It may be a little unfair - comparing a hurricane day to an annual Labor Day festival. However, downtown Tampa was deserted the Monday before the Republican National Convention compared to downtown Charlotte a day before the Democratic National Convention.
People crowded into Charlotte’s downtown streets for an annual festival while many of Tampa’s streets were fenced off and its memorials boarded up days before the RNC. The stark differences got the attention of Tampa City Councilwoman Yvonne “Yolie” Capin.
“I was very surprised what our city looked like,” Capin said referring to the tall steel fences and concrete barriers. “As far as assessing, city council, especially seeing the contrast to Charlotte, we will be looking at what the expenses were and what was the bottom line?”
In defense of Tampa, Capin said RNC organizers took the lead and security was their top concern.
Tampa’s mayor and a city council member are in Charlotte this week attending the Democratic National Convention. So, it’ll be a while before there’s a final city assessment on how Tampa fared hosting the RNC.
