Some Tampa Residents Opt for Early Voting

Thousands of Tampa residents have already cast their votes in a hotly contested mayoral election.

Saturday was the last day for early voting before Tampa's runoff election on Tuesday, March 22.

“Statistically, runoff elections have fewer voters,” said Jennifer Humphrey, of the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections. “But for this runoff, we've had more.”

Humphrey was referring to early voting, which took place from March 12 until March 19. According to the Supervisor of Elections, 8,194 citizens had cast their votes after the polls closed on Saturday.

The big decision before Tampa voters is who will be mayor, a job that entails being chief executive of the city, as well as the unofficial leader of the Tampa Bay area. The March 1 general election narrowed the field to two candidates: Bob Buckhorn and Rose Ferlita.

In addition, there are four runoff contests for city council districts, two of them in city-wide districts. Curtis Stokes and Mike Suarez are vying for the District 1 seat, while Yvonne Yolie Capin and Chris Hart compete for the District 3 position.

In south Tampa, Harry Cohen and Julie Jenkins face a runoff for the District 4 position. And in District 7, covering the northern part of the city, Lisa Montelione and Charlie Perkins vie for a seat.

Of the mayoral candidates, Ferlita came out ahead in the March 1 general election, with 25.87% of the vote, in a field of five candidates. Buckhorn garnered 23.51% of the ballots.

Since the general election, candidates Ed Turanchik (who earned 19.41% of the vote) and Thomas Scott (8.62%) endorsed Buckhorn. In addition, Buckhorn has raised a significant amount of campaign cash; he reported $335,105 coming in between February 25 and March 17. Both the Tampa Tribune and the St. Petersburg Times have endorsed Buckhorn for mayor.

Although the races for mayor and city council are officially non-partisan, Ferlita is a Republican and Buckhorn is a Democrat.

For early voters like Diane Castendyk, 53, the decision has been made. She cast her vote on Saturday for Rose Ferlita for mayor.

“I think she's fiscally responsible, and that's what's important to me,” said Castendyk.

As always, voter turnout will be key, as the small number of citizens showing up to their polling places will determine the city's leadership.

“We all need to vote and make our voices heard,” said Castendyk.

The polls will be open from 7am to 7pm on Election Day, Tuesday, March 22. Check your voter registration card for your polling place, or visit www.votehillsborough.org.

For more information, visit the websites of the mayoral candidates:

Bob Buckhorn: www.bobbuckhorn.com

Rose Ferlita: www.roseformayor.com