Two for the show

The city’s biggest industrial project in decades rests on the shoulders of two men: City Councilmen Gil Coerper and Don Hansen. The hearing dates may keep changing, but their influence remains the same: If the Poseidon desalination facility is to be approved, these two councilmen will have to give the nod.

Both scoff at the notion of being swing votes, but with council members Debbie Cook, Dave Sullivan and Jill Hardy having voted against the project’s first round of approvals, it will take both of these men, plus Keith Bohr and Cathy Green, to line up a narrow 4-3 majority in favor of the $250-million project.

The vote is the first major policy test for Hansen, who came under heavy fire for leading the charge to approve the project’s environmental impact report in September. Coerper’s credibility is also on the line; after voting for Poseidon during its first failed attempt, Coerper traveled to Tampa Bay to visit a Poseidon desalination facility mired in controversy. His decision this time around will likely set the stage for his 2006 reelection campaign.

Reporter Dave Brooks recently sat down with both men to discuss their thoughts leading into the Jan. 9 hearing.