TAMPA, Fla. — Mayor Jane Castor will ask voters for yet another opportunity to lead the city of Tampa.
Castor announced Monday her intention to continue serving as the city's mayor by filing for reelection. In April 2019, she defeated the late local philanthropist David Straz with 73 percent of the vote.
She had previously spent 31 years in local law enforcement, six of those as Tampa’s police chief. Castor was the city’s first woman to hold the top cop post and the first openly gay person to do so. She retired her badge in 2015.
During her tenure, Castor worked to upgrade the city's aging infrastructure, increase access to affordable housing and make resiliency and sustainability a focus for the city, her campaign said in a statement, in part.
The city of Tampa has elections every four years, with the next election set for March 7, 2023.
Two others so far have filed to run for mayor, according to the Hillsborough County Supervisor of Elections, including Jeff Godsell and Belinda Noah.