Our Linkedin Group (NextGen Tampa Bay) produced this questionnaire for the 2011
Tampa Mayoral candidates.
Each candidate was provided 5 days to ponder the questions and respond by February 23, 2011. The posts are presented in the order in which they responded. In other words, Ed Turanchik was the first to respond and hence his poll is listed first.
We thank each candidate for their participation.
1. Aside from pursuing companies to relocate here, what specific steps will you be taking to create a significant number of new higher paying jobs in Tampa?
ET: Ultimately the new generations of jobs are related to place. High-paying jobs are not tied to manufacturing. They can be anywhere in the world. The entrepreneurs & business people that make those decisions want to live in a place that has high quality of life. We want to invest in place and culture, creating a vibrant environment for ourselves to enjoy. It’s dividend is we attract people who are in the job creating business.
2. What are two areas within City Government which, if reformed, would have the most material impact in closing the budget deficit? What do you plan on doing in each of those areas? Please be specific.
The most dramatic area of reform is going to be in level of compensation current public employees receive. It starts with freezing wages. No Cost of Living adjustments. You also have to look at benefits. The city is going to have it’s own health clinic so employees will go to that instead of a more expensive doctor. Pushing wellness is a big thing. Just like we are trying to green our economy, we need to promote healthy living for our employees. That impacts government costs.
You can consolidate and privatize which are probably going to be neccesary steps but none will have the consequences of reducing spending as straight on reducing compensation. For example: The County moves it’s housing program into the city. I’m going to be a very strong “housing first” mayor. We could save on overhead costs there by not having to have duplication of effort and costs in administration. Right now there is duplication of effort in administration and marketing in anything duplicated in the city & county.
One thing I don’t want to do is add a bunch of super deputy mayors. Another candidate wants to have a deputy mayor for everything. But every one you add, adds $250,000 to the budget. We can’t start adding a whole other layer of bureaucracy.
3. Throughout history, entrepreneurship has been the leading driver of net job creation in the United States. Please describe your strategy for creating a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship in Tampa Bay. If you don’t have one are you open to collaborating with local entrepreneurs who do?
The mantra of a Turanchik administration is encouraging and promoting a culture of investment. We don’t think Government does things. We think government facilitates people investing in themselves. We want to make doing the right thing the easy thing. In that spirit you can’t institutionalize creativity or entrepreneurship. What you do is make it easy for it to flower. For example, my Places & Spaces program makes it easy for entrepreneurs to start and expand businesses in neighborhoods where great buildings already exist and are ready to be brought back to life. (For details on Places & Spaces see http://www.edturanchikformayor.com/content/urban-economic-activism-places-spaces-making-it-easy-businesses-invest)
Government is not a venture capital firm. It’s not in a position is to take risk. It’s job is to facilitate the risk takers. And make them feel it’s the place where they want to take risks. It means bringing to life our urban corridors. Retooling an urban environment around USF to turn it into a cool urban place instead of a blighted suburban strip mall district.
4. Do you believe that the City Mayor is a leader not only for the City, but also on County and Regional issues? If you believe that you have a wider role, what are your plans to make us a more unified area?
Yes. The mayor is one of the most high-profile individuals in the Tampa Bay Area. The mayor needs to lead the region on transportation, economic development, marketing, water & resource issues and setting an overall tone for the investment culture and social culture of the Tampa Bay Area.
The most pressing issue on our radar screen is transit. Pinellas wants to go forward in 2012 with a referendum. Hilllsborough needs to be positioned to join them. We need to make the foundation of that an affordable, regional rail system using the CSX tracks and the hybrid technology I helped demonstrate 13 years ago.
Another regional issue out there is going to be the Rays. It’s important for Tampa to respect St. Petersburg and Pinellas county’s primary role in dealing with the Rays & not do anything to jeopardize that relationship. At the same time we need be prepared to step in if it means keeping the Rays in our region.
We have to have a unified voice for what the Tampa Bay and Central Florida area is about. Our future depends on clustering our assets, making them functionally workable. Connecting them together with a strong transit system and marketing the whole place as a seamless economic and lifestyle region. For example, the Clearwater beaches are Tampa’s beaches. The fact that Tampa Bay has not 1 but 4 first class performing arts centers is something unmatched by almost any place in America. These regional assets as uniquely our own.
