METHODOLOGY - The Tampa Bay Young Republicans sent out a questionnaire to all City Council Candidates and invited them to a meet and greet to determine endorsements. These questions revolved around breaking with the Mayor’s agenda, vaccine requirements, the “Toilet To Tap” program, and vision for the city. Afterwards, the TBYR Board made up of 20 members convened and the endorsements are as follows.
*Prelude on Bias* - The TBYR is a partisan organization made up of registered Republicans in Tampa Bay aged 18-40. Due to the non-partisan nature of Tampa municipal elections, we have endorsed registered Democrats, but lean heavily towards the registered Republican candidates. Much of our decision making comes from accessibility and willingness to work across the aisle in a Democrat-controlled city structure. Endorsements may be changed in the case of run-off elections. We have ranked each candidate in order of preference in each race.
Mayor of Tampa
TBYR Endorses Tom Brady (NPA) For Mayor of Tampa
1) Tom Brady - Yes, our mayoral race is a joke, so we’re making it more of a joke. The only way to keep Tom Brady in Tampa is to elect him Mayor of Tampa against his will. With only a write-in option as an alternative to Jane Castor, we have begun the campaign to offer a protest vote for our awful Mayor.
2) Belinda Noah is the only other candidate qualified for your vote to count in the write-in section. She is a Republican, and would do a much better job than Jane, but failed to qualify to have her name actually on the ballot.
3) Jane Castor, what else can we say about this deeply unpopular Mayor other than that we’re disappointed that after four years of complaining (on both sides of the aisle), nobody stepped up to offer a formidable and well funded challenge and that’s on all of us.
District 1
TBYR Endorses Chase Harrison (R)
1) Chase Harrison is a strong candidate who will bring real world experience and conservative thought to City Council. His vision to bring high paying jobs such as implementing an aviation school to Tampa and experience as a police officer make Chase Harrison the best choice in this race. He is one of the only candidates we feel would have stood up to the Mayor on vaccine requirements and other issues that other council members refused to touch.
2) Alan Clendenin might be the most knowledgeable candidate of city affairs in this race, and has been willing to work amicably with our organization on numerous occasions in the past even in disagreement. It’s awfully tough for us to endorse a DNC board member, but if you refuse to vote for the Republican candidate, Alan is a much better choice than the incumbent.
3) Sonja Brookins is another good candidate for City Council and would vote favorably in many instances. However, we think Chase is a stronger candidate for our values.
4) Joe Citro might be the most dangerously stupid candidate in the election. Liberals tend to have bad ideas, but none that would fundamentally ruin the City of Tampa quite like Mr. Citro. At a recent forum, Citro suggested that the government should buy land and sell homes on it, but keep the land and the rights…that’s communism with extra steps, Joe. He also is a fan of rent control and can’t stop complaining about the State’s pre-emptions preventing him from ruining the city’s housing market. We expect nothing less from a guy who is having his wages garnished over debts. Nobody should be voting for Joe Citro.
District 2
TBYR Endorses Guido Maniscalco (D)
1) Guido Maniscalco continues to be one of the bright young elected officials in the Tampa Bay area and a reasonable voice on the City Council. While we’d like to have seen a little more pushback on controversial issues during the pandemic, TBYR has endorsed Guido numerous times in the past, and we know deep down there’s still a Young Republican in Guido, which is why he’s so reasonable.
2) Michael Derewenko is a political newcomer, but is very knowledgeable on water issues which have become the defining issue of this election. An independent who would most likely do a good job on City Council, we wouldn’t fault anyone for voting for Michael, we just think Guido has earned another term.
3) Mike Suarez is a former City Council member who has had his time in City Hall come and go. This time around we have more questions such as his $60,000 debt to the IRS and why he thinks it’s a good idea to take shots publicly at Republican Congressman Greg Stuebe for being hospitalized for falling out of a tree. We’ll pass on Mike Suarez this election.
4) Robin Lockett is also on the ballot. She didn’t respond to our questionnaire and we know nothing substantive about her.
District 3
TBYR Endorses George “The Hunted” Feshev (R)
1) George Feshev is the Republican candidate in this race with a fascinating backstory, being shot in the back of the head while eating dinner in his home near Ybor. He understands the necessity of a city’s safety before anything else. George will stand on conservative principles and that is why we are endorsing him for District 3.
2) Lynn Hurtak is the incumbent and she has done a good enough job challenging Mayor Castor that she ended up with the Mayor’s mother-in-law as her main opponent. While Lynn is very progressive on the political spectrum, we think Lynn has done a good job working on local issues such as being a vocal critic of the Toilet To Tap program, and will continue to be a strong checks and balances to the Mayor’s office. Accessible and cordial, we look forward to working alongside Lynn Hurtak if she retains her seat.
