The ceremony will happen at 8:30 a.m. on June 12 at 315 E Kennedy Blvd. in recognition of Pride Month and the contributions of Tampa’s LGBTQ+ community.
City Council Chairman Alan Clendenin—who was elected as Tampa’s first openly-gay council member in 2023—will also be there along with city staff and community supporters.
The event, the city wrote in a press release, “reflects on the history of Pride and reaffirms that all people deserve to feel safe, respected, and at home in Tampa.”
The Pride flag raising at Tampa City Hall happens just months after the end of Florida’s legislative session that saw Republicans file legislation banning governments and schools from flying Pride flags. The bill (SB 100) did not make it to Gov. Ron DeSantis’ desk, but the governor supported similar legislation in 2024.
Hillsborough County at large, however, isn’t quite as great as recognizing Pride from a municipal standpoint; in 2024 and 2025, the Republican-leaning body did not issue Tampa’s Pride parade an in-chamber recognition or proclamation.
It’s unclear how many folks in the LGBTQ+ community call home, but in 2024, Human Rights Campaign’s listed Tampa and St. Petersburg among seven Florida cities to get perfect scores in the “Municipal Equality Index.” The index scores cities of criteria including its non-discrimination laws and employment policies, services for the LGBTQ+ community, the relationship between cops and the gay community, and leadership.
Castor was also the first lesbian to serve as Tampa’s police chief, as she led the department from 2009-2015.
In her acceptance speech in 2019, Castor told supporters that the election results “send a resounding message to our community— no it sends a resounding message to the nation—that Tampa celebrates its diversity and lifts everyone up in a positive way.”
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This article appears in Jun 5-11, 2025.