The Mayor serves on TBARTA, Tampa Bay Water and can serve on Tampa Bay & Company (the Convention & Visitor’s Bureau – CVB). I would encourage our CVB to invite the Mayors of St. Petersburg and Clearwater to sit on our CVB and they should reciprocate with us so we start working together instead of in a disjointed fashion.
Ultimately, the reason I’m so insistent on a strong regional transit system is because it links us together and shatters the artificial boundaries that are created by transportation gridlock. I don’t go to Clearwater as much as I’d like because I hate the traffic. But if it were a matter of getting on a train to go watch the sunset at the beach, I’d do it a lot more. Similarly, if people visiting the beach had the option to take the train to Ybor or Busch Gardens you’d see more commerce happening here in Tampa. Now when Clearwater beaches market themselves, they can easily market the seamless connectivity to Busch Gardens, MOSI, the Straz, the Forum, Channelside, Ybor. There is no question that the whole is far greater than the sum of the parts, but what keeps the whole from happening is the total dysfunctionality of our transit system. You’re staying on the beach. You don’t want to get in your car, fight traffic to get to places you don’t know how to get to. But if it were a matter of catching the beach trolley and having a ticket to where you want to go, a whole new world opens up and everyone wins. The same system will serve the residents here as well as the tourists. That’s a vision that works!
5. What would you do to pursue film production enabled by the state film and digital incentives to create regional jobs in the film industry?
We de-emphasized film recently and I think that’s a mistake. We need to think about bringing about a film commissioner that works for the whole Tampa Bay area. It’s one of those areas where we should be thinking and acting regionally. We have some extraordinarily talented production people here. Tampa Digital by example is doing internet productions that draw larger viewing audiences weekly than Closer and Mad Men combined. We obviously have the talent here. We need to market it and expand on it.
6. Healthy economic development involves creating good jobs outside of real estate and construction. What steps will you take to diversify Tampa’s economy and make our city competitive with new economy cities like Austin, Denver, Seattle and RTP?
There are 3 distinct opportunities as I see it.
1. USF is working on an innovation hub concept that involves Moffitt, the VA, USF, the university hospitals and University Mall. The city needs to be a facilitator of that. It’s a combination of intellectual, urban and transportation initiatives.
2. The presence of MacDill AFB with CENTCOM & Special Operations Command has resulted in a lot of military intelligence and defense companies with a presence here. Largely high-end, high-tech ventures particularly as we get into the more complicated world of cyber security. We should make a concerted effort to make a cluster of those here. They should be here instead of Alexandria or D.C. We should pursue clustering strategies focusing on bio-med, health care, and defense related opportunities.
3. The area I have personal experience in and I’m interested in creating is TBnet. A transportation, business and new energy corridor. People should not discount the raw energy and creativity in building sciences and new technology business like electric cars and compressed natural gas (CNG) and distributed energy technologies like photovoltaic systems, solar hot water and smart grids. We can create an innovation corridor running from Ybor to Westshore that brings all these pieces together in a real live working laboratory for implementation. There’s certainly nothing like this in the Southeast US and few other parallels in America.
More on the vision for TBnet can be found in the policy paper on my website - http://www.edturanchikformayor.com/content/tbnet-transit-technology-corridor
7. Will you support encouraging trade between Tampa and Cuba and if so, what are the specific steps in your plan?
Yes! I am a big free-trade with Cuba advocate. Within 90 days of taking office I want to put together a high-level delegation to go to Cuba and meet with it’s leaders and explore all the opportunities for trade under existing laws. Further, I think we need to understand that we have the power to change US foreign policy. Other candidates write this off as being beyond our understanding. But I perfectly well understand that our foreign policy is framed in Little Havana in South Florida, not Washington. If the 4th largest trading partner can be the People’s Republic of China, and we can have normalized trade relations with Vietnam where 50,000 people lost their lives including people from my generation, I can’t see why we can’t have free trade with Cuba, an island nation with which Tampa has the longest and most positive relations of any city in the United States. In my view, free trade with Cuba is the best way to bring freedom for Cubans and is a pretty darn good way to open a new page of prosperity for the people who live in Tampa Bay.
8. With the transit tax being denied by the county vote, what are your plans for improving our city’s transportation system?
