Here’s what’s on the ballot as Pinellas County holds eight municipal elections Tuesday

Eight municipalities in Pinellas County will hold elections Tuesday.

Council and Commission seats, mayorships and referendums will be on the ballot, mostly in the northern and western parts of the county.

Belleair Beach, Belleair Bluffs, Clearwater, Madeira Beach, Oldsmar, Redington Shores, St. Pete Beach and Tarpon Springs all have elections. According to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections, more than 120,000 of Pinellas’ nearly 700,000 voters are eligible to participate.

Polls will be open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. More information is available on the Supervisor of Elections website.

Clearwater

Clearwater is the largest municipality in the county with seats on the ballot — and, so far, one of the most dramatic.

District 5’s race pits former Scientologist Aaron Smith-Levin against art studio owner Lina Teixeira and Pastor Jonathan Wade.

Smith-Levin’s bid has caused quite the stir. Most of his campaign is focused around standing against Scientology’s growing foothold in Clearwater. But he found himself embroiled in controversy when a video surfaced showing the aftermath of Smith-Levin being punched in the face after calling a woman — who he admitted to harassing online — a vulgar word for the female anatomy. Smith-Levin and Teixiera are the front-runners when it comes to fundraising. The two are nearly neck and neck and have each raised about eight times as much as Wade.

The race has gotten dirty. Smith-Levin has called Teixeira “Scientology’s Trojan horse” while Teixeira sent out mailers announcing she would do her fighting in City Hall, not bars.

The District 4 race features incumbent David Allbritton against candidates Maranda Douglas and Gerry Lee. In the much quieter race, Allbritton said he wants to support a strong business-friendly environment and strong transportation program and neighborhood infrastructure. Lee has advocated for fiscal responsibility and citizen input. And Douglas, a more progressive option, is pushing for more diversity on the City Council.

Tarpon Springs

Mayor Chris Alahouzos has reached term limits, leaving an open seat. City Commissioner Costa Vatakiotis is vacating his seat after just one year to challenge former Commissioner Robin Saenger for Mayor. Lisa Malamatos Benitez and Craig Lunt will vie for Vatakiotis’ seat 2.

Seat 3 will pit Michael Eisner against George Koulianos, both of whom are looking to fill a seat being vacated by Conner Donovan. Donovan is not seeking a second term. Townsend Tarapani also is not seeking re-election. His Seat 4 will be filled by either Panagiotis Stavros Koulias or Jacqueline Turner.

The race has been punctuated by marathon Commission meetings dealing with the future of a controversial housing development along the Anclote River. Developers unsuccessfully tried to turn the land into a Walmart nearly 20 years ago, but faced fierce pushback from organized residents. The city approved the development but the project was abandoned after years of lawsuits. History is repeating itself, with the new development approved but still threatened.

Mayoral hopeful Vatakiotis and Koulias have been among the development’s most vocal critics. Turner, however, also has stated she’d rather the land remain a green space than another development in the state’s most built-out county.

Belleair Beach and Belleair Bluffs

Belleair Beach also will be electing a Mayor. That contest will pit incumbent Mayor Joseph Manzo against current Council Member and Vice Mayor Dave Gattis.

The only incumbent Council Member running for re-election is Robyn Ache, who was first elected to the City Council in 2019.

That leaves two of the three Council seats on the upcoming ballot open, with Council Member Rita Swope not seeking re-election. Those running for Council include Lloyd Roberts, Berc Sarafian, Jody Shirley, Lynda Kathryn Welch and Mike Zabel.

The three top vote-getters will get the seats.

Belleair Bluffs has a similar structure. The two top vote-getters between Joe Barkley, Darlene Kavanagh and Taylour Shimkus will win the seats.

Oldsmar

Oldsmar Mayor Eric Seidel will be up for re-election in March. Seidel served two stints on the City Council — one from 2007-2009 and again from 2015-2019 — and was elected Mayor in 2019. He’ll face Council Member Dan Saracki, who is in his second term on the City Council.

That means Saracki’s Council seat will be up for grabs. Doug Bevis and Jarrod Buchman will face off to replace him.

Redington Shores

In the Redington Shores beach town, incumbent Jennie Blackburn will defend her District 1 Commission seat against Tom Kapper.

St. Pete Beach

Incumbent City Commissioner Chris Graus is being challenged by Terri Finnerty.

Belleair, Madeira Beach, Oldsmar and Redington Beach all have charter amendments on the ballot. And voters in Madeira Beach and Redington Beach will also vote on referendums.

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Kelly Hayes of Florida Politics contributed to this report.