TAMPA, Fla. — Whenever you stroll into council member Luis Viera’s workplace in metropolis corridor, you’ll see his partitions lined in images and artifacts that encourage him.
“That’s, in fact, Fannie Lou Hamer. My favorites listed below are Bobby Kennedy, this FDR clock is from 1944,” he stated as he gave me a tour of his workplace.
Viera has represented District 7 since 2016, comprising North Tampa and New Tampa. “And my first race, I received by 65 votes. It was very shut, very suspenseful,” stated Viera.
For those who ask Viera why he obtained into politics, he’ll inform you about his brother, Juan, who has an mental incapacity.
“You understand, rising up with Juan was a giant affect on my life, clearly, towards simply problems with tolerance and empathy and compassion.” That empathy and keenness fuels his need to symbolize his constituents and people and not using a voice.
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“You bought to come back from the center and that’s one thing that I believe unites all Latinos, which is that we aspire to come back from the center,” stated Viera. “We’re all very emotional, so to talk. We put on our feelings on our sleeves.”
Raised within the Temple Terrance space, council member Viera is happy with his Cuban roots.
“I’ve at all times been proud to be a voice for all refugees, not simply individuals who appear like me, however all refugees as a result of, once more, that compassion that this nice nation had for my dad and mom 60 years in the past, it’s obtained to exist nonetheless right this moment for folks,” stated Viera.
