Mitch Perry
Democrat Bernie Fensterwald, a Dunedin retiree who lost a challenge to Chris Sprowls in the House District 65 race in North Pinellas County last November by more than 30 percentage points, has filed once again to run for the Legislature.
This time Fensterwald is gunning for the state Senate District 16 seat in north Pinellas being vacated by a term-limited Jack Latvala. The only other candidate to file so far for the open seat is former GOP state representative and Clearwater City Commissioner Ed Hooper.
Fensterwald is a multi-millionaire, but he chose to barely tap into his considerable resources in his losing bid against Sprowls last year, raising a total of less than $35,000.
Sprowls, by contrast, raised more than $472, 400, more than ten times Fensterwald’s total.
Then again, Fensterwald thinks too much is made about fundraising, saying last year that it’s a subject that “political blogs in our state are obsessed about.”
He’s an advocate for a strong environment. On climate change, he says the longer the state waits to take action, “the harder on solutions and their impact will be.”
On guns, Fensterwald supports extending background checks to all gun purchases in order to help keep firearms away from persons who should not have them, and supports a ban on the sale of assault weapons in Florida.
