Peter Schorsch
St. Petersburg City Council candidate Torrie Jasuwan has landed endorsements from seven former City Council members as she seeks the District 5 seat currently held by Deborah Figgs-Sanders.
The endorsers, a bipartisan group, include Jaime Bennett, Jeff Danner, Bill Dudley, Kathleen Ford, Karl Nurse, Darden Rice and Larry Williams.
Both Bennett and Williams previously represented District 5, which includes parts of South St. Pete including Greater Pinellas Point.
“I am humbled by the support of these strong and dedicated leaders of our special and great city.” Jasuwan said. “I am energized by the support from so many different people and diverse groups throughout our city. This early support of esteemed community leaders and money lead will help us spread our message of unity, progress and fresh ideas for St. Petersburg.”
Jasuwan recently announced her campaign had raised more than $31,000 as of the end of October, exceeding her goal to raise $30,000 in 30 days.
A Pinellas County native, Jasuwan is a small-business owner and real estate broker with Luxe properties International. She’s also the founder of Babycycle Diaper Bank, a nonprofit that serves more than 250,000 families in need each year. She has been a vocal advocate at the state level for tax-free diapers, successfully working with Sen. Lauren Book and Rep. Anna Eskamani to eliminate the tax in Florida.
Jasuwan and a business partner, Jeanette Secor, also recently oversaw the remodeling and rebranding of Two Mermaids Resort in Treasure Island.
She and her family have also appeared several times, over two seasons, on the Bravo reality series “Below Deck.”
She has earned several honors, including the St. Petersburg Area Chamber of Commerce’s Iconic Woman of the Year Award for community service, the PEMHS Pacesetter award and the Pinellas Realtor Organization’s Good Neighbor award.
Her husband, Albert Jasuwan, owns JAS Engineering and Construction, a local home renovation and lifting company.
Jasuwan officially entered the race Oct. 5, according to filing documents with the St. Pete City Clerk’s Office.
Jasuwan is a registered Democrat, though her husband is a Republican, according to the most recent L2 voter data. Figgs-Sanders is also a Democrat.
Though City Council races are statutorily nonpartisan, political affiliation often creeps into debates, even if unspoken. District 5, which includes parts of South St. Pete including Maximo and Greater Pinellas Point, is heavily Democratic. As of August, Democrats in the district outnumber Republicans 13,128 voters to 5,067, with just under 5,500 no-party voters.
