“We thought only having qualified candidates would limit the field. Boy, were we wrong,” said Missy Martin, Tampa Tiger Bay Club’s secretary, as she kicked off the Tampa City Council special election candidates forum last Friday at The Cuban Club in Ybor City. Eleven candidates, including one write-in candidate, comprised the largest group on stage at any Tiger Bay event in recent memory—even with three candidates absent.
Tiger Bay Club is known for its indelicate, nonpartisan political forums where club members ask questions of candidates for local office. The queries attempt to get to the essence of issues and often ask curveball questions that challenge candidates in unexpected ways.
Tampa’s District 5 City Council special election is packed with 13 qualified candidates and one write-in. Candidates Audette Bruce, Darrell Ashley Dudney, and Carrie West were not in attendance.
When the candidates were asked how they would interface with Title I schools, Hewitt was the first to say that council members need to respect the authority of the school board while still playing a supporting role to the local education system by funding affordable housing so teachers and families could remain with their schools.
Thomas Scott is a seasoned public servant who was on the city council and the county commission for years. He also has governmental insight, but gave slightly more restrained answers than Hewitt; he reiterated Hewitt’s point about the school board having jurisdiction, but didn’t expand on what the city could do to support underfunded schools.
Fran Tate, a longtime community advocate heavily involved in East Tampa, said she regularly volunteers at Potter Elementary as a reading coach and fundraiser because she is grateful for the education her children got, saying she wants to pass this education on to today’s students.
Naya Young, former Executive Director of the Tampa Heights Junior Civic Association, and Juawana Colbert were in particularly challenging positions. Each sat on either end of the row, and were always either the first or last to answer a question due to the forum’s format. Still, Young held her own with fresh ideas and an overall consistent political philosophy, while Colbert, a Realtor, largely answered through a business and economic lens.
Candidates were asked what they believed the role of city council was. Young said budget, comprehensive plan and zoning, but ultimately to be advocates for the people and to remove red tape. Colbert used a mnemonic device: BLLOR, meaning budget, laws, land use, ordinances and resolutions.
Albert Cooke answered like a businessman. When asked about council’s role, Cooke said: “It’s always about money. Everything is about money.” This was a recurring theme through most of his answers, with occasional references to his relationship with law enforcement through his involvement in TPD’s Chief’s Advisory Panel.
Candidates were asked which of the six current council members they most aligned with in temperament and political philosophy. Ariel Amirah Danley, daughter of late council member Gwendolyn Henderson, objected to the question, saying, “my mother is still a council member.” Danley said throughout the forum that she wants to dialogue directly with the community and neighborhood associations to learn what they need.
Tom DeGeorge—owner of Crowbar in Ybor City and regional director for the National Independent Venue Association which helped pass the federal Save Our Stages Act—emphasized community advocacy, but tended to avoid giving specific answers, focusing more on his connection to the community and his character. When asked what city council member he most closely aligned with, he said, “I am unapologetically myself, but that’s never stopped me from getting things done.”
Elvis Piggott said he favors a direct approach like Luis Viera or Bill Carlson. Fittingly, his responses were consistently among the shortest. “Love all of the council members,” Piggott said, “[but] we’ve got to get things done.” Hewitt named Lynn Hurtak the council member she’s most similar to, citing attention to detail. The rest of the candidates generally said they needed to work with the council as a whole. Scott noted that four votes are required to do anything and it won’t always be the same three people who vote with him.
Melony Williams gave brief answers to most questions, often discussing her military experience. When asked about whether she’d support a public utility company to replace TECO, she said she’d support a feasibility study, saying that in the military she learned you do research to get all the information first.
When asked about Resolution 568—a resolution to create a committee to address racial injustice within the city—the majority of candidates vaguely referenced racial justice and said they would work with the mayor and council to address inequality. Danley said she would rely on expert opinion. Tate went further, suggesting that the resolution become an ordinance with more teeth, but did not clarify what that meant (responses were limited to 30 seconds each). Hewitt said she would support funding a freestanding racial reconciliation committee, saying the six month time frame provided in the resolution is not enough time to address decades of inequity. Piggott stood to deliver his answer, saying he did so because he is “unapologetically Black.”
Jose Vazquez Figueroa is a write-in candidate who charmed the audience even as he joined the chorus of candidates who avoided giving direct answers. He discussed an eclectic mix of professions and community groups he’s been affiliated with in the past, and said he aimed to make sure city staff were doing their jobs.
Two candidates outright said they supported a municipally-owned utility company to replace TECO: DeGeorge, who said it would lower prices, and Cooke, who said when you own your own business you can make decisions quickly and effectively. Scott and Vazquez oppose the idea, saying the cost and complexity is something the city can’t handle. Other candidates said that they would have to see the data to figure out what would be best for the district.
Subscribe to Creative Loafing newsletters.
Follow us: Google News | NewsBreak | Reddit | Instagram | Facebook | BlueSky
