The Political Whore

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Sulphur Springs Christmas Holiday

Tampa is competing in the National Civic League ’s 2009 All-America City Awards conference today, and judging of the various communities’ projects has already started. Tampa’s presentation featured a booming entrance, with the Middleton High School drum line, and civic activists and city employees side-by-side talking about their three projects.Tampa will find out tomorrow night at about 7 p.m. if it gets the title and the bragging rights that goes with it.

Here are the details, as summarized in the AAC conference program:

Tampa, Florida
Economic Development in East Tampa
As one of the older developed areas of the city, East Tampa declined during the 1960’s and 70’s period of Urban Development. In 2003, Tampa Mayor Iorio announced that one of her strategic initiatives would be the transformation of East Tampa to a community with flourishing recreational, social and culture activities. The City of Tampa staff focused on the assets of East Tampa with the idea of creating a model to use in other challenged areas of Tampa, reaching out to the residents and challenging them to create a vision for their neighborhood. The residents collaborated with the government, schools, universities, churches, sports organizations, businesses, and non-profit organizations. Responding to resident participation, the City of Tampa launched an aggressive campaign called Operation Commitment. The goals included rooting out crime, prostitution, drugs and code violations. At the same time, the City of Tampa created the East Tampa Development Division to focus exclusively on the economic and civic revitalization of the area. In doing so, it took the important step of designating East Tampa as a Community Redevelopment Area (CRA) eligible for Tax Increment Financing (TIF). To date, over $21 million dollars has been generated providing the necessary financial resources to upgrade aging infrastructure, resurface streets, add sidewalks and make corridor beautifications.

[Shown in the photo gallery above are the new Fair Oaks Park renovations and the Cyrus Green Pool]

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EAST TAMPA — You can hardly fit a car down E. Caracas Street next to the Fair Oaks Rec Center, where this mostly African-American working class neighborhood votes, for all the candidates, yard signs, Barack Obama supporters, T-shirt hawkers and food vendors that have turned Election Day into a community fair of sorts. It is driven by the optimism that within hours, these voters may see the first black president in the nation’s history.

Except, of course, that Obama isn’t just black. He’s half-black and half-white. The white establishment has defined him as black. the people here will let you know that. They’ll also let you know that this is a momentous day for them. One man, Jarvis El-Amin, takes me aside and mentions Michelle Obama’s (in)famous statement about not feeling proud to be an American in the past.

“I ain’t never felt like I was part of America,” says El-Amin, who has been a grassroots politico for 21 years. Until now. “I can see the hope of America with the potential of what this country will be.”

I asked El-Amin if the youth vote really turned out for Obama in this neighborhood.

“Young people with their pants hanging down, with dreadlocks,” he laughed. “I’ve been in politics for 21 years and I have never seen so much excitement.”

Just then a car with a loudspeaker and Tampa’s first poet laureate James E. Tokley Sr. drives by exhorting the Obama vote as well, more of a celebration than a persuasive message.

The man waving the flags and selling “Commander in Chief Barack Obama” T-shirts for $15 is Jet Set Hudson. “This is a wonderful moment,” he said, “I’m just so proud. Everybody can just come together. This is a beautiful day.

“It’s in the air,” Hudson intoned. “We smell victory now.”