Tampa Voters To Cast Ballots For Mayor, 5 City Council Seats March 7

HILLSBOROUGH COUNTY, FL — With early voting officially in swing and election day on Tuesday, candidates for Tampa mayor and city council members are busy stumping for votes as each incumbent faces two to four challengers for their seats.

Tampa voters can cast their 2023 Tampa municipal election ballot at any of seven early voting sites throughout the city.

In addition to contests for mayor and five of the six city council seats, the ballot includes four proposed amendments to Tampa’s City Charter.

After completing her first term in office, Mayor Jane Castor will face one write-in candidate, attorney and adjunct college legal professor Belinda Noah, in the March 7 contest. In terms of campaign coffers, Castor has raised $127,275 and spent $70,847. Noah has raised $2,445 and spent $2,282.

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

Winning the battle for contributions in the race is Clendenin with $74,007, followed by Citro with $45,238, Harrison with 8,440 and Brookins with 3,725.

In 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 $54,841, followed by Suarez with $43,585, Lockett with $14,586 and Derewenko with 8,836.

The District 3 council seat, which Lynn Hurtak took over in April following the resignation of John Dingfelder, has attracted a lot of interest including former Florida Rep. Janet Cruz, K.J. Allen, George "TheHunted" Feshev and Jose Vazquez.

Cruz is winning the race for contributions with $83,723 followed by Hurtak with 56,820, Feshev with 7,507, Vazquez with $4,464 and Allen with $3,510.

District 4 incumbent Bill Carlson is managing to hold his own against McMillionaire Blake J. Casper, his sole opponent. Carlson has received $109,895 in donations to Casper's $333,670.

Related:

• Attorney, Adjunct Legal Professor Announces Run For Tampa Mayor
• 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 and write-in candidate Evelyn Jane Marie McBride.

Gudes' campaign coffers contain $43,677 while Henderson has raised $14,619 and McBride has collected $10 in monetary donations and $90 in in-kind donations.

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

Miranda has $105,350 in donations following by Prindle's $37,871, Fifer's $14,035, Barrett's 11,329 and Payne's 4,875.

Also on the ballot are four amendments including two intended to reign in the power of the mayor.

Like most major American cities, Tampa has a strong mayor system of government. The mayor serves as the chief executive for the city while the city council serves as a separate legislative body.

In Tampa, the elected mayor is granted administrative authority to appoint and dismiss department heads and have her staff prepare the city's budget, although the budget requires the approval of the city council.

Proposed changes to the city charter include:

An amendment to section 9.01 of the city charter would 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 amendment, saying in January, “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 charter changes originally proposed.

During early voting, voters can go to any early voting site and their ballot will be printed
for them at the voting location. This is different than election day voting when voters can
only vote in the polling place assigned to their precinct, said Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections Craig Latimer.

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

Early voting runs daily through March 5 from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. and votes can be cast at the:

• Fred B. Karl County Center, 601 E Kennedy Blvd.
• Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center, 2514 N Falkenburg Road
• C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library, 2607 E Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd.
• New Tampa Regional Library, 10001 Cross Creek Blvd.
• North Tampa Branch Library, 8916 North Blvd.
• West Tampa Branch Library, 2312 W Union St.

Voters are encouraged to bring their marked-up sample ballot 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.

Voters who requested vote-by-mail ballots can drop them off at a Secure Ballot Intake Station at any of the early voting sites while they’re open.

Those choosing to vote on election day, Tuesday, March 7, can cast their ballots from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Those in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote, but those arriving after 7 p.m. won't be allowed to vote.