To Know, Know, Know Him Was To Not Elect, Elect, Elect Him

The 56-44 victory by Tampa City Council member Gwen Miller over challenger Joe Redner was a surprisingly decisive margin. When Redner finished second to Miller in a crowded field in the March 6 election and qualified for a runoff, I thought he had a strong chance to win. In retrospect the relatively strong early voting and turnout -- nearly matching the first election, a rarity -- was to Miller's benefit.

Some people say Redner's missteps during the runoff campaign hurt him, for example, his offer of free admission to his nude-dancing club as a reward for voting, which reminded folks of his background, or his ill-considered claim to be "blacker" than Miller. (He meant well, I believe -- he meant he would be more sympathetic to the disadvantaged. But honestly, I don't think any of us white folks get to claim we are "blacker" than anyone who got the short end of the stick during the era of legal segregation and Jim Crow laws.) At any rate, both incidents reminded voters of his unpredictable nature.

Redner was widely credited with being a strong, articulate and knowledgeable candidate. He has come a long way. But in the end a combination of factors did him in: a better ground-level campaign by Miller, the threat that Redner posed to the status quo (especially business and development folks), and a gut-level reluctance by rank-and-file voters to take the chance on a wild card, who no doubt would have gained Tampa some colorful and unwelcome national publicity as well. Those in favor of upsetting the apple-cart will have to be content with the gain of Mary Mulhern on the City Council.

Comments

[Jennifer W]

Too bad. I was hoping he would win, baggage or no. Sometimes we all need people who are willing to shake things up a bit in leadership positions. I'm not pleased with Miller's sit back and wear beige track record.

Please run again Joe, remember all of the people who did vote for you.

[Jim Johnson]

Miller is more vanilla than Joe, is the real test. A century ago a Tampa saloon owner was as respectable as anyone else. But today we like one flavor, vanilla; and Miller is more vanilla than Joe. Bland is safe. Vanilla is never controversial.

To echo Mencken: Miller has no great ideas or strong convictions, and there will be no thrills during her reign; but neither will there be any headaches, and she's not a public nuisance.

[CJ]

I heard Mr. Redner speak at an agricultural breakfast years ago. He had a difficult time stringing together more than 3 sentences without looking at his notes. I concluded then that he was just running as a ego issue and nothing has changed my opinion. His remarks yesterday on why he wouldn't congratulate his opponent are a reflection of his true nature and a lack of courtesy.

To reply to the comment above, a saloon and a strip club are very different. Always have been, always will be.

[Ed N.]

I have see Mr. Redner's cable show. He is intolerant of religion to the point of using hate speech.

[Neil Williamson]

To Mr Ed N. And other members of the council are tolerant. Remember when an atheist gave the intro at a council meeting and Mary Alvarez walked out? So is she tolerant of people who happen to not believe in the great myth of religion?

[Giselle]

I voted for Redner because of the issues. For example, why does Bay Shore water stink? And why has nothing been done to improve the infrastucture in 12 years? Let this be a wake up call for the less than attentive Gwen Miller. Hopefully she is now paying attention now or she'll get booted out next time.

[Joanne]

Glad the best person won. We need to be sure our elected officals have some ethics. From all the bad choices Redner has made in the past I would hate to see him given power over others or their money!

[Z]

I'll have to agree with CJ above. I've always thought Redner's political runs were mostly ego-driven. Every pimp craves respectability. Joe Redner seems to have a compulsive need and a knack for publicity, and I think one must admit the local press including the St. Pete Times and Creative Loafing have been his enablers.

[Rob]

Would that unwelcome national attention be as bad as the attention we got for having a county commissioner declare war on gay people?