INDIAN SHORES — The League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area and the Pinellas Beaches Chamber of Commerce hosted a Meet the Candidates Forum on Feb. 2 featuring three candidates running for two Indian Shores Town Council seats.

The event at the Town Hall Community Center began with a meet-and-greet, followed by a forum moderated by the League of Women Voters.

The candidates are incumbents Ellen A. Bauer and Michael P. Howard, along with challenger Michael A. “Mike” Petruccelli.

Bauer, the current vice mayor, has served on the Town Council since winning election in 2023. A retired business owner, she has been active on a number of town boards and organizations, including the Administration and Finance Committee, Board of Adjustment Committee, Property Owners Association and Women’s Club. The council has elected her vice mayor each of the past three years.

Howard has served on the Town Council since 2024, filling an unexpired term after a council member’s retirement. A U.S. Army veteran, he retired as a sergeant from the Tampa Police Department after 24 years of service and served in the U.S. Foreign Service’s Bureau of Diplomatic Security. He holds a bachelor’s degree in criminal justice from the University of South Florida and is a graduate of both the Florida League of Cities Institute of Elected Municipal Officials and the Florida Public Pension Trustee Association School, where he earned certification as a public pension trustee.

Petruccelli is a broker associate with Plumlee Gulf Beach Realty, handling Indian Rocks Beach and Indian Shores beach rentals. He participated in 12 Florida League of Cities conferences from 2014 to 2022 and seven legislative policy committees from 2015 to 2024. A former council member, Petruccelli resigned his seat in 2024 after nine years to run for mayor when Patrick Soranno retired from the post. He lost to current Mayor Diantha Schear.

Audience members submitted questions on index cards, which were read aloud by League of Women Voters members. Topics included pedestrian safety, budget impacts from reducing property taxes, beach renourishment and plantings related to Tiki Gardens. Each question was posed to all three candidates in rotating order, with time limits on responses.

Bauer suggested better street markings for pedestrian safety and said the town could use state surplus funds to offset the budget shortfall expected in the first year of reduced property tax revenue. On beach renourishment, she favored improving dunes and planting sea grass and sea oats. She said she would bring findings back to the town from the League of Cities. If elected, she said, her strength lies in “belonging to different organizations in the town, giving out business cards, and talking to people to listen and spread the word.”

Howard said he wants to pursue sidewalks to improve pedestrian safety. With an anticipated 11% to 17% reduction in property tax revenue, he said he believes “local voices should make local choices.” He said the biggest obstacle to beach renourishment is residents’ reluctance to sign waivers, and that his objective through the League of Cities is expressing the town’s concerns in Tallahassee. His “leadership involves listening, doing and following up,” he said, adding that “experience in the U.S. Army and as a police officer mean service before self.”

Petruccelli said diminished street lighting has put turtle protection ahead of pedestrian safety. He said he opposed double-digit insurance rate increases tied to reduced property taxes and wants to return to the renourishment process used 20 years ago. He supports continuing education and legislative committee involvement at the state level through the League of Cities. His focus, he said, is “stewardship of trust and money,” pledging to ask, “Why? How does this help the citizens of Indian Shores?”

The election is March 11.

For nonpartisan information online, visit Vote411.org, Ballotpedia.org/Florida and GovTrack.us.