Barclay Harless nabs first union endorsement in St. Pete City Council bid

Barclay Harless nabbed the first union endorsement in his bid for St. Petersburg City Council.

The 31-year-old St. Petersburg banking executive, received support Monday of the United Association of Plumbers and Pipefitters Local 123.

Harless is running for the District 2 seat, which covers most of Northeast St. Petersburg and is now held by term-limited Jim Kennedy.

“The Plumbers and Pipefitters Local Union 123 are committed to quality and excellence in their craftsmanship, and believe in Barclay Harless’ vision and unique, fresh perspective to get things done in city hall,” says a union statement.

Since his first week after filing for the race, Harless announced more than 100 individual donors in a campaign that is beginning to build momentum, with a broad coalition of support.

Harless, a graduate of the University of South Florida St. Petersburg, is an assistant bank officer at Bank of the Ozarks. Before that, he was a legislative aide to then-state Rep. Darryl Rouson. Harless also worked on Alex Sink’s 2014 campaign for Florida’s 13^th Congressional District.

Possessing a record of community activism, Harless also served as state policy chair for the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce, and held a role on the Pinellas Charter Review, which helped craft an amendment that requires citizen input in future county commission redistricting.

So far, Harless will face Brandi Gabbard, a former president of the Pinellas Realtor Organization.

Information on Harless and his candidacy are at voteharless.com.

Primaries for the City of St. Petersburg mayoral race are Aug. 29; general election at-large voting is Nov. 7.