Grant Miller Media's Endorsement for Mayor of Tampa.

This week - we think - Tampa voters will choose the next mayor from a field of five (or six or seven) candidates.

We don't really know any of the candidates but can vaguely recognize some of their names. All may possess the experience, intelligence and poise required for the job, but we have absolutely no idea - we have not attended a single mayoral debate or even seen the candidates interviewed on local news.

We don't know their positions on the main issues facing Tampa, but can safely assume we agree on some of their ideas but disagree on others. There is little doubt these leaders know more about the problems facing Tampa than we do.

So voters might have a difficult task choosing a new mayor to replace the existing mayor who we are also woefully ignorant of. If pressed, it's likely we could not accurately spell the existing mayor's name and more importantly, we have no idea why she is leaving office. We do, however, know the current mayor is female. It should be noted we have no idea what she looks like.

Here is a run down of the candidates we are vaguely aware of:

The Candidate With The Black And Green Signs: This candidate probably has held several important titles within the city in recent years, but his or her signs are not as prominent as others so he or she probably will not win. We do not support losing candidates.

The Candidate With Yellow And Black Signs: This candidate has a very long last name which does not bode well for his or her chances. We believe this candidate also may have a long and distinguished career in local politics. Although it's possible this candidate is running as an outsider - it's simply too early to tell.

The Candidate We Didn't Even Know Is On The Ballot Because We Haven't Seen Any Of His Or Her Signs: Unfortunately, Grant Miller Media does not know enough about this candidate to even make a half-hearted stab at what they're all about.

The Greco Dude: We do not know much about The Greco Dude - except his name is easy to spell and his picture is everywhere or something. Also, his campaign signs are weird and oddly memorable. We applaud The Greco Dude's use of weird and oddly memorable campaign signs and wish him the best of luck or whatever.

But we believe the time is right for one of these candidates or maybe that Other Candidate With The Long Name And The Green And White Signs - not to be confused with The Candidate with the Yellow and Black Signs.

Certainly, one of these candidates (and possibly others we've forgotten) offers a bold strategy to revolutionize city government and revive the economy. If so, that is the candidate we support.

We are confident that one of these candidates, with their political experience (or lack thereof), will become the next mayor. This candidate may be a long-shot or perhaps the odds on favorite - but Grant Miller Media supports this candidate to win.

Unfortunately, race is still an issue in this country. But let it be known, race was not a factor in Grant Miller Media's endorsement because Grant Miller Media does not know the race of any of the candidates because Grant Miller Media has not followed the campaign closely. Although, it should be noted the Greco Dude is white - Grant Miller Media knows this because The Greco Dude has his picture on the campaign signs.

The candidate we have endorsed probably played a pivotal role in some kind of city, county, state or federal outlay that has greatly benefited Tampa. This would seem to make sense, as people who do not play pivotal roles in those types of things do not run for mayor.

But it's also entirely possible the candidate we've endorsed comes from the private sector and helped turn around a major local industry from certain bankruptcy saving thousands of jobs and funded his or her campaign from deep family pockets.

Or perhaps the candidate we've endorsed is some kind of anti-tax (or pro-tax) zealot riding a wave of some kind of national anger (or joy). We do not know this because we do not know who the candidates are.

In the race for mayor of Tampa, Grant Miller Media strongly endorses whomever.