Light turnout seen at many polling places in Tampa's city elections

TAMPA — Tampa voters went to the polls Tuesday to consider Mayor Bob Buckhorn's re-election and decide five City Council races.But not many went.As of 5 p.m., 5,840 Tampa voters had showed up on Election Day to cast ballots. That put turnout on a pace to hit 12 percent, a level that would make this Tampa's primary election with the lowest turnout since at least 1971.Still, Buckhorn said that doesn't make the election any less important."Everyone has an obligation to vote," Buckhorn said after voting with his family at the Marjorie Park Marina on Davis Islands. "If they don't vote, don't complain. ... It may seem like an election that doesn't have a lot of drama, but those votes still count. I have seen elections, I have been in elections, where literally dozens of votes made the difference."For someone who has seen Tampa elections when they were a bigger deal, it can be disheartening."When I first ran for mayor," former Mayor Dick Greco said, "60,000 people voted. ... Today they're expecting, like, 15 percent."Going into Tuesday's citywide municipal elections, turnout from absentee ballots and early voting stood at 18,345, or about 8.7 percent of the city's 211,158 registered voters.And before early voting started, Hillsborough elections officials wondered whether more than half the ballots in the race would be cast before election day. (That's what happened in Hillsborough in 2012 and 2014.)The number for Tampa voters to beat is 15 percent, the turnout for then-Mayor Pam Iorio's easy re-election in 2007 over two much-less-well-known candidates.The bottom line: if you're feeling civic-minded, there should be plenty of room at the polls. Here are five things to know: Want to vote? Bring your ID First, you have to vote at the polling place for your precinct.Don't know your precinct? Go to VoteHillsborough.org and click on "Election Day." Or you can call the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections at (813) 744-5900.)To avoid having to cast a provisional ballot, bring both photo and signature ID. Buckhorn's race is a snoozer Buckhorn faces only Jose Vazquez, a write-in candidate whose name won't even be on the ballot. That means Buckhorn is all but assured of re-election to a second four-year term.Still, the mayor has run a take-nothing-for-granted campaign, spending nearly $271,000 of the $408,000 he raised on television commercials and get-out-the-vote robocalls, among other things.Leaving the polls Tuesday morning, Buckhorn said he had cast his last vote in his last mayoral campaign."Kind of bittersweet," said the mayor, who is limited to two consecutive terms. "For me, to have the job for four more years, to finish the job I was hired to do ... I couldn't ask for more than that." City Council races have been more lively Two council races have the potential to go to runoffs on March 24 if none of the candidates wins a majority today.Those are in citywide District 2 (Joseph Citro, Julie Jenkins and Charlie Miranda) and West/South Tampa District 6 (Tommy Castellano, Guido Maniscalco and Jackie Toledo).The District 6 race has been the most contentious of this election cycle, with tit-for-tat exchanges of attack mailers and involvement from third-party groups."I think it will end up in a runoff, so I don't think we're through with that race yet," Buckhorn said.The other three council races have just two candidates each and will be decided today:• District 1 (citywide): Council member Mike Suarez vs. Susan Long.• District 3 (citywide): Paul Erni vs. council member Yvonne Yolie Capin.• District 4 (South Tampa): Council Harry Cohen vs. Kent King.Without making any outright endorsements, Buckhorn said he expects all the council incumbents to win, and "that's a good thing because they're immersed in what we're doing, they're familiar with it, they've been engaged in it." "The council we've had for the last four years has been a good council," he said. "They have been supportive of the vast majority of things I've tried to do. There's always going to be those that choose a different path, and that's fine, but for the most part everything we've attempted to do we've gotten done, and this council has been very, very supportive, so I'd like to see that team continue." Don't know the candidates? We can help.Go to tampabay.com/kyc for Know Your Candidates overviews of each race, plus background information on each candidate's education, career, community involvement, financial disclosure and endorsements received.There are also in-depth Q&A's with each candidate on issues that include his or her priorities on council, mass transit, code enforcement, neighborhood services, the waterfront and Jeff Vinik's planned redevelopment of downtown Tampa. Elections aren't cheap (even if few vote) However low the turnout, City Hall still has had to budget $800,000 to pay for these municipal elections.Elections officials have estimated that today's voting will require 80 polling places, 650 poll workers and a budget of up to $472,985, though officials say actual costs may come in lower.Any runoffs, if necessary, could cost up to $455,367 more. Times columnist Sue Carlton contributed to this report. Contact Richard Danielson at rdanielson@tampabay.com or (813) 226-3403. Follow @Danielson_Times

Light turnout seen at many polling places in Tampa's city elections

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