Bob Buckhorn Officially Files to Run for Tampa Mayor

TAMPA — Bob Buckhorn was first elected to public office in 1995, and served as Mayor of Tampa from 2011 to 2019. Now he has officially filed to run for mayor again, presumably hoping to serve another eight years.

“I’m not running for a re-do,” said Buckhorn last year, “I’m not running for Bob Buckhorn 2.0. I’m running to help this city get to that next level, write its next chapters, then I’m going home.”

The former mayor has been running an unofficial campaign since at least Spring of last year. In that year, he has raised $1.8 million into his PAC, Friends of Bob Buckhorn.

Buckhorn has pitched a second go as Tampa’s top executive by suggesting our community still has room for more growth and development. “You look at expanding the scope and the scale,” he said after riffing on the possibility of a Rays stadium, “with the real estate largely funded by private developers but with the county and the city and the state making appropriate investments, I think it could happen.” The Rays seem to agree.

Buckhorn has received a warm welcome from local Republicans, especially in the form of donations.

Republicans Jay Feaster, Charles Garber, and Thomas Pepin each gave $100,000 to Buckhorn’s PAC. They donated through their businesses, Tampa Bay Entertainment Properties, 702 Garber Investments, and Tapper Ventures, respectively.

Buckhorn’s donor list includes numerous other Tampa Republicans like Blake Casper and Stuart Lasher, who gave $25,000 each. Still, “I’m a Democrat, and I’m proud to be a Democrat,” said Buckhorn. But he emphasized that he can work with anybody.

Other candidates so far include City Councilmember Lynn Hurtak, businessman Gary Hartfield, urban designer Taryn Sabia, and conservative former school board candidate Julie Magill. City Councilmember Bill Carlson is widely expected to file in the near future.