The one thing you can say for sure about electing a mayor in Tampa is you can't really say anything for sure.

Historical proof: A couple of elections ago, Harvard-educated hometown-boy-gone-to-Washington Frank Sanchez was going to be our next mayor, hands down, ask anyone. Then Pam Iorio strolled in and that was that.

More proof: After Iorio, four-time mayor Dick Greco and fiery Rose Ferlita were bet-your-paycheck contenders. How could former City Council member Bob Buckhorn — who had lost three previous political races — stand a chance? Buckhorn won, then did it again.

Plot twists, meteoric rises, candidate implosions. In the race for mayor, it's what we do.

A new cast is currently queuing up to replace Buckhorn. It includes the former police chief, some familiar but varied faces from local politics, even a wealthy Thurston Howell III type. There's also lesser known candidates: businessman Topher "C'mon, Tampa, let's do the impossible," Morrison, who brought his dog to his kickoff, and a guy named Michael Hazard.

Each major candidate or candidate-to-be faces specific fair-game questions right out of the gate. So let's get started.

Jane Castor, the former top cop considered a powerhouse contender, just made news regarding the controversial police tactic under her administration of heavily ticketing bicyclists for minor infractions. As the Tampa Bay Times reported in 2015, 80 percent of those ticketed were black.

Castor had political observers abuzz last week when she acknowledged that while the intent was to help high-crime neighborhoods, it also caused tension and distrust there. And was a mistake.

The question now: Will the candidate's mea culpa be enough to move the conversation beyond the controversy?

For City Council member and attorney Harry Cohen: How will the problems he's worked on in his South Tampa district — site of the city's tonier homes and loftier problems — translate to what ails very different parts of town like East and West Tampa?

For former county commissioner and attorney Ed Turanchik: What's his answer to those who say he's good at big ideas on issues like transit and housing, but on follow-through, not so much?

Two, please, for philanthropist and retired banker David A. Straz Jr., rumored to be readying his run: Can a candidate who told the Times last year he supported Donald Trump in the election now win in this Democrat-leaning city, even if he later said through a spokeswoman he wouldn't vote for Trump in 2020?

And a followup: Is a wealthy private citizen who allowed in 2009 that his art collection was valued "well into nine figures" ready for the public scrutiny that comes with the financial disclosure required of a candidate?

For city council member Mike Suarez, also rumored to be running: What specific issues and accomplishments as a council member can he point to that qualify him to be mayor?

Like you, I look forward to the answers, and the next round of questions, and those answers, too.

Can anything happen? Someone from the local business community told me this week, "I'm even being nice to Topher."