Late Wednesday afternoon, vanquished Tampa mayoral candidate Ed Turanchik sent out an e-mail message to his supporters, a day after his effort to become mayor fell short, though his 19% total was much higher than a major poll 10 days earlier predicted he would get.
Toward the end of the statement, Turanchik broaches the subject of who he might endorse in the March 22 runoff: Rose Ferlita or Bob Buckhorn? Turanchik says, "It is a fair question, one I will answer shortly," adding that "You will hear from me soon on the issue."
Frankly, CL would be flabbergasted if Turanchik came out in support of Ferlita, since he seemed to go out of his way at nearly every public forum to tweak the former City Councilwoman and County Commissioner.
But if he does come out in support of Bob Buckhorn, how hard will he work to help him? Although one might surmise that many of his voters would find Buckhorn's package of ideas appealing in comparison to the visionary Turanchik agenda, there are some progressives who still have issues with Buckhorn on issues like civil rights, going back to his days on the City Council. And in his last television ad that appeared over the weekend, Turanchik included Buckhorn in his troika of opponents (Greco-Ferlita-Buckhorn) who were responsible for a 1996 capital appreciation bond issue for police and fire equipment that will begin costing taxpayers beginning in 2015.
But a strong Turanchik push for Buckhorn could provide a big boost. We'll wait and see what happens. In the meantime, read Turanchik's letter to his supporters below:
I want to thank all of you who volunteered, donated and voted in support of my effort to become the next Mayor of Tampa. I believe we had the advantage in vision, ideas and experience, but the disadvantage in time and money.
This article appears in Mar 3-9, 2011.