In January, council voted 6-1 to move the ordinance past the first reading, with only Charlie Miranda voting against it. But then, on Feb. 3, council flipped during second reading and voted 4-2 against the ordinance, with only councilman Orlando Gudes and Guido Maniscalco voting in favor of the ordinance. But at yesterday's council meeting, they voted unanimously to pass it at first reading, with the second reading being planned for March 17.
During the meeting, several councilmen said that the flip-flopping had left their constituents wondering why they were wavering on basic renter's rights.
The assistance is most often used by low-income families, disabled and elderly people—the most vulnerable of Tampa's residents. The government support is often the barrier between those vulnerable people and homelessness.
Between the initial approval and the subsequent denial of the ordinance earlier this month, Creative Loafing Tampa Bay discovered that landlords and lawyers had reached out to council about the ordinance. One email in city council records from a local attorney advised them against passing the bill.
But in the end, council voted yesterday to move the ordinance forward, with all seven councilmen voting yes.
Viera had pushed to bring back the ordinance back before council after it was denied earlier this month when he was absent from council, attending to personal matters.
"We have a housing crisis right now," Viera said. "This is step one that we can do in terms of policy, to make housing more accessible to people."
John Dingfelder, who was previously one of the most vocal opponents of the ordinance, had a change of heart during the meeting, saying that the city might get pushback from landlords, but that it's worth it to protect renters.
"I’ll support this tenant’s bill of rights and will go along with the county, we'll see how it goes," Dingfelders said. "But it's such a drop in the bucket. We have to do a better job on all these other areas before we can start patting ourselves on the back."
For Dingfelder, the other areas that need addressing include tackling the city’s need for housing that more people can access by expediting permits, fee waivers, and having more flexibility and density of affordable housing.
Gudes, who had originally brought the ordinance to council for its first reading, said that many people are going "transient" in Tampa, and that the ordinance will help get things going to protect Tampa renters as the housing crisis rages on.
"People are hungry about this. They're adamant about it," Gudes said. "And I don't think it's going to hurt people in different communities."
By different communities, Gudes meant landlords who might be affected by the ordinance. Dingfelder had several times mentioned "mom and pop" landlords, who would have to deal with the ordinance's rules. But in the end, just about all councilmen came to the conclusion that protecting Tampa's most vulnerable residents was the right thing to do.
After the vote, Viera told CL that he was thrilled to see the ordinance pass unanimously, "Sometimes, a second look will yield better results," he said.
He said that the anti-discrimination aspect of the bill is important to addressing what all of council agrees is an ongoing housing crisis.
"During this time of economic dislocation, the people are watching and I am glad that all council members, all of whom have good hearts on this issue, voted yes. It made right a wrong."