Political junkie

The woman who would run for mayor declines

As she walked into a polling site on Election Day, a campaign volunteer holding a sign stopped Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections Pam Iorio.

"I wish you were running for mayor," said the volunteer, John Duddy.

Iorio just smiled.

In March, Iorio said she wouldn't run for mayor because she was too busy trying to ensure a successful election with the county's new, $12-million touch screen voting system.

After Tuesday's election, Iorio's political profile looked strong. She had achieved her goal even as her counterparts in south Florida stumbled.

Now some urge Iorio to jump back into the mayor's race. The city elections won't happen until March 2003, five months after the November general election.

Iorio isn't budging.

"It's not an option anymore," she said. "When I took myself out, I took myself out analyzing the whole picture."

A lot of mayoral candidates are breathing easier.

Former Florida Gov. Claude Kirk called us this week to say he plans to campaign against Hillsborough County Commissioner Tom Scott.

"I want to start the crusade," Kirk said.

Why would a former governor be interested in a county commission race?

Kirk, a Republican, wants the party to do more for urban, minority neighborhoods like the one that Scott, a Democrat who is African-American, represents. Kirk also is offended about a now-closed federal investigation into Scott's relationship with a political supporter.

Scott faces Jacquie Knight, a black Republican, in the heavily Democratic, minority district.

"I just find it interesting," Scott said. "If he has the time and the money, and he wants to campaign with my opponent, that is his prerogative."

Congressman Jim Davis has decided to move his family back to Tampa.

Davis, who has a home on Davis Islands, decided that he wanted his two young sons, ages 12 and 10, to be raised at home and attend school here.

Davis' family moved into a home in suburban Maryland outside the capital after he won a seat in the U.S. House of Representatives in 1996.

But his children were getting old enough that Davis had to make a decision about where they would grow up. Davis, a Tampa Democrat, wanted his family to live at home. He will commute between Tampa and Washington.

Democratic District 1 Hillsborough Commission candidate John Dingfelder didn't waste any time in getting behind winning Democrat Kathy Castor.

After conceding defeat late Tuesday, he drove to Castor's home in South Tampa and handed her mother-in-law a check for $100.

"Isn't that a wonderful, gracious gesture?" Castor said.

Castor wasn't home from her campaign party, but called the next morning to thank him.

Likewise, in the District 1 Republican primarily, Gene Wells contacted the Chris Hart campaign shortly before midnight Tuesday to offer his concession as the outcome became obvious.

"Though not winning is bittersweet, I am not bitter," Wells said in a news release.

In the District 7 at-large primary, defeated Democratic challenger Ed Crawford said he would throw his full support to incumbent Pat Frank.

The Hillsborough Democratic Party will elect a new chairman Monday.

Henry Gill, a Davis Islands resident who ran unsuccessfully for the state House, will compete against Gerald White, a union leader who has run for the County Commission before. Both are longtime Democratic activists.

All members of the Democratic Executive Committee in good standing can vote during the 6 p.m. meeting at Valencia Garden.

The winner replaces Mike Scionti, the party chief who died in August. Scionti was working full steam for Bill McBride, who appears to have won the primary for governor.

She was stealthy, if not victorious.

District 4 Hillsborough Commission candidate Arlene Waldron pulled in $21,675 in cash in the final two weeks of the primary campaign, boosting her war chest 50 percent, to $61,938. She had another $6,096 in in-kind contributions.

She spent just about all of it in the final days.

In contrast, incumbent Ronda Storms amassed $41,770 and had more than $3,000 left when the reporting period closed five days before the primary. She still beat Waldron with 56 percent of the vote.

Several of Waldron's contributions came from people who had previously given less than $500. Some came from development and other business interests. Two came from sitting Pinellas County commissioners, Karen Seel and Susan Latvala, who also held a fundraiser for Waldron.

Hillsborough Commissioner Jim Norman raised $199,129 -- by far the most of any commission candidate -- staving off a challenge from fellow Republican Commissioner Stacey Easterling. So maybe a little money does help.

Easterling raised slightly less than half of Norman's total. She lost, and thus will be retired come November.

Norman had about $26,000 left over as of Sept. 5, though he was still sending mailers at that point. His Democratic opponent in the general election, Susan Valdes, has raised just $6,770 so far and spent most of that to qualify.

Calendar

Congressman Jim Davis will host a fundraiser for fellow Democrat Scott Farrell on Saturday, Sept. 21 at 6 p.m. at Mise en Place. Farrell, a lawyer, faces Republican Faye Culp in the race for a state House seat that covers south Tampa and Westchase. RSVP at 902-0459. . . . City Council candidate Kevin White will hold a fundraiser Sept. 16 at 6 p.m. at the Columbia Restaurant in Ybor City. Call 241-6564 to RSVP.

-- Staff writer Susan Thurston contributed to this report. Got a tip? Contact Bill Varian at (813) 226-3387 or varian@stpimes.com, or David Karp at (813) 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.

© 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111

Contact the Times | Privacy Policy
Standard of Accuracy | Terms, Conditions & Copyright