Janelle Irwin Taylor
The six-person field of candidates vying for the St. Petersburg City Council District 7 seat is now down to two, with Wengay Newton and Corey Givens Jr. finishing Tuesday’s Primary in the top two spots.
The district covers parts of South St. Pete, including the Midtown community around 22nd Street South, Childs Park and other nearby neighborhoods.
Newton earned 35% of the vote, while Givens came in second, with 23%.
Treva Davis missed the runoff in third place with 18% of the vote, while Donald Bowens Jr. barely broke double digits. Dan Soronen pulled just 9% while Eritha Cainion had just 5%.
The open race attracted a lot of attention, as evidenced by the crowded field. They are running to replace City Council member John Muhammad, who was appointed to the post following the abrupt resignation of former Council member Lisa Wheeler-Bowman after it was revealed that she no longer lived in the district. Muhammad opted not to seek election to the seat.
Newton has been here before. He served two terms on the City Council, from 2008 until he reached term limits in early 2016. He was elected to the House in 2016, where he served until 2020, when he ran unsuccessfully for Pinellas County Commission. Newton also ran unsuccessfully for Mayor in 2021 and lost a bid for his old House district in 2022.
Now he’s attempting a comeback at City Hall.
Newton was among the top fundraisers in the race, adding nearly $23,000 as of Aug. 2. He’ll enter the General Election with a little more than half that left in the bank.
Newton, a registered Democrat, has often been criticized by members of his own political party for votes and alliances with the GOP. He has, in some of his races, enjoyed support from former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker, a prominent Pinellas County Republican, and has alliances with Chris and Jack Latvala, GOP political powerhouses locally. The Latvalas supported Newton when he ran against Rep. Michele Rayner in 2022.
Before entering politics, Newton worked for 18 years with the Xerox Corporation, where he reached the position of Senior Printing Systems Engineer.
Givens, meanwhile, didn’t raise a ton of money for his fight, at less than $8,000. And he only spent a little more than $5,000 as of Aug. 2 on his race.
But the Givens name is recognizable. He has served on numerous boards, including on the Poor People’s Campaign, the Junior League of St. Petersburg Community Advisory Council, the Sickle Cell Disease Foundation of St. Petersburg, the Council of Neighborhood Association, the Concerned Organization for the Quality of Education of Black Students, and more.
He also volunteers as a mentor for Big Brothers & Big Sisters and for the group 5000 Role Models. He is a past President of the Lakewood Terrace Neighborhood Association.
If Givens finds success this election cycle, he’ll end a losing streak. He lost a City Council race in 2007 after allegations that he inflated his academic achievements and after depositing a $500 campaign donation into his personal checking account, a move he said was made in error. He also lost a 2020 bid for Pinellas County School Board.
Now Givens is one step closer to redeeming those losses in November.
