Taxes, growth figure in Treasure Island race

A huge tax increase in 1998 and a new building plan become issues in this year's race.

By KATHY SAUNDERS

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 27, 2000

TREASURE ISLAND -- It's time for residents to decide if they like the direction the city is taking with beautification, future development and the causeway bridge.

Three of the five commission members who set policy for the island -- Mayor Leon Atkinson, Allan Sansotta and Butch Ellsworth -- are seeking re-election March 7.

Mayor's race

Atkinson, who in 1997 became the city's first new mayor in 20 years, wants to keep the job. Atkinson vacated his District 4 commission seat to run for mayor when longtime Mayor Walter Stubbs suffered heart problems and withdrew from the race.

Atkinson, a 68-year-old retired businessman who lived on Treasure Island before any of the neighborhoods were developed, is campaigning on his leadership style. He points to a list of new projects approved by the commission in the past three years, including helping the city obtain a $1.2-million grant for a planned park at the entrance to Sunset Beach.

"I'm giving credit to the team," Atkinson told residents at a recent citywide debate. "We just need to keep this kind of thing going."

Commissioner Sansotta, who replaced Atkinson in District 4 when he became mayor, says the progress is too slow. Sansotta now wants to be mayor. "We have got to increase growth in the business community," said Sansotta, a money manager who has lived off and on Treasure Island since 1971. He wants the city to form a citizens financial committee to advise commissioners on future expenditures such as a $40-million replacement bridge.

Sansotta, 60, has devoted much of his time as District 4 commissioner to the issue of beach renourishment, chairing the city's newly created beach stewardship committee.

The third mayoral candidate, Alan Bildz, a 35-year-old plumber who has lived on Treasure Island for four years, offers himself as an alternative to the establishment.

"I'm not too proud of our government," he said. Bildz entered the race because of his opposition to increased city taxes and the commission's adoption of a master plan that includes building a new City Hall.

In 1998, commissioners unanimously approved a 46 percent increase in city property taxes. They also adopted a long-range plan to renovate or replace several city buildings.

"I think the biggest problem at City Hall is that they don't listen," Bildz said. "We need City Hall to stay where it is."

Candidates in the commission races have been less critical of each other.

The job

Treasure Island's mayor is elected citywide for a three-year term. The mayor, who leads the commission meetings and workshops, earns $7,800 a year

LEON ATKINSON, 68, is the retired owner and founder of Leon's Air Conditioning and Heating in Pinellas Park. He has lived on Treasure Island since 1941, when his family moved to John's Pass to operate a bait house and commercial fishing boat during World War II. He served in the U.S. Navy during the Korean War and graduated from the Milwaukee College of Engineering. He served two terms as commissioner for District 4 before being elected mayor in 1997. He has raised one daughter, two sons and has six grandchildren. He lives on Gulf Boulevard with his wife, Jeri.

Sources of income: City salary, Social Security, stocks, retirement account and investments.

Assets: Home on Treasure Island and weekend home in Istachatta in Hernando County. Liabilities: None.

ALAN P. BILDZ, 35, a plumber, has been a resident of Treasure Island since 1996. Bildz has been active in the Sunset Beach Civic Association and is a member of its board of directors. He also is a member of Treasure Island Voters Watch. This is the first time he has sought public office. He lives on Sunset Beach with his wife, Patricia.

Sources of income: Sunstar Plumbing Co. of Madeira Beach.

Assets: Home on Sunset Beach.

Liabilities: Mortgage.

ALLAN J. SANSOTTA, 60, is a money manager who owns his own investment advisory firm, Beacon Advisors Inc., across the street from Treasure Island City Hall. He was first elected in 1997 to finish the District 4 commission term vacated when Leon Atkinson ran for mayor. In 1998, he began his first two-year term as a commissioner when no one filed to oppose his candidacy. Sansotta is a resident of Sunset Beach and has owned property on Treasure Island since 1971. He has a bachelor's degree in business administration from Ohio State University. Sansotta is divorced and has four children.

Sources of income: Beacon Advisors Inc., sale of his interest in 1,000 acres in North Carolina, stocks and bonds, and rental income from property in Waterford, Mich.

Assets: Four properties in Treasure Island, part ownership of 20 acres in Brooksville.

Liabilities: None

District 2

Incumbent Butch Ellsworth, 53, and lawyer John D. Hadsall, 48, are vying for the commission seat that represents the Isle of Palms and a portion of the commercial district along Gulf Boulevard.

Ellsworth defends the increase in city property taxes and also is campaigning on the commission's achievements in the past two years. Those accomplishments, he said, include construction of a new beach center on the site of the former Bedrox bar on Sunset Beach, beautification of the city's downtown entranceway and the Police Department parking lot, as well as the creation of beach parking passes for city residents.

Hadsall is not accepting campaign contributions or posting signs to promote his candidacy. He is going door-to-door to offer residents his views about the need for lower taxes and curbed spending. He wants city residents to receive free passes to cross the causeway bridge.

Both District 2 candidates have pasts that they are not proud of. As younger men, both were convicted of drunken driving.

Ellsworth was convicted of drunken driving in 1976 and 1979 by St. Petersburg police and also pleaded guilty to drunken driving in 1988 after being arrested by Treasure Island police. He did not serve jail time for any of the offenses.

"It was before I became married, before I settled down and before I got involved in civic and political affairs," said Ellsworth, who manages the John's Pass marina.

Hadsall was arrested for drunken driving in Iowa in 1986. He also received a fine and was sentenced to community service. Both he and Ellsworth lost their licenses for six months.

