The St. Pete Times endorsement of Charlie Miranda over Kelly Benjamin in the District 6 Tampa City Council race is not going over well with Benjamin, who has responded with a wicked denunciation of the editorial board, but also more explicitly blasts Miranda in a way that we haven't heard from him during the campaign.
The Times wrote this morning that:
With the council poised to welcome several new members, incumbent Charlie Miranda's common sense and understanding of the city's immediate and future challenges makes his re-election all the more important in this diverse district that ranges from the city's traditionally immigrant enclave of West Tampa to the West Shore business district.
Miranda, 70, eschews technology such as computers in his office. But he has proven himself one of the city's experts on water and growth issues. Few public servants have brought a sharper eye than Miranda, a fiscal conservative, to the council's role in approving the city's annual budget.
Kelly Benjamin, 35, is a freelance journalist and community activist. Benjamin is an intelligent, articulate candidate with a good grasp of the issues facing the city. But Benjamin is unable to make a convincing argument for succeeding Miranda.
A range of complex topics — from pensions and union negotiations to water and growth concerns — await the new mayor and a largely uninitiated City Council. Miranda's steady hand will be valuable not only to the city but to the voters in his district.
Benjamin today sent a letter addressed to Times Editorial writers John Hill and Daniel Ruth (that can be accessed from Benjamin's blog). He calls the selection of the 70-year-old Miranda over him "a colossal blunder," and later writes, "I would say I'm appalled at your choice and lack of vision, but in truth, it isn't totally unexpected."
But the body of the letter attacks the District 6 incumbent:
This article appears in Feb 10-16, 2011.