By Peter Roos
In St. Pete Beach, four commissioners resigned just before new year 2024 over a new financial reporting requirement – all except Mayor Adrian Petrila who had been elected in March 2023. A city charter provision calls for a special election to be held within 15 days if multiple seats open simultaneously. When the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections was not able to arrange a special election on such short notice, the resigning members spread out their departures over a nine-day period and four temporary members were appointed one at a time from a pool of applicants.
A lawsuit filed by a local activist group and residents had alleged that the city violated its own charter in filling seats vacated in a mass resignation last year. That suit was recently settled in favor of the city. Protect St. Pete Beach Advocacy Group, the organization that sued over the appointments, has also been a leading critic of expansion efforts by local beach resorts. City commissioners this year have approved permits for major expansions at two resorts – which Protect St. Pete Beach has challenged in court. That challenge, a separate action from the lawsuit resolved in mid-July, is framed around the allegation that the mostly appointed commission was illegitimate, along with several other complaints about the permitting process. Len Collins, another attorney for the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, said in a statement Friday that he disagreed with the judgment and will appeal it “to the extent necessary.”
Two of the appointed members, Karen Marriott, District 1, and Betty Rzewnicki, District 3, kept their seats after running unopposed in the city’s municipal elections in March. Joe Molholland also ran without opposition for the District 4 seat, when the appointed commissioner, Richard Lorenzen, did not run for election.
Nicholas “Nick” Filtz was appointed to the District 2 seat and wants to keep it, but is opposed by candidate Lisa Robinson.
A special election for the seat will take place Aug. 20. After this vote, the St. Pete Beach Commission will be a totally elected commission once more.
There are also two council seats in St. Petersburg up for grabs, District 3 and District 7. Of the five candidates for District 3 at least one is made for politics. Barry Rubin headed the Gulfport Chamber of Commerce for years before building the TI/MB Chamber into one of the top ones in the state. He knows the issues small businesses face and is a fair man with good sense. These commissioner elections are often very close, and your candidate needs your vote.
We also get to choose someone from our party to run for Senator and Representative and a non-partisan selection for circuit judges and for the Supervisor of Elections. Please vote Aug. 20. If you mail your ballot, be sure to sign it first.
