TALLAHASSEE - A special election was called by Gov. Jeb Bush on Wednesday to fill the House seat left vacant when John Carassas, R-Belleair, resigned to head Attorney General Charlie Crist's Tampa office.
Carassas resigned in late June.
Bush said the special primary election for House District 54 would be held Sept. 9, with a special general election to be held Oct. 7.
The district runs from Clearwater Beach to St. Pete Beach along the Pinellas County coastline.
Carassas, a former city attorney in Clearwater, was first elected to the House in 2000.
Carassas was most notable in the Legislature as a supporter of the state's open records laws, voting against nearly every attempt to close off records to public inspection.
