Phil Ammann
Barclay Harless is starting 2017 with a bang.
The 31-year-old St. Petersburg banking executive, after launching a bid for City Council District 2 Monday, announced his first fundraiser for next week.
The event is Tuesday, Jan. 31 and begins 5:30 p.m. at Ricky P’s, 11002 4th St. N in St. Petersburg. Harless is seeking the seat covering most of Northeast St. Petersburg now held by term-limited Jim Kennedy. He is the first candidate to announce in the race.
“I want to thank you for the overwhelming support we are receiving,” Harless said in the email invite. “It is important we have a strong showing in our first week and I am cordially inviting you to my campaign kickoff!”
Harless, a graduate of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, is currently an assistant bank officer at Bank of the Ozarks. Before that, he was a legislative aide to then-state Rep. Darryl Rouson of St. Pete. Harless also worked on Alex Sink’s unsuccessful 2014 run for Florida’s 13th Congressional District.
With a long list community activism, Harless served as state policy chair for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce and held a seat on the Pinellas Charter Review, where he helped draft an amendment requiring citizen input for future county commission redistricting.
“We will not find solutions in finger-pointing or empty political rhetoric,” Harless said in a statement announcing his candidacy. “Rather, our problems require bold, decisive action to get things done.”
RSVPs and registration for the event are available online; more information on Harless and his candidacy is at voteharless.com.
Primaries for the City of St. Petersburg municipal races are Aug. 29; general election at-large voting is Nov. 7.
