One Tampa city council candidate claims he's worth $334 million—what about everyone else in the upcoming election?

As Tampa’s municipal election heats up, the public seeks to learn more about local candidates as constituents consider who to vote for on March 7.

Documents obtained by Creative Loafing Tampa Bay can answer at least one question: What is each candidate's net worth?

While being rich does not necessarily equal being a good public servant, deep pockets can often affect the outcome of political races.

The figures on a candidate's required Form 6 documents collect the overall worth of a their personal reported assets and income, after liabilities have been accounted for. Form 6 reports are separate from each campaign’s fundraising.

All of the candidates reported their finances at different times in January, as part of qualification for the race. But all of the finances listed are as of Dec. 31, 2022.

Mayor Jane Castor is running virtually unopposed, because her opponent, Belinda Noah, only qualified as a write-in candidate. Both of their net worths are listed here as well.

City council candidates' net worth is divided up below by district, in alphabetical order.

Blake Casper, a republican running for District 4, claims to be worth $334,994,162, which puts him at the highest net worth in the race. CL found that he's made big donations to Governor Ron DeSantis and Former president Donald Trump, along with other right wingers in recent years.
All of the candidates sign their Form 6 under penalty of perjury. If any net worth, liability or asset disclosure is not accurately filed by a candidate, the Florida Commission on Ethics takes and handles complaints.

For more information on the candidates and how they responded to CL’s survey, check out this story.

Tampa mayor

Jane Castor

Claimed net worth: $2,623,794.80

Mayor Castor owns a home valued at $1,100,000 and plays the stock market, giving her a comfortable cushion of assets. She currently has credit lines with two creditors, totaling about $200,000. Her sole source of income is the $176,656 she makes a year as mayor.

Dr. Belinda Noah

Claimed net worth: $7,078,891

Noah claims that her assets are in property located both in Florida and several locations in Ghana, Africa, adding up to millions of dollars. She has a $452,304 credit line with Bank of America and most of her income is from the federal government and social security.

Tampa city council District 1 - At Large

Sonja P. Brookins

Claimed net worth: $75,000

Brookins claims her residential home as her only asset and did not list any liabilities or credit lines.

Joseph Citro

Claimed net worth: $250,000

A bulk of Citro’s assets are in his South Tampa condo and his watch collection. He claims two credit lines totaling $23,000. His main income is through his councilman salary and $32,000 from his personal barber business.

Alan Clendenin

Claimed net worth: $3,248,979

Clendenin claimed four properties in Florida and Georgia which are collectively worth millions of dollars. He has a line of credit worth $510,000 and makes most of his income from his private job, along with a rental property.

Chase Harrison

Claimed net worth: $23,000

Harrison’s assets rest in his bank account, stocks and an annuity fund investment portfolio. He claims no liabilities. His police pension, along with his military pension, make up most of his income.

District 2 - At Large

Michael Derewenko

Claimed net worth: $140,000

A 401(k), E-trade account and bank account make up Derewenko’s assets. He didn’t list a property under his assets, but has a home loan listed under his liabilities. He claimed to make $125,000 last year from JAIN irrigation company.

Robin Lockett

Claimed net worth: $44,600

Lockett does not own a property, but has an estimated total household goods of $50,000. She has a car lease, and her main source of income is from the nonprofit Florida Rising, where she is the regional director.

Guido Maniscalco

Claimed net worth: $214,467

Most of Maniscalco’s assets lie in his jewelry business and his condo near Wellswood. He has a mortgage and a credit line that combined are near $200,000. His main income is his councilman salary. He claims to have made just $9,150 from his personal business last year.

Michael Suarez

Claimed net worth: $537,177

Suarez lists his personal home and commissions from his business as his biggest assets. He has three credit lines for over $220,000. He claims to have made over $70,000 in income last year between his insurance business and consulting gigs.

District 3 - At large

KJ Allen

Claimed net worth: -$23,000

Allen has more liabilities than assets. The candidate has a $36,000 line of credit, and the total value of household goods doesn’t come near the credit line. Allen claimed to make $25,931 last year from Slam Tampa Charter School.

