When the vote for the City Council chairperson came up recently, political insiders in Tampa anticipated that there would be a fight for the position. They anticipated that the battle lines would be drawn between those who were believed to be opponents and supporters of Mayor Jane Castor.
But there was no actual battle that took place.
During their first meeting after the council election, the council unanimously decided to elect Guido Maniscalco as their new leader. New members Gwen Henderson and Alan Clendenin were a part of this decision.
It was anticipated that Maniscalco, who is seen as a swing vote or a supporter of Castor, would compete against Bill Carlson, who has been against Castor on some high-profile issues.
Carlson was initially nominated by Lynn Hurtak, and later Luis Viera nominated Maniscalco; however, Carlson ultimately declined the nomination.
In addition to Hurtak, it was unknown who would support Carlson, although it was anticipated that Charlie Miranda would support Maniscalco.
Carlson stated in an interview that the reason he did not accept the position was not due to political calculations but rather due to the family responsibilities of his assistant, Dossie Marrone.
According to him, she recently gave birth to her second child in the span of two years and is currently on maternity leave. “She told me that if I became chairman she wouldn’t be able to come back because of the increased workload she would have to take on,” which refers to the aide who assists the chairperson.
After that, when Carlson recommended Hurtak for the position of chairwoman of the Community Redevelopment Area, Viera chose Gwen Henderson, whose district is home to the greatest number of CRAs. She received a majority of 4 votes.
Carlson stated that since the election, he has tried to get past the contentiousness of the campaign by having “cordial” conversations with both Castor and his opponent, Blake Casper, whom she sponsored. These encounters had place since Carlson won the election.
