It was surprising when State Rep. Dwight Dudley announced he was leaving his St. Petersburg area seat to run for judge. But going into Election Night, it wasn't surprising that Ben Diamond, a Democrat running for the first time, won.
His opponent, Joseph “J.B.” Bensmihen, didn't really seem to have as much visibility in the community, and he caught grief early in the election when caught unable to answer basic questions about the district. Asked what his favorite restaurant on St. Pete's 4th Street — a strip that features the original Red Mesa, Fresh Kitchen and more — the recent transplant from Palm Beach County said Chick-fil-A.
But even if he had a little more name recognition and time spent in the district, it just might not have been his year — or his decade — in State House District 68. Diamond won roughly 56 percent of the vote to the 44 percent Bensmihen had.
Democrats tend to turn out in droves in presidential election years — even if they don't elect a Democratic president.
Plus, from the start, Diamond had a message that was very pro-environment, pro-Medicaid expansion and pro-public education. So while some reaches of the district include Pinellas Park and Feather Sound, it was likely the very progressive areas of downtown St. Pete that boosted Diamond's chances.
“This is a very special place that we live in,” he said at his victory party at the St. Petersburg Museum of History. "And I want to treat it that way, and remember that, as a representative in the Florida House."
Further to the west, if environmental issues helped Diamond win in Dist. 68, the same can't quite be said for Democrat Jennifer Webb, who lost to incumbent Kathleen Peters, R-Treasure Island, in the race for Pinellas County's District 69 seat, which covers the south Pinellas beaches, Kenwood, Gulfport and South Pasadena.
Peters had money, party backing and more, but could have been vulnerable due to conservative positions on a woman's right to choose, fracking, guns and more. But perhaps her incumbency and her effectiveness in the mental health realm helped put her well over the top. She won 56 percent of the vote to Webb's 43 percent.
"I think, when I won in 2012, I was not expected to win. People know that I'm the real deal; I fight for people who don't have a voice, that's my history. I have a strong track record of making a difference in community," she said.
Peters says her work with the homeless has set her apart.
"To me it was a privilege to take that on and make a difference. Police are not arresting people with a mental illness, and that was a great start, but we have a lot to do," she said. "My focus next year is going to be on the environment; I've been really frustrated with the overflows with the sewage… I would say Lake Okeechobee outfalls, I'm already working on legislation for that."
While other politicians have targeted St. Pete — we're looking at you, Gulfport's Dan Liedtke — Peters has a more cautious approach.
"They might be the elephant in the room, but we have many cities in this county who have the same problem, as does the county itself. I've been very specific not to target St. Petersburg; although they have the greatest numbers, they're not the only offenders."
Peters also addressed fracking, one of the issues that prompted CL to endorse her opponent, Jennifer Webb.
"My stance on fracking has always been clear: I have been absolutely opposed fracking and have never supported fracking and I don't like the fact that that has been twisted. I voted for that bill that had a moratorium because it got us what we wanted, and I know once a moratorium is put in place, it's very difficult to move it. But once we had it, we could work it, and any time they tried to lift it, we could fight it and win that. We wanted a ban, we couldn't get a ban, it wasn't a bill we could even get an opportunity to vote for. The bill I did have an opportunity to vote for put a moratorium on that, and I'm frustrated that that bill failed, because it would have given us a moratorium and we could have endured, we could have kept that moratorium in place, and so my stance on fracking always has been and always will be I will never support fracking in the state of Florida. We're on limestone; our water table is the most important basic need of every citizen in the state of Florida; we don't compromise that. That's always been my stand and it never should have been twisted into anything different."
Republican State Rep. Larry Ahern's reelection bid for his Dist. 66 State House seat, which covers Seminole and other mid-Pinellas areas.
He won against educator Lorena Grizzle 58 to just over 42 percent.
State Rep. Chris Latvala, meanwhile, held onto his State House Dist. 67 seat. Although it's a swing seat, he ably defended himself against newcomer David Vogel 59 to about 41 percent, suggesting that Latvala's Democratic constituents took notice of his crossing party lines on particular matters (or that the incumbent makes getting reelected pretty easy).
This article appears in Nov 10-17, 2016.
