Pete Boland, Mike Harting head to St. Pete City Council runoff in November

The field of candidates to replace St. Petersburg City Council member Ed Montanari has narrowed to two, with Pete Boland and Mike Harting coming out on top in the five-person battle.

Boland earned 29% of the vote, while Harting earned 27%. They will head to a November runoff, leaving behind third-place finisher Nick Carey with 23%. Juan Lopez placed fourth with 16%, followed by Barry Rubin with 4%.

Montanari, who is not seeking re-election due to term limits, hasn’t weighed in on a preferred successor. But of note, Montanari is the only Republican serving on the City Council, though the seats are technically nonpartisan. It’s worth watching whether he offers an endorsement now that the race is headed to the General Election in November. 

District 3 is one of only two districts in the city with a voter registration advantage for Republicans (the other is District 1 in west St. Pete). Republicans in the northeast-based district outnumber Democrats 8,983 to 7,156, with another 5,650 voters registered with no party affiliation.

With a GOP advantage of more than 1,000 voters, it’s the most conservative district in the city. But the General Election will be conducted citywide, where Democrats have a huge advantage, with nearly 73,000 voters to just over 47,000 Republicans.

Top vote-getter Boland, who owns The Galley and Mary Margaret’s Old Irish Tavern, calls St. Pete his “forever home,” having been born and raised in the city and later becoming a local small-business owner.

Boland ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in 2021, losing in the Primary that year to then-City Council member Robert Blackmon and then-Pinellas County Commissioner Ken Welch. Welch went on to win the General Election, becoming the city’s first African American Mayor.

While Boland failed to make the runoff that year, he ran a serious campaign, raising more than $50,000 in just a few weeks.

Boland has bipartisan staffing to help him along the way, including Helmich Consulting, the firm founded by Republican Party of Florida Interim Executive Director Bill Helmich, and seasoned Democratic operative Reggie Cardozo as his lead consultant.

And he’s been raking in support. He received the coveted recommendation from the Tampa Bay Times. In its recommendation, the Times editorial board said it appreciated “his straight talk,” which they said “was a breath of fresh air” when he ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in 2021.

The recommendation also cited Boland’s “firm grasp” on strategies to “keep downtown thriving,” and touted his plans to increase zoning density, expand housing supply and drive prices down. Other notable highlights include nods to Boland’s campaign priorities to address flooding and reduce building costs by streamlining permitting processes.

In May, Boland rolled out more than 70 endorsements from local small businesses and new staff to fuel his pro-growth and innovation campaign.

He’s middle-of-the-pack in fundraising, with nearly $54,000 brought in as of Aug. 2, and about $14,000 still on hand.

In No. 2, Harting performed about the same as his fundraising, which was also in second place with more than $73,000 brought in as of Aug. 2 and a little less than $27,000 still on hand.

Co-owner of the popular St. Pete brewery 3 Daughters Brewing, 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.

3 Daughters Brewery is known throughout St. Pete not just for its tasty beverages and lively entertainment venues, but also as a charitable beacon. The company has worked with more than 150 local charity projects each year, including a line of kid’s beverages served with the “Men in the Making” program in Pinellas County School.

3 Daughters was also one of the first in the nation to utilize its production facility to make and distribute — for free — hand sanitizer during the early days of the COVID pandemic in 2020 when stores were struggling to keep commercial products on shelves.

Harting has been aggressively collecting endorsements. Most recently, he landed support from former St. Pete City Council members Robert Blackmon and Kathleen Ford. He also has support from Sen. Darryl Rouson and former Sen. Jeff Brandes, as well as City Council member Gina Driscoll, among others.