James Jensen, candidate for honorary mayor of Brandon, with his wife, Jennifer, and daughters, Jordan and Julia, at the ladies' tea fundraiser and silent auction held at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association on June 28, 2009.

Jensen is the owner of Next Level Printing at 113 N. Kings Avenue in Brandon, Fla., a company specializing in printing, signs, and graphics. "My third day in business I saw a family living in my ditch and I called Stacey Efaw, of ECHO [the Emergency Care Help Organization] and asked if she could come and take care of the family," Jensen said. "They said to me, 'Please don't call the cops on us' and I said, 'I won't do that, please come inside.' We got them food and we got them clothes. It broke my heart to see these three kids with no shoes, no socks, their mother and father just down on their luck."

Today, Jensen added, he sees from time to time both the mother and father at work at their respective jobs in the community. "Tears comes to your eyes when you see something like that," Jensen said.

Jensen said he is running for the honorary mayor position, by raising money for charities, including ECHO, because he wants to bring attention to the good local charities do in the hometown community. The larger, national charities have their spotlight, he added, and he wanted to cast that light on the charities down the road. Jensen is also raising money for the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon and the Brandon Sports & Aquatic Center, which is a non-profit organization formerly known as the Brandon Swim & Tennis Club.

The honorary mayor of Brandon race takes place each year in June. The "candidate" who raises the most money for charity is "voted" into office, with the declaration announced the morning of the Brandon Fourth of July Parade. Both the race and the parade are run by the Roundtable Charities of Greater Brandon Inc., more commonly known as the Community Roundtable and previously known as the President's Roundtable. Looking to unseat the outgoing mayor, Tammy Holmberg, are Smaldone, James Jensen, and Barbara Jones-Keplinger. The town's first honorary mayor, back when the race was run by business interests through the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, was Nat Storms in 1959.

James Jensen, candidate for honorary mayor of Brandon, with his wife, Jennifer, and daughters, Jordan and Julia, at the ladies' tea fundraiser and silent auction held at the Center Place Fine Arts & Civic Association on June 28, 2009.

Jensen is the owner of Next Level Printing at 113 N. Kings Avenue in Brandon, Fla., a company specializing in printing, signs, and graphics. "My third day in business I saw a family living in my ditch and I called Stacey Efaw, of ECHO [the Emergency Care Help Organization] and asked if she could come and take care of the family," Jensen said. "They said to me, 'Please don't call the cops on us' and I said, 'I won't do that, please come inside.' We got them food and we got them clothes. It broke my heart to see these three kids with no shoes, no socks, their mother and father just down on their luck."

Today, Jensen added, he sees from time to time both the mother and father at work at their respective jobs in the community. "Tears comes to your eyes when you see something like that," Jensen said.

Jensen said he is running for the honorary mayor position, by raising money for charities, including ECHO, because he wants to bring attention to the good local charities do in the hometown community. The larger, national charities have their spotlight, he added, and he wanted to cast that light on the charities down the road. Jensen is also raising money for the Kiwanis Club of Greater Brandon and the Brandon Sports & Aquatic Center, which is a non-profit organization formerly known as the Brandon Swim & Tennis Club.

The honorary mayor of Brandon race takes place each year in June. The "candidate" who raises the most money for charity is "voted" into office, with the declaration announced the morning of the Brandon Fourth of July Parade. Both the race and the parade are run by the Roundtable Charities of Greater Brandon Inc., more commonly known as the Community Roundtable and previously known as the President's Roundtable. Looking to unseat the outgoing mayor, Tammy Holmberg, are Smaldone, James Jensen, and Barbara Jones-Keplinger. The town's first honorary mayor, back when the race was run by business interests through the Greater Brandon Chamber of Commerce, was Nat Storms in 1959.