Janelle Irwin Taylor
Thursday evening voters will have their last chance to see Tampa mayoral candidates Jane Castor and David Straz square off in a televised forum.
The two will answer questions live on Bay News 9 from the historic Tampa Theater in downtown Tampa at 7 p.m.
The hour long debate, moderated by Bay News 9 anchor Holly Gregory, is likely to echo the recent tone in the election since Castor and Straz made the runoff last month. Here’s what to watch for from the candidates.
Unlike last week’s WEDU forum, candidates won’t have an opportunity to ask a question of their opponent, but expect the candidates to use their allotted time for answers to challenge each other.
Castor has been pressing Straz to finally release specific policy proposals. The retired banker so far has been light on details. Asked about everything from transportation to climate resiliency, Straz frequently refers to his proposed budget audit and his “quality of life cabinet” he says will consist of city leaders meeting once a week in his office to discuss city needs.
Straz’s answers to specific policies have been more of a wait and see based on results of his audit and those meeting discussions. His campaign website lists 13 issues he would work to address as mayor including things like public safety, job creation and the environment. All of the topics are addressed in broad terms.
For example, on equal pay for women, a topic on which the city has little control, Straz writes that he supports equal rights and equal pay and that he would ensure “that women will hold high level positions in Tampa city government.”
Meanwhile, Castor has released and often talks about several robust policy proposals. There are fewer than Straz – neighborhood empowerment, environment and resiliency, affordable housing and transportation – but each contains specific plans to tackle each.
Castor called Straz out for his vague policy proposals after he began launching a hoard of negative ads against her. Straz is likely to double down on those attacks Thursday, particularly the most recent accusation that Castor manipulated crime statistics as Tampa’s Chief of Police to make crime look lower than it actually was.
The negative tone struck in this election is likely to dominate the forum. Voters should listen closely to how Castor answers to the accusations leveled against her and consider whether or not Straz is able to offer substantive answers on policy questions.
Issues likely to come up include Straz’s vow to ban red light cameras in the city, how to spend additional revenue from the newly implemented transportation sales tax, hurricane resiliency, the city budget, affordable housing and public safety.
The televised debate is only available to Charter Communications cable subscribers. Tickets to attend the forum are sold out. Each candidate received 400 tickets to dole out. Bay News 9 gave out 200.
Voting in the race is already underway. As of Wednesday morning, more than 23,000 Tampa voters had already returned mail ballots, putting overall voter turnout so far at more than 10 percent. That’s just shy of half the number of voters who cast a ballot in the March 5 municipal election.
Early voting begins Sunday and runs through April 20. Election Day is April 23.
