Lynn Hurtak defeats Janet Cruz in Tampa City Council runoff despite mayor’s endorsement

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (FLV) – Incumbent City Council member Lynn Hurtak beat well-funded and mayor-endorsed former state Sen. Janet Cruz in the race for the Tampa City Council District 3 at-large seat in a runoff election Tuesday.

Cruz lost heavily despite having name recognition as a former state senator and having the backing of Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.

Cruz is the mother of Castor’s domestic partner, Ana Cruz.

The Tampa Bay Times Editorial Board also endorsed Cruz in an article published Feb. 5.

“This election was very different to the city of Tampa – the first time in anyone’s memory that a mayor has been so involved,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak said although she did not receive endorsements from large groups such as the public sector union and realtor endorsements, it shows that people who may want to run can run on “who they are.” She cited her transparency with voters.

“I’m still overwhelmed, and incredibly grateful and thankful for all the people who worked to make this possible […] I really think it’s a referendum by the people. I’m honored to have been chosen,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak received 60% of the vote while Cruz received 39%. In the March 7 municipal election, Hurtak (42%) and Cruz (38%) received the most votes of the five candidates, although neither received a majority of the vote, leading to a runoff.

“People just really want someone who’s going to be honest with them. They don’t want the ‘political speak.'” Hurtak said. “It’s people power, and it’s me being honest, transparent, and trustworthy.”

“My husband said it best last night – we defeated the idea that you have to get the Times [Tampa Bay Times] endorsement, that you have to get some of the public sector union endorsements, like police and fire, that you have to get the realtor endorsements. We didn’t get any of those endorsements,” Hurtak said.

“We got the people saying ‘we want you to shine a light in all of these areas.’ So I actually think that overall, it’s good, it’s good for democracy. It’s good for folks who are thinking about running, to realize that they can really run on who they are, and not what they think they need to be,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak was outspent 2-1 by Cruz. She raised $106,000 in campaign contributions since November 2022, while Cruz raised $216,000, according to records.

“If you look at the PAC money, it was certainly a lot more – people are estimating around almost a million dollars,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak told Florida’s Voice the extra seven weeks gave her more time to get her message out to voters.

“I was appointed a little over a year ago, which meant that I wasn’t in front of the voters at all. I worked really hard in a year to try to get to know people, but, you know, I also had to figure out council, so that was – you know – it takes a while to do both,” Hurtak said.

In April 2022, Hurtak beat out 22 candidates and was selected by council members to replace John Dingfelder, who resigned.

“I didn’t get to talk to as many constituents as I wanted to, so the extra seven weeks really helped me get my message out – and that’s what did it,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak said she was the only candidate who had municipal experience, which started with her volunteer work and role as vice-president of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association.

Following her loss, Cruz tweeted, “I just called my opponent to wish her well on the next four years on the Tampa City Council. I look forward to seeing Tampa continue to grow and prosper.”

Critics, including City Council Member Bill Carlson, previously said the mayor was “trying to manipulate the election process” to get Cruz elected.

Florida’s Voice previously reported Tampa City Council Members voted to override several of the mayor’s vetoes on charter proposals so that they would appear on the March ballot, including a vote on term limits for city council members.

Castor vetoed these proposals, then published an op-ed in January, sparking outrage from community members, as reported by WFTS.

“An ordinance can be changed by council, and keep in mind that the mayor and her predecessor right now are not happy with the votes of City Council so they’re trying to manipulate the election process to get their City Council in. In fact, the mayor is running her mother-in-law as a Candidate – she’s running her mother-in-law as a candidate,” Carlson said during the Jan. 19 meeting.

Since last year, Hurtak has publicly opposed the mayor’s proposal, the PURE project to repurpose city wastewater, which critics call “toilet to tap.”

Hurtak said she spoke with voters – who agreed with her on the issue.

“People don’t want to do that. They want to focus on the science and really look at other alternatives, so that was that was a pretty strong referendum on that project,” Hurtak said.

Going forward, Hurtak said she wants to tackle housing and transportation, among other issues.

“We have to do something about housing. The mayor is doing a wonderful project, we’re going to be reviewing the land development codes, and that’s a huge, long-term project. I’m really excited about being a part of that,” Hurtak said.

Hurtak said she is also looking to dive into transportation and “what we as a city can do – without county or state support.”

Prior to Hurtak’s appointment to council, she served on Tampa’s Variance Review Board and as the vice-president of the Old Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association.

She was also a member of the 2017 Tampa Charter Review Commission that produced 18 amendments to Tampa’s city charter, all of which were approved by voters in 2019.

Before joining Tampa City Council, Hurtak was consultant with more than 13 years of experience in editing, consulting, evaluating, technical backstopping, project management, data management and logistics throughout Africa focusing on monitoring and evaluation, food security, and capacity building.

Hurtak was also previously an elementary school teacher and served as the school’s union representative.

Cruz previously lost against Republican Jay Collins in the state Senate District 14 race in November 2022 after serving in the state Senate since 2018.

Cruz served in the Florida House of Representatives from 2010 to 2018.