South Tampa's voter powerhouse

The neighborhoods south of Kennedy showed up in strong numbers for the March 25 runoff - just as they always do.

By BILL VARIAN, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times
published April 11, 2003

TAMPA -- South Tampa isn't just a place where people go Rollerblading on Bayshore Boulevard or gather to drink Grey Goose and cranberry at one of its many trendy night spots.

It's also the place that chooses the elected leaders for the rest of the city masses, as it showed once again in the last election.

As the rest of Tampa dribbled to the polls for the March 25 runoff, voters south of Kennedy Boulevard showed up in the greatest numbers, solidifying Mayor Pam Iorio's victory. And they put three of their own on the seven-member City Council.

While some people north of Kennedy may perceive that their South Tampa neighbors are first to enjoy City Hall's largesse due to its old-money influence, it's clear that if there's any favoritism, it hails from the ballot box.

"I don't think it's driven by money," said political consultant Wayne Garcia. "It's votes coming out of there that are making the difference. South Tampa was especially dominant in this election."

Consider this:

* One in three voters who cast ballots in the March 25 runoff lives in the area represented by District 4 on the City Council, or about all of the area south of Kennedy. Iorio's opponent, Riverside Heights resident Frank Sanchez, failed to carry a single South Tampa precinct.

* Sanchez could have received every single vote in the historically black precincts of East Tampa, where he performed best, and still not come close to Iorio because of her South Tampa base.

* South Tampa's council seat represents roughly the same number of people as do the other council seats. However, all the votes cast in North and East Tampa combined merely equaled those cast in South Tampa.

"I think one thing to bear in mind is that this was a standalone spring election, which has poor turnout anywhere across the nation," said Iorio, the former Hillsborough supervisor of elections who lives in Beach Park. "Who votes? Those neighborhoods that have a history of voting. Close-knit neighborhoods. They're going to find the time."

And South Tampa is filled with neighborhoods with active homeowners groups that stay abreast of local issues.

"My experience is that, in this area, there have been a lot of people who are very interested in what goes on in their community," said John LaRocca, immediate past president of the Palma Ceia Neighborhood Association. "It's no surprise to me that we're very active when it comes to voter participation."

In North Tampa, where the greatest amount of growth is occurring, the fewest residents went to the polls -- less than 20 percent.

"Much of New Tampa is still relatively new," said Jim Davison, a doctor who ran for the Hillsborough Commission last year after leading a voter turnout campaign. "We don't have that cohesiveness, like a South Tampa."

This presents a challenge to Iorio, who pledged in the campaign to share City Hall's bounty with all of Tampa's neighborhoods, rich and poor. People in Belmont Heights should feel as safe walking their neighborhood at night as people on Davis Islands, she said. They should have nice parks, too.

Yet, the perception exists north of Kennedy that all good things go first to South Tampa.

South Tampa residents will be among the first to water their lawns with reclaimed water, compliments of pipes being put in the ground right now.

SoHo flourishes while similar once-bustling commercial hubs languish.

The prostitutes who once proliferated on Kennedy are all but gone, yet they remain entrenched along Hillsborough and Nebraska avenues.

When City Hall announced this week it was giving residents fancy, new garbage cans, three of the first five neighborhoods on the list were south of Kennedy.

The new cans will be emptied by automatic lifts on garbage trucks, making it easier on the backs of sanitation workers. But they also have an aesthetic appeal, contributing to a uniform look in neighborhoods and decreasing spillage on residential streets.

City Solid Waste Director Tony McBride said there was no favoritism in the selections. Sulphur Springs and Belmont Heights, both relatively poor and struggling, are also getting the cans. And one of the South Tampa neighborhoods is south of Gandy Boulevard near MacDill Air Force Base.

"That's a working-class neighborhood," he said. "We're very sensitive to that."

Iorio said she is, too.

"I'm going to focus on improvements wherever they are needed," Iorio said.

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