Former mayor joins national lobbying firm

TAMPA — Bob Buckhorn, Tampa’s former mayor, is joining the lobbying firm Shumaker Advisors.

Buckhorn will be a principal at the firm and will focus on economic development and urban development strategies, according to a statement, “while working with clients to improve the overall quality of life in the Tampa Bay region and statewide.”

A Democrat and former two-term Tampa city councilman, Buckhorn was first elected mayor in 2011 when the city, state and nation struggled to claw out of a deep recession. He left office in 2019 because of term limits but is credited for many of the recent advancements in the city and helping it secure a reputation as one of the country's top destinations for businesses.

According to a statement announcing his hiring from Shumaker, Buckhorn took office when the city had a $30 million deficit. He was able to balance the city’s budget for eight years and “made strategic investments in infrastructure to prepare Tampa for the future.”

Among his accomplishments, according to Shumaker, is spearheading a blueprint for the development of the city's urban core and working with the Obama Administration to secure a grant to complete Tampa Riverwalk

Buckhorn, in the statement, says “there is an art to building cities and communities that thrive.”

“It takes deliberate planning and vigorous leadership.”

Shumaker, founded in 1925, has a team of more than 270 lawyers and lobbyists. The firm has seven offices, located in Toledo and Columbus, Ohio; Tampa and Sarasota; Charleston, S.C.; Charlotte, N.C., and Bloomfield Hills, Mich.

Shumaker Advisors is a subsidiary of the law firm.