Janelle Irwin Taylor
An Instagram post over the weekend falsely claimed that Jose Vasquez, a write-in candidate for the Special Election for Tampa City Council District 5, has been deported.
“Sources are reporting that ICE officials could not understand Jose as he was trying to explain his residency and he was quickly taken away to the Deport Depot,” an Instagram user under the handle @Benn_Banneker wrote, going on to mock the $145 in campaign contributions Vasquez has reported raising for his race to date.
The reference to Immigration and Customs Enforcement officials being unable to understand the candidate is likely a reference to him speaking two languages. Vazquez is from Puerto Rico, a U.S. territory that makes him a U.S. citizen. But his English language skills reflect that he is bilingual.
The post, which appears to be satire, additionally pokes fun at two other candidates — Alison Hewitt and Elvis Piggott — noting that Vasquez’s campaign funds “will be split 50/50 for … bail money when they commit their inevitable crimes.
The Instagram page includes attacks on numerous City Council candidates and doesn’t appear to support any of them. The account also includes a post from Tuesday afternoon acknowledging that Vazquez has not been deported and referring to the account as a “Fake Page” that “trashes ALL the candidates.”
Nevertheless, Vazquez on Monday condemned the post.
“This racist attack against my person is a clear attack against all of you who support me. This is a clear attack to my reputation, to the trust you deposit on me and to my civic involvement when I stand up for our minorities needs,” he wrote.
Vazquez is actively involved in the Hillsborough County Democratic Party, serving as the party’s Sergeant-at-Arms.
Lisa Angela Lanza, a member of the Hillsborough County Democratic Hispanic Caucus, of which Vazquez is also a member, also condemned the post. She said Vazquez is “one of the hardest working members” in the group,” calling the poster a moron with “zero intelligence.”
Vazquez, as a write-in candidate, is unlikely to receive a significant share of votes in the upcoming Special Election. And he has run for office unsuccessfully several times.
He briefly ran for Hillsborough County Commission in 2022, but withdrew from the race before qualifying. He also challenged former Mayor Bob Buckhorn’s re-election in 2015, but received just 4% of the vote. In 2018 he ran for House District 58 as a Democrat against Republican Dan Raulerson, losing with just shy of 43% of the vote.
Prior to that, Vazquez ran in a Special Election for HD 58 in 2017, also as a Democrat. Figueroa then lost to Republican Rep. Lawrence McClure — who now serves as the House budget chief — with just 34% of the vote. Figueroa also ran for the House in 2014 and 2016, also losing to Raulerson both times.
Vazquez is one of 14 candidates vying for the District 5 seat to replace Gwen Henderson, who passed away unexpectedly earlier this Summer. The election is Sept. 9, with early voting beginning Thursday.
If no candidate receives more than 50% of the vote, a runoff election will be held Oct. 28
