Opinion: Greco goes to Cuba

Tampa Mayor Dick Greco did a service for the region by making a visit to Cuba this week. Tampa's port, an economic engine for West Central Florida, is uniquely situated to capitalize on trade with Cuba once the United States normalizes relations. We only wish the mayor had gone sooner, and that he had taken the opportunity before going to publicly explain the reasons for the trip. Those who are exploiting the issue for their own political gain do no good for the Cuban people, local exiles or the region's economy.

Greco made the trip with local business and political leaders, a high-profile group who, intentionally or not, have ignited a long overdue public debate on whether Tampa should be positioning itself now -- while Fidel Castro rules -- to do business with Cuba when the time comes. With its large Cuban community, port and airport, proximity to the island and historical ties, Tampa is in an ideal situation to move people and cargo once the United States ends the trade embargo. Miami probably can't do it given the strong anti-Castro sentiment there. By making the trip, Greco was being practical, putting his responsibility as mayor before any self-serving political agenda.

Millions of tax dollars have been invested in the port in recent years, and the facility has diversified to handle cargo and passenger traffic. Cuba, with its economy devastated by decades of communist rule, would not be a boon overnight. But with more and more Americans traveling there, and sentiment growing in Congress to ease trade and travel restrictions, Tampa could become a leading port to the island by virtue of its geographic and cultural strengths. The issue isn't politics but leadership.

Critics of the trip have a narrower agenda. Lawyer Ralph Fernandez, Tampa's go-to man for anti-Castro rhetoric, said Greco's visit would be a "betrayal of the Cuban-American community." He said the fallout may dampen Cuban support for the termed-out mayor's horse in the 2003 mayoral race, Frank Sanchez. City Council member Bob Buckhorn, another mayoral candidate, jumped to try to make that prediction come true, calling the trip "an insult to every Cuban-American in this community." He dared the mayor to use public funds to cover the trip.

But this is just the sort of trip a mayor should take. It also is appropriate to cover his legitimate expenses with public funds; the mayor should not rely on a privately financed junket. U.S. relations with Cuba have broad implications for our state and community.

It's too bad Greco embarked on the trip under his usual cloud of secrecy. He represents the city around the clock, and citizens deserved to know he was going. We don't yet know what, if anything, the mayor accomplished in Havana. But he at least broke the political ice -- and on Cuba, in Tampa, from a sitting mayor, that's no small accomplishment.

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