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Belleair Beach election

By SHEILA MULLANE ESTRADA
Published March 5, 2006

POLLING PLACE: Belleair Beach City Hall, 444 Causeway Blvd.

COUNCIL MEMBER

THE JOB

Council members serve a two-year, unpaid term and are elected citywide. Three open seats will be filled by the top vote-getters.

CANDIDATES

MARVIN D. BEHM

BACKGROUND: Behm, 60, is seeking re-election to the council. He has lived in Belleair Beach for the past five years, following his retirement from the Bell Labs Division of Lucent Technologies, where he was a plant systems specialist. Behm previously volunteered for the Fire Department medical response and hazmat teams. As a council member, he chaired the public safety committee and served on the building and public works committees. He is also a board member of the Suncoast League of Cities and the city's representative for the Gulf Boulevard Beautification Project and Undergrounding of Utilities group set up by Pinellas County. He is married and has two children.

ASSETS: Home at 2174 Louisa Drive, real estate, investments, savings.

LIABILITIES: Mortgage.

SOURCES OF INCOME: Pension, Social Security.

JEFF COULSON

BACKGROUND: Coulson, 40, is seeking re-election to the council, where he has served as chairman of the public works committee and as a member of the administrative and public safety committees. He is a corporate pilot. He is a graduate of Purdue University and has lived in Florida for 16 years and in Belleair Beach for seven years. He is married and has one son.

ASSETS: Home at 135 Aleta Drive, investments.

LIABILITIES: Mortgage.

SOURCES OF INCOME: CPN Corporation, investments.

RICHARD R. CROWL

BACKGROUND: Crowl, 58, is a retired corporate and securities law attorney with extensive experience dealing with regulatory agencies and legislative bodies at both the state and federal level. He received his law degree from William Mitchell College of Law, and subsequently served as general counsel to Reliastar Financial Corp., a Fortune 500 Financial Services company with $3.1-billion in revenue. Crowl has lived full time in Belleair Beach for more than a year and spent four years here as a seasonal resident. In Minnesota, he served as a director for the MacPhail Center for Music and the Viking Council Boy Scouts, was a Lawyers Network volunteer, a trustee for the Museum of American Art, and was vice chair of the Minneapolis United Way Campaign. He is a frequent volunteer for youth sailing at the Clearwater Yacht Club. He is married.

ASSETS: Home at 421 Belle Isle Ave., investments.

LIABILITIES: Mortgage.

SOURCES OF INCOME: Pension and investments.

DONNA DURANTE

BACKGROUND: Durante 52, is seeking re-election to the council where she chaired the administrative committee and served on the finance, personnel and transition committees. She is a partner at San Seair Real Estate in Clearwater and has lived in Belleair Beach for the past six years. She holds a bachelor's degree in history from Towson University. Durante is a member of the National Association of Realtors, the Pinellas Realtor Organization, and the National Organization for Women.

ASSETS: Home at 2230 Donato Drive, real estate.

LIABILITIES: None listed.

SOURCES OF INCOME: San Seair Real Estate, real estate sales.

MICHAEL E. KELLY

BACKGROUND: Kelly, 57, served as the city's mayor from 2001 to 2005. As a nonvoting mayor, he was responsible for administering city functions and business. He was president of the Barrier Islands Governmental Council from 2004 to 2005. He is president of Kelly Pools Inc., a state-certified commercial swimming pool contracting firm in Largo. Kelly is a graduate of Hobart College and has lived 12 years in Belleair Beach and 33 years in Florida. He is president of the United Pool & Spa Association, a statewide trade organization, and is a member of Ye Mystic Krewe of Neptune. He is married.

ASSETS: Home at 709 Harbor Drive, real estate, investments.

LIABILITIES: Mortgages.

SOURCES OF INCOME: Kelly Pools Inc.

MARY C. SCHOONOVER

BACKGROUND: Schoonover, 56, is a registered nurse and television producer. She regularly attends council meetings to videotape proceedings for the city's cable access channel. She has lived in Belleair Beach for 10 years. She is chairman of the Ad Hoc Cable TV Committee and was a member of the Belleair Beach Residents Group PAC. She was chairman of a school advisory council and co-chairman of the countywide task force for controlled choice, and chairman of the education committee for the St. Petersburg branch of the NAACP. She was closely involved in the startup of Coachman Fundamental Middle School. She is married and has one son.

ASSETS: Home at 624 Belle Isle Ave., investment real estate, investments.

LIABILITIES: None.

SOURCES OF INCOME: Investments.

[Last modified March 5, 2006, 00:53:19]