Tampa City Council considers new checks on mayor's power
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Tampa's long-running City Hall power struggle may spill onto the March 2 ballot.
Why it matters: Voters could soon decide whether to give the City Council more power to rein in the mayor, including the ability to override executive orders and oust mayoral appointees.
Driving the news: Years of frustration over what some members see as an imbalance of power between the City Council and the mayor came to a head last week.
- Council Member Bill Carlson argued the council is hamstrung because the mayor controls resources, like the legal department, that it would need to challenge the administration.
- "We can't go to court. We can't get a judge to rule. We have no arbitration process," Carlson said Thursday. "There's no way to handle a dispute between the mayor and City Council."
How it works: The City Council must approve amendments to the charter, which is in essence Tampa's constitution, by a two-thirds vote before they can be placed on the ballot.
- Here's a look at what could change:
🗳️ Closing a term limit loophole: As it stands, Tampa mayors can't serve more than two full consecutive terms. But they can mount a comeback bid after sitting out at least one term.
- The amendment would close that loophole, barring anyone who has served as mayor for more than six years from running again.
- It wouldn't apply retroactively, however, meaning former Mayor Bob Buckhorn would remain eligible for the office in 2027.
📜 Overriding executive orders: This amendment would allow the City Council to override all or part of a mayor's executive order if at least five of its seven members agree.
- Once overridden, the mayor couldn't issue the same order again during their term without City Council's approval.
🚪 Ousting mayoral appointees: Another amendment would allow at least five council members to remove department heads and other top mayoral appointees after a public hearing.
- But the details are still being ironed out. Council members Alan Clendenin and Luis Viera pushed for a defined cause for removal and clearer rules for how the power could be used.
🔎 Creating an independent watchdog: The amendment would create an inspector general tasked with detecting and addressing fraud, mismanagement and abuse of power across city government.
- The inspector general could open investigations independently, issue subpoenas and refer potential wrongdoing to law enforcement.
The other side: Mayor Jane Castor told Axios that "Tampa's strong-mayor form of government has served our community well for generations, and hacking away at that system is shortsighted."
What's next: The City Council will take up the proposals again at its Oct. 15 meeting before the amendments return as ordinances for a first reading Nov. 5 and a final vote Nov. 19.