"I'm ashamed of it," said Hadsall, who said he does not drink today. "If I was perfect, I would be running for the popedom."

The job

The city commissioner for District 2 represents the Isle of Palms and a portion of the adjacent commercial district along Gulf Boulevard. The winner will serve a two-year term and earn $5,400 a year.

IRVING S. "BUTCH" ELLSWORTH JR., 53, is the manager of John's Pass Marina. Ellsworth has lived in Treasure Island since 1953. He attended commission meetings for several years before stepping into the District 2 job in 1998 when no one filed to oppose him. He twice ran unsuccessfully for commissioner in 1994 and 1996 and once as mayor in 1989. He has been involved in numerous island organizations and served as vice president of the former Treasure Island Chamber of Commerce and as former director of the Gulf Beaches of Tampa Bay Chamber of Commerce. He is a U.S. Army veteran and served in Vietnam. He lives with his wife, Cheryl.

Sources of income: John's Pass Marina Inc., Gators on the Pass, which owns the marina property, and stocks and bonds. He also owns the liquor license for Caddy's Waterfront restaurant on Treasure Island.

Assets: His home and three rental properties in St. Petersburg.

Liabilities: None.

JOHN D. HADSALL, 48, is a lawyer. He has worked for the federal government doing background checks on potential employees and for local and state agencies charged with protecting the rights of abused and neglected children. A graduate of Iowa State University and the University of Iowa College of Law, Hadsall has served as a volunteer attorney for low-income clients in Pinellas County and as a hearing officer for the Pinellas County Housing Authority. He is a U.S. Army veteran. He worked in private practice in Pensacola, Fort Myers and Sarasota and also for a criminal defense firm in Miami. This is Hadsall's first bid for political office. In his campaign for District 2 commissioner, he has not accepted financial contributions or posted signs. He moved to Treasure Island seven years ago and lives with his wife, Dinah Burnett.

Sources of income: Law practice, a military pension and rental property on Treasure Island.

Assets: A duplex on the Isle of Palms where he lives and works.

Liabilities: Mortgage.

District 4

This race would be uneventful if not for the colorful candidacy of Donald V. Callahan.

The 71-year-old retired philosophy instructor is against increased taxes and widespread new development on Treasure Island. His campaign is based on preserving the past and protecting natural resources such as drinking water. He wants the city to close off the downtown corridor to create a pedestrian mall and to develop ways to convert rainwater into drinking water.

Callahan is widely known for his conviction for a 1981 letter in which he threatened to assassinate President Ronald Reagan. Callahan said he never intended to kill the president and that the letter he sent to the head of the Secret Service was a form of protest.

Callahan, an opponent of the Vietnam War, said he was politicized by the Air Force pilots whom he taught through the University of Tampa's off-campus college program at MacDill Air Force Base from 1963 to 1969.

"From 1969 to 1980 I traveled throughout Latin America, South America and Cuba," Callahan said. "I became an enemy of U.S. militarism and imperialism. I have always advocated opposing Communism economically, politically and philosophically and not militarily."

Callahan also was arrested on Treasure Island for protesting against loud neighbors. He said he paid a fine after pleading no contest to disorderly conduct for screaming and yelling. Callahan said he was frustrated with a lack of response from the local police to his complaints about noise ordinance violations.

Callahan ran unsuccessfully for Treasure Island mayor and commissioner in the past and for the U.S. House of Representatives.

His opponent in District 4 is longtime Sunset Beach resident Barbara Blush. The 52-year-old registered nurse and housewife has volunteered for numerous island organizations, including the Treasure Islettes and the Sunset Beach Civic Association. She is chairman of the city's beautification committee and a proponent of improved landscaping for the city. She has pledged to help Sunset Beach residents improve drainage and parking problems on their streets.

The commission districts were realigned last year to include a portion of the Gulf Boulevard commercial development in each voting area. In the past, District 4 included all of the beaches and the commercial development.

Residents also will be making decisions March 7 on eight proposed changes to the city charter. The most significant proposal could affect the future of the Treasure Island Police Department.

A charter review committee recommended, and city commissioners endorsed, a proposal to make it harder to abolish the department by requiring a vote by all five commissioners or a public referendum to do so. Today, commissioners could disband the department by a simple majority vote.

The job

The city commissioner for District 4 represents Sunset and Sunshine beaches and the residents living along the east side of Gulf Boulevard north to 108th Avenue. Commissioners serve two-year terms and earn $5,400 a year.

BARBARA A. BLUSH, 52, is a registered nurse and mother of three children. She has been a resident of Treasure Island for 25 years and lives with her husband, William, on Sunset Beach. She is chairman of the city's beautification committee and active in the Sunset Beach Civic Association and the Treasure Islettes. She was a charter member of the Treasure Island Historical Society, a member of the city's Community Emergency Response Team and a board member of Keep Pinellas Cities Beautiful. This is the first time she has sought elective office.

Sources of income: Her husband's salary from Professional Communications Systems in Tampa, a division of Media General that designs television stations.

Assets: Home on Sunset Beach and property in Citrus County, stocks and bonds.

Liabilities: None.

DONALD V. CALLAHAN, 71, has lived in Treasure Island for 29 years, since retiring as a college philosophy professor. He is an entrepreneur who has spent the past 10 years promoting a solar-triggered air compressor. He has run unsuccessfully for mayor and commissioner of Treasure Island and as a write-in candidate for the U.S. House of Representatives. He has never married.

Sources of income: Social Security.

Assets: Home on Sunset Beach.

Liabilities: None.

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