Announcing through Facebook, Hillsborough County Commissioner Rose Ferlita declared what is not any surprise – she's running for Mayor of Tampa in 2011.
Ferlita emphasized social media in saying she had filed paperwork to run for office. Ferlita now joins Tampa City Councilman Thomas Scott, former Tampa City Councilman Bob Buckhorn and former police captain Marion Lewis in the race. Still not ruling out a run is former Tampa area Congressman Jim Davis, who told CL last week that it's far too early to make any type of decision.
"Thanks to technology and using social media, this was a great way to kick-off our announcement. And, I think it's exciting that my friends, neighbors and supporters had the opportunity to hear it from me, first," said Commissioner Ferlita.
But not for Ferlita, who as CL reported nearly two months ago, essentially announced her candidacy during the County Commission's debate and vote on the penny sales tax referendum for transit.
Ferlita first ran and won a seat in public office in 1999, when she narrowly defeated incumbent Scott Paine. In 2003, she easily coasted to re-election, defeating activist Kelly Benjamin.
In 2006, she left the council early to run for County Commission, where she defeated Mary Mulhern. The fact that she never indicated that she would run for re-election was an early sign that she has had her sights on running for mayor for awhile now.
This article appears in Jul 1-7, 2010.