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One week before the deadline to qualify by petition, only one of the four commissioners running for re-election is expected to face opposition.
By LISA GREENE, Times Staff Writer
© St. Petersburg Times, published June 23, 2002
County Commissioner Susan Latvala is making plans for a string of campaign events, one in each city in her district.
But so far, those plans are only in pencil.
Because a sedate election season could become even quieter. Latvala, one of four county commissioners running for re-election in the fall, could find herself with no opposition. So far, Commission Chairman Barbara Sheen Todd and Commissioner Calvin Harris also have no challengers.
Latvala's only announced opponent, John L. Skolte, said Friday that he is unlikely to run.
With just a week before the deadline for candidates to qualify by petition, only one incumbent commissioner, John Morroni, has a declared opponent who says he's definitely running.
"It's quiet. It's amazing," Morroni said. "But I think people know it's not an easy race and not an easy position."
Todd and Harris hold countywide seats that are expensive to campaign for, making it harder for last-minute candidates to jump into the race.
Both have held some campaign events anyway. Todd held a campaign kick-off party a few weeks ago at Sheraton Sand Key Resort. Harris planned to have a baseball fundraiser at the Clearwater Phillies game Saturday and a picnic today. (Harris is selling $10 tickets to the fundraiser, with $8 of each ticket going to the Phillies. The Phillies aren't underwriting the event or contributing to his campaign, he said.)
Harris said that for now, he's not looking at whom his opposition might be.
"I'm just campaigning hard and trying to raise enough money to tell my story," he said.
Candidates have two ways to get on the ballot in the commission races. They can get 1 percent of the district's voters to sign a petition card before July 1 or pay a $4,500 filing fee by July 26.
That's where real estate broker Skolte, a Democrat running against Republican Latvala for the District 4 seat in North Pinellas, has run into trouble.
Skolte planned to file with petition cards and needs more than 1,500 signatures. But he said Friday that he has gathered only a few hundred because he was ill. And he can't afford the filing fee. He plans to ask local Democratic leaders for help, but he's not hopeful.
Florida's election laws place too many obstacles for unknown candidates to get on the ballot, Skolte said.
"It's a stumbling block," he said. "They've made it a gantlet."
Meanwhile, Latvala has raised more than $35,000 after holding a fundraiser at a Feather Sound restaurant last month. She plans more events in the fall -- if she has a challenger.
Latvala said she has mixed feelings about running unopposed. It's certainly easier, but she likes putting the issues in front of voters.
"Campaigning can be a good thing if you get out and debate the issues," she said. "It's good for the candidate, and it's good for the public."
Farther south, Republican Morroni and his challenger, retired doctor Dave Buby, a Democrat, are both knocking on doors in District 6, which winds from north St. Petersburg through Seminole and on to the south beaches. Buby also has been attending commission workshops and other meetings.
Buby plans to file by petition, but said Friday that he has around 1,200 signatures. If he doesn't get enough, he'll pay the filing fee, he said.
Buby said so few candidates are running because people just don't pay enough attention to politics. One woman asked him why she should sign a petition for him when she didn't know anything about him.
"I asked her who her commissioner was, and she didn't know," he said.
The woman wound up signing a card, Buby said. "Somehow we have to change the attitudes of how people feel (about politics) and how they think of the county."
-- Lisa Greene can be reached at 445-4162 or Greene@sptimes.com.