By B.C. Manion
It’s a race that draws a wide range of candidates.
Over two decades, the list has included a pediatrician, an insurance rep, a real estate agent and a private eye. Sticky the Duck even waddled in one year, according to a published account.
This year’s contest pits the reigning Lutz Guv’na, Karin D’Amico, against a former Lutz Guv’na, Suzin Carr.
D’Amico is determined to hold onto her Dr. Seuss-style hat and sash, while Carr wants to snatch away the sash and the honorary title.
Both women want to win the race so they can be the one who stands before the throngs of people at Lutz’s Fourth of July Celebration to take the oath of office over a copy of Dr. Seuss’ Green Eggs and Ham.
The contest, which dates back to 1991, will have its kick-off event from 2 p.m. to 4 p.m. on May 18 at the Old Lutz Schoolhouse, 18819 N. US 41.
If this year’s debate is like its predecessors, it will be filled with outlandish promises, said Eleanor Cecil, an event coordinator.
Such claims, Cecil said, can include things as pledging to bring the Super Bowl to Lutz or to provide a grove of orange trees for every yard.
The race is particularly special, because in a place that cherishes tradition, this year’s winner will preside as Lutz Guv’na during the community’s 100th year, Cecil said.
Carr makes no bones about it. She wants to win.
“I’m addicted to Guv instead of addicted to love,” she said, in a playful tone that tends to characterize these contests. She said she wants to win so much that she’s learning to sing “Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star,” in Hungarian, to help bring in cash.
D’Amico said she wants to go where no Lutz Guv’na has been before – by winning a second term. “It’s the centennial; time to make a little history,” she said.
Cecil said having a Guv’na and former Guv’na duke it out should make for great fun, but she’d love to mix it up even more.
The organizer is putting out the word that anyone who lives or works in Lutz and wants to enter the fray should attend the kick-off event. Walk-in candidates are welcome, Cecil said.
The annual contest began more than two decades ago as a way to raise money for Lutz’s annual Independence Day festivities and its community causes.
Over time, it has also become a way to build community.
Candidates usually rely on fundraisers such as chicken dinners, luncheons, car washes and golf outings to drum up campaign funds.
The events also provide a chance to highlight local businesses, and they bring groups of people together to socialize for a good cause, Cecil said.
Proceeds from previous races have been used to help provide batting helmets for the Lutz Leaguerettes, help fund a model rocketry program for civil air cadets, support scholarships for cancer survivors and help cover insurance costs for the Old Lutz Schoolhouse.
The Guv’na’s race offers a glimpse of Lutz’s spirit, Cecil said.
“We’re all about community,” Cecil said. “We want it to have that hometown, small-town feel – where everybody supports one another.”
A High Tea fundraiser
Edwina Kraemer is hosting a High Tea with sandwiches, fruit, scones, dessert and an opportunity drawing to raise funds for Karin D’Amico, the Lutz-Land O’ Lakes Woman’s Club candidate for Lutz Guv’na.
The cost is $20. For more information about this event, email or call her at (813) 240-9321.
Lutz gearing up to celebrate the Fourth of July
The theme for this year’s Independence Day Parade is Lutz, Celebrating 100 Years. To find out more about planning for the big event, contact these people:
5K Race sponsorship and entry: Terry Donovan, (813) 949-6659
Float information: Shirley Simmons, (813) 949-7060
Guv’na information: Eleanor Cecil, (813) 727-7549
Cake decorating contest entries: Marilyn Wannamaker (813) 949-1482
Booth rental: Helen Cantrell or Annie Fernandez at
General parade information and all other inquiries: Phyllis Hoedt at
