Buckhorn has vision and temperament to be a great mayor

The first round of balloting in the Tampa mayoral race is over. Much to everyone’s surprise, Dick Greco the presumed front runner not only didn’t finish first, he didn’t finish second either. Note to future candidates for any public office: leave Greg Truax off the payroll if you want to win.

The run-off is now between Rose Ferlita and Bob Buckhorn. Fortunately, Tampa will be in good hands regardless of who wins. But Buckhorn is the better of the two candidates.

Why?

Both candidates have ample experience in government and giving back to the community. Both also have non-government private-sector experience.

Buckhorn though trumps Ferlita in a number of important categories. First and foremost, he’s for real. He is who he is, and he isn’t hiding anything. Second, he has a real and achievable vision. He’s not one to merely talk in platitudes and poll-tested nuances.

Finally, Bob has the temperament to be Tampa’s next mayor. This is important in dealing with a new council, talking with regional leaders, recruiting corporations to our community, and being an ambassador to all the VIPs headed to Tampa for the GOP convention next year.

In short, Bob Buckhorn is a solid family man, with real Tampa values and a demeanor that will not embarrass our city. For these reason, Irreverent View continues to strongly endorse Bob Buckhorn for Tampa Mayor.

Chris Ingram is the president and founder of 411 Communications a corporate and political communications firm, and publisher of Irreverent View. Ingram is a frequent pundit on Fox News and CNN, and has written opinion columns for the Washington Times, UPI, and National Review online. He is the Republican political analyst for Bay News 9, the only 24 hour all news channel in Florida’s largest media market. The opinions expressed here are those of author and do not represent the views of Bay News 9. E-mail him at: Chris@IrreverentView.com.

This article appears in Feb 24 – Mar 2, 2011.