F. Dennis Alvarez has been orchestrating his mayoral plans since retiring as Hillsborough chief judge last March. By all accounts, he has been nursing the ambition since he was too young to vote. With Dick Greco forced to step down next year, the timing would never be better for the 56-year-old Ybor City native.
Never better, but, alas, not good.
There were those recent courthouse controversies and that Aisenberg surveillance bug. The media rehashed it all and then some. The St. Petersburg Times’ account of his formal announcement came under the grim-and-bear-it headline: “Scandal-scarred former judge launches campaign for mayor.” Barely unstated: “Holy LaBrake, this guy wants to run for mayor?”
Wilson Alvarez has had better press.
Then a week later the former judge, who has worked hard for his hometown over the years, underwent an angioplasty.
That ultimately may turn out to be a blessing in disguise for one with previous heart problems — as well as one too enamored of the limelight for his own good health.