Gee joins krewe, but sans eye patch
The newest member of Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla will be on duty in a sheriff's uniform instead of a pirate's outfit.
By ABBIE VANSICKLE and REBECCA CATALANELLO
Published September 30, 2006
TAMPA - At next year's Gasparilla invasion, Sheriff David Gee plans to wear his law enforcement greens.
But he could dress up like a pirate, if he so chooses, and hop aboard the float of the Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla.
After all, he's a new member of the krewe.
The sheriff has accepted an invitation to join the exclusive Tampa social club that stages the annual bead-throwing, bosom-baring, beer-soaked Gasparilla parade.
"Ye Mystic Krewe of Gasparilla extended an invitation to me to join them earlier this year, and I accepted," Gee wrote in a prepared statement, after questions from the Times.
Gee declined to say what he paid to join or who sponsored him. But he did address his pirate uniform, or lack thereof.
"I do not intend to dress as a pirate during the Gasparilla invasion," he wrote. "As a member of the Hillsborough County Sheriff's Office, that day has always been for me, and will always be for me, a working day. I will ride in the parade in a sheriff's vehicle as Sheriff David Gee, not a member of the Krewe of Gasparilla."
Gasparilla began in 1904 with a mock capture of the city by pirates.
Krewe members have included New York Yankees owner George Steinbrenner, who was crowned king in 1996, and the late Hugh Culverhouse, former owner of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
But the krewe has also been criticized for exclusionary policies. For many years, it had no black members. Women are still not permitted.
In his statement, Gee made no mention of that.
"The krewe is a venerable organization with a variety of members from all walks of life," he wrote. "Their common goal is to promote the Tampa Bay area with the Gasparilla festivities."
Former Tampa Mayor Sandy Freedman, who has criticized Ye Mystic Krewe for its lack of diversity, questioned whether Gee's membership will affect the level or cost of services that the Sheriff's Office provides during Gasparilla.
"If he wants to join, he's a big boy," Freedman said. "They still only have a handful of African-Americans and no women. ... Maybe by having someone like David Gee join, maybe that's a good thing. Maybe he'll help open it up to more people."
Gee's 17-member sworn executive staff includes two black majors, one of whom is female. The rest is all male, according to the Sheriff's Office Web site.
"I have concerns about anyone who would join an organization that discriminates against women, particularly someone who employs women," Louise Thompson said.
Thompson, a Tampa resident and head of the Tampa Bay Community Network, researched the krewe for her 1992 book, No Girls Allowed, which lists the names and occupations of members of three largely or entirely male local groups, including Ye Mystic Krewe.
"I am not opposed to an all-women group or an all-male group," she said. "It's just that the Krewe of Gasparilla has traditionally been an all-male business network."
Times researcher John Martin contributed. Abbie VanSickle can be reached at vansickle@sptimes.com or 813 226-3373.