local papers’ council picks
With a hat tip to Seminole Heights Blog, I wanted to give everyone the candidate endorsements from the Tampa Tribune and St. Petersburg Times. It turns out they support the same list of candidates:
- District 1 – Randy Baron
- District 2 – Mary Mulhern
- District 4 – John Dingfelder
- District 5 – Tom Scott
- District 6 – Charlie Miranda
- District 7 – Frank Margarella
They give their explanations, and I disagree with a lot of them. If I were a voter in the City, here would be my list:
- District 1 – Randy Baron (He is clearly a smart, articulate, visionary thinker who will help move the city forward.)
- District 2 – Shawn Harrison (His conservative philosophy will help keep city spending in check.)
- District 4 – Julie Brown (Seriously, how can a sitting politician ask a constituent for a campaign donation during a discussion about official city business? What kind of ethics is that?)
- District 5 – Tom Scott (The Reverend, while a Democrat, did a good job on the County Commission. His past experience will help the city as it tries to work with the county on regional issues.)
- District 6 – Charlie Miranda (His past experience on the City Council will help provide stability).
- District 7 – Joseph Caetano (He is an independent thinker who will get into the nitty-gritty of details.)
It will be interesting to see how you voters see these races.
M
3 years ago
In terms of Julie Brown, what kind of candidate can ask for $20,000 from an auto dealership for a city council race?
Lee
3 years ago
Mary Mulhern is a better asset than Shawn Harrison and I’m certain she is going to win…so we will see….
John
3 years ago
“District 5 – Tom Scott (The Reverend, while a Democrat, did a good job on the County Commission”
You know, Jim, you’re a conservative and a Republican. I get that, I understand that, and you’re allowed to have your views…
But your comment I cited above is the reason I don’t give your endorsements a lick of credibility. You seem to have the party affiliation and political philosophies above the actual persons running for a seat.
John
3 years ago
BTW — I don’t mean that to attack your endorsements as-so-much how you worded your endorsements. When you brought partisanship into it instead of the cities welfare…
voxpopuli
3 years ago
I agree that IN THIS CASE Jim seems to have ushered out reason and fact for affiliation ?? Wassup wid dat, Jim?
Randy Baron? What is known about him? VOTE JOE. Randy came from new york a few years ago and involved himself deeply in seminole heights where many of my friends have experienced a great deal of trouble with ‘newcomers’ from New York. Including starting court battles over who could return to their home or not. We won. Is there any connection there? I dunno, I’m just revealing my personal (matter of public record, as well in a dozen instances) knowledge.
Vote Joe Redner, at least you know who he IS.
NO Shawn Harrison NO
Yes Mary Mulhern YES : Can’t BELIEVE I have to go here… other than Harrison’s affiliation with the high-powered attorney who used her ‘mom suit’ to try to get rid of sexual offenders from her neighborhood .. (wonder if she’d like ME?? or any other dissenters… would gays be next on her list??) HAHA should I go on? Harrison’s not right. Mary Mulhern is the lady to win.
NO Julie Brown NO ???
VOTE DINGFELDER or the other guy http://tampasbackdoor.blogspot.com/2007/02/julie-brown-being-investigated-for-kuhn.html If you’re keeping track that’s TWO investigations to ONE as julie is also being investigated for the same thing as dingfelder. LMAO !! Jim Johnson?? Splain this one !!!
Tom Scott? I’m so tired of the church/state blend and I feel he represents it. Whatever …. I remember him doing some jawing on the commission that bugged me but I was impressed with him on the Verizon thingy (as compared to the others, yknow nothing too impressive if there were no others) And I’m sposed to represent the Liberal side so you can see my lack of bias I believe.
Charlie Miranda because I’m more troubled by Lisa’s connection to the TPD. Scary.
Frank Margarella: I’m sticking with the Times out of meanness. I don’t like any of the Distric 7 candidates except for the ghost guy.
sandy
3 years ago
Charlie Miranda–still trying to make those contacts to open up his very own ambulance company.
Or did he already do that?
voxpop
3 years ago
sandy, it’s always smart to follow the money. I remember all that ambulance and limo dustup of pure unbridled Tampa corruption.
