Tampa mayoral candidates’ strong support makes for tough decisions this election Back
Check out this article by Steve Blanchard. Originally posted on Watermarkonline.com
Carl Slifer faces a conundrum.
The Tampa resident wants to vote in the upcoming mayoral election March 22—but he’s still undecided as to who will receive his vote. Rose Ferlita, he says, has a strong track record of fiscal responsibility and leadership, but Bob Buckhorn appears to have a more clear-cut vision for the future of the city.
“Honestly, I don’t usually have to look at the finer points in an election because I can vote for the person who will most respect the gay community,” Slifer said. “But this is a tough call.”
In interviews with Watermark, both Ferlita and Buckhorn said they support LGBT causes and that they admire outgoing Tampa Mayor Pam Iorio’s work in bringing equality to the city. Iorio incorporated domestic partnership benefits, for example, when she first took office in 2003.
“I was [former mayor] Sandy Freeman’s assistant for eight years when we passed the original Human Rights Ordinance,” Buckhorn recalls. “I have also stayed in the fight and plan to continue doing everything I can to move equality forward—including all of Pam’s initiatives.”
For Ferlita, watching Iorio enact the Domestic Partnership policy in 2003 wasn’t enough. She wanted to voice her support for it as a city council member.
“I could have kept quiet, but at the next meeting I said, ‘This is not something legislative. Pam put in an executive order and I wanted to say I endorse what she did.’ There is no place in my record for anything I believe in that shows just because someone is gay he or she should not get the same rights. I just don’t believe that.”
For those who are afraid that the candidates will use LGBTs as a wedge issues in the final days of the campaign, both say that’s not in their nature.
“There is no room for wedges in fairness,” says Ferlita during an interview in her campaign headquarters. “I’m so strong about that … and I believe in this. I practice what I preach and with me as mayor, there will be zero inequality.”
Buckhorn, who was a city councilman from 1995 to 2003, says he would keep Iorio’s policies intact if he were elected mayor.
The county issue
City and county government are two different entities. But for many LGBTs, Tampa gained the wrong kind of attention in 2005 when former Hillsborough County Commissioner Ronda Storms led a crusade to ban LGBT Pride displays and events in the county.
“I don’t trust the county,” says Greg Aerostan, who lives in north Tampa. “Ever since Ronda Storms went crazy, I avoid the county parks and any county events. I can’t forgive them.”
Aerostan says that he and his partner both plan to vote for Ferlita in the upcoming election because of her vocal support for LGBT rights in the past. Buckhorn, they say, doesn’t have the track record.
“I don’t know that much about his social stances,” Aerostan says. “I’ve never seen him at any LGBT events, but Rose is always around showing her support. I was excited when she won the March 1 election.”
Ferlita finished just two percentage points ahead of Buckhorn in that election. The two beat Ed Turanchik, Thomas Scott and former mayor Dick Greco to advance to the runoff.
The county’s Gay Pride ban, which is still in effect, prevents shows of LGBT pride—ranging from parades to library book displays—from happening on county property. Fortunately, events have been able to move forward within Tampa’s city limits.
But in the age of cost-cutting economics, some politicos have suggested Tampa merge its Parks and Recreation Department with that of Hillsborough County—meaning all park areas would be under the ban.
Neither candidate foresees that merge in their respective futures as mayor.
“Let me be clear: I am no Ronda Storms,” Rose Ferlita says. “I never thought that was a good policy. I can see the benefits of the merge as far as equipment sharing, etc. But I’d never allow that to go forward.
“The City of Tampa under my watch would never abide by what is in Hillsborough. I think that is a blatant discrimination of rights for the gay community.”
Buckhorn says that the move by Hillsborough County to ban gay pride was political and was the “lowest common denominator” of politics.
“We as a city want to celebrate our diversity,” Buckhorn says. “It’s a strength for us and it gives us a competitive advantage.”
The GaYbor connection
Walking through Ybor City, it’s clear that the community has a divided opinion as to who should be Tampa’s next Mayor. Signs dotting the popular historic area showcase Ferlita’s green and black signs and Buckhorn’s signs with black lettering on an orange background.
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