*In his victory speech Tuesday night, Mayor-elect Bob Buckhorn underscored the hallmarks of his campaign–from supportive family and unrelenting campaign workers to a Kennedyesque message of aspiration. He noted the importance of “building a bigger tent” that ranged from demographic inclusiveness to police-and-fire union support. He cited the key endorsements of Ed Turanchik and Tom Scott and notable additions from the Dick Greco campaign.
But a mandate victory of more than 60 per cent? Who saw that coming? Five factors:
>Dick Greco. Buckhorn barely made the runoff by edging the four-time mayor by 384 votes. Absent overconfidence, gimmicky orange-hand signs, a certain contextually-skewed “panty-raid” blooper and the unavailability of George Levy to set the candidate straight, it might not have happened.
>Pam Iorio. The outgoing mayor had reached the absolute zenith of her popularity. Both Buckhorn and Rose Ferlita heaped praise on her. Her endorsement of Buckhorn was huge.
>Rose Ferlita: Ultimately, she signed off on a campaign that headed south ethically and was too reminiscent of what many voters abhor in political campaigns. It also brought Iorio out of neutral.
>Bob Buckhorn: Matured as a candidate. No one looked better prepared or more like a CEO at forums.
>Newspapers: Maybe their endorsements still do matter.
* Here’s a suggestion for future political candidate forums. Instead of allowing time for gimmick questions, give questioners a follow-up.
Would anyone really mind if there were a moratorium on questions such as: “What character flaw of your opponent do you find most nettling?”
But how refreshing would it be to hear: “That’s an interesting answer to a question that wasn’t posed. How about responding directly to what was just asked without bridging to your agenda talking points?”
* It would seem that no City Council district will see a bigger upgrade than district 7. That’s North Tampa to New Tampa. Incumbent Joseph Caetano, who ran as a secessionist in 2007, didn’t make the runoff. But Charlie Perkins, who doesn’t do forums or much of anything that would warrant serious consideration, did.
Lisa Montelione emerged early as the clear favorite. But that’s praise too faint. At last Friday’s Tiger Bay Club of Tampa forum, she came across as notably knowledgeable and well spoken and should be a welcome Council asset. She also gave an appropriate answer to one of those aforementioned, gimmicky queries. As in: “Should your opponent win this race, what is something that you would wish he/ she would consult you on?” Montelione gave the only answer worth giving: “Everything.”
* Hardly unexpected that Gov. Rick Scott drew a big chorus of Bronx cheers last Saturday when he threw out the ceremonial first pitch at a New York Yankees-Toronto Blue Jays game at Steinbrenner Field. He got off lucky, however, given that he’s earned the right to be run out of town on a, well, rail.
Whether due to in-your-face arrogance or perverse unflappability, Gov. Voldemort seemed unfazed. In fact, he’ll return April 1 to throw out the first pitch of the Tampa Bay Rays’ season-opener against the Baltimore Orioles at Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg. We’ll be reminded again that some gubernatorial functions can’t be limited to tea party love-ins.