The city will continue to do it’s baseline work of making sure the streets are in good repair and that more sidewalks and bikeways are built. However there can’t be any major improvement in our transportation system without new revenue sources. I favor moving forward in a coordinated fashion with Pinellas county and putting a transit initiative back on the ballot in 2012 with most likely a 1 penny sales tax with at least half that money dedicated to bus transit, bikeways and sidewalks and likely the other half focused on building and operating the strong regional rail system with a limited development of light rail and bus rapid transit corridors.
9. Will you propose a dedicated funding source for economic development? If so, what types of sources would you be in favor of?
Yes. My first priority is focusing on blocking & tackling. Until we turn around housing this economy is going to be stuck. I will use existing housing funds plus general revenues to turn foreclosed back into homes. I call the program “Houses to Homes.” (For details on Houses to Homes see – http://www.edturanchikformayor.com/content/creating-jobs-turning-houses-homes-investing-energy-efficiency)
Put an energy conservation finance program into place and use Community Investment Tax (CIT) dollars and block grant funds to get my Places & Spaces program going so small businesses can start opening in our urban corridors. (more on Places & Spaces – http://www.edturanchikformayor.com/content/urban-economic-activism-places-spaces-making-it-easy-businesses-invest)
The long term strategy of attracting new industries here is something traditionally funded through the county and most importantly the state of Florida. Governor Scott has proposed putting $800 million into the state budget to attract new industries. The city’s role on that is to facilitate their relocation by helping with infrastructure – roads, transit connections, water & sewer connections – all of which are bottom line dollar issues for a company looking to relate. The direct job subsidization piece traditionally has come from the county and the state through Enterprise Florida.
There may be some 5-star projects that warrant use of general revenues. Jackson Labs is a potential candidate for that. The ironic thing about other candidates claims for bringing jobs here is that the heavy lifting on those has been done by the county commission and state of Florida. When I was on County Commission we did major deals that brought 1000s of jobs here. We know how to do this.
10. Do you support the continuation of light rail given the budget issues faced by local government?
Yes. Building an affordable, regional rail transit system is one of my top 3 priorities. When people say light rail though, they are suggesting a specific technology. I was not in favor of the development of a system on a regional basis that would cost $70 – $100 million per mile. I favor a more practical, less costly and immediate approach of buying the CSX tracks and using a hybrid rail technology that can run on those tracks so that we can build a system for under $20 million per mile that can be built faster, go more places and have faster travel times than a light rail option. I do favor light rail in highly urbanized corridors such as between Ybor and Westshore where you can use the technology to meander through urban streets and be a stimulus to serious urban redevelopment and urban place making.
11. Considering the significant and dissproportinate impact of the recent recession has had on the Central Florida region, how would you change our strategy for economic development and are there any areas around the country that you feel exhibit best practices in economic development that Tampa should use as a guide?
We have to block & tackle first. As long as we have 15% real unemployment and housing values are falling, we’re going to have a very tough road to hoe to attract new industries. My focus is on us investing in ourselves. We need to turn around housing. Joe the Plumber needs to get back to work. We can not succeed without building a strong regional transit system.
What do I mean when I say invest in ourselves? We have vibrant entrepreneurs here. That’s where most job growth occurs. A Kauffman Foundation study last year showed that large existing corporation shed a million jobs while startups created 3 million jobs. We’ve seen first hand how large companies make far off decisions that shed jobs here. Capital One came here and left. PWC made corporate decisions that just lost 800 jobs in the last year. Whereas we see this innovative CAMELS project can create new jobs and that’s entirely home grown. The guy who started Wikipedia started it here. We’re got a young former executive from IBM trying to start a nano-technology center here.
When people from here create, invest and succeed, those jobs are permanent jobs. We need to foster this culture of investment in entrepreneurship that nurtures spin offs and innovation. USF, MacDill are fountains of new ideas. We want to cultivate those. We should focus as much on who’s here and helping them grow than luring someone from a far off place and helping them to come here.
12. As the Mayor, you have a seat on the Aviation Authority’s Board. We’ve been told that few International flights want to come to Tampa, and that airlines prefer Orlando because of Disney. Meanwhile, Sanford airport has picked up some 25,000 monthly international passengers in the past 7 years and Sanford is not much closer to Disney than TIA. What is your feeling about attracting International flights to TIA?
