On Monday, community activist Corey Givens filed to run for St. Petersburg City Council in District 6.
Currently represented by Councilman Karl Nurse, who is term limited, the district encompasses most of downtown St. Petersburg and southeast portions of the city.
Givens was joined by family and close friends at City Hall to file his paperwork.
“My friends, family, and members of my church have encouraged me to continue my service on City Council,” Givens said. “We face challenges as a city, but I know when we work together we’ll solve them together. That’s what I’ve been doing in my community and that’s what I’ll continue to do on City Council.”
Givens is active in numerous community groups and organizations including the City Beautiful Commission, the Police Athletic League, Lakewood Elementary where he serves on the PTA and as a mentor, the St. Petersburg NAACP, the Citizens Advisory Council, the Lakewood Terrace Neighborhood Association, and his church.
“My family taught me about service to community and giving back,” Givens said of his community involvement. “Those values are reinforced every day by my faith and my church.”
This is Givens second run for office. In 2012, he ran for Pinellas County School board on a platform of preparing South St. Petersburg’s youth for the jobs of the future. That campaign was marred when it was revealed the Givens embellished his education.
“It was a stupid and misguided mistake and one I regret still,” Givens said of the incident. “But I learned from it and it drove me to get even more involved in my community. Everyone makes mistakes, but it’s how you rebound from those mistakes that defines you as a leader. I apologized to those who put their faith in me and I’ve worked hard to successfully rebuild that trust with my supporters and the community.”
Givens is a St. Petersburg native. If elected, he would be the youngest Councilmember in St. Petersburg’s history.
