After months of speculation (and a not-so-subtle pre-announcement announcement during a recent interview with CL), former Tampa Police chief Jane Castor announced late yesterday that she was, in fact, running for mayor of Tampa. According to a Tampa Bay Times story this morning, the popular, high-profile 58-year-old former law enforcement officer — and Tampa's first female, and openly gay, chief of police — will file to run today.
Long considered an ideal candidate for the post, Castor faces off against current candidates Ed Turanchik, Topher Morrison, Harry Cohen and Michael Hazard (and possibly David Straz as well, though he has yet to officially announce). She'll run on her strong record as police chief, during which Tampa saw a drop in crime, and hosted both the Republican National Convention and a Super Bowl without major incident — though the department's "biking while black" profiling fiasco, which occurred under Castor's watch, will surely become a hot topic among her opponents.
Since leaving the TPD, Castor has traveled the country as a consultant to other law enforcement agencies, and was named grand marshal of this year's Tampa Pride festival, her second time being awarded the role. Should she be elected, Castor would become Tampa's first openly LGBTQ mayor.
"I've been talking to a number of individuals out in the community, getting input from a variety of grassroots groups, developmental groups, transportation," she told former CL News + Politics Editor Kate Bradshaw during an interview last month. "Just trying to get a very well-rounded view of how the community sees Tampa moving into the future."
This article appears in Apr 19-26, 2018.