Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak at Tampa City Hall in Tampa, Florida on Aug. 27, 2026. Credit: Screengrab by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay / City Of Tampa Meetings/YouTube
It was another long day at Tampa City Hall today, as the community came together to discuss another proposal that uses public money to help build a stadium for the Tampa Bay Rays.
District 3 Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak, who is running in the Tampa mayoral election that wraps in March, has been the tip of the spear in the push against the stadium proposals presented so far—even posting a five-minute opposition explainer yesterday—but she’s about to start another battle next week.
During new business of today’s Tampa City Council meeting, Hurtak, 49, told councilmembers and the public that she’s been diagnosed with breast cancer and will start treatment on Monday.
Yesterday, Hurtak told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that she was diagnosed this month and has been on a fast path to the 12-week treatment that kicks off Aug. 31.
“My doctor found a lump on July 31,” Hurtak said. “I have been poked and prodded, and had tons of blood taken. MRIs, and EKGs, and PET scans, and biopsies, and all these words I didn’t know before, but now do.”
She said that that treatment will not keep her from doing the work constituents citywide elected her to do, including taking crucial votes on the many issues that affect Tampeños.
“I haven’t let it stop me from doing the work for the people, and it won’t stop me now. I’m just gonna do what I do, and I have a great team around me,” she added. “I have a really positive attitude about it, and I’m just gonna fight it the way I fight everything else.”
Hurtak told CL that her treatment will not affect the campaign for mayor, which she launched last February, nearly a year ahead of Election Day in the Tampa Municipal Election set for March 2, 2027.
“The good news is my chemo will be done before Thanksgiving,” she said. “I’m still going to be able to have conversations. I’m still going to be able to do some Lynn Listens sessions. It will just simply depend on if I have to go get a mask or not, based on my doctor’s directives.”
After the announcement, fellow councilmembers were understandably somber. Hurtak told CL that she’s doing OK, as much as anyone who’s just received the diagnosis can be.
“It hasn’t really settled in yet. Maybe it will when I start my first chemo treatment,” she told CL, adding that it’s kind of a relief to finally share the news with the public. “Now, it doesn’t feel like I’m doing it by myself.”
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This article appears in August 27 – September 02, 2026.
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