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Ginny Miller and Tom Finn win re-election, while Susan M. Clark replaces Jack Van Keuren.
By JENNIFER GOLDBLATT
© St. Petersburg Times, published April 11, 2001
NEW PORT RICHEY -- Voters re-elected incumbents Ginny Miller and Tom Finn to the New Port Richey City Council and added newcomer Susan M. Clark with the city's 11 precincts reporting final unofficial results released Tuesday night.
Miller, 42, is a native of the Chicago area and has lived in New Port Richey since 1994. She is a vocational preparation instructor at Marchman Technical Education Center. She was first elected to the council in 1998 to finish out a one-year term, re-elected in 1999 and named deputy mayor in 2000.
Finn, 45 and also an incumbent, is a native of New York and has lived in New Port Richey since 1991. He owns Neon Delights Inc., a commercial sign business he started 10 years ago. Finn was first elected to the council in 1999.
Clark, 51, is a native of New Hampshire, has lived in New Port Richey since November and lived in Pasco County since 1976. She works in real estate sales for Gary Blackwell Investments. She is married to former county Commissioner David H. "Hap" Clark.
Miller thanked everyone who helped her.
Said Finn: "I look forward to the opportunity to bring to fruition the things we started."
Clark said that she was shocked that she won, and was grateful to the citizens of New Port Richey.
"I'm very excited and I can't wait to get to work," she said.
Miller got 631 votes, Clark got 557 votes and Finn got 548 votes. Other candidates running were Robert Moore (415 votes), Jack Van Keuren (397 votes), John DiGiorgio (380 votes) Robby Poff (307 votes) and Bette Farmerie (259 votes).
Only 1,224 or 12.8 percent of the city's 9,560 voters turned out. In the past five years, an average of 12 percent of registered voters have cast their ballots.
Some city residents rallied against a proposed street assessment project. They launched protests at City Hall, and took issue with executive salaries and other capital improvement projects. Five candidates emerged to challenge council members Miller, Finn and Van Keuren for their seats.
Leaving the council is Van Keuren, 76, who was first elected to the council in 1998 to finish out a one-year term and re-elected in 1999.
At the polls Tuesday, some volunteer workers speculated that the street improvement issue had generated a higher turnout than in previous years.
"I'm surprised. I think it's (turnout) well over 10 percent," said Carol Sessler, a poll worker at Gulf High School. "I think it's because of the assessments." Roughly 15 people lined up at 6:45 a.m. Tuesday at the school to vote.
Even though John Demetriades doesn't live in the area proposed for improvement, the issue brought him out to cast his ballot.
"My taxes are going up and I don't see any improvement on what we're getting for our money," John said.
He was voting to keep such a project from happening to him in the future.
"If they can do it to those people, they can do it to us too," he added.
Council members serve for two years and make $3,600 each year. The elections were non-partisan. They will be sworn in next Tuesday.
- Staff writer Matthew Waite contributed to this report.