Tarpon's best hope on issues are incumbents
By TIMES EDITORIAL
Published March 4, 2007
The angst about Tarpon Springs' decision to allow a Wal-Mart Supercenter on the banks of the Anclote River still ripples through the community, but this election season, voters are mulling over other important issues.
How to boost tourism, for example. And concern that condos could one day overtake the Sponge Docks. Openness at City Hall. And how to maintain Tarpon's small-town ambience.
On March 13, voters will go to the polls to elect a mayor and a Seat 3 city commissioner. They also will vote on whether to extend the Penny for Pinellas 1 percent sales tax for 10 years.
Incumbent Beverley Billiris wants a second term as mayor. She is being challenged by Harry Andropoulos, who has not held elective office.
In the Seat 3 race, incumbent Peter Dalacos also has a political newcomer, David Bolton, for an opponent.
The Times has interviewed the candidates, researched their backgrounds and attended candidate forums. We make our recommendations here.
For mayor: Beverley Billiris
We have not always agreed with Beverley Billiris' decisions on the City Commission, but she certainly is a busy mayor.
She keeps office hours at City Hall and is visible throughout the city. She is a fixture at public and political events throughout Pinellas, serves on the Pinellas Planning Council and the Pinellas County Homeless Initiative Policy Task Force, sits on the board of directors of various organizations, and is extremely active with the Florida League of Cities.
Billiris, 58, also owns and operates some local businesses. Canadian by birth, she has lived in Tarpon 28 years.
Her opponent in this campaign is Harry Andropoulos, 51, her backyard neighbor. Andropoulos was born in Wisconsin and has lived in Tarpon Springs 21 years. He makes his living through real estate and as a contractor, building one or two custom homes per year.
Andropoulos said he is running for mayor because "I'll do a better job than she does." He says the town looks dirty and rundown, with shabby parks and neighborhoods that need help. He says residents "get the runaround" from city officials and the city staff has too much influence over the City Commission.
Among the city's needs, he said, are expanded library hours, more senior programs, a business plan to broaden the local economy, places where teenagers can hang out at night, more reclaimed water, a pet shelter, and an expanded sewer system. Yet Andropoulos said city taxes need to be cut. It is not clear how the city would finance all those initiatives with less money coming in.
Andropoulos is moderately well-informed and has the kind of personality that would rev up commission meetings, but we think Billiris would be a better representative.
Billiris is seeking assistance to maintain the Sponge Docks as a working port, but she suspects that in the future it will convert to mixed uses and marinas. She does not want wall-to-wall condos, though; in fact, the city is working on codes that would prevent such a thing.
Billiris supports the city initiative to build its own water system. She notes that the city has put more people on the sewer system in recent years and is building a new reclaimed water storage tank.
Regarding her vote in favor of the Wal-Mart, Billiris said the city's hands were tied by a problem with zoning, but that she worked to get concessions from Wal-Mart before approving the project.
The Times recommends a vote for Beverley Billiris for mayor.
For Seat 3: Peter Dalacos
Dalacos, 52, had a rocky first term, but some important successes, too.
As a commissioner, Dalacos is a loner. He doesn't want to join anyone's team. He doesn't care to do things the way they always have been done. And he doesn't assume that if it is quiet at City Hall, everything is a-okay.
"This is not a Kumbaya festival," he says.
Dalacos grew up in Tarpon. A graduate of Tulane University with a degree in biology, he helps his wife with her spa business and stays at home with their young daughter.
Dalacos devotes many hours to city business and is almost obsessive about research. For some on the City Commission and city staff, Dalacos is an irritant, but he has fans among residents who appreciate his efforts to uncover what might be hidden.
In fact, transparency of government is a major plank in Dalacos' campaign platform. "If you keep the public ignorant, then they don't know what's going on and they don't ask questions and everything flows smooth as silk," he said.
Dalacos doesn't care whether things flow smoothly. He just wants Tarpon Springs residents to be able to participate more significantly in their local government. He wants them and their questions welcomed at city meetings and in City Hall.
He wants the city's TV channel, which is a blank screen most of the time, to be chock full of information, city meeting replays and useful calendars.
Dalacos also wants the city to examine alternative energy sources for its planned water plant; expand city trolley service to Sunset Beach and Howard Park; put aside plans for a new City Hall and instead invest in expanding sewer and reclaimed water service to residents, and ensure that city land development codes protect Tarpon's unique character. Dalacos opposed the Wal-Mart project.
Dalacos' opponent is David Bolton, 38, a Tampa native who has lived in Tarpon Springs since childhood. Bolton was formerly youth minister at First United Methodist Church in Tarpon. He recently left that post to finish his college degree at Southeastern University. He also is a part-time ophthalmic assistant.
Bolton is gregarious and informed, but we are troubled by his history.
In 1989, Bolton was charged with grand theft and fraudulent use of a credit card. He pleaded no contest and got probation. In 1992, he violated probation by leaving the area without permission and had his probation extended. In 1994, Bolton filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection. Also, his driving record shows citations for driving with expired tags in 1996, 1998 and 2005.
When the Times asked Bolton about his 1989 arrest, he said a female friend stole a credit card from a home where she was house-sitting and used it for a shopping spree at the mall. He said he was arrested because he "went along with it."
Arrest reports and police tell a different story. They say Bolton stole the card, not the girl, that he forged the cardholder's signature, and that he purchased numerous items including an electric razor, a man's watch, sneakers and a Nintendo.
Holding public office is a public trust. It is certainly possible to live a productive and honest life after such an arrest, but Bolton should have revealed his criminal record himself, rather than waiting for this newspaper to uncover it, and should have been truthful about the circumstances.
That he wasn't calls into question his fitness for such an important job.
The Times recommends a vote for Peter Dalacos for Seat 3.
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Candidate responses: Candidates not recommended may submit a response for publication in the Times. Responses should be 300-350 words and may not attack opponents. The deadline for responses to be received is 5 p.m. Tuesday. They should be sent to Diane Steinle, St. Petersburg Times, 710 Court St., Clearwater FL 33756, or they may be faxed to her attention at 727 445-4119, or e-mailed to steinle@sptimes.com.