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Greco allies hit term limits
By CHRISTOPHER GOFFARD © St. Petersburg Times, published October 27, 2000 TAMPA -- With only 11 days left before the election, the group seeking to kill mayoral term limits is preparing a last-minute publicity blitz that will include mass phone calls, mailings, and the posting of sign-toting volunteers outside voting stations. "Hopefully, we can reach 30,000 households" with mailings, said organizer Al Suarez, president of the union that represents Tampa firefighters. He estimated the campaign had raised $15,000 so far, and promised to make public a listing of contributors. The campaign, launched by supporters of Mayor Dick Greco, has been mostly quiet until now, facing long odds and hobbled by Greco's refusal to throw his full support behind it. Greco has not said if he would seek a third four-year term in 2003 if the law is changed. Current law prohibits him from seeking a third consecutive term. Campaign leader Joe Voskerchian, while making no secret of his desire to see Greco stay in office, likes to say repealing term limits will allow voters to decide whether "great mayors like Dick Greco can stay." Voskerchian, Suarez and West Central Florida Police Benevolent Association president Jim Thompson touted the idea at a news conference Thursday morning. Suarez, noting Greco's enormous popularity among police and firefighters, is blunt about his motives: "I can't sit here and insult your intelligence and say it's not because of Dick Greco. It is." Organizers say they were encouraged by a recent telephone poll of 800 random people who were asked if they would vote to repeal term limits if it meant keeping Greco in office. Forty-one percent said yes, while 29 percent said no and 30 percent were undecided, Suarez said. "It was the catalyst to move forward," Suarez said. "If we do nothing, it's going to fail." The poll was conducted by Tampa firefighters on Oct. 14 and Oct. 15. Said Voskerchian: "It fueled enough fire in us that we said, "We may have a shot at doing this."' Voters overwhelmingly approved term limits for Tampa officeholders in 1983, and imposed them on state politicians in 1992. Critics of the term limits repeal effort say it does not enjoy popular support. - Christopher Goffard can be reached at (813) 226-3337 or goffard@sptimes.com.
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