Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has made official what he has been promising to do for months: a run to regain the office he held from 2011 to 2019.<\/p>\n
Buckhorn filed the necessary campaign paperwork with the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office on Monday morning.<\/p>\n
Buckhorn said he is running “to finish the job.” <\/p>\n
\u201cThis city\u2019s best days are yet to come,” he said Monday during a news conference outside out the Frederick B. Karl County Center in downtown Tampa. “We can fix those challenges. We can fill those potholes. We can pave those streets. We can invest in that infrastructure. That\u2019s not why people hire mayors. That\u2019s not why I\u2019m running for office. I\u2019m running to build a city that is the envy of the nation and to continue down this path that we set out on 10 years ago. <\/p>\n
“We\u2019ve proven we can do it. I\u2019ve already done it. Now, it is time to write out next chapter.\u201d<\/p>\n
Buckhorn joins a list of 10 candidates vying to replace Jane Castor, whose second term is slated to end May 1, 2027.<\/p>\n
He jumps in with a significant advantage in donations. His Friends of Buckhorn committee lists more than $1.8 million in the bank, according to the Supervisor of Elections office.<\/p>\n
ALSO READ: Former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn says he may run for the position again<\/a><\/p>\n The next closest, according to the supervisor\u2019s website, is urban planner and educator Taryn Sabia ($21,171), whose campaign website announced raising more than $20,000 within 29 days of filing on March 2.<\/p>\n City Council member Linda Hurtak has raised nearly $15,000 since filing Feb. 23.<\/p>\n Buckhorn, 67, has made no secret of his intentions, which he offered as far back as April 2025 while addressing students<\/a> during a Saint Leo University Faith and Politics class. He also didn\u2019t sidestep the issue in June, at an event renaming the Tampa River Center in his honor, when he said it was “the worst-kept secret in Tampa.”<\/p>\n \u201cI have never been more excited about the future of the city and the opportunity to come back,\u201d Buckhorn said Monday. <\/p>\n Buckhorn\u2019s two terms<\/a> as mayor were defined by downtown redevelopment, waterfront revitalization efforts and a push to modernize infrastructure. He focused on economic development, public safety and flood mitigation.<\/p>\n