Finally — a forum that wasn’t a snooze fest.
Howard W. Blake High School hosted a mayoral candidate forum about art and culture in Tampa, where the candidates were instructed not to talk about transit. But you know some of them snuck it in.
Candidate David Straz wasn’t shy about his thoughts that the arts in Tampa are “woefully underfunded,” and that Mayor Bob Buckhorn hasn’t done a great job supporting them.
“That’s what we’re lacking in the mayor’s office — passion in the arts,” Straz said.
Acknowledging that the Tampa art scene isn’t flourishing as much as it could be, many candidates said they wanted to mimic St. Petersburg’s initiatives.
“I’m not afraid to say, ‘Mayor Kriseman, I’m going to steal your playbook and use it for places in Tampa,’” said candidate Ed Turanchik.
Dick Greco Jr. mentioned that the Dali museum in St. Petersburg had over 400,000 visitors last year and that Tampa ought to strive to bring that kind of attraction to Tampa.
Moderator David Jenkins of Tampa's Jobsite Theater asked the candidates what role the mayor’s office should play in the further development of arts and culture programs through the city. Harry Cohen, Jane Castor and Turanchik said it should be a priority to make sure that artists can afford to live in the same places they work — which most artists in Tampa can’t.
The audience went wild when Cohen said that the city should work with landlords to make the vacant apartment spaces available to artists.
“We have plenty of [empty] lots that we can turn into galleries,” Castor agreed.
Mike Suarez piggybacked on that idea, saying that the mayor “has to be an important voice so that artists know they can come here and survive.”
Candidate Topher Morrison used his status to an advantage, telling the crowd that he, too, is an underdog and that he will support them as artists. He’s a “recovering artist” himself; he used to play guitar (not very well, he said).
With the election only one month away, candidates are racking up endorsements and campaign contributions. The election is March 5.
This article appears in Jan 31 – Feb 7, 2019.