Joanne ‘Cookie’ Kennedy Credit: Photo via Joanne ‘Cookie’ Kennedy
We love cookies, and like Largo High alum and former Indian Rocks Beach Mayor Joanne “Cookie” Kennedy for the District 1 seat. Her service on Pinellas tourism councils and land use bodies, plus experience as a small business owner and commitment to figuring out how to protect the barrier islands from hurricanes, makes her an easy pick over Chris Scherer, who started his own development group and was appointed to the Pinellas Early Learning Coalition by Gov. Ron DeSantis.

District 3 incumbent Charlie Justice is also an easy choice due to his more-or-less nonpartisan vibe in a race against an opponent who, according to the Tampa Bay Times, was forced to settle a complaint over unlicensed contracting work. And anyone who backed Tampa’s horrendous #BockTheBlub street mural should not be making decisions for constituents.

District 1
Chris Scherer (REP)
Joanne ‘Cookie’ Kennedy (DEM)

District 3
Vince Nowicki (REP)
Charlie Justice (DEM)

See all of CL’s ballot recommendations on our 2024 general election landing page.

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This article appears in Oct 17-23, 2024.

Read his 2016 intro letter and disclosures from 2022 and 2021. Ray Roa started freelancing for Creative Loafing Tampa in January 2011 and was hired as music editor in August 2016. He became Editor-In-Chief...