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Tampa Mayor Jane Castor handily won a second term in Tuesday’s municipal election, in which six city council seats and four charter amendments were also on the ballot.
A popular incumbent, Castor, 64, faced virtually no competition, receiving 80% of the vote. Her name was the only one that appeared on the ballot in the mayoral race, though a write-in candidate, Belinda Noah, received 20% of the vote.
The lack of a compelling mayoral race, however, appears to have dampened voters’ enthusiasm, as only 13.64% of registered voters showed up at the polls or voted by mail.
Tampa City Council races were much more competitive, though, with four of the six set to be decided in an April 25 runoff election because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote. The exceptions were the Districts 4 and 5 races.
In District 5, Gwen Henderson edged incumbent Orlando Gudes by a mere 75 votes. District 4, meanwhile, saw a convincing win by incumbent Bill Carlson, a Castor foe who took more than 59% of the vote and easily defeated businessman Blake Casper, the longtime leader of Caspers Co., which until a buyout last year had been the Tampa Bay region’s largest McDonald’s Corp. franchisee.
In an usual move, Castor, a Democrat, endorsed Casper, a staunch Republican, because of her frequent battles with Carlson on a wide range of issues.
“I am honored and humbled to be re-elected mayor of our great city,” Castor says in a statement. “I am grateful for the opportunity to serve as your mayor once again, and I am committed to working tirelessly alongside city council members and our public and private partners every day to make Tampa an even better place to live, work and raise a family. Together, we will continue to build a city that we can all be proud to call home.”
The Economic Club of Tampa has scheduled a mayoral inaugural ball — a fundraiser for the Hillsborough Education Foundation — for May 5 at JW Marriott Water Street, 510 Water St., Tampa. According to a news release, 100% of the proceeds from ticket sales and sponsorships are used by the Hillsborough Education Foundation to purchase state-matched Florida Prepaid Scholarships for low-income students.
For more information and to buy tickets or sponsorships, visit EducationFoundation.com/mayoralball2023.
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