Noon marked the qualifying deadline for Tampa's Mayoral and City Council hopefuls, which means things are due to heat up in this city (to people like us, at least).
Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn almost squeaked by without any opposition, but on Thursday he gained an opponent in a guy named Jose Vazquez, a write-in whose name will not appear on the ballot. Upon Googling of Vazquez, aside from discovering he shares a name with a Mexican soccer star, we found the Facebook page pertaining his 2014 run for State House, which obviously didn't pan out (and a news story about a 2012 run before that).
Our advice to him would be to a) make friends with as many rich people as he can so he can catch up to the $359,751.62 Buckhorn has raised to date, and b) hire someone to do your SEO.
While the mayor's race probably won't have the fireworks it did in 2011, when everyone and their mother and Dick Greco vied for the spot, there should be some interesting city council races (that may have been the first time that phrase has ever been used non-sarcastically).
The citywide Dist. 2 seat being vacated by Councilwoman Mary Mulhern is a prime example. Six weeks ago, Joe Citro was the only one with his hat in the ring. Since then, activist Julie Jenkins and terming-out Councilman Charlie Miranda (known for his ability to go on for 20 minutes about pretty much anything) have joined. Miranda has thus far put together $25,000 while the other two have each amassed about $4,000.
South Tampa Dist. 4 incumbent Larry Cohen is bidding for re-election with $83,09
The three-way race for the Dist. 6 seat, which covers west and parts of south Tampa, could actually get interesting. It's an open seat (the one from which Miranda is being jettisoned because of term limits) for which three people, Thomas Castellano, Guido Maniscalco and Jackie Toledo are battling. With supporters like State Sen. Jeff Brandes and State Rep. Dana Young, Toledo is bringing in the bucks ($87,187). Castellano has raised $26,340.00. Maniscalco, who ran for council in 2011, lags at $22,289.98, but he has endorsements from the likes of Mulhern, school board member Apro; Griffin and county property appraiser Bob Henriquez and others.
The rest are seemingly David v.Goliath-esque efforts to unseat incumbents that, while they may surprise us, will probably be a breeze for those trying to keep their seats.
Take District 1, in which Councilman Mike Suarez is defending his seat against Seminole Heights-area activist Susan Long, who has raise a cool $800 to Suarez's $39,630.00.
Councilwoman Yvonne "Yolie" Capin is defending her citywide District 3 seat against a dude named Paul Erni, an activist who ran for council in 1999, and sought appointment to this seat when John Dingfelder left (Capin ultimately won the nod). Erni has so far pulled in $3,630 while Capin thus far has raised $68,460.61.
Two incumbents wound up unopposed.
For the city's East Tampa District 5 seat, Councilman Frank Reddick was gearing up to face a challenge in Quinton Robinson. Robinson has $205 to Reddick's $23,375.00, of which Robinson had about $20 left on Friday, and ultimately did not qualify.
And previous candidate Joseph Caetano was once again about to challenge Councilwoman Lisa Montelione for the Dist. 7 seat, which covers North Tampa. Montelione has pulled in $18,867.33 while Caetano had raised $700. The latter also did not qualify
Most of the candidates, save for Caetano and those in Dist. 5, have confirmed that they'll participate in a Tampa Tiger Bay Club candidate forum on Fri., Jan. 23 at noon at Maestro's in the Straz Center.
The election is Tuesday, March 3.
This article appears in Jan 15-21, 2015.