Alex Sink puts money, support behind Barclay Harless in St. Pete Council race

Alex Sink formally endorsed Barclay Harless last week in his bid for the St. Petersburg City Council, but she had already indicated her support in late September by way of a $500 check to his campaign.

Sink’s contribution was part of the $5,355 that Harless raised from Sept. 16-29, the most recent reporting period for the candidates running in the municipal elections in St. Petersburg. That’s more than the $1,840 that Brandi Gabbard raised during the same period.

Gabbard and Harless are competing to win the District 2 seat that has been held for the past decade by Jim Kennedy.

While Harless has brought in slightly more money to his campaign overall, Gabbard leads regarding the cash-on-hand differential with just three weeks to go in the contest. Harless has raised $58,780 in the contest and spent $40,866.99, giving him $17,914 cash on hand.

Gabbard has brought in a total of $39,879 while spending $17,944, leaving her with $29,935 cash on hand. All but about $90 of Gabbard’s outflow last week went to Tampa-based Politicus, for advertising, while nearly half of Harless’ spending went toward mailers from Tampa-based Sonic Printing.

Harless has made an issue of Gabbard receiving support in the form of several mailers sent on her behalf by the Pinellas Realtors Organization, which is supporting her candidacy.

In addition to Sink, Harless also received a $500 contribution from the Stonewall Democrats, and a $1,000 check from the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers.