Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Tampa voters get serious

By A TIMES EDITORIAL
Published March 8, 2007

In electing the most progressive City Council in recent memory, Tampa voters on Tuesday solidly rejected unchecked growth and the development money behind it. For all the clamor over property tax relief, voters put sensible growth and the desire for leadership at the top of their agenda. The result is good for Tampa and the entire region. Mayor Pam Iorio, easily re-elected to another four years, now has a serious partner in the council to address local concerns and the larger problems confronting Tampa Bay, including transportation and water.

With Iorio facing no serious opposition, the focus fell on two council races that were proxy wars on growth. In the citywide District 2 race, business owner Mary Mulhern beat two-term council member Shawn Harrison by painting him as ineffective on congestion, flooding and other basics. Harrison overtly appealed to Republicans, campaigning on his support for tax cuts and "faith-based initiatives." Mulhern tapped the practical considerations voters look for in local candidates. She embraced mass transit and more drainage improvements and set herself apart from Harrison on major urban concerns, from supporting the arts to efforts at rebuilding older neighborhoods.

In south Tampa's District 4, the incumbent, John Dingfelder, beat fellow attorney Julie Brown by highlighting her heavy support from the building industry. Brown miscalculated by thinking that runaway property values in south Tampa could make her pitch for tax cuts appeal beyond Dingfelder's record of managing growth. As in Harrison's race, Brown overlooked that south Tampa Republicans, many of whom have lived there for generations, look beyond monetary interests when sizing up local issues that affect their quality of life. In recent years, no issue has brought south Tampa's rich and moderate neighborhoods together like the spread of McMansions, condominiums and shopping centers. Dingfelder's concern about aesthetics, gridlock, historic preservation and runoff into Tampa Bay underpin the very value south Tampa has to home buyers and investors.

Hillsborough Democrats might be tempted to see the results as signs the party has rebuilt its bench. While Democrats Mulhern and Dingfelder prevailed in races with partisan undertones, voters responded across the ballot to straight talk and depth. That was particularly clear in the race for District 1, where Joe Redner, the strip club king, finished a strong second to a 12-year incumbent in a six-way race for a citywide seat. He and Gwen Miller face a runoff March 27.

Redner's message mirrored that of every candidate who prevailed Tuesday: Tampa needs to manage growth, invest in mass transit, rebuild older neighborhoods and better protect the region's resources. Iorio has strong support on the seven-member council to start a dialogue on how the region could build and finance commuter rail. She has more expertise to draw on to manage the city's water, reach out to minorities and the arts community and meet everyday needs even as she works to bring the region closer together. Tuesday was a step up.

[Last modified March 7, 2007, 22:51:57]