Carlson, Hurtak Will Fight To Retain Tampa City Council Seats

TAMPA, FL — With six of seven Tampa City Council seats up for grabs, Tampa voters will be keeping a close eye on the Tampa municipal elections returns Tuesday night.

Tampa voters can cast their 2023 Tampa municipal election ballot between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. Tuesday. Tampa Patch will provide updates once the polls close and election results start coming into the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections office.

One of the more hotly contested races is for the District 4 seat, which includes most of South Tampa, including Bayshore Boulevard, Hyde Park, South of Gandy, Davis Islands and Harbour Island.

Incumbent Bill Carlson, 55, a Democrat, will attempt to hold onto his seat against his sole opponent, millionaire Blake J. Casper, 49, a Republican whose family founded a dynasty of McDonald's franchises.

Casper's grandfather, Fritz Casper, opened the first McDonald’s in Tampa on South Dale Mabry Highway 65 years ago. On Oct. 1, Casper and his sister, Allison Adams, agreed to sell their 60 McDonald's locations in Tampa and Jacksonville back to McDonald's.

Casper said he plans to concentrate on developing boutique-style projects in the city like the Oxford Exchange, which he and his sister opened in 2012. They renovated the 1891 brick building located across from the University of Tampa at 420 W. Kennedy Blvd. into a gathering place to "cultivate community conversation" that includes The Restaurant and Champagne Bar at Oxford Exchange, The Shop at Oxford Exchange and The Bookstore at Oxford Exchange.

While Casper was lauded for restoring the historic Oxford Exchange, his next project wasn't nearly as well-received. In 2018, Casper submitted a rezoning request to convert the 1909 Stovall-Lee House at 4621 Bayshore Blvd., into a private social club and a five-unit bed and breakfast.

The mansion facing the famous Bayshore sidewalk that meanders along the bay was built by the one-time publisher of the Tampa Tribune, Wallace Stovall, and had always been zoned residential. Homeowners throughout the Bayshore Boulevard neighborhood quickly organized and opposed Casper's proposal, which they said was incompatible in a single-family neighborhood and would produce noise from late-night events and traffic from large catering trucks into their neighborhood.

Resident Louis Conti warned the council that the rezoning would set a precedent for more of Bayshore Boulevard's elegant mansions to be converted to commercial uses, but Casper said that's not his intention.

At a public hearing in September 2018, the city council overruled the neighbors' objections and approved the project.

Now, five years later, one Bayshore Boulevard homeowner who asked that his name not be used said Casper has broken that promise. He said Casper is converting homes at 2902 W. Coachman Ave. and 4608 S Richards Court into office and commercial uses without city approvals.

Casper did not respond to Patch's request for comment and Natalia Verdina of Tampa's office of development and economic opportunity said Friday that the city is looking into the claim.

Casper has purchased several other South Tampa properties including the South Tampa landmark, Kojak's House of Ribs, which has relocated from Gandy Boulevard to Seffner, and Love's Artifacts Bar & Grill, 4918 S MacDill Ave, Tampa. He's also preparing to open Predalina, a Mediterranean seafood restaurant at Water Street Tampa.

South Tampa community activist Carroll Ann Bennett said she's concerned that a developer with special interests won't adequately represent the city's residents.

At a candidates forum Feb. 22 at the Tampa Garden on Bayshore Boulevard, Casper described himself as a law-and-order candidate. He's been critical of Carlson for not being more supportive of the police department including voting in November in favor of allowing the police department's independent oversight board to have legal counsel and subpoena power. Carlson was outvoted.

Casper said he's also an advocate of managed growth, something the city hasn't had for decades.

"Every great city has a smart growth master plan," he said. "I've worked hard to save historic buildings like Oxford Exchange, the Stovall House and homes in Hyde Park. But Tampa hasn't updated the zoning and building plans since the 1980s. There is no comprehensive plan to guide and control our record growth."

Moreover, he has the endorsements of some heavy hitters including former Tampa Police Chief Brian Dugan, Florida Chief Financial Officer Jimmy Patronis, former Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn, former County Commissioner Sandy Murman and Hillsborough County Sheriff Chad Chronister.

Casper also has the funds to back his run for office. He's raised $465,954 to Carlson's $136,590.

Elected to the city council in 2019, Carlson is president of the public relations firm Tucker Hall and lives in Bayshore Beautiful.

An advocate of transparency in government, Carlson's been critical of Mayor Jane Castor for making decisions on behalf of the city without consulting the city council. The mayor serves as the city's chief executive while the council is responsible for legislation and approving the budget.

For the city to balance the executive and legislative functions, Carlson said there has to be communication and an exchange of ideas. But, he said the council members often don't know when the mayor has made an executive decision until they read about it in the newspapers.

