Raising several thousand dollars his June 24 campaign kick-off event, Rep. Ed Hooper raised $22,410 during the second quarter of 2013 for his bid for the District 2 seat on the County Commission. Hooper has raised $31,860 overall for his campaign.
Brian Aungst, Ed Droste, and Judy Mitchell are among several Pinellas powerbrokers who donated the maximum $500 to Hooper’s campaign.
Hooper, 65, currently represents District 67 in the Florida House but faces term limits preventing him from running for re-election.
In January, the former Clearwater city commissioner and retired firefighter announced that he would challenge Republican incumbent Norm Roche for the District 2 seat in Nov. 2014. Hooper says he made the decision after tea party conservative Roche voted in 2011 against adding fluoride to the Pinellas County water supply.
Hooper felt that the vote went against the wishes of most area residents.
“It’s not necessarily about what you like, or you don’t like. You’re there to represent the majority,” Hooper told the Tampa Bay Times.
