TAMPA—The Tampa Tiger Bay Club will host a virtual forum on Jan. 15 at noon featuring two local political consultants discussing the realities of campaigning.
“Candidates & Consultants: How the Sausage is Made” will feature Republican consultant Anthony Pedicini and Adam Smith, former Tampa Bay Times political editor who is now a senior vice president at Mercury consulting and covers politics for the St. Pete Catalyst, including a podcast called Political Party. Pecicini and Smith recently made waves in a Political Party episode in which Pedicini said he often advises his clients against participating in non-partisan forums such as the Tiger Bay Club because the risks of a misstep can outweigh the benefit. Smith, who has worked for Democratic candidates, responded that such tactics are bad for democracy, while an Orlando Sentinel columnist called the approach cowardly even if it sometimes works.
The meeting, which is free and open to the public, will be shown live on tigerbayclub.com, Facebook (facebook.com/tigerbaytampa) and the Tampa Bay Arts and Education Spectrum channel 636 & Frontier channel 34.
Newly elected Tampa Tiger Bay Club President Tom Scherberger will moderate. Only Tiger Bay Club members may ask questions, which can be submitted in advance by emailing them to executivedirector@tigerbayclub.com or during the meeting on Facebook. To beco
me a member, go to https://www.tigerbayclub.com/join-tbc/
For nearly 40 years, the Tampa Tiger Bay Club has presented live discussions of important topics of the day. We hope to return to in-person meetings this year.
The Tampa Tiger Bay Club is a non-partisan political group that presents lively discussions on important issues and candidates running for office.