Rivals offering same message, different styles
The two candidates for Seat 1 on the Safety Harbor City Commission are running vigorous campaigns.
By MEGAN SCOTT
Published February 21, 2005
SAFETY HARBOR - One candidate wears her college sweat shirt. The other wears his business suit.
But the speech they give when residents open the door is pretty much the same.
My name is so and so. I'm running for City Commission. I just wanted to leave you some information. My number is at the bottom.
Commissioner Debbie White and challenger Andy Steingold have three weeks to convince voters that one of them should be elected to Seat 1 on the Safety Harbor commission, finishing the term of former Commissioner Neil Brickfield, who resigned to run for a County Commission seat. Fran Barnhisel is filling the seat in the interim.It is the only race in Safety Harbor. Incumbent Mayor Pam Corbino and political newcomer Kara Bauer were automatically elected when no else filed to ru n against them.
Election Day is March 8. Besides the race, there are five charter amendments on the ballot.
Even though Steingold and White are running for a one-year term, they are doing some hard campaigning, going door to door and standing on street corners waving signs.
White, who since January has raised $9,300 and received another $600 in in-kind donations, has some heavy backers, including Olympia Development Group, which gave her $500, and Clearwater attorney Ed Armstrong, who contributed $200. Pinellas County Commission Chairman John Morroni gave her $50.
She also received financial support from Mayor Pam Corbino, and Cyndi O'Donnell, president of the Safety Harbor Chamber. She has spent about $4,000.
"I have so many contacts," White said. "That's probably one of my biggest strengths. I have been around so long. I am very good at relationship building."
Steingold is running on the platform that he is the independent voice - a slight jab at his opponent and her connections. Steingold, whose financial disclosure report had been mailed but not received as of Friday by the city clerk, said he has raised about $6,000, most of it money he loaned himself.
He has the support of former Commissioner Neil Brickfield, former Mayor and Commissioner Claude Rigsby and the Safety Harbor firefighters.
"I'm offering the vote of change in the status quo," Steingold said. "I have been shocked by how many people want to meet me. I had no idea the number of people who want to break up that good old boy system down there."
Both candidates have impressive resumes.
Steingold, 44, who has lived in Safety Harbor for five years, is a partner with a Tampa law firm, where he represents the elderly in nursing home abuse cases. He has served on the board of directors for the Safety Harbor Museum of Regional History and the Huntington Trails Home Owner Association.
He was a candidate for the Florida State House and Hillsborough County Court judge in the early 1990s.
This campaign, he said, is more intense, primarily because he is married and has three small children.
"A municipal election comes down to getting the people to meet the candidates," he said. "The best way is really to get out door to door. I think when they can see you, that endears some trust."
White, who has lived in Safety Harbor for 20 years, has served as president of the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce and vice president of governmental affairs and economic development for the Clearwater Regional Chamber of Commerce. She has lived off personal investments since 1999.
She is on the board of directors for several organizations, including Big Brothers Big Sisters of Pinellas, Morton Plant Mease Foundation and the PAC Foundation.
One of 18 applicants, she was appointed to the commission in August, when Robin Borland resigned. She promised she would not run for the seat, leading some people to believe that she lied.
"I felt I had an option because there were two seats open," she said. "I said, "I'm not running for that seat,' and I am not running for that seat. Honestly, I didn't know if I wanted to do it."
On the issues, the candidates seem to agree. Steingold thinks the financially strapped Safety Harbor Museum should move to the library. The airplanes taking off and landing at the St. Petersburg Clearwater International Airport wake him up occasionally and he would like to see the commission work directly with the FAA to alleviate the problem. He also says traffic is getting worse.
He is concerned about Harbor Pointe, the development going up on the corner of Main Street and Bayshore Boulevard because "it is going to change the atmosphere of downtown."
"I'm not opposed to new businesses coming to downtown," he said. "What I am opposed to is a Wal-Mart, a Publix. We don't need another Clearwater Beach. The biggest fear I hear is that we don't want our Bayshore lined with condos."
White, 50, wants to help recruit more businesses to Safety Harbor, particularly a replacement for Galleria 509, which has been vacant for more than a year. She wants to improve the entrance on Main Street from McMullen Booth Road.
She said that while she isn't personally bothered by airplane noise, she agrees that the commission should work with the FAA to address the issue. She also wants to work to develop affordable housing and address stormwater runoff.
She said Corbino has been a friend since 1992, and although she is closely connected to the local political scene, she is an independent thinker.
--Megan Scott can be reached at 445-4167 or mscott@sptimes.com