Rose Ferlita hinted during earlier forums that other candidates shouldn't be dismissing the middle and lower classes of Tampa by focusing exclusively on bringing in new hi-tech jobs to Tampa, but she's taken that argument to a whole new level in recent days, culminating in a press release issued Thursday where she mockingly says her opponent in the March 22 runoff election, Bob Buckhorn, is running for Mayor of Beverly Hills.
"A city with a diverse labor pool like Tampa cannot afford to direct all
of its focus on only high-paying target industry jobs. While these jobs
are important, they are few and far between and are intended to only
benefit a certain sector of our community. My plan includes comprehensive
incentives aimed at creating jobs at all levels of our economy! People who
work hard to support their families have my respect while they have Bob's
neglect. How on earth can Bob think he can represent Tampa when he has
disdain for the employment of most of the people he wants to represent?
Perhaps, he should drop out of this race and run for Mayor of Beverly
Hills.”
Thursday afternoon's press release marked the 3rd day in a row that Ferlita has tried to hammer home the elitist tag on Buckhorn; she first drew that specific line of attack Tuesday night during the live Bay News 9/St. Pete Times debate, and again Wednesday during his news conference at her Seminole Heights campaign headquarters.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2011.