It’s a long way to 2027, but someone’s lining up to replace Tampa Mayor Jane Castor.
Alan Henderson , who’ll turn 24 years old next month, told Creative Loafing Tampa Bay that on Wednesday, Jan. 3 he intends to file his statement of candidacy in downtown Tampa where he’ll also hold a 10:30 a.m. press conference in Joe Chillura Courthouse Square.
If elected in 2027, Henderson would be Tampa’s first Black mayor. Castor won a second term in March 2023, but is term-limited.
In a social media post , Henderson—whose role leading an esports company landed him on a Tampa Bay Business Journal list of young residents to watch—said his vision is centered around empowering communities, sustainability, and “building the Tampa of tomorrow today.”
That could mean anything from affordability, to housing, and transportation; Henderson told CL that people he’s talked to in the exploratory phase of his candidacy have not been very happy with any of those things.
Still, he’s not looking to come out of the gate saying how he would fix things. Instead Henderson hopes to listen and gain a better understanding of citizens’ issues. To do that, he plans to spend the next year building a robust team to coordinate policy development and meet with experts and citizens. “We’re going to organize some detailed conversations about what the Tampa of tomorrow could look like,” he added.