I think we have many options available. I think we’ve been ignoring Central America too much. We’ve had a limited vision of what we can achieve, but it also must be governed by market realities. We need to identify the niches with real opportunities to expand international flights and go after them with purpose. One of the great reasons I work so hard on high speed rail is I see it as an unparalleled opportunity for TIA to capture a significant portion of the Disney market. The combo of flying to Tampa and a bus-high speed rail option to Disney would be a tremendous boon to TIA.
13. How do you feel about Governor Rick Scott’s recent rejection of federal funds for high speed rail? How do you intend to respond to this development?
I’ve worked on high speed rail (HSR) for almost 2 decades. I led Connect Us, the statewide advocacy effort to win the $2.5 billion for HSR money.
Scott’s decision was wholly without justification and I fear was a rank political decision. He promised to look at ridership numbers and feasibility, but when it came time to make his decision, he didn’t wait for those studies to be completed. His justification that it had to do with the national deficit is wholly false because all he’ll do is send that money to another state that will compete with us and use the fact they have high-speed rail and we don’t to beat us in the competition for jobs. It was the most reckless decision I’ve seen in 20 years. It shows a disdain for facts, for the dire circumstances of working families and an utter lack of vision for where the world is going. When gas hits $6 a gallon, people will view his decision with widespread contempt.
The only option we have at this point is to create a consortium of local governments that could be the recipient of the federal funds. The consortium can proceed to issue bids for private companies to design, build and operate the system that will take the risk of construction overruns and assume the risk of operating losses There’s at least 3 and as many as 7 international consortiums who have directly told the federal government and the governor they are willing to do so. It underscores the political nature of Scott’s decision.
I think the chance of this strategy working is less than 50% because at the end of the day the governor would have to assign the state’s position to such a consortium and my fear is that he would not do so because his decision wasn’t based upon the merits, it was based upon political considerations.
1. Aside from pursuing companies to relocate here, what specific steps will you be taking to create a significant number of new higher paying jobs in Tampa?
I have released a very detailed plan which can be found on www.bobbuckhorn.com that highlights how we intend to transition form the old economy to the new one. It involves specific steps to indentify the strategic clusters in which we have advantages and then working to create an enviornment for those industry sectors to grow and flourish. Specifically, the defense sector as well as health sciences offer us tremendous potential. Building on USF, Moffitt, M2Gen and Tampa General Hospital is a great foundation for creating value added jobs
2. What are two areas within City Government which, if reformed, would have the most material impact in closing the budget deficit? What do you plan on doing in each of those areas? Please be specific.
Obsiously, we have to get run away health care costs in line as well as looking at meaningful pension reform. That being said the only way we get out this economic ditch is to grow the local economy. That means reforming the regulatory process and transforming the bureaucracy so that we are known as a place that is open and welcome for business. Addding value to the tax roll is the only sustainable strategy for long term growth and my focus over the next four years will be focused on our economic competitiveness.
3. Throughout history, entrepreneurship has been the leading driver of net job creation in the United States. Please describe your strategy for creating a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship in Tampa Bay. If you don’t have one are you open to collaborating with local entrepreneurs who do?
Government doesn’t create jobs, the private sector does. I see my job as Mayor to create an enviornment where we celebrate entreprenuers and create an enviornment where they can be sucessful. Please go to www.bobbuckhorn.com for a far more detailed proposal.
4. Do you believe that the City Mayor is a leader not only for the City, but also on County and Regional issues? If you believe that you have a wider role, what are your plans to make us a more unified area?
Yes. I have already met with Mayor Foster as well as the Chairman of the Hillsborough County Commission to start that process. We compete as a region and it is time to start lookin beyond the artificial boundries on a map and begin to work together in meaningful ways. Transportation, sports, economic development and aviation offer some wonderful starting points for this collaberation.
5. What would you do to pursue film production enabled by the state film and digital incentives to create regional jobs in the film industry?
I have proposed that we look at offering economic incentives along the line of what was recently passed in Sarasota. Local incentives overlayed on top of the state tax credits put us in a far more competitive position than we have been historically. I also intend to strengthen the role of the Film Commissioner and strengthen our film office.
