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Oldsmar elected officials all line up behind Ed Hooper in Senate race

in The Bay and the 'Burg/Top Headlines by

Ed Hooper has now received the endorsement of every Oldsmar city elected official in his bid for Florida Senate.

Hooper, a retired fire Lieutenant who served on the Clearwater City Council before spending eight years in the Florida House, is seeking to replace term-limited Clearwater Sen. Jack Latvala in 2018.

Among those at the event in the Suegra Tequila Cantina restaurant in Oldsmar Town Center were Oldsmar Mayor Doug Bevis, Vice Mayor Dan Saracki, and Council Member Eric Seidel, each lending support to Hooper in the Senate District 16 race.

During his time in the House, Hooper helped secure funding for the City of Oldsmar to develop what city officials call a world-class BMX racing track.

“Ed has always been a great friend of the city of Oldsmar,” Bevis said. “When the city was looking to build an Olympic-style BMX track we spoke to everybody that we thought could help fund the project but it was Ed Hooper that secured the funding.”

The Oldsmar track hosts riders from all over the world, Bevis added, and that it included some training for the 2016 Summer Olympic Games.

“I look forward to working with Ed when he is in the Florida Senate,” Bevis said. “Imagine what he can do for our area when he is fighting for us in Tallahassee.”

Vice Mayor Saracki also said: “My wife Paula and I support Ed Hooper for the Florida Senate. He has proven to be able to get things done for our community and we need his decency and common sense in the State Capitol.”

Hooper hosted the event to speak with Oldsmar residents and talks about his plans if elected to the Senate.

“It will be an honor to serve the residents of Oldsmar,” he told the audience. “Your vision is my vision and that is to have a vibrant and prosperous Oldsmar to live and work.”

Councilman Seidel said, “Ed Hooper fought for us the citizens of Oldsmar even though he was not our representative because he believed in the vision we had for our city. I am excited to have him as our next State Senator.”

Hooper also has previous endorsements from Oldsmar Council Members Jerry Beverland and Gabby McGee. Other recent supporters include State Sens. Latvala, Jeff Brandes and Dana Young, Pinellas County Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, and Pasco County Sheriff Chris Nocco.

SD 16 includes northern Pinellas and southwestern Pasco counties.

Phil Ammann is a St. Petersburg-based journalist and blogger. With more than three decades of writing, editing and management experience, Phil produced material for both print and online, in addition to founding HRNewsDaily.com. His broad range includes covering news, local government and culture reviews for Patch.com, technical articles and profiles for BetterRVing Magazine and advice columns for a metaphysical website, among others. Phil has served as a contributor and production manager for SaintPetersBlog since 2013. He lives in St. Pete with his wife, visual artist Margaret Juul and can be reached at [email protected] and on Twitter @PhilAmmann.

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