 |
||||||||
 |
||||||||
|
||||||||
|
Voters decide pricey race today
By DAVID KARP, Times Staff Writer
TAMPA -- The most expensive city election in Tampa's history will end tonight with a new mayor. Either former Elections Supervisor Pam Iorio or business consultant Frank Sanchez will succeed Dick Greco. Voters will also choose from among four African-American candidates to fill two City Council seats. The election will mark the first time that the seven-member City Council gets two African-Americans from a single election. Greco, who is leaving because of term limits, urged voters Monday to show the strength of American democracy. "I hope to God that people vote," said Greco, who plans to work in real estate development when he leaves. "We take a lot for granted." About 33 percent of the city's voters cast a ballot in the March 4 election. Turnout in today's runoff elections could be lower, Supervisor of Elections Buddy Johnson said, meaning less than 5 percent of the city's population would pick the most visible elected official in the Tampa Bay area. At least the weather should cooperate. The National Weather Service has forecast mostly sunny skies with temperatures in the 70s. The winners will be sworn into office April 1. Greco said he would make his office available to the mayor-elect before leaving office. He also announced a picnic Sunday for the public to bid farewell to his administration and welcome the new one. The picnic will be outside the St. Pete Times Forum from 1 to 3 p.m. Sunday. Admission and parking is free. The five mayoral candidates on the March 4 ballot raised a combined $2.1-million to win a job that pays $135,000 annually. Sanchez, who began campaigning last year, raised $930,905, a record for a local government race. Iorio, who entered the race in January, collected about $474,200 in three months. Monday, both crisscrossed the city. Iorio attended two funerals, hosted a lunch for volunteers at campaign headquarters and worked a small crowd at a public housing high-rise for the elderly in West Tampa. Her campaign left phone messages for thousands of voters, and volunteers dropped door hangers in key precincts. One supporter drove around town with hundreds of "Iorio for mayor" bumper stickers plastered over his car. At the high-rise, Iorio chatted with Harriett Kemp, 47, as her campaign team offered pink lemonade and cookies baked by public school students. "I don't usually vote, but I will vote for you," Kemp said. She asked if Iorio would like help passing out fliers on Election Day. "Yes, please," Iorio said. Sanchez made stops around town, shaking hands. At Faithful Creations hair salon in College Hill, Sanchez hugged owner Linda Reddish as she worked on a client. "Where did you come from out of the clear blue?" Reddish asked. Sanchez, who was raised in Tampa, told her about his work in the state Capitol and the White House. Reddish liked what she heard, she said later. "He is the new boy on the block," she said. "I think (Iorio) needs more grooming." At the First Baptist Church of College Hill, the Rev. Abe Brown told Sanchez to keep up the hard work. He acknowledged that Sanchez looks like a long shot to upset Iorio, who got more than double the number of voters of any candidate in the March 4 election. "What did Yogi Berra say? 'It's not over till it's over."' Low voter turnout was one of the few things City Council member Gwen Miller worried about Monday as she headed into a runoff today with Curtis Stokes for a citywide council seat. Stokes, a 34-year-old banker, sent out a campaign mailer last week with parts of newspaper articles criticizing Miller and saying, "Tampa deserves better." "He mailed me one," said Miller, 68. "It's something I wouldn't do. I run a clean campaign." Miller, who is ending an eight-year term serving as a council member representing east Tampa, sent out her own mailer on Saturday that said, "Don't be fooled by misleading propaganda." Voters in east Tampa will also select the replacement for the district council seat Miller is vacating to run for the citywide seat. Candidate Bernadine White-King spent Monday "meeting and greeting voters," said her sister, Madelyn White. Her nephew and opponent, Kevin White, spent part of Tuesday organizing poll workers, "making sure everything's lined up and ready to go." "We're just like NASA right now," he added. "We're just doing the countdown, making sure everything's in place." -- Times staff writers Kevin Graham and Christopher Goffard contributed to this report. David Karp can be reached at 226-3376 or karp@sptimes.com.
 © 2006 • All Rights Reserved • Tampa Bay Times
490 First Avenue South • St. Petersburg, FL 33701 • 727-893-8111 
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||
