Current Mayor of Tampa, Bob Buckhorn, joined Jane Castor for a press conference on Wednesday to announce he is endorsing Castor for Mayor as the mayoral election heads to a runoff between Jane Castor and David Straz.
"There is only one person in this race who is equipped, who is prepared, who is ready to be the Mayor of this great city. Today, I'm endorsing Jane Castor to be the Mayor of the community," said Bob Buckhorn during the news conference on Wednesday.
WATCH | Mayor Buckhorn endorses Jane Castor for Mayor
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Mayor Buckhorn hugged Jane and said "Chief Castor, Congratulations! Go Win my friend!"
Jane Castor approached microphones and thanked the Mayor for his endorsement. "It has been an honor for me to work for him and to call him a friend," she said. "It really is an honor to have worked by his side and to have watched all that he has done and be able to take that baton from him and lift this city up to the next level."
Buckhorn’s endorsement comes after Castor narrowly missed an election night victory taking 48 percent of the vote.
Now Castor says she’s focused on running a clean campaign touting her transparency and accessibility.
“People here in Tampa want a leader. They want a leader they can follow. Some one who is going to successfully take Tampa into the future and they’ll focus on that. Now I certainly will defend myself but I’m going to remain positive,” said Castor.
Castor bested her challenger almost 3 to 1.
David Straz garnered 15 percent of the vote.
The community philanthropist says he’s willing to spend whatever it takes to win.
“This is a free country. You can do whatever you want to do. I plan to run a campaign that’s truthful and honest. If there are things that come up that are negative, as long as they are truthful and honest, I think that’s perfectly alright,” said Straz.
Early voting for the runoff goes from April 14 through the 20.
The runoff Election Day falls on April 23.
