Pinellas, Central Pasco Realtors love Cookie Kennedy

The Pinellas and Central Pasco Realtor Organizations endorse this proposal Cookie Kennedy for the Pinellas County Commission as she seeks to preserve a seat for Democrats this cycle.

Kennedy is running for the District 1 seat currently held by Janet Long, a Democrat who does not want to be re-elected. She is confronted by the Republican Chris Scherer in the open race and faces what is expected to be a close race between the two.

The agent’s endorsement is perhaps one of the most important compliments Kennedy could earn in the competition. Although broker organizations are nonpartisan, they tend to favor conservative candidates who tend to be more aligned with a pro-business, pro-property rights platform.

But Kennedy is unique. As a former mayor of Indian Rocks Beach, Kennedy has long been a powerful voice in the fight over short-term vacation rentals, trying to strike a balance between voters concerned about potential disruptions from partying vacationers in residential neighborhoods and private property rights for owners. trying to earn an extra income from their home.

The brokers have not issued a statement indicating their approval.

Kennedy raised in mid-June more than $115,000 for the race, a number that would have been impressive in previous political cycles. But she will face an even better-funded candidate in Scherer, who has surpassed Kennedy with more than $20,000 in his campaign alone. An affiliated political committee, Friends of Chris Schererhas raised nearly $96,000, bringing Kennedy’s fundraising shortfall in the race to more than six figures.

Kennedy also has to deal with a voter registration disadvantage. There are nearly 236,000 Republican voters in the county, compared to fewer than 203,000 Democrats. District 1 is an at-large seat, meaning it is elected across the country. Neither candidate faces a primary opponent.

Where Kennedy has room to succeed is likely among independent voters, with nearly 165,000 registered voters without party affiliation.

So even though Kennedy is behind in fundraising and faces a voter registration hurdle, she is doing well in the election recommendation race to show bipartisan support.

The endorsements for Kennedy so far include a bipartisan list of current and former elected officials and community advocates. This also applies to Belleair Beach Mayor Dave Gattis; Mayor of Indian Shores Diantha Scheer; Dunedin Municipal Commissioner Jeff Gow; City Commissioner of Indian Shores Bill Smith; City of Indian Rocks Beach Commissioners John Bigelow And Judas Bond; Vice Mayor of Indian Rocks Beach Janet Wilson; Mayor of Indian Rocks Beach Denise Huisberg; Mayor of North Redington Beach Bill QueenMayor of Redington Shores Lisa Hendrikson; Vice Mayor of Seminole Trish Springer; Pinellas County Commissioner Charlie Justice; Pinellas County School Board Member Caprice Edmond; Member of the Sint-Piet municipal council Gina Driscoll and more.

Scherer has now done that rounded support almost exclusively from conservatives, including Sens. Ed Hooper And Nick DiCeglie; Pinellas County Commissioners Chris Latvala, Brian Scott And Dave Eggers; former Florida Education Commissioner and former Florida House Speaker Richard Corcoran; former mayor of Sint-Pieters Rik Bakkerformer senator. Jeff Brandes; and more. Scherer also has support from the Suncoast Police Benevolent Association.

The Republican Party has been eyeing Long’s seat for years, coming within striking distance four years ago but narrowly missing the opportunity to flip her seat. Long defeated Republican former Rep. Larry Ahern in that race by just 1 percentage point.

They are also eyeing the Justice seat, with a Republican bid Vincent Nowicki to unseat the old Democratic commissioner.

Republicans recently flipped the political makeup of the Pinellas County Commission during the 2022 Midterms and are looking to widen that lead with a Scherer victory this year.

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