Carlson's concerns about the impact of the pandemic followed by inflation on struggling Tampa residents and small business owners, frustrations over the city's lack of affordable housing and his criticism of wasteful spending by the city have won him the support of the city's neighborhood groups.

Unlike Casper, his Facebook page contains no slick, professionally made videos with the endorsements of Tampa's movers and shakers.

Instead, he said his favorite campaign ad was written by his three children.

"Over the last four years, our dad has been working hard to be a voice for the people when no one else will speak up for them," wrote Trey, Jacob and Jon Luke Carlson. "Our dad has fought to keep our streets and neighborhoods safe for all members of our community."

Other City Council Seats Up For Grabs

Voters are also closely watching the citywide District 3 race which pits community activist Lynn Hurtak, who was appointed to the council in April following the resignation of John Dingfelder, against well-known lifelong resident and former Florida Sen. Janet Cruz.

Cruz is winning the race for campaign funds with $108,643 while Hurtak has raised $65,128. Also qualifying to run for the seat are George "TheHunted" Feshev raising $7,807, Jose Vazquez with $5,700 and K.J. Allen raising $3,510.

Current council chairman representing citywide District 1, Joseph Citro, will try to hold onto his seat against three candidates: Sonja P. Brookins, Alan Clendenin and Chase Harrison.

Winning the race for contributions is Clendenin with $94,954, followed by Citro with $58,538, Harrison with $8,490 and Brookins with $6,299.

In citywide District 2, current council member Guido Maniscalco will face Michael Derewenko, Robin Lockett, Gary Pruitt and Mike Suarez.

Maniscalco's campaign fund is up to $67,446, followed by Suarez with $58,755, Lockett with $22,087 and Derewenko with $8,956.

Related:

• Tampa City Council Approves Controversial Bayshore Rezoning
• Woman Activist Chosen By City Council To Fill Dingfelder's Seat

District 5 incumbent council member Orlando L. Gudes will face off against Gwendolyn "Gwen" Henderson.

District 5 includes the area running North from McKay Bay/Palmetto Beach, including all of Downtown Tampa, the Channel District and Ybor City.

Gudes' campaign coffers contain $48,637 while Henderson has raised $21,859.

District 6 incumbent Charlie Miranda also faces a full field of competition including Tyler Barrett, Rick Fifer, Nicole Payne and Hoyt Prindle.

Also a single-member district, District 6 runs north from San Jose Street to Waters Avenue on the north, and includes Drew Park, Beach Park and the Westshore Business District.

Miranda has $123,586 in donations followed by Prindle's $39,429, Fifer's $14,285, Barrett's $11,329 and Payne's $6,400.

District 7 incumbent Luis Viera is unopposed. His district runs north from Waters Avenue to County Line Road, and includes Forest Hills, Terrace Park, New Tampa and the University of South Florida.

Charter Amendments On The Ballet

Also on the ballot are four amendments including two intended to reign in the power of Tampa's strong mayor system of government.

Proposed changes to the city charter include:

• An amendment to section 9.01 of the city charter to allow the city council to create standing boards by ordinance without the mayor's approval.

Under the current charter, the council can only create standing boards with the mayor's approval. If the change is approved by voters, mayoral approval would only be needed for ad hoc committees.

• An amendment to section 6.03 of the city charter requiring council approval of the mayor's nominations for department heads and other city employees and limiting interim appointments of existing city employees by the mayor to 180 days.
• The third amendment is intended to bring fresh faces and voices to the city council by amending section 2.02 of the city charter, revising term limits for city council members to no more than four consecutive terms.
• And an amendment to section 10.10 of the city charter would convene the charter review advisory commission every eight years instead of every 10 years starting in 2025. It also requires the commission to hire legal counsel and a professional facilitator with the city council's approval.

Castor attempted to veto the charter amendments proposed by the city council in January, saying, “Every decision I make as mayor is based on what’s best for Tampa residents today and their children tomorrow, rather than what’s easy or politically expedient. My charter amendment vetoes reflected that, but I was under no illusion that I would convince every council member to change his or her mind.”

During a drawn-out discussion at the Jan. 19 city council meeting, the council overruled Castor's vetos on four of the five proposed charter amendments.

There are nearly 250,000 people eligible to vote in the Tampa municipal election, according to Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer.

Those voting in person are encouraged to bring their marked sample ballots for reference, and a Florida driver's license or other photo and signature ID to check in to vote. The full list of accepted IDs is available here.

On election day, voters must vote at their assigned precinct. Click herefor a list of precincts.

Those in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote, but those arriving after 7 p.m. will not, said Latimer.