Mitch Perry
Agostinho J. Ribeiro, who serves as the chief executive officer of the law firm of Ventura, Ribeiro & Smith based in Danbury, Connecticut and St. Petersburg, has filed to run in the Florida State Senate District 19 race.
FloridaPolitics.com originally reported he would do so on Wednesday. Ribeiro filed his qualifying papers Thursday.
His entry will certainly shake up the SD 19 race, where Democrats Ed Narain, Betty Reed and Darryl Rouson are competing against each for the nomination on Aug.m30. The winner of the Democratic primary in the overwhelmingly Democratic-leaning district is expected to win the race in November.
Narain, who currently serves in the Florida House District 61 seat, has been the early leader in fundraising in the race, but Riberio may be able to spend a lot of his own funds to get himself competitive quickly in the race.
The district encompasses both Hillsborough and Pinellas Counties, but it’s much more centered in Hillsborough. That’s why some analysts thought it was surprising when a recent St. Pete Polls survey showed Rouson leading the race, with Reed second and Narain third.
Ribeiro is a New York City native, and his law firm represented victims of the World Trade Center terrorists attacks pro bono after the 9/11 attacks. They also represented St. Pete Beach in the BP oil spill disaster.
