St. Pete City Council candidates for the District 7 seat being vacated by Wengay Newton took strides Monday night to set themselves apart from one another. As the only close City Council race on the ballot next month, Lisa Wheeler-Brown and Will Newton took subtle jabs at each other in an effort to further their chances at the polls.
During the debate hosted by the local League of Women Voters at City Hall, the most intense moment perhaps came during Newton’s closing statement in which he took the evening’s most obvious jab at this opponent.
“You need a council member who will pay attention to detail and that starts with accurately filing your campaign documents,” Newton said as the last candidate to offer a closing.
He was referring to reports that Wheeler-Brown had used campaign funding for dental work and then failed to report the expense accurately for more than six-months. What followed were a series of several amendments to previously filed campaign finance documents showing numerous reporting errors including omissions to in-kind contributions and a handful of other less minor mistakes.
Newton pointed out that the errors led to The Tampa Tribune rescinding its endorsement for Wheeler-Brown and instead endorsing him.
“When is the last time you’ve seen that happen?” Newton asked.
But while Newton didn’t hesitate to criticize the mistakes early in Wheeler-Brown’s campaign, she only made subtle references to a critique laid out in a third party mailer that hit voters’ mailboxes this week.
“When you’re on city council you have to build those relationships,” Wheeler-Brown said in reference to how City Council could juggle the responsibility of not only furthering implementation of the downtown waterfront master plan, but also striking a deal with the Tampa Bay Rays.
The latest anti-Will Newton mailer criticized the candidate for his stance on a previous deal brokered between St. Pete Mayor Rick Kriseman and the Tampa Bay Rays to allow the team to search for stadium sites outside the Tampa Bay area. The mailer compared incumbent Wengay Newton, who is and has been a staunch “no” vote on the issue, to his brother, Will Newton, who agreed that version of the deal wasn’t good enough for voters.
But Newton answered to those assessments of his preferred policy leanings as well as others that were levied against him.
“I haven’t even had a chance to vote,” he said in an attempt to dismantle his controversial stance on the Rays proposal. “I want to get to yes.”
Aside from the Rays issue and various negative claims thrown out at both candidates, the two are relatively difficult to differentiate as far as priorities for the city.
Both talked up ways the city could partner with the Pinellas County School system to improve five failing elementary schools.
Both touted education as a way to improve financial outcomes for youth and promote increased opportunities for high-wage jobs across the tech and arts sectors in St. Pete.
Both mentioned the failure of Greenlight Pinellas during a conversation about improving transportation options for residents and agreed public transportation in their district is lacking.
“I know people in my community that cannot work close to home. They have to work far from home, but because of our bus system they can’t get there,” Wheeler-Brown lamented.
“We’re going to have to examine all the options,” Newton said.
Even in the brief lightning round consisting of (mostly) one-word or yes or no responses, the two seemed to be on the same page – or at least in the same chapter. Both support a higher minimum wage. Both support St. Pete Pride and would walk in the parade. Wheeler-Brown did so this year.
Asked what their one weakness was, both gave the audience in City Hall a chuckle.
“My good looks,” Newton said.
Wheeler-Brown quickly quipped, “I don’t have one.”
Recent polling shows the race is too close to call with Wheeler-Brown only leading within the margin of error. At this point the two candidates are in a race to reach undecided voters.
If it becomes a funding battle, Newton may have the upper-hand. He’s raised only slightly more than Wheeler-Brown, but has far more cash on hand than her.
But a further breakdown of those numbers suggests Wheeler-Brown may be pulling in more local support. Much of Newton’s funding has come from large donations from outside groups, especially fire and police PACs. Wheeler-Brown has brought in more small donations from within the community.
As for endorsements, both have built a strong resume. Wheeler-Brown has the Tampa Bay Times at her back, but Newton has The Tampa Tribune.
Wheeler-Brown has support from two popular sitting City Council members, Darden Rice and Karl Nurse, but Newton has half the council plus an incoming council member.
Wheeler-Brown has the Stonewall Democrats, but Newton has the police and fire unions. All in all, the endorsement race is fairly close, but Newton has that edge.
Voters will likely have to wait until the last minute to see how this race is decided November 3 and the next several weeks are likely to be heated.
