Janelle Irwin Taylor
Brewery owner Mike Harting has narrowly secured victory in his race for St. Petersburg City Council in District 3.
Harting earned 50.38% of the vote over restaurateur Pete Boland. Fewer than 1,000 votes separated the two candidates.
The two were vying to replace Ed Montanari, who is leaving office due to term limits.
The race, though technically nonpartisan, ventured into party jockeying.
St. Petersburg City Council races are nonpartisan, but that doesn’t mean the job is free entirely from partisanship.
It’s no secret that Montanari is the board’s only Republican member. And while Montanari has served largely without rampant partisanship, there have been moments when the red shone through.
The partisanship, though an aspect that’s supposed to be void in these races, is actually important in the District 3 matchup to represent residents in parts of northeast St. Pete. The district is one of only two in the city with more active Republican voters than Democrats, and of those two (the other is in District 1, covering parts of west St. Pete), it’s the more conservative, with 9,059 active Republican voters compared to just 7,249 Democrats.
Boland is a registered Republican, while Harting is a political independent working with Republican strategists. Neither have run a particularly partisan campaign, but the evidence is there.
Both have endorsements from powerful Republicans or conservative groups. Boland, who owns and operates Mary Margaret’s Olde Irish Tavern in downtown St. Pete, has support from the Pinellas Republican Party and its Young Republicans chapter. Harting, meanwhile, has nods from former St. Pete Mayor Rick Baker, former Sen. Jeff Brandes and former St. Pete City Council member Robert Blackmon, all Republicans.
“Thank you to the voters of St. Petersburg for trusting me to serve as their next City Council Member,” Harting said. “Since we announced our campaign, our message to voters has been about preserving and creating opportunity for St. Petersburg’s future generations. That means attracting great paying jobs, fixing our infrastructure, and ensuring a full recovery from the devastating storms. I’m excited to get to work.”
Harting, who co-owns 3 Daughters Brewing, also boasts endorsements from Sen. Darryl Rouson and City Council member Gina Driscoll, both Democrats.
In a nod to the partisanship question — the General Election is held citywide where Democrats have a clear voter registration advantage — Boland’s campaign allegedly sent a survey to voters portraying Harting as a right-wing candidate, arguing he “is backed by Republican politicians and special interest groups” as well as “conservative figures and corporate donors.”
Harting fired back that he is a centrist who “sits in the middle.” He said he didn’t “want to be perceived as extreme in any direction.”
A Gainesville-based political committee, Education Defense Fund, recently sent a text message blast to St. Pete voters attacking Boland as “MAGA as they come,” warning voters not to let a “Trump Republican lead St. Pete.” The text then encouraged voters to “vote for a Blue Wave.”
That directly contradicts a survey Harting acknowledged his campaign sent dinging Boland for voting for Democrats in the past, including President Joe Biden, former U.S. Sen. Bill Nelson and Andrew Gillum. The survey also made mention of Boland’s “several run-ins with the law.” Boland has acknowledged an arrest record for drug possession when he was in his late teens and early 20s, but lamented that the survey made it seem like he was a career criminal by referencing some 30 “scrapes with the law.” Boland said the survey must have been including parking tickets.
In the end, it might have been fundraising that gave Harting the edge. He raised far more cash — more than $126,000 compared to Boland’s $69,000, as of Oct. 18.
The loss is likely a burn for Boland, who also ran unsuccessfully in 2021 for Mayor.
Overall, Harting and Boland offered voters a similar view of St. Pete’s future.
Both listed housing as a priority, with Harting emphasizing workforce housing by “streamlining permitting and reducing property taxes,” as well as focusing “on creative partnerships that ultimately reduce the cost of building.”
Both also list protecting waterways as a priority. Harting calls on prioritizing sewage improvements.
Public safety is also an area of similarity, with Harting emphasizing the need to ensure all first responders “have the tools they need to protect local families.”
Harting’s platform includes “supporting our city’s vulnerable communities” by establishing collaborative opportunities “to find working solutions to improve the lives of our less fortunate.”
He also has a plan for the city’s aging infrastructure, which includes improving water quality, sidewalks, traffic and safety, and flood mitigation.
