Janelle Irwin Taylor
Ed Turanchik is the only actively campaigning Tampa Mayoral candidate who did not condemn Hillsborough County Commissioner Stacy White’s decision to file a lawsuit against the county and other governments and agencies within the county over the All For Transportation referendum raising sales tax 1 percent to fund transit and transportation improvements.
Voters approved that referendum with 57 percent of the vote.
“It’s time for sober, clear, and legally sound analysis of the legal challenge,” Turanchik wrote on his campaign Facebook page. “The financial risks are huge.”
Turanchik, who criticized the 1 percent sales tax referendum during the campaign, cautioned that if Hillsborough County moves forward with allocating revenue from the tax and a court later finds in White’s favor and scraps the charter voters approved, the county could be on the hook for repaying those dollars.
White’s lawsuit seeks to overturn the voter-approved referendum because he argues it contradicts existing state law giving elected government boards the authority to determine how public funds are spent. But the All For Transportation charter establishes an oversight committee consisting of non-elected citizens who have, as the lawsuit describes, veto authority over the county and other revenue-receiving agencies’ plans.
Turanchik does not offer support for White’s legal challenge. Instead, he wrote the county should hire outside legal counsel and move swiftly to obtain a declaratory judgement on the case so the county can move forward accordingly.
But Turanchik’s opponents are annoyed with what they all describe as an attempt to undermine voter will.
“This is exactly what people hate about politics,” former Tampa Police Chief Jane Castor said.
“Tired of waiting for government to take action and solve our transportation problems, Hillsborough County citizens voted overwhelmingly to fund transportation projects and place progress over bureaucracy. This lawsuit defies the will of the voters and hurts Hillsborough County residents who rely on transportation to connect them to jobs and opportunity.”
Tampa City Council member Harry Cohen echoed that sentiment.
“Our future as a City and region depends upon making transformative investments in our transportation infrastructure, from safer streets with less congestion to building a mass transit system for all of us,” Cohen said.
“I am disappointed in Commissioner White’s decision to ignore the will of voters, who spoke clearly in November, and urge him to reconsider a losing choice that will waste taxpayer dollars on litigation when those funds could be used, instead, to make our sidewalks safer for children walking to school.”
Hillsborough County retained the law firm Bryant Miller Olive to represent it in the case. The county cannot use its own in-house legal team because a County Commissioner filed the suit.
“Commissioner Stacey White is doing taxpayers a disservice. Voters made it clear in November the desire to fund transportation. I supported the referendum then and I stand for it now. I urge Commissioner White to reconsider wasting taxpayer money on a lawsuit that will go nowhere,” philanthropist David Straz said.
Mike Suarez, a current Tampa City Council member, said White’s lawsuit has already caused delays for improved service.
“At [a recent] HART meeting, we could not put more buses on the road to serve the thousands of working people because of Commissioner White’s tactic,” Suarez said. “I urge our County’s residents to tell him it is wrong to hold hostage dollars that could be spent now to provide safer roads, sidewalks and more transportation options to our community.”
Topher Morrison, a Tampa small business coach, said White’s lawsuit demonstrates “he’s not a true leader by enforcing his ideology against the will of the people.”
Morrison felt so strongly about it he sent a representative to a Hillsborough County Commission meeting last week to speak against the suit.
Requests to the two other filed candidates, LaVaughn King and Michael Anthony Hazard, to the contacts listed with the Hillsborough Supervisor of Elections office were returned undeliverable. Neither are raising funds for their campaigns.
The law firm the county retained declined to comment because the case is pending.
