Former St. Petersburg City Council Chair Bill Dudley is endorsing Justin Bean for the District 6 seat.
The former teacher, coach and two-term council member released a statement Friday calling Bean a “true civic leader.”
“He is knowledgeable, confident and extraordinarily involved in the community,” Dudley says. “His ability to identify a problem and willingness to immediately and directly work toward a solution, makes it extremely easy for me to endorse him in his race for City Council, District 6.”
Responding that he was “honored” to receive Dudley’s endorsement, Bean says he “will work very hard to live up to the confidence he has placed in me. I look forward to seeing St. Petersburg through a similar period of economic growth and prosperity, and creating a St. Petersburg that works for everyone.”
Bean, a St. Petersburg native, is Business Development and Sales Manager at Reusable Transport Packaging, a web based sales and marketing company headquartered in the city’s downtown. He also serves as chair of the Williams Park Partnership and SmartBurg. In 2016, Bean served as chair of SPYP in 2016, was appointed by the Mayor to the Pier Uplands Selection Committee, and currently serves on the City’s Complete Streets Committee. Previously, he was Economic Development and Arts chair for SPYP and continues to work as a mentor and serve as board chairman for SailFuture, a local nonprofit that helps keep at risk men from returning to the juvenile justice system.
Bean faces a crowded field in next month’s primary, which includes Robert Blackmon, Eritha “Akile” Cainion, Gina Driscoll, Corey Givens, Jr., Jim Jackson, Sharon Russ, James Scott and Maria Scruggs.
District 6 encompasses downtown, Old Southeast and a small part of Old Northeast from Ninth Avenue North to the south.
The primary is Aug. 29, and the general election is Nov. 7.