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Editorial: Lessons from Tampa City Council race

 
Published March 27, 2015

The election this week of Guido Maniscalco to the Tampa City Council is a victory for his District 6 constituents and good government. It should also be a lesson to candidates and their supporters about the potential consequences of negative campaigning.

The West Tampa jeweler won a runoff Tuesday after finishing second in the primary to Jackie Toledo, an engineer. Though he was the best candidate in the field, Maniscalco is untested, and he still must establish himself and deliver on his promises.

Toledo's conduct, though, defined the race. She thought boatloads of campaign money, empty rhetoric and sleazy tactics could overcome everything else. She never disavowed a third-party group that used a phony name, a college address and out-of-town money to carpet-bomb mailboxes throughout central Tampa with half-baked mailers that trashed Maniscalco's family. It was a mean-spirited move and it backfired, tarnishing the many groups that supported her, notably the local Realtors and firefighters.

Voters have long given up the idea that state and national races will be clean-cut affairs. But they are more paternal about local offices, and dividing neighbors is a bad strategy. It's a lesson for Toledo; she was the candidate and this was her campaign. And it's a lesson for supporters, too, to take a close look at candidates who want your money and good name.