Print

Email story

Comment

Email editor

Candidate thinks council seat fits her fine

Saying she could see no choice but to run, Maria Scruggs-Weston will make her third try for local office.

By CARRIE JOHNSON
Published August 18, 2005

ST. PETERSBURG - Maria Scruggs-Weston is no stranger to campaigning.

She jumped into the local political arena in 2001 by running for mayor of St. Petersburg. After she was defeated, Scruggs-Weston set her sights on the Pinellas County Commission in 2004. But she failed to upset incumbent Bob Stewart.

Now Scruggs-Weston, 47, thinks she's finally found the correct fit: the District 6 City Council seat.

The decision to run again wasn't easy, she said. There have been deaths in her family recently, and she's still unemployed after she resigned from her job as community partnership coordinator for St. Anthony's Healthcare to campaign for the County Commission full time.

"You have to put your woes aside when you look at the woes of the people of District 6," Scruggs-Weston said. "I felt I didn't have a choice but to pursue this race."

District 6 includes parts of downtown, Midtown, Coquina Key and the Lake Maggiore area.

The seat is held by Earnest Williams. Scruggs-Weston joins three other challengers in the crowded race: Dwight "Chimurenga" Waller, president of the International People's Democratic Uhuru Movement; Darden Rice, a community organizer for the Sierra Club; and Cassandra Jackson, a former board member for the Pinellas County Housing Authority.

Scruggs-Weston said she would work to bring more jobs to the Midtown area as a council member. She also would focus on reducing the crime rate and closing the achievement gap in education for young black students.

While at St. Anthony's, Scruggs-Weston developed the Sistahs for Breast Health program, which trained black women how to perform self exams for breast cancer.

She was fired by the Florida Department of Law Enforcement in 1986 for charging personal calls to her department-issued credit card, claiming she was working while at a hairstyling shop and being negligent in an investigation.

The St. Petersburg Housing Authority dismissed her in 2000 for failing to perform her job. Scruggs-Weston sued in federal court, alleging racial and gender discrimination. The lawsuit was later settled.

Council members serve a four-year term and receive an annual salary of $24,758. A primary election will be Sept. 27 and the general election will be Nov. 8.

Carrie Johnson can be reached at 727 892-2273 or cjohnson@sptimes.com

[Last modified August 18, 2005, 01:04:14]