There are four City Council races that Tampa voters will decide next Tuesday (actually, they're weighing in on those races now, as the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office says 3,971 people have voted in 3 days of early voting so far).
Last night in Forest Hills, four of those candidates on the ballot appeared at a briskly paced forum moderated by ABC 28's Don Germaise, who kept it pretty light throughout the hour long session (the District 4 South Tampa candidates were not invited).
Most impressive was probably Mike Suarez, the Democrat (oh, sorry, nonpartisan race) who is running against independent Curtis Stokes in the city wide District 1 race. Stokes was absent, but Suarez was very on, though we admit we hadn't heard him use the argument that critics of a light rail system have said for years in Hillsborough County – that there's not enough density to support it. Suarez also stood out when he denounced the city's water department, saying it's the number one issue that he's heard from the community while walking through neighborhoods.
"I am not happy with the way the (Pam Iorio run) administration has been handling this. I'm not happy with what has happened. I think the answers that they have given to the citizens of this city are ridiculous."
Yolie Capin, the incumbent in District 4 who is running against Chris Hart in a spirited race in District 3, did say that there should be more answers forthcoming on the volatile issue at the council's meeting on Thursday. Her opponent, Chris Hart, said he was stunned to receive a $518 water bill just a few weeks ago, and said after the election he would definitely give city hall a piece of his mind about it, saying he's certainly he doesn't have any leaks at his home.
Another candidate who was AWOL was Charles Perkins, who surprised some by garnering 32 percent in the District 7 contest on March 1, just four points below that of front-runner Lisa Montelione. Perkins could of course win the race next week, but if so it's a very bizarre strategy, which consists of blowing off each and every campaign forum where he can broadcast his message to the voters.
That allows Montelione ample time to convey her campaign themes of working with neighborhoods. The President of the Terrace Park Civic Association, said her "whole heart is in balance," referring to the fact that she had to raise a son while having a full time job and later attend school. Montelione said she would use her background in operations and land construction in assessing operating expenses and looking to find energy savings while reviewing the city's budget.
District 3 candidate Chris Hart disagreed that the budget was the top issue for anybody moving on to the council next month. "It's jobs and the economy, " he affirmed.
Suarez stated as he has previously on the campaign trail that, if elected, he'd like to start a small business loan program, through the occupational tax revenue fund that he says is available right now to tap into. Suarez said it could amount to $10 million to help out those small businesses.
This article appears in Mar 10-16, 2011.
