Photo by Dave Decker
Carlson gets flack for his sometimes combative tone on the dais but he’s been a steady and studied force on council who’s ready to speak on a myriad of issues.
With 27 of 27 precincts reporting in the unofficial results, Carlson has 59.31% of the vote, with nearly 3,000 more voters checking his name instead of his challenger, McDonald’s heir Blake Casper.
Despite a contentious race, Casper and Carlson seemed to have a lot in common (most notably, an opposition to the mayor’s wastewater plan, colloquially referred to as “toilet-to-tap”).
But Casper—a Republican mega-donor and McDonald’s heir whose family recently sold off all of its locations for an undisclosed amount— attempted to create a wedge in the race by running on a "law and order" platform, claiming Carlson wasn't pro-police enough.
However, Casper was recently discovered to be using his Bayshore Blvd properties as un-permitted commercial sites for his local businesses. And, at a recent forum, he also recently recommended police arrest people who panhandle as a way to deal with the city's homeless issues, an stance that Carlson stated was unconstitutional.
This is a developing post.
