Tampa Council Member Lynn Hurtak to Run for Mayor
Current Tampa city council member Lynn Hurtak has filed to run for mayor in the 2027 election. Her entry signals a potential challenge to the city's political establishment and sets the stage for a competitive race for Tampa's leadership.
- The election in March 2027 is for an open seat, as current Mayor Jane Castor is term-limited after winning re-election in 2023. - Hurtak is one of seven candidates who have already filed to run for mayor. The field is expected to include former two-term Mayor Bob Buckhorn, who is eligible to run again after being out of office and has already raised over $1.4 million through a political committee. - She was first appointed to the citywide District 3 council seat in April 2022 to fill a vacancy and subsequently won the seat in a 2023 runoff election. In that race, she defeated former state Senator Janet Cruz, who is the mother of Mayor Jane Castor's partner. - Hurtak is positioning herself as a progressive, grassroots candidate focused on affordability and resident services over new development. Her policy priorities on the council have included housing affordability, transit, infrastructure improvements like sidewalks, and increasing budget oversight. - Her entry could split the progressive vote, as fellow council member Bill Carlson, who has also been a critic of the current administration, is another rumored candidate. - Before her appointment to the council, Hurtak was a technical consultant, a Title I elementary school teacher, and served on Tampa's Variance Review Board and Charter Review Commission.
