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Party lines in neutral races

Partisan groups are highlighting candidates even in nonpartisan races.

By JANET ZINK
Published February 8, 2007

TAMPA - By law, Tampa City Council and mayor races are supposed to be nonpartisan. The city charter spells this out.

But that's not stopping local political party organizations from making the party lines clear in upcoming city elections.

The Tampa Republican Club - formerly the Tampa Republican Women Federated - is hosting a candidate forum Monday evening that's open only to Republican candidates.

"You don't give your podium, you don't give your microphone to the other party," said club president Janice Torgersen. "We are a Republican club; we only allow Republicans to speak. It sounds terrible, doesn't it? But certainly there are other ways for people to get information about candidates."

Six candidates have accepted invitations to speak, she said.

Across the partisan divide, the Hillsborough County Democratic Women's Club recently hosted a speech by Democrat Mary Mulhern, and Gwen Miller is to speak to the group March 5.

"I would question whether it's appropriate for a candidate to attend a meeting that excludes other candidates based on political party," said Chip Fletcher, an interim City Council member and attorney who has done some election law work.

The city charter doesn't allow candidates in city elections to "campaign" or "publicly represent" as a member of any political party.

But city attorney David Smith said participating in the forum doesn't violate the charter because the candidates are not identifying themselves as Republicans - the club is doing that.

Once at the forum, though, the candidates "can't do anything to advance that notion."

"They have to be very careful about what they say and do," Smith said.

When the Democratic club hosted judicial candidates in November, they invited everyone slated to appear on the ballot, regardless of party.

"Those were the judges' rules," said club president Naomi Ryan.

Election law attorney Jed Thomas said rules regulating judicial races are much stricter than what is spelled out in the city charter. But the best way to avoid any questions is to invite all candidates.

Torgersen, the Republican Club president, has no intention of opening the forum to Democrats.

She said she doesn't believe in nonpartisan elections because they do a "disservice to voters" by denying them important information on candidates.

"People associate political parties with political philosophy, and pragmatically how government should work, how big it should be, how small it should be," she said.

Others see it differently.

Nonpartisan races theoretically force candidates to campaign for the good of the area they want to represent, not political partisanship, said Gary Mormino, an expert on local history and politics at the University of South Florida.

Tampa changed to nonpartisan elections in 1953 as a reform after decades of dominance by a whites-only political party.

The emerging partisanship of the city races bothers Linda Saul-Sena, who has won four City Council elections and is running unchallenged in this one. She views nonpartisanship is one of the City Council's strengths.

"It removes a layer of contentiousness," she said.

Regardless, Hillsborough County Executive Committee chairman Mike Suarez said attending the Republican club forum might not be the best move for the three candidates seeking a citywide seat.

Registered Democrats in Tampa number 88,639, compared with 49,359 Republicans.

"I can't imagine anyone wanting to show themselves as a Republican and brag about it in the city of Tampa," Suarez said.

The GOP forum is scheduled for 6 p.m. Monday at Sam Seltzer's Steakhouse.

Janet Zink can be reached at jzink@sptimes.com or 813 226-3401.

[Last modified February 8, 2007, 06:24:19]