Speaking of which, have these independent ambulance drivers gotten very UNFRIENDLY looking or is it just me? Don’t call one of these guys for me, EVER.
Something wrong with that picture. Doesn’t take much to figure that one out.
I stick with Charlie but recognize the fact that in the past six years so many masks have fallen off that nothing surprises me anymore, yknow?
Mr. Bill
3 years ago
If you havent been to candidates forum to see and hear this line up of candidates, you have missed a lot. You can see our video from a recent one here – http://tampagold.com/greencandidates.html .
While I do not agree with some of Jim’s choices, some are also an easy call.
We have posted a City Candidate Bulletin Board at TampaGold.com that you can find here http://www.tampagold.com/raceelection2007.html for candidates and You to post your comments and announcements. Many of you already have. You will also find links to the candidate’s websites there as well.
PLEASE MEET THEM, LOOK THEM IN THE EYE, ASK THEM A QUESTION (A tough one or two) THEN DECIDE FOR YOURSELF !
Mr. John
3 years ago
John Dingfelder was able to capture all three major tampa bay newspaper endorsements, he got the St. Pete Times, the Tampa Tribune, and La Gaceta…he is clearly working for the people of tampa.
LotionBoy
3 years ago
Hah. Shawn Harrison is a lipless phony, and Tom Scott is the stupidest person I have ever seen sit in public office (he beats Brian Blair, which is no small feat).
voxpopuli
3 years ago
Lotionboy, did you want to just talk to me forever? I love honesty !
Paul Willies
3 years ago
As much as we like Randy… our vote has to be with Julie Jenkins – she is the only candidate with breadth of knowledge across several camps. She is a long time resident of Tampa (18 years) – A Florida native. She has International experience in marketing Tampa (she was the local representative for Virgin Atlantic Airways… nominated Sir Richard Branson for the 2000 Tony Jannus Award for Aviation) She has the right business connections. She is deeply invloved in her community – as Randy is. Married for 12+ years. Parent of two children in public school – active with that group. Raised $100,000 for her school. Member of her Church – not a bible-thumper, but someone with a very good personal grounding. She is a business women – successfully managing her property development company. Buys and sells homes – very aware of tax issues, balancing the check-book. Fiscally responsible – and socially aware.
This is no soccer mum – and definatly has the eye on the ball – for the entire Tampa Bay area.
dcdave
3 years ago
Hmmm, the knock on Dingfelder is definitely short sighted Jim. You can’t just cherry pick the information that supports your case. What about the Julie Brown investigation?
Christopher
3 years ago
I love how a comment above makes mention in District 4 about John Dingfelder or the other guy. Well for those of you who are not-so-enlightened about the “other guy,” here’s my chance to let you know about JOSEPH CITRO. Often referred to as the “3rd Candidate,” he is indeed the most legitmate candidate based on experience outside of John Dingfelder. So what if he’s running a frugal campaign! He’s served on two city councils (civil service and code enforcement) since 2002. And judging by the infrastructure issues in South Tampa, just maybe someone with that type of experience merits the job. But the pundits — or as I like to call them, washed up has been city politicians on TV — won’t give Mr. Citro the time of day because he doesn’t have the money, nor the “prestigious” job title. Listen to him in a debate, or actually give the man a call, and I guarentee you’ll change your mind about him — he’s what city council needs. You won’t get controversy nor will you get side agendas. You’ll see action from the man who is a puplic servant. Vote 4 Joe Citro!
concerned citizen
3 years ago
Miss Brown needs to keep quite and stop bashing other candidates…
From: Sticks of Fire
To: concerned citizen | IP: 71.100.219.93
The rest of your comment has been moderated. However, should you have proof of the allegations, we’d love to hear about it. Please feel free to use a valid email address, though.
Anonymous
3 years ago
For District 1: I like Julie Jenkins. I got several of her direct mail pieces over the last few weeks. I am impressed with her background. She’s the only candidate with international perspective with local insights. Her campaign appears to be well organized — she’s everywhere! She has my vote at this time …
Anonymous
3 years ago
I had coffee with several people in West Tampa this morning. I heard something interesting. It was about Rick Barcena. Did you know he used to work for the City? In the Parks/Recreation. Did you know he was fired?!! Ask the women who worked there. He has no respect for women. I am going to vote against him!