Janelle Irwin Taylor
Former St. Petersburg City Council members Robert Blackmon and Kathleen Ford are endorsing Mike Harting for St. Pete City Council in District 3.
Harting is one of five candidates running for the seat being vacated by City Council member Ed Montanari, who is leaving office due to term limits. Montanari is right now the only registered Republican serving on the Council, though the seats are statutorily nonpartisan. Harting is registered without party affiliation, but Blackmon is a Republican, offering Harting some conservative bona fides.
“Sound financial stewardship for our citizens is the foremost concern for any City Council member. I am endorsing Mike Harting for City Council, District 3 due to his long track record of proven business leadership, from an executive at a Fortune 500 company to starting his own successful and growing business in South St. Pete, where he is creating jobs and balancing a budget,” Blackmon said.
He is referring there to Harting’s extensive experience working as a joint venture partner for Outback, a partner in Bella Brava in downtown St. Pete and, most recently, as co-owner of 3 Daughters Brewing.
“With so many big ticket expenses in our town, we need Mike Harting to bring the business mindset necessary to ensure we succeed,” Blackmon added.
Ford echoed that praise, arguing Harting “understands the challenges facing families and businesses” because he “guided his through these recent tough economic times.”
“Our City needs leaders like Mike who live and work here and are committed to making St. Petersburg a better place to live, work and play. Mike understands the importance of working together to make our City safer for our families while celebrating all that makes St. Petersburg special. I like Mike! Please vote for Mike Harting for District 3 City Council,” Ford said.
Harting, along with his wife and business partner, launched 3 Daughters in 2013 as a small, 1,600 square-foot tasting room. Today, it has grown into a massive operation with several tasting rooms, event and concert space and a much larger brewery footprint. The brewery serves more than 250,000 patrons annually.
The Hartings have opened another tasting room in Clearwater and have an airport location at St. Pete-Clearwater International Airport. And they’ve grown beyond beer, too, now serving and selling at every major retailer, amusement park, liquor store and most restaurants throughout Florida, everything from craft brews to canned cocktails, energy drinks and nonalcoholic beverages.
Harting wants to bring his business success to city government. His platform centers on fiscal responsibility while also reducing city taxes and fees to help with the ongoing affordability issues plaguing areas like St. Pete and beyond. He also wants to focus on working with employers to ensure residents have access to good-paying jobs and to streamline government regulations to attract new job creators. He is also running on a pledge to work toward improving the city’s aging infrastructure.
He called his latest endorsements “an honor” and praised both Ford and Blackmon as “incredible former City Council members.”
“Robert Blackmon and Kathleen Ford have both made a positive impact on our city through their common-sense decision-making and willingness to work with businesses, residents, and other leaders regardless of political affiliation. I look forward to building upon their hard work on the St. Pete City Council,” Harting said of the endorsements.
The latest nods build on a growing coalition of support, including an endorsement most recently from Sen. Darryl Rouson, a centrist Democrat.
He’s enjoying backing from those across the political spectrum. While the job is nonpartisan, meaning candidates’ political affiliations won’t appear on the ballot, the district favors the GOP, with 8,941 registered Republican voters to just 7,066 registered Democrats. Another nearly 6,000 voters are registered without party affiliation.
Other endorsers include St. Pete City Council member Gina Driscoll, also a moderate Democrat, and former Sen. Jeff Brandes, a libertarian-minded Republican.
Harting faces four opponents in the Aug. 20 Primary — Pete Boland, a Republican; progressive Nick Carey; Democrat Juan Lopez; and Barry Rubin, a Democrat running as a conservative. The top two vote-getters in the Primary will move onto the General Election.
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Editor’s note: A previous version of this story incorrectly named Pinellas County Commissioner Kathleen Peters as an endorser. Peters has not offered her endorsement and her name was inadvertently listed. Kathleen Ford, a former St. Pete City Council member, is the actual endorser. We regret the error.
