Voters along the beaches of Pinellas County will elect a new representative to the Florida House in November following a redrawing of political maps that consolidates portions of three districts into one.
The race pits South Pasadena Mayor Kathleen Peters, a Republican, against Democrat Josh Shulman, a financial consultant.
So far, Peters has focused her campaign on her experience as a councilwoman and mayor. Shulman, who has not held public office, is touting the need for change in the Republican-controlled Legislature. It’s the first time either candidate has run for the state Legislature.
The newly drawn District 69 seat consolidates portions of three former House districts – 51, 53, and 54.
Former legislators from the area say the region’s politics run moderate to progressive, but there are pockets of conservatives, too.
“It’s really a mix,” said former state Sen. Charlie Justice, a Democrat who is now running for the Pinellas County Commission.
“It’s a region that tends to vote for the candidate and is not so wound up along party lines,” added former Sen. Dennis Jones, R-Seminole.
Peters has targeted education as a major focus, vowing to push for significant improvements in career and vocational education in the state’s K-12 public schools.
Peters moved to the region in 1985 to start a business. She later graduated from Eckerd College in St. Petersburg and is now the vice president of communication for the Clearwater Area Chamber of Commerce.
Her political resume includes a two year stint on the City of South Pasadena’s Planning and Zoning Board. She was elected to that city’s Commission in 2008 for a three-year term. In June 2009, she was elected by the commission to serve the remainder of the retiring mayor’s term and was re-elected in March 2010 for another three-year term.
Shulman is a University of Pittsburg graduate and came to Pinellas County after graduating in 1998. He began working for Raymond James as an associate financial advisor. After a five-year stint at Bank of America Investment Services, he moved to Wells Fargo in 2005.
In 2006, he received his MBA from the University of Florida.
Shulman ran unsuccessfully for the St. Petersburg City Council, running third in a three-way primary. He took 581 votes, or 20.3 percent.
Area voters used to be represented by one of three House members. Republicans Larry Ahern (HD 51) and Jim Frishe, (HD 54) and Democrat Rick Kriseman (HD 53) The district runs north from Fort Desoto along the beaches to Redington Shores. It moves inland to encompass Gulfport, portions of North Kenwood and Kenneth to the north.
The new district itself leans Democratic. In 2008 President Barack Obama would have defeated GOP candidate John McCain by a 10 point margin in the area now encompassed by the district. Two years later, Democrat Alex Sink would have beaten Gov. Rick Scott here by a 9.3 percentage point margin.
Though registered Democrats outnumber Republicans by a margin of 38.8 percent to 35.5 percent, more than one in four voters in the district is not affiliated with either party,
Peters is trying to appeal to independents by touting practical considerations.
“This is about having a track record,” she said during a recent voter forum in Gulfport. “This is about having experience with local issues.”
A self-described “squeaky wheel” Peters says schools need to return to teaching career skills and providing vocational courses to a large segment of students who are not college bound.
Budget cuts and a march away from such practical skills training in middle school and high school have produced a generation of kids who have few marketable skills when they graduate from high school, she contends.
Shulman has pounded away at the need for change in Tallahassee saying the Republican-led Legislature has failed to address the needs of middle class Floridians like himself and his Holiday Park neighbors.
“Right now, the agenda in Tallahassee is too one-sided,” Shulman said “That’s not good, no matter who’s in control.”
He points to his experience as a financial planner, where he has met with families going through the recent economic maelstrom, an experience he says has given him the empathy necessary to represent the district. He said he would push to keep Florida’s Bright Future Scholarships – under scrutiny as possibly too generous in tight budget times – intact.
“I’ve sat across the table from these people and heard their stories,” Shulman said. “That gives me a unique perspective on what their needs are.”
Faun Young, a Gulfport resident, said the city will be better off with one legislator, instead of three.
“We are finally going to have one voice to speak for the Gulfport area,” said Young, who is planning to vote for Shulman. “For a long time, we’ve been divided up, fractured and the new district will change that.”
Material from the News Service of Florida was used in this post.