George “The Hunted” Feshev

Claimed net worth: $745,000

Feshev lists several addresses in East Tampa as making up most of his income. He also claims properties in Altamonte Springs and Bulgaria. He has three credit lines totaling $80,000 and claimed he made $1,900 off of rent from a property last year.

Lynn Hurtak

Claimed net worth: $500,000

Her home and an investment property make up the largest chunk of Hurtak’s assets. She has three mortgage and credit lines, and her councilwoman salary is listed as her only current form of income.

Janet Cruz Rifkin

Claimed net worth: $1,293,691

Former State Senator Cruz has two properties in Tampa and has hundreds of thousands of dollars in Vanguard investment firm. She claims a $241,825 line of credit and collects $29,652 a year in social security.

Jose Vasquez

Claimed net worth: $65,600

Vasquez claims several trucks, trailers and a jet ski as his main assets. He claims a small $4,090 line of credit. Last year, he made $2,000 total off of his personal business, he claims.

District 4

Bill Carlson

Claimed net worth: $1,678,653

Carlson has a property in Tampa and another in St. Augustine. He has several stock options, with the largest amount being in his own public relations communications firm, Tucker Hall. He has a mortgage and credit line worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. He makes money off of Tucker Hall and his current councilman job.

Blake Casper

Claimed net worth: $334,994,162

Casper, heir to a fortune made off of his family’s McDonald’s chains, has a wide range of assets in multiple different banks and investment groups. His liabilities come in the form of multi-million dollar credit lines from four different banks.

District 5

Orlando Gudes

Claimed net worth: $267,167

Gudes claims his home and savings accounts as his main assets. He has two credit lines for over $60,000. His main incomes are from his retired police officer pension and his councilman salary.

Gwendolyn Henderson

Claimed net worth: $978,926

Two properties in Tampa make up the largest assets that Henderson owns. She has four lines of credit totaling over $200,000 and claims to make $24,377 off of an Ybor rental property.

Evelyn Jané-Marie McBride

Claimed net worth: $350

The only asset this write-in candidate listed is “funds for the campaign” to the tune of $3,000. McBride didn’t list any assets or income

District 6

David Tyler Barrett

Claimed net worth: -$68,888

Barrett’s assets include household goods totaling $8,500. The candidate has over $70,000 in student loans and lists income from Southern Strategies LLC and Hilton Hotels.

Richard Lane Fifer

Claimed net worth: $576,414

A business office and home totaling over $500,000 make up the largest assets in Fifer’s finances. He has two credit lines totaling over $150,000. Last year, he made $136,000 off of real estate commissions.

Charlie Miranda

Claimed net worth: $2,582,500

Miranda has several assets listed in the form of properties around Tampa. He claims no credit line and also claims to make $40,000 a year in income off of rental properties that he owns. His largest income is his salary as councilman.

Nicole Payne

Claimed net worth: $110,200

Payne’s home, cars, jewelry and 401(k) are listed as her biggest assets. The candidate has the most credit lines in the entire race, with 14 different accounts totaling over $600,000. She claims to have made $270,000 in income last year from Pennymac, a home mortgage lending company.

Hoyt LeRoy Prindle III

Claimed net worth: $382,429

Prindle’s personal residence, IRAs and 401(k) contribute the largest amount to his assets. He has a mortgage that’s partially paid off and a credit line from USAA. He claimed to make $153,999 from the law firm Freeborn and Peters LLP last year.

District 7

Luis Viera

Claimed net worth: $316,500

Viera, who ran unopposed in his district, lists his home and his 401(k) as his major assets. He has a mortgage and a credit line on his 2017 BMW. Last year, he claims to have made $118,669 from Pennington Law Firm, along with his regular councilman salary.

The deadline to request a mail-in ballot for Tampa’s 2023 municipal election is Saturday, Feb. 25. Early voting commences on Monday, Feb. 27 and ends on Sunday, March 5. Voting day is March 7, and ends at 7 p.m.