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CANDACE RONDEAUXIf elected again in November, Rep. Gus Bilirakis will be ousted by term limits in 2006. Three candidates already have eyes on the District 48 seat.
TARPON SPRINGS - City Commissioner Peter Nehr is thinking about moving onward and upward, but he's not leaving his City Commission post anytime soon.
Nehr, 51, said this week he's considering a run for the seat now held by state Rep. Gus Bilirakis, R-Palm Harbor, in 2006, when term limits will end Bilirakis' tenure in the Legislature.
"I've never hidden the fact that I was going to be looking for higher office," Nehr said. "Because the higher the office, the more people you can help."
If and when Nehr officially does enter the race, he'll be the third candidate in the contest. Former Clearwater City Commissioner Ed Hooper filed for a place on the 2006 ballot for state House District 48 in January. Palm Harbor Fire Commissioner Ken Peluso filed his papers last May. Like Nehr, both are registered Republicans and live in District 48, which includes parts of East Lake, Oldsmar, Palm Harbor, Clearwater and Pasco County.
"All three of them are good people," Bilirakis said.
Bilirakis was first elected to the Legislature in 1998, and the Palm Harbor Republican is so far unopposed in the runup to the 2004 election. If he is elected in November, it will be his last term as a state representative, due to term limits. But it won't be the last time he runs for office. Bilirakis announced earlier this year that he plans to run for the seat in Congress now held by his father, U.S. Rep. Mike Bilirakis, R-Tarpon Springs.
Bilirakis said he has worked closely with all three men on both local and presidential campaigns. He has not endorsed any of the candidates running for his seat in 2006 and said it's too early to tell how well they'll do at the polls.
"I'm not going to get in the middle of the race," Bilirakis said. "That's for the people to decide."
Re-elected in March, Nehr is scheduled to complete a three-year term on the City Commission in March 2007. That means Nehr would have to resign three months early if his 2006 run for the Legislature is successful. But the Sponge Docks business owner is confident his campaign for state office won't interfere with his City Commission job.
"Just because I'm exploring the possibility of being a (state) representative doesn't mean I'm going to shirk my responsibilities as a commissioner," Nehr said.
Whether Nehr decides to join the race for Bilirakis' empty seat in 2006 or not, the competition is sure to be heated.
With five years on Clearwater's City Commission and a previous run for state representative in 2000, Hooper, 56, could prove to be a formidable competitor.
But Hooper, co-owner of a government and land use consulting business, knows there's no such thing as a shoo-in in this race. He said he expects the list of candidates to get even longer before the year's end.
"I think there will be more" candidates, Hooper said. "The good thing though is people in District 48 will have good people to choose from."
Not surprisingly, Peluso agrees. Peluso, 47, volunteered on the boards of several local organizations before he was elected Palm Harbor fire commissioner in 2000.
Re-elected in 2002, the Palm Harbor chiropractor said his five years of service on the board of the Palm Harbor Community Services Agency is one of many things that qualifies him for the seat.
"I've been dealing with the county, the state and even the federal government on a number of issues in the community so I feel I'm ready," Peluso said.
For his part, Nehr says he'll rely on his experience as a two-term city commissioner in one of Pinellas County's largest towns to guide his run for higher office.
He's on friendly terms with both of his potential competitors and thinks they'll campaign hard for the seat. But Nehr said Hooper could prove to be an especially tough competitor.
"He's got a lot of savvy. He's got a lot of experience and a lot of contacts," Nehr said.
"But I'm a fighter."
- Candace Rondeaux can be reached at 727 771-4307 or rondeaux@sptimes.com