6. Healthy economic development involves creating good jobs outside of real estate and construction. What steps will you take to diversify Tampa’s economy and make our city competitive with new economy cities like Austin, Denver, Seattle and RTP?
Again, please refer to my plan at www.bobbuckhorn.com. The entire premise of my campaign has been that in order to compete with the cities you mentioned we have to transition for the old economy to one that is driven by intellectual capital. It requires a new generation of leadership and a recognition that stories of the past are not strategies for our future. In the short term, making City Hall a more business friendly place and in the long term, focusing on the times of value added jobs that allow us to create real wealth.
7. Will you support encouraging trade between Tampa and Cuba and if so, what are the specific steps in your plan?
Mayors don’t create foreign policy but in the inerium, we can do everything humanly possible to prepare Tampa for the inevitable fall of communism in Cuba. We are hampered in that regard until the embargo is lifted so I intend to focus my efforts on the countries with which we have a mature trading relationship. The enlarging of the Panama Canal offers the Tampa Port tremendous opportunities to grow our containerization business. In addition, I intend to make international trade a priority for my administration including the appointment of a person to do nothing but create the opportunities and partnerships for us to truly be the gateway to the Americas.
8. With the transit tax being denied by the county vote, what are your plans for improving our city’s transportation system?
Continue the discussion with the voters of this region on transportaion. Work with TBARTA to further discussions on a regional basis. Look to short term projects like the connection for TIA to downtown as an opportunity to demonstrate the viablilty of rail as an option. Also work to strengthen the reliability, frequency and capacity of our bus system to again demonstrate the seamless transportation options.
9. Will you propose a dedicated funding source for economic development? If so, what types of sources would you be in favor of?
Currently there is a ballot initiative that will allow the City of Tampa to rebate property taxes tied to the creation of jobs in specific sectors. These are for both new and existing companies that create jobs in the strategic clusters that we have identified. This is a great first step. Historically we have been unable to offer incentives of any significance which limits our competitiveness. Combined with other short term incentives such as impact fee abatements, water and sewer connection fees and the like, we can put together a competitive financial package.
10. Do you support the continuation of light rail given the budget issues faced by local government?
yes. I look at transportation as an investment in our economic competitivenes.
11. Considering the significant and dissproportinate impact of the recent recession has had on the Central Florida region, how would you change our strategy for economic development and are there any areas around the country that you feel exhibit best practices in economic development that Tampa should use as a guide?
See www.bobbuckhorn.com
12. As the Mayor, you have a seat on the Aviation Authority’s Board. We’ve been told that few International flights want to come to Tampa, and that airlines prefer Orlando because of Disney. Meanwhile, Sanford airport has picked up some 25,000 monthly international passengers in the past 7 years and Sanford is not much closer to Disney than TIA. What is your feeling about attracting International flights to TIA?
Support it and will work vigorously to achieve it.
13. How do you feel about Governor Rick Scott’s recent rejection of federal funds for high speed rail? How do you intend to respond to this development?
extremely disappointed and believe the establishment of a statewide transportation organization offer Florida the opportunity to bypass the governors decision and use this orgainzation as a conduit for the federal money.
1. Aside from pursuing companies to relocate here, what specific steps will you be taking to create a significant number of new higher paying jobs in Tampa?
Helping companies relocate to Tampa is important, but there are several other things we can do. First, under my watch the city will be out of the business of red tape. Reducing red tape will be proof to companies that City Hall is in support of their growth. We can provide smart incentives for businesses to add jobs. Improving the overall business climate and keeping our focus on all the things that make Tampa a wonderful place to live, create an environment that nurtures economic development.
2. What are two areas within City Government which, if reformed, would have the most material impact in closing the budget deficit? What do you plan on doing in each of those areas? Please be specific.
Labor costs and government spend are one of the most costly components of the budget. Reducing expenses and growing the economy – that is what we need to do! I will be looking at every line item in the budget to cut spending and streamline business processes.
3. Throughout history, entrepreneurship has been the leading driver of net job creation in the United States. Please describe your strategy for creating a sustainable ecosystem of entrepreneurship in Tampa Bay. If you don’t have one are you open to collaborating with local entrepreneurs who do?
