City of Tampa Candidate Guide

Important Dates

Petition Collection Period August 29, 2022 - January 6, 2023
Pre-qualifying Period January 2, 2023 - January 15, 2023
Qualifying Period Noon, January 16, 2023 - Noon, January 20, 2023
Election Day March 7, 2023
Runoff Election April 25, 2023
Term May 1, 2023 - May 1, 2027
Poll Watcher Designation Deadlines Early Voting: Noon, February 13, 2023 | Election Day: Noon, February 21, 2023

Required Forms

DS-DE 9 —  Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository

DS-DE 84 — Statement of Candidate (attesting that you have read and understand campaign finance law, Chapter.106, F.S.)

You must file form DS-DE9, Appointment of Campaign Treasurer, before opening your campaign account, accepting any contributions, making any campaign expenditures, or collecting petitions.

Within 10 days of filing form DS-DE9, you must file form DS-DE84, Statement of Candidate

Qualifying Information

Candidate qualifying begins at noon on January 16, 2023 and ends at noon on January 20, 2023. City of Tampa 2023 Qualifying Packet is now avaible. Candidates can choose to qualify by fee or petition. For more information about qualifying, review the fact sheet

Qualifying By Fee

Candidates must pay 6% of the salary of the office as of July 1, 2022 to qualify by fee. These fees are due the week of qualifying but can be turned in during the pre-qualifying period.  

  • Mayor: $10,539.30
  • City Council: $3,123.75 

Your qualifying fee must be paid using a check drawn on your campaign account, made payable to the Supervisor of Elections, and signed by the treasurer.

 

Qualifying By Petition

The qualifying fee is waived if you qualify by petition. Visit this page for information about petition verification fees.

The petition collection period is from August 29, 2022 to January 6, 2023, and the Nominating Petition Application must be filed with our office prior to collecting petitions. The application can be dropped off or mailed to our office. Candidates for Mayor must collect at least 3,852 petitions (1% of the City of Tampa population). Candidates for City Council must collect at least 963 (0.25% of the City of Tampa population). Petitions for City Council must come from within the district the candidate wishes to serve. 

City of Tampa Redistricting

Every four years, the Tampa City Charter requires redistricting to ensure that the population of Tampa's single-member city council districts remain as equal as possible. The redistricting process is conducted by the Hillsborough County City-County Planning Commission. 

City of Tampa City Council Redistricting (2021/22) | Plan Hillsborough

Public Notice: City of Tampa New District Boundaries

Financial Reports

Candidates who have filed form DS-DE9, Appointment of Campaign Treasurer and Designation of Campaign Depository, are required to file regular financial reports, following the deadlines specified by the Florida Division of Elections:

2023 Reporting Dates for City of Tampa Candidates

Candidates, please make sure to review the Online Financial Report Manual. All reports filed with our office must be submitted electronically. Our filing system allows you to enter information without using any additional software. See a list of approved software vendors that are compatible with our electronic filing system

Helpful Publications

As a candidate, it is your responsibility to review the City of Tampa City Charter, the Candidate and Treasurer Handbook, and Florida Election Code, which will help guide you through your candidacy. 

 

If you are submitting paperwork or have questions about running for office, we encourage you to click on the button below and schedule an appointment

SCHEDULE AN APPOINTMENT

 

CONTACT



Office Hours: 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. Main Phone: (813) 744-5900 Toll Free: (888) 297-4362 Email: voter@votehillsborough.gov

Fred B. Karl County Center

601 E. Kennedy Blvd., 16th Floor
Tampa, FL 33602
Tel: (813) 272-5850
Fax: (813) 272-7043

Robert L. Gilder Elections Service Center

2514 North Falkenburg Rd.
Tampa, FL 33619
Tel: (813) 744-5900
Fax: (813) 744-5843

Northwest Regional Office

4575 Gunn Hwy.
Tampa, FL 33624
 
 

Southeast Regional Office

10020 South U.S. Hwy. 301
Riverview, FL 33578

Please note: Florida has a very broad public records law. Voter registration applications and other written communications to or from the Supervisor of Elections are public records and are available to the public and media upon request unless the information is subject to a specific statutory exemption. Email addresses are also public records. If you do not want your email address released in response to a public records request, please do not email us. Instead, contact us by mail or phone, or visit us in person. To request public records, visit this page.. For questions about public records, email publicrecords@votehillsborough.gov or call (813) 744-5900.