As expected, speculation is well underway about those who might succeed Bob Buckhorn as Tampa mayor. He’ll be term limited in about two years. There is, of course, no lack of potential candidates, but realpolitik has a way of shaping scenarios.
I can recall when Bob Morrison, the politically-savvy, high-profile, executive assistant to former Mayor Bob Martinez, was a consensus pick as Tampa’s first black mayor. That was in the 1980s. It never happened, although Morrison has gone on to be a formidable regional player as co-founder of TOBA (Tampa Organization of Black Affairs Inc.) and long-time executive director of the Hillsborough County Hotel & Motel Association.