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March column: Prominent Tampa Hispanic target of Republican Party grievance

 
Tampa Bay Times Correspondent William March
Tampa Bay Times Correspondent William March
Published July 17, 2015

Chalk up one more aftershock from last spring's controversial District 6 Tampa City Council race: A campaign worker for unsuccessful candidate Jackie Toledo has filed an internal Republican Party grievance against prominent local Hispanic Republican E.J. Otero.

His sin? Backing an independent in the race.

The state party's grievance committee is expected to hold a hearing on the complaint today, and eventually make a recommendation for a final decision by state party chairman Blaise Ingoglia.

According to Otero and others, Kelso Tanner, a political operative on Toledo's campaign, filed the grievance against Otero for backing Tommy Castellano, an independent. Castellano was eliminated in the primary, and Guido Maniscalco, a Democrat, narrowly edged Toledo, a Republican, for the seat.

In an interview, Otero acknowledged that he backed Castellano because it was a nonpartisan race. "He's a Tampa guy for many years, highly respected, he's done a lot of good things for the community," Otero said.

The grievance alleges that Otero violated a rule that party officials may not back anyone of any other party in a race against a Republican. Party officials say the rule applies to nonpartisan races, but local party chairman Debbie Tamargo said she considers the question unclear.

"I think that's something the (state party) needs to look at," she said.

Otero is a precinct representative on the county GOP executive committee, the first rung on the ladder of party offices.

Some local Hispanic Republicans are angry about the grievance.

Norma Reno, who said she's an active Republican and a friend of Otero's, considers it retribution for Otero's stance as a member of the county Charter Review Board in favor of adding a new county commission district and expanding the board to nine members. The idea is popular with Hispanics, who hope to elect a Hispanic commissioner, but opposed by most Republicans.

Tanner couldn't be reached for comment Thursday.

New maps may draw congressional hopeful

There's plenty of commotion over the Florida Supreme Court's redistricting order and Pinellas County's 13th Congressional District, but what about Tampa's 14th?

Rep. Kathy Castor's District 14 is now overwhelmingly Democratic — it was drawn to take in as many Democrats as possible to keep the surrounding districts Republican. It almost certainly will become less Democratic after the redrawing.

Florida Veterans Affairs director Mike Prendergast, a Republican who in 2010 mounted the strongest challenge to Castor since she's held the office, confirmed this week that he could be interested in taking another shot.

"If everything lined up, I would have to entertain it," he said.

Several other prominent Republicans — state Reps. Shawn Harrison and Dana Young, county Commissioner Sandy Murman and former Commissioner Mark Sharpe — all expressed pessimism or comparative lack of interest.

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The district isn't likely to end up encouraging for a Republican, but may be less discouraging.

It now has about 205,000 Democrats, 102,000 Republicans, and 114,000 minor party or no-party voters. About 38,000 of its Democrats and 9,000 Republicans are in south St. Petersburg, and the court said it must lose those voters — the district can't cross the bay.

Many of those 38,000 Democrats are likely to be replaced by Republicans; for example, the district could shift east toward Plant City, or south, possibly taking in Sun City Center. It would still have a strong Democratic majority, but could look less daunting for a Republican.

In 2010, Prendergast noted, he got 40 percent against Castor even after starting his campaign late — he retired as an Army colonel Oct. 1, 2009 — and being outspent by Castor $680,000 to $501,000.

Those results, however, also came while Castor was a major target for Republicans bitter about her support of the Affordable Care Act. That controversy has cooled somewhat.

Speaking of districts crossing the bay . . .

If the Supreme Court applies the same rationale to state Senate districts, term-limited Sen. Arthenia Joyner's district, which crosses from Tampa into St. Petersburg, could come into play.

Reps. Betty Reed of Tampa and Darryl Rouson of St. Petersburg are now filed for the seat, but Rouson could find himself cut out of the district. In that case, he said, he would probably look to a Pinellas district. That could mean the Jeff Brandes seat, which now crosses from St. Pete to Tampa.

But some Democrats say redrawing Joyner's 19th, designed as a minority access district, could make it amenable to a South Tampa or West Tampa Democrat, maybe a Hispanic — such as, maybe, Rep. Janet Cruz?