Northpinellas: Newcomers dominate the polls

CLEARWATER -- Voters elected a new generation of city leadership in Tuesday's election, bypassing longtime politicians Rita Garvey and Lee Regulski in favor of political newcomers who are more supportive of redevelopment than their opponents.

The closest race was between beach business owner and sports agent Hoyt Hamilton and Garvey, who has 18 years' experience as mayor or commissioner. Hamilton won with a slim 614-vote margin and 52.7 percent of the vote.

Whitney Gray, a former teacher who had been active in local civic groups including the Junior League of Clearwater-Dunedin, defeated former Commissioner Lee Regulski with 56.2 percent of the vote.

And in a four-way race, Bill Jonson, a retired accountant and highway beautification activist, snared 44.7 percent of the vote -- defeating banker Frank Hibbard, former School Board member Lucile Casey and North Greenwood rental property owner Jeralne Burt.

Some local political aficionados saw the results as creating a positive environment for new beach resorts and other kinds of redevelopment.

"On balance," said Clearwater attorney Ed Armstrong, the commission will be friendly to considering new projects. "I think it means there will be a very measured approach," he predicted.

Mayor Brian Aungst saw the election as a major turnaround from last summer, when residents rejected the city's sweeping proposal for downtown redevelopment.

"People are wanting forward progress -- not reckless abandon forward progress, but controlled progress," said Aungst, who was in between candidate parties when reached on his cellular phone Tuesday evening. "I'm pleased at the results overall."

The candidates watched results on C-VIEW Channel 15 at house parties and restaurants around Clearwater on Tuesday evening. Emotions at the gatherings coasted up and down as the running vote totals gave different people the lead in the Hamilton-Garvey and Gray-Regulski races. Jonson, by contrast, retained a steady lead from the start.

"It was a whole range of emotions that I've never been through," said Hamilton, 42, who gathered with friends and campaign supporters at his family's Palm Pavilion restaurant in Clearwater Beach. "We knew going into it it was going to be a fight right down to the end."

Hamilton was more supportive than Garvey of proposals to allow large new resorts to be created on the beach and to build a new spring training stadium. He had also attacked Garvey as lacking vision for the city.

"I'm obviously disappointed," said Garvey, 55. "I thought I was a better candidate. I know the issues. I was able to articulate concerns."

Hamilton will serve a one-year term in Seat 3, filling in the spot that was resigned last year by Ed Hooper. Then, Hamilton plans to run again for commission.

The other two winners will serve three-year terms.

The winner in Seat 4, Gray, had also been more supportive of redevelopment efforts than her opponent, Regulski, a retired engineer and a leader of Save the Bayfront, the group that helped defeat the referendum on a downtown redevelopment proposal last year.

In her campaign, Gray, 38, emphasized her roots dating to the pioneer McMullen family. She promised that she would move the city forward at a pace residents will be comfortable with.

"This being the first time that I've done this," Gray said from Young's Pit Bar-B-Q, where she enjoyed chicken wings and election results with a crowd of 75 supporters, "It feels really overwhelming.

"I felt like it was a very positive campaign. I'm just really glad that the voters of Clearwater validated that that's what they want. I'm just thrilled, stunned and amazed."

Regulski, 74, said that he was very disappointed in the results and the turnout Tuesday, which was a rainy, overcast day. If there had been better turnout, Regulski predicted he might have won. He watched the results come in with family at his home.

Turnout in Tuesday's election was slightly above average for a city election with no mayor's race, with about 19.5 percent of registered voters casting a ballot.

In the race for Seat 5, Jonson, 56, had played up his activist experience dating to a petition drive he led in 1985 to have the city work to remove billboard clutter from major roads.

That led to greater involvement in state and national highway beautification groups, a service on the city's Environmental Advisory Board and becoming a spokesman at times for the Coalition of Clearwater Homeowners Associations on various issues.

"I'm looking forward to going around tomorrow taking down all my election signs," Jonson said Tuesday, reached at home where about 45 friends and supporters were helping him celebrate in Countryside.

"I think a person with my background should take down their signs as a priority item. And then I'll have gobs of people to thank who have helped me. This is something you can't do by yourself."

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