3) KJ Allen is a first time candidate and an interesting character that we know very little about, but apparently he’s also registered Republican. He needs a stronger grasp on issues to be considered a serious candidate.
4) Jose Vasquez has not inspired us during his campaign and supports rent control based on our questionnaire. He is not being considered for our endorsement.
5) Janet Cruz, the Mayor’s Mother-in-Law (unofficial) is reeling from her fall as a State Senator. The pure nepotism and room for corruption that arises when family members are asked to run in order to secure another vote for Mayor Castor should make every constituent run far away from Janet as a candidate. Janet Cruz is a virtue signaling disaster of a politician who would help usher in the Toilet For Tap program that she helped pave the way for in the Senate. Luckily Tampa voters seem to feel the same way that we do even if they supported her in the past. She did not return our questionnaire and we don’t expect her to return our calls if we have an issue in the future.
District 4
TBYR Endorses Blake Casper (R)
1) Blake Casper is an extremely successful local businessman and we’re excited to possibly see some ideological diversity on the City Council. His projects such as Oxford Exchange and Stovall House are big additions to The City of Tampa and we expect those types of investments into improving our city to continue. A longtime donor and supporter of our Governor and friends in Tallahassee, Blake would be able to bring dollars to Tampa we might not otherwise see. His criticism tends to be over his successes, and here at the TBYR, we like successful people and we don’t chase them out of Tampa.
2) Bill Carlson has been the Mayor’s loudest critic and…we like that. A knowledgeable voice on the City Council who is willing to fight for better contracts and transparency, he has served South Tampa well. Bill has led the charge against the Toilet To Tap program and brought attention to the defining issue during this cycle. Bill has also worked with the TBYR, hosting us at his weekly Cafe Con Tampa and is good at bridging the gap between both parties. However, as Blake Casper has pointed out, he should be running for Mayor, and he would have had our endorsement if that were the case.
District 5
TBYR Endorses Gwen Henderson (D)
1) Gwen Henderson isn’t our typical endorsement, but this isn’t a typical race or district. Covering East Tampa, we don’t see a Republican coming into the mix anytime soon, so we will support the candidate who is willing to attend our events, answer our questions, and discuss issues like Gwen does. She will be a refreshing representative of a District so embroiled in controversy.
2) Orlando Gudes hasn’t bothered to answer our questions or attend events, maybe he’s too busy writing his next apology speech. Whether it’s calling contractors greedy Jews or the allegation of sexual assault that cost the City of Tampa over $200k, District 5 can do better than Gudes. He’s also a vocal advocate for rent control which ironically will destroy his community, not save it.
District 6
TBYR Endorses Charlie Miranda (D)
1) Charlie Miranda is a Tampa political icon and while we believe in installing term limits, those rules don’t exist yet. Charlie has been with us and against us, as is probably the case for everyone in the city over his nearly 40 years in office. We would like to see him quit pushing for the Toilet To Tap program, but Charlie votes as he believes. It’s probably time for him to hang it up and ride off into the sunset, but I guess we want to see him do it on his own terms. Besides, an 80 year old Democrat is basically a Republican nowadays, we know we won’t be getting any woke, progressive, rants from Charlie.
2) Hoyt Prindle III has been a formidable challenge for Miranda, and we would like to see some young blood in Tampa City Council. He seems like somebody that would work across the aisle to handle major issues, however some of his positions are just too liberal for our blood over here at TBYR and that’s why we’ve given Miranda the nod. However, we wouldn't blame anyone for voting for a change in this race.
3) Rick Fifer is a good man who cares about the community he is running to represent, but as is the same case with Hoyt, we just can’t endorse someone who wouldn’t fight against vaccine mandates for city employees.
4) Nicole Payne is another political newcomer, well-spoken and gaining a bit of traction in this race. However, she has not responded to our questionnaire and there’s questions about if she even lives in District 6.
5) Tyler Barrett is also in the race, and we have no substantive information on him.
District 7
TBYR Endorses Luis Viera (D)
1) Luis Viera is running unopposed and has already retained his seat, but we figured we’d endorse him anyway as he has been brave enough to publicly talk to Republican groups over the years, which is shockingly controversial in Democratic circles. The TBYR wishes Viera luck during his next 4 years on City Council.
Ballot Charter Amendments
Tampa Charter Amendment 1 - No
We don’t need more boards because the City Council feels like it.
Tampa Charter Amendment 2 - Yes
We should have the City Council vote on department head appointments from the Mayor.
Tampa Charter Amendment 3 - Yes
Term limits for City Council are good and these are very reasonable, allowing for 16 years.
Tampa Charter Amendment 4 - No
Charter reviews occurring more often seem unnecessary.
