Bill Carlson, Tampa City Councilman for District 4. Credit: Dave Decker / Creative Loafing

To the surprise of no one, this morning District 4 City Councilman Bill Carlson filed paperwork for the 2027 race to be Tampa’s next mayor.

In his announcement, the twice-elected city council member and president of locally-based marketing firm Tucker/Hall says his campaign will focus on discipline, transparency and competence.

“Good government is invisible,” said Carlson in a statement. “You don’t think about it. You just feel it — in safer streets, better jobs, faster permits, stronger neighborhoods. When the system works, everything works. Fixing that system is exactly what I’m running to do.”

In 2019, Carlson was first elected to his current city council seat, which covers South Tampa and Davis Islands. He was then re-elected in 2023 after being outspent more than 3-to-1 by his opponent and McDonalds tycoon Blake Casper, who was endorsed by current mayor Jane Castor (who is term-limited) and Carlson’s longtime political foe former mayor Bob Buckhorn.

This morning’s announcement comes less than 48 hours after Buckhorn also announced his run for re-election. During his announcement, Buckhorn, who served as a councilman under former Tampa Mayor Dick Greco, told reporters that, “This government works when people stay in their lane and do their jobs.”

“During my eight years, our mantra was no drama. We weren’t interested in drama. We didn’t have the luxury of drama,” said Buckhorn. “My job is to execute, my job is to finish the job. I anticipate the council to be good partners in that. But at the end of the day, council has its lane and the mayor has its lane.”

Speaking on the phone this morning with Creative Loafing Tampa Bay, Carlson said he’s aiming for a more collaborative approach to the mayor’s office than previous administrations.

“Our economy has grown because of the economic boom that happened from 2010-2020, not because of anything any person or organization did. And we need to change that,” said Carlson. “The reason I got into government in the first place was to try to bring better government to Tampa, and that’s what I’ve tried to do the last two terms,” said Carlson.

“And so, with the structure of the City of Tampa, the only way that you can really bring meaningful change is to be mayor.”

With the addition of Carlson, there are now 11 candidates running for mayor, including Tampa City Councilwoman Lynn Hurtak, urban designer and USF assistant dean Taryn Sabia, entrepreneurs Gary Hartfield and Alan Henderson, plus business owner/Best of the Bay-winning online food critic Anthony Gilbert Jr., and more.

“I’m really excited about standing on the podium with them in debates,” added Carlson, “because I think it will enrich the process. And despite what people may think, there’s no frontrunner right now. It’s up for grabs, and that makes it exciting. The last few elections have shown that the people that raise the most money lose, and so we’ve got to be looking at where the best candidates are coming from, how they connect and even if they don’t succeed, what ideas they bring to the table, because they’re all important.”

Besides his city council seat, Carlson is also known as the co-founder of both the local civics forum Cafe Con Tampa, and the Tampa Arts Alliance. He also sits on the board for the Florida Tax Watch, The Dali Museum, Florida Chamber Foundation, and over a dozen other organizations.

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This article appears in Apr. 09 – 15, 2026.