TAMPA, FL — Some people earn name recognition by performing great feats of bravery. Some invent or discover amazing things. Some save lives. Some entertain. Some make a show of their wealth. Joe Redner owns a strip club and runs for public office.Five times so far, he’s run for office and lost.
He thinks this time it will be different.
Tampa City Council incumbent Gwen Miller didn’t slide into home this past Tuesday. Instead, she has to compete again in a bonus round commonly known as a runoff election. Redner will be one of four other contenders hoping to knock the crown from Miller’s brow.
According to University of South Florida State political science professor Darryl Paulson, Redner has reason to hope. In a conversation with the St. Petersburg Times, the expert pointed out that in addition to having multiple candidates to distribute votes with, “He’s got two great advantages as a candidate. One is, he’s got extraordinary name recognition, and two, he’s got deep pockets.”
Unfortunately, Redner, who is said to be worth about $18 million, thanks to his nude dance establishments, is also gay, and has been arrested more than 50 times, mostly while fighting off attempts by the city to close down his clubs.
Paulson thinks a truly determined Redner could do it, though. The candidate has vowed to invest in a runoff campaign dedicated to getting “my ideas across instead of my name” before the March 27th election.
Miller’s husband and campaign manager, Les Miller, says his wife won’t take the easy way out and attack Redner’s profession — if for no other reason than because everybody already knows. “Tell me who does not know Joe owns strip clubs,” Miller asked the Times rhetorically. “We’re going to run a campaign that deals with issues.”
One of the issues that the couple will have to deal with is financial. Redner’s ability to fund his own campaign puts the incumbent in a unique situation. She does, however, still have $25,000 from her primary election’s original $83,000 war chest.
“Redner has access to a lot of money,” campaign manager Miller observed to the paper. “We understand that and we’re prepared for that. We’ve just have to raise a lot of money in the next two weeks to get our message out.”
