When Tampa hosted the 2012 Republican National Convention, it was unofficially acknowledged that Tampa may be “one and done” on such mega gatherings during hurricane season. And, lest we forget, recall that there was also the possibility of an anarchist pep rally and no dearth of symbolically-inviting targets for terrorists four summers ago. The post-convention sigh of relief was palpable in security sectors and City Hall. Call it a dodged municipal bullet, maybe literally.
And no one is exactly nostalgic about having turned downtown Tampa into Checkpoint Charlie.
Just a hunch, but I’ll bet Mayor Bob Buckhorn is continually thankful that Tampa did it without incident, that it’s now on the city’s PowerPoint presentation of accomplishments and that Cleveland, not Tampa, has to deal with a convention that will nominate Donald Trump–not Mitt Romney.