Chillura, Rimbey, Vance Win Tampa 912 Straw Poll

The Tampa 912 Project Candidate Forum drew about 70 people to Temple Terrace United Methodist Church Monday, and those in attendance were asked to take a straw poll.

The results, released Tuesday afternoon, show that winners are Frank Chillura for mayor and Grant Rimbey and Eddie Vance for City Council.

"Congratulations to the winners and again, thank you so much to all the candidates for their time last night," wrote Amanda Payne, leader of the Temple Terrace Chapter of the Tampa 912 Project, in an email. "It was a pleasure to be actively engaged in our election process last night!"

The Tampa 912 Project has organized about five candidate forums this election season, said chairman Tim Curtis, who acted as moderator Monday.

"We've invited and hosted someone from just about every race in Hillsborough County," he said.

The Tampa 912 Project's mission is to promote civic education and advocacy in the Tampa area.

"This goes hand in glove with our mission statement," Curtis said of the forums. "We organize this kind of thing for the purpose of educating the citizenry. We're hoping that they will take some kind of action."

Candidates each had five minutes to introduce themselves. Curtis asked nine questions, most of which centered on the downtown redevelopment project. Candidates had one minute to answer each question. If they disagreed with something another candidate said, they had a one-minute rebuttal. Finally, they each had two minutes to make closing remarks.

To hear what the candidates had to say during the forum, click on the various links below.

Mayoral Candidate Frank Chillura Introduction
Mayoral Candidate Cheri Donohue Introduction
City Council Candidate Mary Jane Neale Introduction
City Council Candidate Grant Rimbey Introduction
City Council Candidate Eddie Vance Introduction
Why Would Government Increase Taxes Instead of Making Budget Cuts?
If Redevelopment Stalls, How Will We Pay for Lawsuits, Property?
What Would You Do to Attract, Promote New Businesses?
How Are You Going to Get Us Out of Debt? Was Buying the Downtown Land a Good Idea?
Do You Consider the Downtown Plan to be Sustainable?
What is Most Important for the Redevelopment—Financing or Building Our Dream?
Where Do You Stand on Privatizing Public Works?
Should Temple Terrace Have More Renters?
What Can City Government Do to Keep Pressure on Our School System?
Closing Remarks for All Candidates

See also:

UPDATE: Meet Local Candidates at 3 Upcoming Forums