runoff day in tampa
Today is the run-off election in Tampa. There are two seats on the ballot. District 1 pits incumbent Councilwoman Gwen Miller against the infamous Joe Redner. District 7 has two New Tampa residents Frank Margarella versus Joseph Caetano.
District 7 is easier to predict than District 1. Caetano has the better organization, including the support of Charlie Perkins, who finished a close third in the primary election for this District. I think Caetano will win this race.
The one thing that Tampa’s politicos have been watching is the Redner campaign. I have heard from my sources that the South Tampa machine — the one that propelled Mary Mulhern over Shawn Harrison and John Dingfelder’s significant victory — is pushing Redner.
Redner is also the better campaigner. He consistently shows his grasp of city issues and he clearly has a vision for what he thinks is the right course for the city.
However, he can not escape what he does for a living.
In the primary, 60% of votes cast came from Democrats, who traditionally do not have the same social concerns about adult businesses. If the turnout in the runoff is lower, and I believe it will be, the proportion of votes from Democrats will probably be higher.
Will that be enough to push Redner over the top? We have about 10 hours to find out.
Tags: city, election '07, tampa
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March 27th, 2007 at 10:37 am
For what it’s worth, zero of my students knew that there was a runoff election for them today. They didn’t know who Gwen Miller or Joe Redner were, either… though a few guys in the back eventually admitted knowing Redner.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:22 pm
That’s interesting, Tim. Not surprising, though. I’d guess they know their class schedule, where to be seen, and where to get gas.
March 27th, 2007 at 12:38 pm
Since virtually all students have campus email these days, I wonder if it would be possible to encourage local schools to at least inform students when elections occur. It probably wouldn’t change much except eliminate the excuse that they didn’t know there was an election. It wouldn’t cost a thing.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
Knowing the class schedule might not be a fair assumption.
I walk by the polling place on campus when I go to work. On election days I swear there is less foot traffic on the sidewalk than any other day. The lawn signs have been less prevalent each election - I think campaigns are starting to figure it out.
But it’s that much harder to get college students excited about local politics than national politics. How do you get someone who lives in a dorm and can barely afford dinner to care about millage rates?
March 27th, 2007 at 1:28 pm
I think Joe’s got this one.
March 27th, 2007 at 1:31 pm
We’ll see. I have a secret hope that Redner gets elected for a few reasons:
1) Raising the game of the city council beyond the normal snooze it is now
2) Giving the anti-porn crusaders in the area another reason to despair
3) Putting Redner in a position where he has to deliver instead of just complain
4) Gwen Miller could have done a lot to modernize the City Council in the 12 years she’s been on it and the three years she’s been chair. Have you ever tried to compile a voting record from those archaic transcripts? Argh! How hard would it have been to pay a court reporter to upgrade the council’s computer systems so that the agenda items are recorded, displayed, and the votes recorded and preserved for each agenda item? The County manages to do it just fine.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:22 pm
Either way, Redner proved to be a great teaching example when talking about agitation rhetoric.
March 27th, 2007 at 2:26 pm
I voted for Joe at lunch, as did two two of my co-workers. The poll workers at my precinct in Wellswood said they had a steady flow all morning however there was only one other voter there when I voted. The polling precinct I passed off of MLK Blvd east of the Hills. River and North Blvd. had several people coming in and out. Considering it is just one city-wide race we are voting on in our neck of the woods, I think that’s a good turn out.
March 27th, 2007 at 7:27 pm
I voted for Joe on Saturday