[ad_1]
5 members of St. Petersburg Metropolis Council are backing Charlie Justice for re-election to the Pinellas County Fee.
Justice, a Democrat, is dealing with a reputable problem from Republican Vince Nowicki for his District 3 seat. All 5 of the endorsements come from registered Democrats.
Council Chair Deborah Figgs-Sanders and Council members Brandi Gabbard, Gina Driscoll, Copely Gerdes and Lisset Hanewicz are all providing their help.
Gabbard known as Justice a “incredible public servant and the one certified candidate on this race.”
“Charlie works laborious, is accessible and is at all times fast to associate on behalf of the residents we each serve,” she mentioned.
Hanewicz agreed, saying Justice is “an important associate for the town of St. Pete and an important good friend to our residents.”
Solely three members of St. Pete Metropolis Council haven’t but backed Justice — progressives John Muhammad and Richie Floyd, and Republican Ed Montanari.
It’s not stunning that many of the board is backing Justice. Not solely do all of them share the identical occasion affiliation, in addition they have purpose to oppose Nowicki.
Nowicki is a authorities watchdog who has made a reputation for himself in St. Petersburg the place he labored to uncover a residency situation with a Metropolis Council member, Lisa Wheeler-Bowman, who, consequently, resigned from her place.
The Metropolis Council selected Muhammad to exchange her, however he isn’t in search of election to the seat when his time period expires. He additionally filed an unsuccessful ethics complaint in opposition to Mayor Ken Welch over his appointment of James Corbett as Metropolis Improvement Administrator.
“I’m proud to have these hard-working Councilmembers’ help. The Metropolis and County have so much happening proper now, it’s solely attainable to have success by having leaders who put politics apart do the work to maneuver our neighborhood ahead,” Justice mentioned of the endorsements.
And Gerdes, in his endorsement, pointed at precisely that sentiment. “Charlie Justice is the epitome of individuals over politics,” he mentioned.
“Being a lifelong resident of St. Petersburg, I’m so comfortable that Charlie Justice represents us so properly on the County Fee. I’ve at all times identified Charlie’s dedication to our county however now, as a Metropolis Councilman for the town of St. Petersburg, working side-by-side with him on quite a few points, it has solely strengthened what I already thought, that Charlie Justice is precisely the type of individual we’d like representing this county.”
Justice is dealing with a troublesome re-election. Nowicki has robust backing from the native GOP institution, and he’s to date outraising the incumbent, with nearly $55,000 raised to Justice’s nearly $33,000. Whereas it’s price noting that Nowicki entered the race later than Justice, Nowicki nonetheless outraised him within the first quarter of 2023 whereas each have been actively operating for your entire interval, which spans January by way of March.
Republicans additionally now maintain an almost 20,000 voter registration advantage in Pinellas County, with 245,003 voters to simply 226,063 Democrats. That’s a large lead, particularly contemplating that Republicans traditionally end up in larger numbers than Democrats. Whereas Justice’s seat contains components of west St. Pete and Lealman, it’s elected countywide.
The GOP voter registration benefit additionally means no-party or third-party voters will play a giant position in election outcomes subsequent 12 months. There are practically 193,000 voters not affiliated with a significant occasion.
That makes the endorsers reference to Justice’s “individuals over politics” strategy all of the extra necessary within the race, notably as Republican candidates now face a possible backlash on the poll field over current abortion rulings that would drive Democratic turnout, and the inclusion of two amendments — one enshrining abortion protections into the state structure and the opposite legalizing leisure marijuana — on the poll.
Whereas this newest batch of nods for Justice embrace all Democrats, he beforehand rolled out a bipartisan list of endorsements that included former colleagues on the County Fee Susan Latvala and Karen Seel, each Republicans.
Democrats misplaced floor on the County Fee within the 2022 cycle, with Gerard shedding her seat and Republicans claiming a 4-3 benefit. They’re now seeking to broaden that benefit, with Republicans operating in opposition to Justice and within the open race for countywide District 1, which Democrat Janet Lengthy is vacating.
It’s extensively believed that if the GOP picks up both seat, it will likely be subsequent to unattainable for Democrats to win again their benefit in lower than 10 years. In the event that they handle to maintain each seats blue, occasion operatives are hopeful the pendulum will swing again in Democrats’ favor inside the subsequent two or three election cycles.
Justice narrowly held onto his seat the final time he was up for re-election, with barely greater than 50% of the vote in opposition to GOP challenger Tammy Sue Vasquez.
Justice’s marketing campaign touts his work defending seashores and native estuaries, in addition to preserving inexperienced house, investing in infrastructure, and making public security a precedence. He mentioned there was a 59% decline in severe crime countywide.
Justice has additionally secured an endorsement earlier this month from U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor. He additionally has help from St. Pete Mayor Welch, a former colleague on the Fee and a detailed good friend, and former St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman.
Publish Views: 0
[ad_2]
Source link