Mitch Perry
Early voting in the District 6 City Council runoff contest between Guido Maniscalco and Jackie Toledo has begun. It continues through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. at six polling places:
♦ C. Blythe Andrews Jr. Public Library
♦ Fred B. Karl County Center, 16th Floor
♦ Jan Kaminis Platt Regional Library
♦ North Tampa Branch Library
♦ Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center
♦ West Tampa Branch Library
The only residents who can vote in the contest are those who live in District 6, which encompasses West Tampa, Seminole Heights, and parts of South Tampa.
Toledo, a native of Peru, is running for office for the first time. The 38-year-old transportation engineer would be the only Republican on the current council if elected.
The 30-year-old Maniscalco ran as a Republican in the 2011 City Council District 1 race, but didn’t make it into the runoff (Mike Suarez ultimately took the seat). He’s now a Democrat, but barely made it into the runoff against Toledo this month. She took 46 percent of the vote on election night to Maniscalco’s 29 percent. Air conditioning contractor Tommy Castellano received 25 percent. He endorsed Maniscalco on election night.
The runoff election ends March 24.
