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U.S. policy on Cuba up for debate in Tampa congressional race

 
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is seeking a sixth term on Nov. 8.
U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is seeking a sixth term on Nov. 8.
Published Oct. 8, 2016

TAMPA — While tension remains between the United States and Cuba, the nations are friendlier than they have been in decades thanks to executive orders issued by President Barack Obama that restored diplomatic relations.

Hillsborough County voters will play an outsized role in deciding the fate of this new relationship on Nov. 8 by casting ballots in a Tampa congressional race.

That's where U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor is up for re-election and seeking a sixth term. The 50-year-old Democrat is one of the nation's leading advocates for open relations with the island, reviving the House bipartisan Cuba Working Group to build broader support in Congress for engagement and sponsoring the Cuba Trade Act, a bill to lift the economic embargo.

"We have made so much progress that I don't think there is any turning back," Castor said. "But that is what elections are for. People will make a decision."

Castor's opponent, Republican Christine Quinn, vows to work with fellow Republican hard-liners to break ties.

"Castro would need to make major changes in his country before I'd consider ending the embargo," said Quinn, 57. "After all these years do we really think that will happen?"

Castor is "fairly certain" that her bill to end the embargo has the needed votes and could be brought to the floor in 2017.

Losing Castor, which is unlikely, would be a blow to the Cuba Trade Act's chances of passing, said Ted Henken, former president of the Association for the Study of the Cuban Economy.

Not only is Castor among the most outspoken elected officials on the issue but her Tampa district has one of the largest Cuban-American populations in the country and is in the state that has steered U.S. policy on Cuba for decades.

"She has represented the interests of her constituents at a time of changing opinions and demographics in Florida and — I imagine — in the face of fierce opposition from many other Floridian politicians," Henken said.

Demographically, District 14 favors Castor with over 60,000 more registered Democrats than Republicans. Covering the entire city of Tampa, the district has a population that's a quarter Hispanic.

National polls like Gallup's in February show a majority of Americans view Cuba favorably.

And there has been plenty of interest among Tampa residents and businesses in engaging Cuba.

Tampa International Airport successfully lobbied for flights to the island. The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce advocates for more business with Cuba. The Tampa City Council supports bringing a Cuban consulate to the city.

Yet Quinn said those pushing to open Cuba relations are not the majority.

"I have found while out in the community there are more in line with me," said Quinn, a political newcomer and owner of My Family's Seasonings, a manufacturer of gourmet seasonings that can be found throughout the country in stores such as Publix.

"We have Cubans living here who remember what it was like to be a prisoner of war. They remember what it was like to have a business taken from them. This isn't something that happened 200 years ago and can be washed away."

She would fight to keep a Cuban consulate out of Tampa and for all local partnerships with the island nation to be canceled.

"There is no wiggle room on this," she said. "You give Cuba an inch and they will take a mile."

Quinn sees no benefit in engagement. Neither the Cuban government nor its citizens have the cash needed to make trade worthwhile, she said. And human rights have yet to improve on the island as many believed would happen with U.S. engagement.

Castor retorts more time is needed.

"It is a very complicated dance between the countries," Castor said. "But we will have greater influence if we are engaged."

Contact Paul Guzzo at pguzzo@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3394. Follow @PGuzzoTimes.