For a while it must have seemed that April was the cruelest political month to Mayor Bob Buckhorn. Barely past mid-term, the mayor has lost two key members of his administration. Really key.
First, Santiago Corrada, his chief of staff and an invaluable City Hall troubleshooter dating back to his days with former Mayor Pam Iorio, announced his imminent departure. While the mayor has filled the position with the appointment of the well-regarded Dennis Rogero, the city’s budget and neighborhood empowerment director, you don’t really replace a Corrada.
Within a week, the other City Hall shoe had dropped as City Attorney James Shimberg Jr. announced that he also would be leaving shortly. He knew the law, he knew the players and he knew the city’s bottom-line priorities. And he had the back of Buckhorn, a long-time friend. He also served the city below his market value.
The good news, however, is that neither Corrada nor Shimberg is leaving town. Unlike Bobby O’Neill, Tampa’s top federal prosecutor who’s heading to Miami to work with the (global risk-management) Freeh Group, both Corrada and Shimberg will remain here and play vital roles impacting the city.
Corrada will run Tampa Bay & Co., the Hillsborough County tourism bureau that needs juicing. His reputation as someone who is marketing astute, gets along with local and regional leaders and thinks big–as in internationally–will be welcome. He’s in the perfect position to complement his former boss in marketing Tampa as the “Gateway to the Americas.”
In the case of Shimberg, he’ll just relocate downtown. He becomes the executive vice president and general counsel of Tampa Bay Sports and Entertainment, the parent company of the Tampa Bay Lightning, the Tampa Bay Storm and the Tampa Bay Times Forum. Among his specialties, including a stint at Holland & Knight: real estate. Shimberg’s new boss: the synergy-savvy Jeff Vinik, who ultimately plans to develop acreage he has been assembling near the Forum.
Yes, three important government officials have moved on, but two of them will continue to play integral roles in this city’s and this area’s future. As Meat Loaf once crooned, “Two out of three ain’t bad.”