgetary planning.

Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?

• Affordable and attainable housing
• Budgetary transparency and accountability
• Economic opportunity for small businesses

Community Question Featured local question

Did the COVID-19 pandemic change your approach to local policy issues? If so, please give us an example. If not, why?

Yes because it impacted many communities

Community Question Featured local question

Do you believe crime rates are changing? Where do you get your crime rate data from? Would you make any changes to existing public safety policy?

Yes, due to Covid

Community Question Featured local question

Do you think the downtown area is healthy? What is your definition of a healthy downtown? What changes, if any, would you like to make?

No, we need more green space and a walking city perspective

Community Question Featured local question

How important is it to involve residents in the government’s decision-making process? What plans do you have regarding resident involvement in this process?

I feel the power belong to the people and my plan is to listen with intention. Residents should have a voice in all decisions.

Community Question Featured local question

How should record requests from the public be handled? Do you have any policies around transparency and accountability you want to enact?

Transparency and accountability are essential

Community Question Featured local question

How would you address crime and public safety? Do you have a different stance than current city council policy?

Call it out and enforcement of ordinances

Community Question Featured local question

How would you balance the needs and desires of existing business and housing communities with new development? Would you take gentrification and displacement into consideration when planning neighborhood development?

Of course

Community Question Featured local question

How would you set priorities and develop plans in a way that will reflect community values and goals?

Listen to the residents

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's current approach to public safety? Would you take any different positions?

It needs to be reviewed for more programming

Community Question Featured local question

What do you think about the city's environmental health? Would you make any changes to current policy?

I believe in climate change and water quality is a priority

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding infrastructure?

To change out the old infrastructure

Community Question Featured local question

What plans do you have regarding the police department? Would you make any changes from current policy?

We need to review the policyq

Community Question Featured local question

What policies would you have implemented in reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic? Why did you select those policies?

To promote vaccines

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

Equity and equality for all individuals with a balanced allocation of funds in needed communities.

What qualities does this office possess that makes it a unique and important part of the state government and legal system?

Listening with intent

Who do you look up to? Whose example would you like to follow, and why?

Grandparents because they taught me compassion for others

What characteristics or principles are most important for an elected official?

Accountability

What qualities do you possess that you believe would make you a successful officeholder?

Passion for a quality of life

What do you believe are the core responsibilities for someone elected to this office?

Honestly, Transparency, Commitment

What legacy would you like to leave?

To be an advocate for what is right

What is the first historical event that happened in your lifetime that you remember? How old were you at the time?

Election of Obama 2009 (I was an adult)Grand

What was your very first job? How long did you have it?

Cashier (3 years during high school)

What is your favorite book? Why?

Motivation because it gives me inspiration

If you could be any fictional character, who would you want to be?

Mystique

What was the last song that got stuck in your head?

Smile

What is something that has been a struggle in your life?

Men

Do you believe that it's beneficial for holders of this office to have previous experience in government or politics?

No

What kind of skills or expertise do you believe would be the most helpful for the holders of this office to possess?

Transparency

What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?

None

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.

Note: Community Questions were submitted by the public and chosen for inclusion by a volunteer advisory board. The chosen questions were modified by staff to adhere to Ballotpedia’s neutrality standards. To learn more about Ballotpedia’s Candidate Connection Expansion Project, click here.

2022

Sonja Brookins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

2020

Sonja Brookins did not complete Ballotpedia's 2020 Candidate Connection survey.

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