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Politics

Political comeback? Garvey wants to try

By MIKE DONILA, Times Staff Writer
Published October 10, 2007

CLEARWATER - Rita Garvey, whose 18-year political career ended after an arrest and conviction for drunken driving, says she's ready to return to city government.

Since losing her fifth bid for mayor in 1999, she volunteered for a number of state and local organizations and rebuilt her reputation. She even ran for Clearwater City Commission in 2001, although she was narrowly defeated.

Now Garvey, 62, is talking about another political comeback. And she has her eye on the office of Mayor Frank Hibbard, who has already announced his intention to seek another three-year term.

"Everyone I talked to, they say things aren't going the way they should with the beach, with the downtown," Garvey said. "They're just frustrated."

Garvey says she plans to commit herself to the Clearwater political arena again because "it appears no one else will." She has picked up the requisite candidate packet for the Jan. 29 election.

In addition to Garvey, Richard Goodson, 44, a former Georgia resident, last week declared his intention to challenge Hibbard for the mayor's seat. So Clearwater could have its first mayor's race since 1999. In 2004, Hibbard won automatically because he was the only candidate to qualify for the seat.

Mike Donila, Times staff writer

[Last modified October 10, 2007, 00:20:26]