I look forward to working with local and regional entrepreneurs that have ideas on how to create an environment where entrepreneurs can thrive. In addition, I would work with the entrepreneur and incubator programs at USF and UT, since students and alums are an integral part of our communities’ future. One of our primary goals will be to increase the amount of venture capital that is available in our area to fund these types of businesses. Small and start-up business are the back bone of all sustainable economic development and I am committed to help them thrive. My administration will support a partnership between government and private sector. Again partnerships of all kinds have to be a common denominator in my plan.
4. Do you believe that the City Mayor is a leader not only for the City, but also on County and Regional issues? If you believe that you have a wider role, what are your plans to make us a more unified area?
As the Mayor of Tampa I would have significant input on regional issues based the experience I bring from city council and county commission. Success in that area requires a balance of strong leadership from the Mayor of Tampa and respect for the other governments that make up our Region. As Mayor of Tampa, I will take a leadership role in Regional issues like transportation, economic development, and the homeless but will work toward win-win solutions that benefit all the citizens of the Region.
5. What would you do to pursue film production enabled by the state film and digital incentives to create regional jobs in the film industry?
As a council member I championed making the film industry in neighborhoods as an approved use. The film industry will generate a great deal of dollars for our economy and I have always been supportive. I would like to recognize the work that Tampabay and Co. does and intend to work with them as a partner for growing our economy.
6. Healthy economic development involves creating good jobs outside of real estate and construction. What steps will you take to diversify Tampa’s economy and make our city competitive with new economy cities like Austin, Denver, Seattle and RTP?
I strongly believe that a key to creating sustainable economic development, we must be able to diversify our economy. The THEDC has produced a study that identifies clusters of industries we should pursue based upon our strengths and talent. They generally revolve around the high tech bio-science industries. The report is right; in that Tampa does have what it takes to support the development of those industries. We should pursue them vigorously. We must also look to other industries that diversify our economy and provide good jobs for all of our citizens – not just the highly educated. It will be a priority of my administration to identify those industries and to make sure we focus on economic development across our entire economy.
7. Will you support encouraging trade between Tampa and Cuba and if so, what are the specific steps in your plan?
We must abide, first of all, with United States Law. We can’t change it but we can be ready when it does change. However, we want to be ready when the first opportunity to mature trade when it does occur. Our close proximity to Cuba and because of the incredible port we have, I will make sure no trade opportunities to Cuba or elsewhere do not go unnoticed.
8. With the transit tax being denied by the county vote, what are your plans for improving our city’s transportation system?
I am strong supportive but will lead the charge as mayor with a methodical plan for transportation. Our cities transportation system is vital to our future towards growth. I will review past proposals and revise a new plan that benefits our community! There is no doubt we need a multimodal transportation plan but we must be sure details are analyzed and a new plan is not premature or sets us up for failure.
9. Will you propose a dedicated funding source for economic development? If so, what types of sources would you be in favor of?
Yes
10. Do you support the continuation of light rail given the budget issues faced by local government?
Yes when it’s ready and when the plan is right.
11. Considering the significant and dissproportinate impact of the recent recession has had on the Central Florida region, how would you change our strategy for economic development and are there any areas around the country that you feel exhibit best practices in economic development that Tampa should use as a guide?
As I talked about in #6 I think diversifying our economy is very important in making our economy as recession –proof as possible. There are some cities that have done a very good job at changing the way they approach economic development. I want to work with those cities so we too can create a unique plan for economic development that best serves the citizens of Tampa Florida.
12. As the Mayor, you have a seat on the Aviation Authority’s Board. We’ve been told that few International flights want to come to Tampa, and that airlines prefer Orlando because of Disney. Meanwhile, Sanford airport has picked up some 25,000 monthly international passengers in the past 7 years and Sanford is not much closer to Disney than TIA. What is your feeling about attracting International flights to TIA?
I look forward to working with the new Director at TIA an increasing our international flights. The Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce is also creating a Caucus that will quantify the value of additional international flights and recommend a strategy to get them.
13. How do you feel about Governor Rick Scott’s recent rejection of federal funds for high speed rail? How do you intend to respond to this development?
While the Governor has identified some of the risk associated with the High Speed Rail Project I do not believe that he has provided the necessary leadership to try to mitigate that risk to make the project a success. It is very important that all of us understand the risk involved with this project, but I think it is premature to kill the project before we have done any work to get those risks down to an acceptable level.
