Former political foe Bill Dudley endorses Ed Montanari for reelection

Pinellas County School Board member and former St. Petersburg City Council member Bill Dudley is endorsing Ed Montanari for reelection to District 3.

Dudley is Montanari’s predecessor in the northeast District 3 seat.

“As a former St. Petersburg City Council Member and Ed’s one-time opponent, I could not be more supportive of Ed’s campaign,” Dudley said. “Anyone who has worked with Council Member Montanari knows that he sees past partisan politics in a time which our country is more divided than ever.

“We need more leaders like Ed Montanari in our local government, and I’m proud to endorse his campaign.”

Dudley and Montanari are both registered Republicans though both hold elected office in non-partisan seats. Dudley’s mention of dismissing partisan politics echoes the tone Montanari has taken in his campaign as he faces an onslaught of partisan attacks from his opponent, Orlando Acosta.

Montanari rejects claims tying him to the politics of President Donald Trump and instead has been running a campaign focused on issues facing St. Pete and highlighting past votes that often sided with Democrats on the board, all of Montanari’s colleagues. All but one of those colleagues have endorsed Montanari.

The lone holdout, Darden Rice, hasn’t endorsed in the race.

Montanari first ran against Dudley in 2007, but lost. Montanari ran again eight years later unopposed as Dudley was preparing to leave office due to term limits. He ran with Dudley’s endorsement.

“I’m honored to have the endorsement of Bill Dudley,” Montanari said. “Since we first ran against each other to serve on the City Council, Bill and I have been discussing the issues facing our city and respectfully working together to solve them. I’m excited to have him on our team.”

Montanari is a commercial airline pilot for American Airlines. Prior to holding elected office he worked with the city extensively on preserving Albert Whitted Airport.

Montanari currently serves as the vice chair of City Council. He is also chairs the Budget, Finance, and Taxation Committee and the Legislative Affairs and Intergovernmental Relations Committee and vice chair of the Public Services and Infrastructure and serves on the Health, Energy, Resiliency and Sustainability Committee and the Co-Sponsored Events Committee.