Community activist Corey Givens is holding a campaign kickoff for his run for St. Petersburg City Council District 6.
Under the slogan “Embracing the Future; Respecting the Past,” the event will be Monday, Jan. 30 from 5 to 7 p.m. at The Hangar, 540 1st St. SE. in St. Petersburg.
“Corey is running to bring our communities together and continues his service to St. Petersburg,” says the invite.
Givens is seeking the seat now held by term-limited Karl Nurse, which represents much of downtown and southeast St. Petersburg. He submitted paperwork for the race Jan. 9, joined by family and friends.
“We face challenges as a city,” Givens said after filing. “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 has worked with several St. Petersburg-based organizations and community groups including City Beautiful Commission, the Police Athletic League, the St. Petersburg NAACP, the Citizens Advisory Council, the Lakewood Terrace Neighborhood Association, and on the PTA and as a mentor at Lakewood Elementary.
A St. Petersburg native, Givens ran for Pinellas County School board in 2012, vowing to prepare South St. Petersburg’s youth for the jobs of the future. The campaign suffered a setback when it was learned that Givens inflated his educational background.
“It was a stupid and misguided mistake and one I regret still,” Givens told FloridaPolitics.com. “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.”
If elected, Givens, 24, would become the youngest City councilmember in St. Petersburg history.
