Candidate Bob Buckhorn promised to develop a marketing initiative to bring public programs to downtown parks frequently and regularly.
Starting in November, Buckhorn, in conjunction with the Tampa Downtown Partnership, has welcomed food trucks to Lykes Gaslight Square Park the first Wednesday of every month, drawing thousands, and he says, creating a buzz about downtown.
"I love my food trucks,” Buckhorn told PolitiFact Florida in an interview on Feb. 28, 2012.
But that hasn't been all.
For St. Patrick's Day, he had the city dye the Hillsborough River green for the first annual Mayor's River O'Green Fest. He has scheduled his State of the City presentation, something that previously has taken place at the Tampa Convention Center, for Curtis Hixon Waterfront Park. And he has given enthusiastic public support to other groups' ideas. The first-ever Gasparilla Music Festival brought thousands to the riverfront on March 10, and Tampa's Downtown on Ice, sponsored by the Friends of Tampa Recreation, brought a temporary skating rink to the park in December for a second year in a row.
"My goal is to program those parks as often as we can,” Buckhorn said.
Buckhorn promised programs in downtown parks that were frequent and ongoing. The food truck rally takes place monthly, and the River O'Green Fest promises to be an annual event. There's room for more, but these are examples of the kinds of programs that he committed to delivering. We rate this as a Promise Kept.