Janelle Irwin Taylor
Tampa municipal candidates are down to 25 days before the election and the daily campaign trail grind is, well, grinding along. As many residents are already voting by mail, candidates are making a final push for votes. That includes earned media through forums and campaign announcements, TV ad buys and last minute endorsements.
Here’s your Wednesday roundup.
“David Straz: Out of touch or inspiration?” via Florida Politics — In what might be a turn-off to some voters, Straz took to the airwaves on a little-watched Tampa Bay Arts and Entertainment program called Art Off the Wall in an interview meant to highlight his many contributions to the arts community through philanthropic donations. But Straz’s honest answers to basic questions might have instead portrayed the wealthy retired banker as an out of touch one-percenter.
“Straz answered questions about his philanthropy, including the David A. Straz Jr. Foundation.
‘I knew that that was something that was important to do for giving back to a community and it was also important for me for income tax planning,’ Straz said.”
Straz didn’t stop there. He further went on to say of his more than $175 million fine art collection that he and his wife used to loan paintings to art galleries and shows but stopped because it’s too risky. He also said that while he doesn’t snow ski as much as he used to, he now uses an instructor to follow behind him to protect him from “out of control” skiers coming up from behind.
Most people don’t get a personal ski-spotter. Stay tuned on how this plays out.
David enjoyed talking about city issues at @abcactionnews with @CarsonChambers …stay tuned! pic.twitter.com/XjuhGXxHO1
— David Straz for Mayor (@StrazForMayor) February 6, 2019
Speaking of Straz. Expect to see him on ABC Action News soon.
“Straz ramps up TV ad buys” via Florida Politics — Straz’s campaign ponied up more than $24,000 for four ads set to begin running Friday in various parts of the Tampa market on Spectrum cable. Two of the ads will run this weekend with another two slated to begin running Tuesday.
In all, 913 30-second spots will air on channels including CNN, Bay News 9, HGTV and The Food Network, among others. No word from the Straz camp yet on what the ads will cover, but they’re likely to mimic his previous advertising tone touting his commitment to the working class. It wouldn’t be surprising if Straz uses representatives from some of the many local labor unions that have backed him.
“Dick Greco Jr.’s ‘no plan’ strategy is, well, strategic” via Florida Politics — The highlight of Greco’s campaign so far has been his vow to not “shove plans down your throat.” It’s an interesting strategy in that many political insiders have told Florida Politics it’s a terrible one. But Greco did it on purpose.
“Plans change. You can have a plan one day and then the next day you have a new plan,” Greco said.
He said he’s not avoiding looking for solutions, rather he’s keeping an open mind about finding the best solutions to the city’s worst problems.
“You cannot implement any plan without the cooperation between the governments, communities and organizations,” Greco said.
Tampa can’t fix transit deficits on its own because it doesn’t own buses. The city can’t fix all of its roads on its own, because not all of them belong to the city. As Mayor, he couldn’t provide better public education because that’s the School Board’s job.
“I’d have an open door as Mayor,” Greco said. “You have to be able to build relationships with these people and groups to collaborate, cooperate and coordinate on solutions.”
Get Social:
Thanks to a college basketball scholarship, I was able to get a quality education at The University of Tampa paving the way for the successes I’ve had throughout my life and career. pic.twitter.com/8oJAsGgxTx
— Jane Castor for Mayor (@JaneforTampa) February 7, 2019
Coming attractions:
City Council debate for Districts 3, 4, 6 and 7
Chester Ferguson Law Center
11:30-1:00 Friday
Topher Morrison Virtual Town Hall
Saturday at 9 a.m. on the candidate’s Facebook page
