{"id":175631,"date":"2026-03-02T23:18:23","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:18:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/175631\/"},"modified":"2026-03-02T23:18:23","modified_gmt":"2026-03-02T23:18:23","slug":"whos-running-for-tampa-mayor-in-2027","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/175631\/","title":{"rendered":"Who\u2019s running for Tampa mayor in 2027?"},"content":{"rendered":"

A fresh face has joined the swarm of candidates competing in Tampa\u2019s 2027 mayoral election.<\/p>\n

Taryn Sabia, an urban designer and assistant dean at the University of South Florida\u2019s College of Design, Art & Performance, announced her campaign on Monday. Born legally blind, Sabia says she will run on a platform of affordability, inclusive planning and transportation.<\/p>\n

A year out from the March 2 election, eight others have officially filed to run for the seat held by Mayor Jane Castor, who must leave due to term limits. They include current<\/a> and former<\/a> elected officials, a popular food influencer<\/a>, and a candidate running to become the city\u2019sfirst openly transgender mayor.<\/p>\n

But several people expected to steer the race \u2014 including former Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who has publicly eyed his old job for months \u2014 have yet to announce.<\/p>\n

Here\u2019s a look at the candidates likely to end up on your ballot next year.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

A long list of priorities will compete for the next mayor\u2019s attention, from managing booming development to addressing residents\u2019 concerns about affordability amid shifting state and national political climates.<\/p>\n

Buckhorn says his experience leading the city from 2011 to 2019 makes him best suited for the job.<\/p>\n

A political committee supporting Buckhorn has raised more than $1.43 million<\/a> as of the last quarter of 2025, according to campaign finance reports. Much of that money comes from construction, development and investment companies.<\/p>\n

Buckhornalso received $100,000 in September from a division of Vinik Sports Group, which manages the Tampa Bay Lightning and Benchmark International Arena; $50,000 in October from a company associated with Patrick Zalupski, the new managing partner of the Tampa Bay Rays; and $25,000 in August from a committee affiliated with Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.<\/p>\n

\u201cThese are friends, neighbors, and people I\u2019ve worked alongside for years who believe in this city and its future,\u201d Buckhorn said in a news release in January.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Two Tampa City Council members are expected to capture theanti-Buckhorn vote.<\/p>\n

Council member Lynn Hurtak announced her bid in February.<\/p>\n

Hurtak was appointed to the City Council as a citywide representative in 2022 before beating state Sen. Janet Cruz<\/a> \u2014 the mother of lobbyist Ana Cruz, Mayor Jane Castor\u2019s partner \u2014 in 2023. That was despite Cruz\u2019s hefty fundraising haul and her endorsement by the mayor.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou all want actually affordable housing, you all want transit, you all want your streets to be paved,\u201d Hurtak said to a crowd of supporters at a campaign kickoff event last week. \u201cAll of this stuff that we just haven\u2019t spent a lot of time focused on in this city, because we\u2019re worried about development interests.\u201d<\/p>\n

City Council member Bill Carlson has yet to announce his campaign, but told the Tampa Bay Times in January that he plans to file \u201cin the next couple months.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson, who represents South Tampa, has long feuded with Buckhorn<\/a> and criticized Castor. He said he has not begun fundraising.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe need somebody who\u2019s going to be close to the people and listen to the people, and also who has a business sense,\u201d said Carlson, president of the public relations firm Tucker\/Hall. \u201cEverywhere I go, people are running up to me asking me to run.\u201d<\/p>\n

Carlson was first elected to the City Council in 2019. He won reelection four years later, beating an opponent who was backed by both Castor and Buckhorn.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Sabia, the urban designer, is the latest to join the field.<\/p>\n

She said in a news release that she is running for mayor because Tampa needs \u201ca new vision.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe same challenges we talked about 20 years ago are still here, and Tampa can\u2019t afford another decade of the same conversations without solutions,\u201d she said. \u201cWe don\u2019t need the same politicians with the same playbook.\u201d<\/p>\n

Her priorities include reducing the cost of living, expanding transit options and supporting local businesses through the permitting process, she said.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Also likely to run is philanthropist Gary Hartfield, who said in January that he plans to announce his campaign \u201cin the near future.\u201d His top priority is workforce housing.<\/p>\n

Hartfield previously served as vice chairperson of the Hillsborough Transit Authority, but resigned in January amid residency questions.<\/p>\n

He owns a home in Lithia, where he claims a homestead exemption. But he began renting a residence in North Tampa last year, in part because he was \u201ceyeing and planning to run for mayor in 2027.\u201d<\/p>\n

Mayoral candidates must live in Tampa for one year before the start of their term. The next term begins on May 1, 2027.<\/p>\n

Hartfield has raised more than $38,000 through a political committee called Innovate Tampa, according to campaign finance documents.<\/p>\n

Seven others have officially joined the race. None has raised more than $500, according to campaign finance reports.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s Anthony Gilbert<\/a>, known to many as \u201cCall Anthony,\u201d a food influencer with a combined 146,000 followers on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok. Gilbert, an East Tampa native, told the Times last month that his priorities include expanding mental health initiatives, creating community partnerships with the Tampa Police Department and supporting small businesses.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Tres Rodman, a paralegal, would be Tampa\u2019s first transgender mayor. Rodman said he would focus on affordable housing, transportation and community policing.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m not a millionaire, I don\u2019t make six figures,\u201d he said. \u201cI\u2019m all about making the quality of life better for residents, not for developers.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alan Henderson was the first to announce his campaign more than a year ago and would be one of the youngest mayors to lead the city. Julie Magill, a general contractor, followed in April.<\/p>\n

Three others, Khadim R. Abdi, Ryan J. Edwards and Reginald B. Strachan, are also running.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"A fresh face has joined the swarm of candidates competing in Tampa\u2019s 2027 mayoral election. Taryn Sabia, an…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":175632,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[47320,832,5756,62631,9867,135,862,3815,137,136,8699,83098],"class_list":{"0":"post-175631","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-bob-buckhorn","9":"tag-city-council","10":"tag-jane-castor","11":"tag-janet-cruz","12":"tag-political-committee","13":"tag-tampa","14":"tag-tampa-bay-lightning","15":"tag-tampa-bay-rays","16":"tag-tampa-headlines","17":"tag-tampa-news","18":"tag-taryn-sabia","19":"tag-urban-designer"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175631","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=175631"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/175631\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/175632"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=175631"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=175631"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=175631"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}