Tampa Mayor Bob Buckhorn has earned his share of positive reviews after his first year in office. Pro-activity across multiple fronts–from outreach to County Commission to the scissoring of City Hall red tape–has been his modus operandi. Budget deficits, he’s been reminding us, are challenges and opportunities to rally around a work ethic and job growth–not cause for lamentation. His upbeat manner has emphasized “must do” as well as “can do.”
His State of the City speech reflected it all. The site was outdoors, at Curtis Hixon Riverfront Park, with a backdrop of Rampello Downtown Partnership School elementary students and the Hillsborough River that more than symbolized Tampa’s future. “This is a waterfront community, folks,” he underscored. “This river is going to change this downtown as we know it.”
And his rhetoric soared as he reflected on Tampa’s future and the need to work together for the common good. The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was notably referenced.
He wrapped up with a bully pulpit shout-out to the city he obviously loves being mayor of:
“This is our time. This is our destiny. The state of the city is good. But our future is so much brighter.”