Pinellas County municipal elections: What to know

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A total of 11 municipalities in Pinellas County will have elections Tuesday for local offices, ranging from Mayor to City and Town Council members or Commissioners.

Candidates are on the ballot in Belleair Bluffs, Gulfport, Indian Rocks Beach, Indian Shores, Kenneth City, Madeira Beach, Redington Shores, South Pasadena, St. Pete Beach, Tarpon Springs and Treasure Island.

Elections in Belleair Shore, North Redington Beach, Redington Beach and Safety Harbor were canceled because the number of qualified candidates did not exceed the number of offices up for election.

There was no early voting for the races, but mail ballots have already been coming in. As of Monday afternoon, unofficial voter turnout had reached more than 18%, with 10,561 mail ballots cast. 

Polls are open on Election Day from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Voters must cast a ballot from their registered polling place, which can be found here.

Here’s who and what is on the ballot in each municipality:

Belleair Bluffs

— Two Commissioner seats (voters choose two): Adele Hoffman, Karen Rafferty and Suzy Sofer.

Gulfport

— Council member Ward 2: Christine Anne Brown, Christopher Butler-Jones and Greg Simek.

— Council member Ward 4: Michael Fridovich and Ian O’Hara.

Indian Rocks Beach

— Two Commissioner seats (voters choose two): Don House, Denise Houseberg, Preston Smith and Lan Vaughan.

Indian Shores

— Two Council member seats (voters choose two): Ellen Bauer, Michael Hackerson and Michael Petruccelli.

Kenneth City

— Two Council member seats (voters choose two): Tony Chan, Kyle Cummings, Jeffrey Pfannes and Barbara Roberts.

Madeira Beach

— Mayor: Doug Andrews and Jim Rostek.

— Charter Amendment 1: Elector and Residence Requirement for Candidates Seeking the Office of Mayor or District Commissioner — This charter amendment would amend Section 2.2 B of the Charter to provide that candidates seeking the office of Mayor or District Commissioner be an elector and resident of the City of Madeira Beach, Florida, one year prior to the date of said application. The amendment would avoid a conflict with Section 3.3 A of the Charter. Should the Charter be amended?

— Charter Amendment 2: Appointment of Director of Finance and City Treasurer and Delegation of Duties and Responsibilities — This charter amendment would amend Section 5.5 of the Charter to provide the Board of Commissioners with the option to delegate to a contractor or firm to perform the services of Director of Finance and City Treasurer. Should the Charter be amended?

Redington Shores

— Commissioner District 3 (partial term): Lisa Hendrickson and Kenny Later.

South Pasadena

— Two Commissioner seats (voters choose two): Michael James Burgmaier, Marj Lorand, Gail Neidinger, Felix Day Pretsch, Bonnie Quick (name will appear on ballot, but she withdrew from the race and votes for her will not be counted), and Tom Reid.

St. Pete Beach

— Mayor-Commissioner: Alan Johnson and Adrian Petrila.

Tarpon Springs

— Referendum question 1: Authorize the Purchase of the Henry Ross Property Near South Florida Avenue — The City proposes to purchase a vacant parcel that is 3.49 acres of property near South Florida Avenue from Henry Ross for $728,000.00 for the purpose of stormwater management and land preservation. This purchase also includes a donation of an additional approximately 0.25-acre perpetual drainage easement to be used for stormwater management. Shall this purchase be approved?

— Referendum question 2: Shall the City Conduct a Public Hearing Before June 30 of Each Budget Cycle? — Currently, public hearings for the budget are conducted as prescribed by law after the Board of Commissioners have reviewed the budget. Shall the City’s Charter be amended to provide for a public hearing no later than June 30 of each budget cycle for budget priorities?

— Referendum question 3: Shall the City Implement Strategic Plan and Update Every Three Years? — Shall the City’s Charter be amended to provide for the implementation of a strategic plan to be updated every three fiscal years?

Treasure Island

— City Commissioner District 1: Deborah Lynn Toth and Ashley Wagner.

— Charter Amendment 1: Proposed Charter Amendment of Treasure Island, Florida, Allowing Municipal Borrowing Through Resolution Instead of Ordinance — Shall Sections 3.09 and 3.10 of the City of Treasure Island, Florida’s Charter be amended to allow for municipal borrowing by the adoption of a resolution instead of requiring the adoption by ordinance, as set out and proposed by the City of Treasure Island in Ordinance No. 2022-20?

— Charter Amendment 2: Proposed Charter Amendment of Treasure Island, Florida, Revising Outdated Budget Language and Municipal Borrowing Restrictions — Shall Section 4.10 of the City of Treasure Island, Florida’s Charter be amended to update requirements regarding the City’s budget to reflect current accounting standards and revise the provisions regarding municipal borrowing (to delete restrictions on borrowing by the City while retaining those restrictions required by the Florida Constitution), as set out and proposed by the City of Treasure Island in Ordinance 2022-21?