{"id":333590,"date":"2026-07-08T21:29:09","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:29:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333590\/"},"modified":"2026-07-08T21:29:09","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T21:29:09","slug":"suncoast-tampa-association-of-realtors-backs-tampa-bay-candidates-skips-3-contested-races","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/333590\/","title":{"rendered":"Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors backs Tampa Bay candidates, skips 3 contested races"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors (STAR<\/a>) is spreading its support across the Tampa Bay ballot, recommending candidates in more than two dozen local races.<\/p>\n

The group\u2019s picks include Brandi Gabbard<\/a> for St. Petersburg Mayor, Linsey Grove<\/a> for St. Petersburg City Council, District 6, and Bianca Latvala<\/a> for Clearwater City Council, District 4. The organization also backed County Commission candidates in Pinellas, Hillsborough and Pasco counties, along with School Board and judicial candidates.<\/p>\n

The association, which represents more than 24,000 members, announced its recommendations after candidate screening panels reviewed questionnaires and interviewed candidates.<\/p>\n

In Tampa Bay, growth, housing, permitting, development and infrastructure are major issues. The real estate group said candidates were evaluated based on public service, respect for homeownership issues, commitment to economic development, electability and understanding of the real estate industry.<\/p>\n

Gabbard, a Realtor by trade, announced STAR\u2019s endorsement<\/a> in the Mayor\u2019s race in June. The group highlighted her City Council experience, business background and focus on housing and redevelopment as parts of her platform.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Meanwhile, the group endorsed Grove in a five-candidate race for the St. Petersburg City Council District 6 seat to succeed term-limited Gina Driscoll<\/a>. Grove is a longtime Roser Park resident, a public health advocate, educator and small-business owner.<\/p>\n

As a former President of the League of Women Voters of the St. Petersburg Area, Grove has championed major initiatives such as Complete Streets, zoning reform for affordable housing, and mail-in voting access during COVID, according to her campaign website.<\/p>\n

In Pinellas County, the Realtors group recommended incumbent candidates in their respective races: Brian Scott<\/a> for County Commission District 2, Dave Eggers<\/a> for County Commission District 4 and Kathleen Peters<\/a> for County Commission District 6.<\/p>\n

Pinellas County area recommendations also include incumbent School Board Member Lisa Cane for School Board, District 2; motivational speaker Curtis Campogni for School Board, District 3; former School Board Member and former County Commissioner Nancy Bostock for School Board, District 6; public affairs and digital strategy professional Bianca Latvala for Clearwater City Council, District 4; and lawyer Nick Fiorentino for County Judge Group 10.<\/p>\n

In Hillsborough County, the group recommended incumbent County Commissioners Harry Cohen<\/a> in District 1, Gwen Myers<\/a> in District 3 and Joshua Wostal<\/a> in countywide District 7.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Cohen faces a challenge from former Rep. Jackie Toledo, a Tampa Republican and former congressional candidate, while Myers drew Democratic challenger Twanda Bradley and Republican Luiz Garcia. Wostal is the lone qualified Republican in his race, with Democrats Aileen Rodriguez and Cindy Stuart also qualified.\u00a0<\/p>\n

STAR also backed lawyer and policy professional Brittany Lyssy in the Hillsborough School Board, District 2 race, where Daniela Simic and Chris Taylor also qualified, and School Board Chair Karen Perez in countywide District 6, where she faces Kenneth \u201cKen\u201d Gay and Sally Harris \u201cMs Sally\u201d Williamson.<\/p>\n

Its judicial recommendations went to Louie Aguila in 13th Judicial Circuit Group 7 and Nina Alvarez in Group 13.<\/p>\n

In Pasco County, STAR recommended incumbent County Commissioners Seth Weightman<\/a> in District 2 and Lisa Yeager<\/a> in District 4.<\/p>\n

Its Pasco School Board picks include Gino Collura in the open District 1 race, Mollyana Ward in the open District 3 race, and incumbent School Board Member Megan Harding in District 5.<\/p>\n

The association did not engage in Hillsborough County Commission, District 5, Clearwater City Council, District 5, or St. Petersburg City Council, District 2.\u00a0<\/p>\n

The Hillsborough omission is notable, with STAR staying out of a countywide race featuring incumbent Commissioner Donna Cameron Cepeda<\/a>, Republican challenger Stacy Hahn<\/a> and Democrat Neil Manimala<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

In Clearwater, the group also skipped the Seat 5 race, where former Council Member Mark Bunker, Kevin R.T. Laughlin and Sam Wilson are running. Its St. Petersburg District 2 omission also leaves STAR out of the city\u2019s other open Council race, where community association manager Courtney Bermudez faces Assistant Public Defender Gabriel Hament.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The Suncoast Tampa Association of Realtors (STAR) is spreading its support across the Tampa Bay ballot, recommending candidates…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":333591,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[106909,3300,1339,5665,61591,129560,106519,276,137599,62633,6773,137600,137601,1338,596,15495,4043,137602,199,137603,137604,135,137,136],"class_list":["post-333590","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-tampa","tag-bianca-latvala","tag-brandi-gabbard","tag-clearwater","tag-county-commission","tag-donna-cameron-cepeda","tag-gwen-myers","tag-harry-cohen","tag-hillsborough-county","tag-jackie-toledo","tag-joshua-wostal","tag-linsey-grove","tag-lisa-yeager","tag-neil-manimala","tag-pasco-county","tag-pinellas-county","tag-realtors","tag-school-board","tag-seth-weightman","tag-st-petersburg","tag-stacy-hahn","tag-suncoast-tampa-association-of-realtors","tag-tampa","tag-tampa-headlines","tag-tampa-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333590","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=333590"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/333590\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/333591"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=333590"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=333590"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=333590"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}