What does Tuesday’s Tampa election mean for Mayor Jane Castor?

TAMPA — Mayor Jane Castor will coast to reelection Tuesday without an opponent on the ballot, but the six City Council races also before voters could determine how smoothly her second term goes.

After four years of often contentious dealings with some City Council members, the mayor has pledged to improve communication in her second term. But she has also weighed in with endorsements in two key races featuring her staunchest council adversaries: Bill Carlson and Lynn Hurtak.

Hurtak has cast her race and those of other Castor critics as a referendum on what Tampa city government should look like: a strong mayor with a rubber stamp council or one, as she has argued on the campaign trail, that should push back and play a larger role in governing the city.

One of her opponents, former State Sen. Janet Cruz, who is the mother of Castor’s domestic partner, Ana Cruz, has said she wants to bring back “sanity” to council chambers, pledging to work with the mayor.

The mayor has identified Bill Carlson as her biggest nemesis on the City Council. Carlson has responded by saying his race will be a signal that residents want council members to be a check on mayoral power.

“If I’m reelected it will show the public wants a balance of power in the city, and I hope the mayor and administration will work with us instead of against us,” Carlson said.

Castor has praised Carlson’s opponent, Blake Casper, and said she’ll likely support him, although she hasn’t formally endorsed him. Casper has said he’ll be an independent voice, but hasn’t been critical of the mayor.

Those two races have captured most of the headlines and attention in the campaign, but other races will shape relations at City Hall.

Luis Viera has already been elected to District 7, which covers North and New Tampa, as he didn’t draw an opponent. The other four seeking a return to the council — Charlie Miranda, Joseph Citro, Guido Maniscalco and Orlando Gudes — all face competition. Early voting ends Sunday.

Several races may not be decided until the April 25 runoff.

If the same council comes back for another term, how will that affect the mayor?

“She’s in for a lot of headaches unless there are some changes,” said Steve Michelini, a local business consultant who watches city politics closely.

Castor declined an interview, but her campaign released a statement.

“Mayor Castor looks forward to, regardless of the makeup, working alongside council, as she has for the last four years, to continue the unprecedented progress happening in and around Tampa and the region,” wrote Michael Womack, her campaign manager.

Many of the other candidates say, if they win, they’ll avoid joining either side. And they aren’t about to line up with the mayor or those who regularly clash with her as the campaign winds down.

“Lots of people want to force you into certain camps, but that’s never been my approach,” said Hoyt Prindle, a first-time candidate who is taking on Miranda, a Castor ally, in District 6, which covers West Tampa, much of Seminole Heights and parts of South Tampa.

Alan Clendenin, who is challenging chairperson Joseph Citro in the citywide District 1 seat, said he’ll vote his conscience and steer clear of unnecessary conflict, but the retired air traffic controller who serves on the Democratic National Committee says he won’t be cowed by the mayor or council members if he is elected.

“I don’t live in a position of fear,” Clendenin said.

Gudes has been a critic of Castor, too. Last year, the mayor said she would remove Gudes if she could have after the city found that he had created a hostile work environment for a former aide. The city awarded $200,000 to the aide, who later sued Gudes. That lawsuit was dismissed by a Hillsborough County judge but is being appealed.

Gudes said he’s tried to move past the incident, but he said he believes it’s the council’s role to be the check and balance on the mayor.

“A dog can be kicked so many times. I stood up and did my job,” Gudes said. “I’m hoping that in the next go-around that the mayor will realize that during her first term things could have been better.”

His opponent in District 5 —which includes East Tampa, Ybor City, parts of West Tampa and downtown — is Gwendolyn “Gwen” Henderson, who is the sister of Gudes’ former aide. She’s said she isn’t going to make her sister’s situation with Gudes into a campaign issue.

As for her attitude toward the mayor if she’s elected, Henderson, a longtime high school educator, said she will treat Castor as she has her principals: she’ll try collaboration first, then persuasion when necessary.

An issue that has emerged as a potential stumbling block for Castor in her second term is PURE, her administration’s name for a proposal to reuse wastewater. It would involved highly treating about 50 million gallons a day of wastewater currently dumped into Tampa Bay and using it to replenish Sulphur Springs and the Hillsborough River, the city’s main source of drinking water.

Nearly all of the 22 candidates in the six races are opposed to the project, which Castor has framed as necessary to “drought-proof” the city and secure enough drinking water for a growing city. But the mayor hasn’t backed down, releasing a video recently touting its benefits.

Six of the seven council members now oppose the current project while Miranda has been supportive.

Guido Maniscalco, who has tried to play the peacemaker between the council and mayor, said he hopes the mayor drops the idea, whatever the new council’s composition might be. He is running in the citywide District 2 race because he must leave his current District 6 seat representing West Tampa and parts of Seminole Heights and South Tampa due to term limits.

“I look forward to working together and maybe the administration backs off on the PURE stuff, considering that it’s dominated the forums,” Maniscalco said. “I look forward to positivity.”

One of his opponents, former council member Mike Suarez, agrees, noting that residents want a city that works, not fights. And compromise is key, he said.

“The council can’t live without the mayor. The mayor can’t live without council. Everyone has to come together and agree,” Suarez said.