NAACP Leader Opposes Tampa Bay Sales Tax for Transit

A Tampa Bay Transit project is looking to voters to support a sales tax increase, but Yvette Lewis of the Hillsborough NAACP doesn't support the project. Lewis argues that a sales tax increase will hurt poor families, and people who live farther from the city center will not see the benefits of the spending.

The lack of endorsement from Lewis comes with political consequences for supporters of the proposed sales tax. "[T]he failure to secure endorsement by the NAACP is a setback for All for Transportation. Its leaders met last week with the NAACP and faced tough questions about how it helps Hillsborough’s black community," Christopher O’Donnell reports for the Tampa Bay Times.

Lewis, who serves as head of the county's NAACP, says that she doesn't trust the private supporters and politicians backing the project and that those in the black community need "more than buses," according to O'Donnell's reporting.