Ed Helm has been elected chairman of the Pinellas Democratic Executive Committee, a strong move to the left for that group.
There is no doubt that Helm has a strong following among the most liberal of the
Pinellas Democrats, the take-no-prisoners types who are adamantly anti-war, anti-Bush and anti-fellow Democrats who support local Republicans. For years, the Pinellas party has followed a more centrist and pragmatic route, especially since its handful of elected Democratic officials (Ken Welch and Calvin Harris come to mind, both of whom had run-ins with Helm during his failed St. Petersburg mayoral campaign) were forced to work with the overwhelming number of Republican officials in order to get things done. Some party regulars say Helm is too abrasive to be an effective chairman.
Helm takes over only a few months from the general election, and he had vowed to try to heal rifts and move the party forward. But his victory is a stinging defeat for centrists and outgoing chairwoman Carrie Wadlinger, who had brought a strong hand to the group, set its finances back in order and reworked its offices and website. Unfortunately, Carrie's style alienated not only the Helm-ites but even some moderates who had supported her initially.
We'll wait and see if Helm pulls off some big wins or if the Pinellas Democrats dissolve into the same kind of ideological and personality-driven in-fighting that ripped the Hillsborough Democrats apart in 2005.
This article appears in Jul 26 – Aug 1, 2006.
