Who they are: Over the last few months, The Influencers column has highlighted individuals who in one way or another are leading the way in Tampa Bay — in other words, Influencers. Hailing from both sides of the Bay and from multiple spheres — business, politics, activism, entertainment and more — they talked about the region in wise and occasionally incendiary fashion in a conversation we plan to keep going well into 2008. The following comments — in no particular order, as they say on TV — were among the most memorable.
1 Denise Swisher, anti-violence crusader (Nov. 21 interview). “I tell people all the time I had to confront my biggest fear, which was burying my child. So there is nothing in this world that I’m afraid of anymore…”
2 Karl Nurse, St. Petersburg neighborhood activist (Sept. 26). “I am dead certain that we are on a terrible path with what we’re doing with our police department and no matter how far they stick their head in the sand, it’s not going to change it.”
3 Joe Cortright, analyst of Tampa Bay (Oct. 17). “Tampa Bay is a relatively new community… The fraction of the people who were there 20 years ago is among the lowest in the United States. That gives you more of an ability to redefine, or define, what it is, who you are, than maybe other places that have much more longevity. The paint is still wet…”
4 Jason Busto, unofficial mayor of West Tampa (Sept. 19). “There are a lot of people who love Tampa, but that love is unrequited because the equity and the power structure is not enough. It’s imbalanced.”
5 Gordon Davis, restaurateur (Oct. 3). “There are horrible obstructionists here. I’d rather build a new business in any community other than Tampa.”
6 Don Wallace, RV king (Nov. 14). “I don’t think people enjoy living in cookie-cutter neighborhoods and having to drive 40 minutes to work, but that’s the result of cities that decay from the inside out.”
7 Josh Bomstein, eco-friendly developer (Dec. 12). “When I first started in business development with an owner, if green was brought up in a discussion with the owner, it was 90 percent of the time me bringing it up. Now, I don’t have to bring it up. Almost every project we are involved in, early on during pre-construction, green is at least talked about, whether they are going to seek to certify the building or not.”
8 Ahmed Bedier, voice of Muslim Tampa (Oct. 24). “Overall, I think we’re moving forward to becoming a more diverse community. … At the same time, the minority, who is critical, is speaking louder and louder. We can’t allow them to steer the progress in a negative way.”
9 Nadine Smith, human rights activist (Oct. 10). “I don’t want schools to breed the kind of hatred that becomes hate violence in the street, and you don’t want that either. We have a bullying culture all the way from the White House down to the schoolhouse right now.”
10 Jack Spatafora, music promoter (Nov. 7). “There’s a lot of talent here. Definitely. Most bands, we just don’t have it in place, a system that gets people on the road. But I’m not so concerned about that. The cream rises to the top, on some level.”
11 Rayme Nuckles, homeless champion (Dec. 19). “The one thing that really helps me put things back into focus is hearing a homeless child or youth speak about their situation. That’s where I probably feel more compelled and think, ‘This is what I’m in it for. This is why I’m here.'”
This article appears in Dec 26, 2007 – Jan 1, 2008.
