Woman Activist Chosen By City Council To Fill Dingfelder's Seat

TAMPA, FL — The Tampa City Council is no longer a boys' club.

During a special meeting Tuesday morning, the council voted to have Amanda Lynn Hurtak fill the remainder of former council member John Dingfelder's term as representative of District 3, a citywide seat.

The council heard from 25 would-be council members and quickly narrowed the field to four — Meredith Freeman, Amanda Lynn Hurtak, Julie Jenkins and Tamara Shamburger.

In an initial vote, Councilmen Bill Carlson and Joseph Citro voted for Hurtak, Councilmen Luis Viera and Charlie Miranda voted for Freeman, Councilman Guido Maniscalco voted for Jenkins and Councilman Orlando Gudes voted for Shamburger.

In a second vote, Carlson, Gudes, Maniscalco and Citro voted for Hurtak, and Viera and Miranda voted for Freeman.

Hurtak, a resident of Old Seminole Heights, has served on the city's Charter Review Board and the variance review board. She's an active member of the League of Women Voters and served on the Seminole Heights Neighborhood Association as president and land use chairman. She is currently vice president of the association.

Hurtak will be sworn into office at Thursday's meeting and serve out the remainder of Dingfelder's term.

"With our city in a housing crisis and home values outpacing income, it's vital to choose someone who has proven the ability to find solutions between developers and neighborhood residents," Hurtak said. "I'm proud of the work I've done in Old Seminole Heights to bring all stakeholders to the table with the result being multiple, large-scale projects that were successful for developers, retained the historic character of our neighborhood and provided much-needed infrastructure improvements. I'm confident I can bring all of that success to Tampa."

She went on to say that, having been appointed twice by Mayor Jane Castor to the Charter Review Board, "I know the process, I know the rules and I know how things work in this chamber. You know me. Many of you served on the Charter Review Board with me. You know I'm a deeply ethical person dedicated to pragmatic solutions that will make Tampa a better, more inclusive and more prosperous city."

Dingfelder resigned from the council last month amid allegations that he used his wife's email to conduct city business and evade the public records law.