HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, Fla. – The vision of the Hillsborough County Black Republican Club is to create a vibrant, influential, and inclusive organization that represents the diverse voices and perspectives of the Black community.
Tim Driver, President of the Hillsborough County Black Republican Club, sat down with The Free Press to discuss his new role, the club’s focus, and the club’s needs moving forward.
Born and raised in Gary, Indiana, Tim and his wife have been residents of Tampa, Florida, since March 2021. Tim is involved in the Tampa Junior Achievement program as a Junior Achievement Alum and the Tampa Rotary Club.
Driver graduated from Purdue University with a Bachelor of Science in Electrical and Computer Engineering. He earned his Master of Science in Computer Science through the Illinois Institute of Technology and his Master’s Certificate in Project Management from George Washington University.
“I had a dream that there would be a need for some leadership in the Republican party. I had taken a hiatus from leadership roles in the past,” said Driver. “I decided to look and see what’s going on locally in the Republican party and bumped into Pastor Alfred Johnson, who was trying to restart the club after the previous president passed away.”
Driver became involved with the club in November 2022 and quickly took over the top leadership position in January 2023.
“I went from being a member, just wanting to help out and help get the club recharged, to now being the president. I had prior leadership experience from leading clubs,” said Driver. And he got the vote.
The club was chartered in March of this year, and Tim says he has focused on foundational work just to relaunch the club.
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“Initially, from a value proposition, I wanted to make sure that we had good programming,” said Driver. “The first few months were about having great guest speakers. So in the month of February, we had Dana Galen (Chair Of Hillsborough County GOP) come in and speak. In the month of March, we had Percy King come in and speak about how to get more Republicans involved and how Republicans can win campaigns.”
And, in April, Tim said a guest speaker come and discussed home buying 101 and financing options for home buying.
“From a programming standpoint, I want programming relative to our community and the Republican constituency,” said Driver.
Driver said voter registration is tops on the list of focus for 2023.
“Our intent now is to identify events for the rest of the year where we can go and set up booths in our community, and we can educate people and assist them in registering to vote,” said Driver. “Juneteenth is coming up, and hopefully, there’ll be some Juneteenth events where we attend and have more information about the club itself and educate attendees and assist with voter registration.”
Driver said an increase in canvassing within the community is also a top priority for the club, “Community outreach with regards to programs, voter registration, and canvassing are the goals that I would like to see achieved, especially going into the 2024 elections.”
“We strive to educate and inform individuals about the benefits of limited government, personal responsibility, free markets, and individual liberty. We seek to empower Black Republicans through networking, political engagement, and community outreach,” said Driver.
Want to get involved? Driver says it’s easy and encourages community members to get involved.
“You can go to our website and click on contact us or join us, and it has the information there where you can join. You pay a small nominal fee of $25 for regular membership and $100 right now for charter membership,” said Driver.
To learn more about the Hillsborough County Black Republican Club, or join, visit their website here https://hcbrc.org/.
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