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When Seminole voters select three City Council members today, there won't be any ballots cast at City Hall.
By MAUREEN BYRNE
© St. Petersburg Times, published March 6, 2001
SEMINOLE -- Today is election day in Seminole. But don't head to City Hall to cast your vote.
Normally, all residents would vote at the community room at City Hall. But construction at City Hall Park and the additional voters that recent annexations brought into Seminole forced the city to open three new polling places.
They are Seminole Community Library, Seminole United Methodist Church and Starkey Road Baptist Church.
City Clerk Lynne Keane said the large annexations in June and January increased the number of precincts in the city from 13 to 19.
A lack of controversial issues may cause a low turnout from the city's 10,052 registered voters, she said.
"But I hope they do get out," she said.
The recent presidential election showed how every vote counts, Keane said. So did the 1999 mayoral race in Seminole, in which Mayor Dottie Reeder held onto her seat by only 65 votes.
Twelve percent of Seminole's registered voters went to the polls in 1999, up from 10 percent in 1998.
Today, voters will choose three City Council members from among four candidates: three incumbents and a newcomer. Each council member will serve a two-year term. The council has seven members.
The candidates are Pete Bengston, Patricia Hartstein, Leo Mutchler and Paul Trexler.
Bengston, 66, was appointed to the council in October to fill the term of Penny Rasmussen, who resigned to take a job in North Carolina. He is retired and assists his wife, Fay, owner of Seminole Florist. He lives at 8613 Seminole Blvd.
Hartstein, 53, has served on the council since 1995. She is a dropout prevention specialist for Pinellas County Schools. She lives at 11189 Valencia Ave.
Mutchler, 62, is seeking his first term on the council. He owned and operated an insurance agency for 27 years in Racine, Wis., before retiring to Seminole in 1998. He and his wife, Jane, live at 11201 80th Ave. N.
Trexler, 54, is seeking his fifth term on the council. He is a machinist with Precision Manufacturing in Clearwater. He and his wife, Sue, live at 11085 Duncan St.
Polls are open 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. today at the following locations: Seminole Community Library, 9199 113th N, for precincts 310, 316, 317, 318, 324 and 325; Seminole United Methodist Church, 5400 Seminole Blvd., for precincts 301, 303, 305, 306 and 307; and Starkey Road Baptist Church, 8800 Starkey Road, for precincts 252, 254, 256, 258, 260, 266, 275 and 312.
- For information, call City Clerk Lynne Keane at 391-0204, ext. 102.