Two big names recentlyannounced their runs for Tampa mayor, bringing to 11 the number who have filed for the March election to become chief executive of Tampa Bay\u2019s largest city. A large field is no surprise, and hey, the more, the merrier. After all, the job doesn\u2019t open up often. Why not make it an even dozen?<\/p>\n
Former Mayor Bob Buckhorn filed his paperwork<\/a> April 13, followed days later by City Council member Bill Carlson<\/a>. The two joined City Council member Lynn Hurtak, who announced her bid<\/a> in February, and eight lesser-known candidates in what could be the largest candidate field<\/a> in decades.<\/p>\n While Buckhorn\u2019s name, experience and huge fundraising advantage make him the presumptive front-runner, it\u2019s too early to war-game the outcome or even the course of this campaign. Tampa\u2019s electorate is in flux as the city continues to grow, and national anxieties over the cost of living, which are amplified in Florida, make this a particularly uncertain race.<\/p>\n Still, here are a few early observations.<\/p>\n Crowded, capable field. There\u2019s a big difference, of course, between filing to run and qualifying, and you can bet not everyone will walk the talk. But at least six candidates are poised to mount a serious campaign, the same number who factored in 2019, when current Mayor Jane Castor was first elected. She is term-limited and barred from seeking reelection.<\/p>\n Buckhorn, who served two consecutive terms from 2011 to 2019, knows the territory of a mayoral campaign and brings nearly $2 million in a political committee to the race. But Hurtak and Carlson have committed supporters, too, along with more recent public experience and a regular microphone as members of City Council. Thepoint is, several candidates will have the portfolio and resources to compete. A crowded primary can also position a second-place finisher<\/a> to build the coalition necessary to slingshot to victory in a runoff. (Buckhorn did exactly that in 2011<\/a>.)<\/p>\n An unsettled electorate. In the past, voters asked mayoral candidates to choose: Are you for downtown or the neighborhoods? That dynamic is muddied when Tampa\u2019s fastest-growing neighborhood is downtown\u2019s Water Street. But what could truly roil next year\u2019s race is Americans\u2019 gloomy economic outlook, and particularly voters\u2019 concerns over high housing, electricity, and other everyday expenses. Just look at what residents have been complaining about at City Council meetings for years.<\/p>\n The candidates will need a nuanced approach. Residents may understand the tax benefits of enlivening the city center. But they want utility costs and city spending in check, better flood protection from Tampa\u2019s century-old drainage system and more varied and improved transportation options. Lucky for them, a spring election gives these candidates the luxury to see what voters do this November and to tailor their agendas accordingly.<\/p>\n Tinkering the math. The old way to the mayor\u2019s office involved reliable math: Perform well in vote-rich South Tampa, then peel off a big bloc in either heavily Black East Tampa or the Hispanic neighborhoods of West Tampa.<\/p>\n Whether that formula still applies remains to be seen. Tampa has added 30,000 residents in recent years, yet over that same period, the number of registered voters in the city has dropped, in large part because of new state requirements of elections offices to de-list inactive voters. South Tampa, the only district where Republicans outnumber Democrats and independents alike, still accounts for the single-largest voting base. That\u2019s good for establishment candidates and a pro-business message. But newer, younger residents in emerging areas \u2014 North Hyde Park, West River, central Tampa and downtown \u2014 may look for more progressive ideas on transit, planning, neighborhood equity and the like.<\/p>\n In short, there\u2019s considerable play in this race, some locally borne, some forced from the outside. The backgrounds of the mayoral candidates are also more widely varied than in the past, reflecting a larger pattern of nontraditional candidates entering the political stage and the realization that Tampa\u2019s mayoral post is a rare electoral plum. The last mayor<\/a> who didn\u2019t serve two, complete four-year terms was Bob Martinez<\/a>, who resigned in 1986 to focus on his winning campaign for governor. In politics, you have to strike when the opportunity arises.<\/p>\n So if you vote in Tampa, expect a candidate to knock on your door. Or maybe six, eight or 15. And don\u2019t be shy about asking for what you want. Mayoral elections are the time to do it. Especially next year\u2019s.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Two big names recentlyannounced their runs for Tampa mayor, bringing to 11 the number who have filed for…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":243139,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[52111,47320,832,6184,28777,83212,106552,135,1526,137,136],"class_list":{"0":"post-243138","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tampa","8":"tag-bill-carlson","9":"tag-bob-buckhorn","10":"tag-city-council","11":"tag-downtown-tampa","12":"tag-lynn-hurtak","13":"tag-mayoral-campaign","14":"tag-mayoral-candidates","15":"tag-tampa","16":"tag-tampa-bay","17":"tag-tampa-headlines","18":"tag-tampa-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243138","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=243138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/243138\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/243139"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=243138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=243138"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=243138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}