Pinellas' Stewart won't seek re-election

UPDATE: Democrat Darden Rice has committed to running for Stewart's seat, saying she believes she has a strong chance to snatch a victory from the GOP. Nancy Bostock has filed. Republican Jim Sebesta said he plans to make a decision Monday.

Pinellas County Commissioner Bob Stewart said today he will not seek another term. Stewart, a veteran Pinellas politico who served on the St. Petersburg City Council before being elected to the commission in 1994, said he had anguished over the decision for months.

"I will enormously miss the life of an elected official," said Stewart, 70. "I have been blessed and honored."

Stewart, the commission's current chairman, said he planned to spend more time with his family in Colorado, where his three sons and grandchildren live. Expect Pinellas School Board member Nancy Bostock, like Stewart a Republican, to soon enter the race. Former state Sen. Jim Sebesta, a Republican, and Darden Rice, a Democrat, have also expressed interest in the countywide seat.

Comments

Go Darden!

The republican establishment is saying
good-by. The winds of change are in
the air. Welcome Commissioner Rice!

[Dr_Dug]

Thanks for nothing. High Taxes, Housing problems,unemployment and a broke city. When the tough gets going..the weak and worthless run too!! Next..get rid of the rest of our so-called City Leaders!! They all stink!!

[Dr_Dug]

Oh nooooooo! Another career politician is trying to move in!!! Vote out the old and get some fresh blood in office!!....before its too late!!

[Campaign Manager]

I had heard last year that Darden Rice was definitely running. If that is the case, she needs to make that plain and start raising money and building a larger profile in the county.

[Gordon]

County Commissioner for Life in Pinellas County has got to end. A few years back, when we passed term limits, the County Commission joined the suit against us, the voters, to exempt themselves from limits. When it was apparent the suit would win, they dropped out to look good.

Bob Stewart is a good man, but 2 terms is enough for anyone. The Commission should be subject to the same limits as every city in the county.

Except for Duncan, all of the other Commissioners have served 2 terms or more.

2-down, 5-to-go!

[Bland]

We need a strong fiscal conservative on the Board of County Commissions.

We have been spending at a rate greater than our earnings.

It is way past due for Tom Stewart to leave.

Change is in the air. Leaders are going to have to come in and significantly reduce county spending and reduce tax revenue.

Tom Stewart?

100% Support for Darden!!! And change!!!

[Follow-the-money]

Only one incumbent filed to run in this election cycle on the County Commission. Apparently she did not get the changing-of-the-guard memo in time. Karen Seel has voted right along with all the others and voters are NOT going to give her a pass.

Claiming that she didn’t know about the independent appraisal and other details regarding the purchase of the Jim Smith property isn’t going to mesh when the St. Pete Times exposes those phone records that were blacked out - - - http://www.tampabay.com/SearchForwardServlet.do?articleId=402926.
Those phone records are public property and the public deserves to know just how much other County Commissioners collaborated in advance on the Smith purchase.

Just stay away from Team Helm, Darden Rice, and you have a good chance of winning.

[Rick]

I knew it would not take long for the anti-Helm deviates to hit this one.

Dude… get some freaking help with your man-crush on Helm. Or see me ;-)~

If Bostock jumps in, this ought to be a hoot to watch.

Bostock (radical right)
Rice (lesbian left)

I’m up for a bi**h-slap session! I’ve got 100-bucks on Rice.

Nancy Bostock already announced. Check out VotePinellas.com

[None of the Above]

Hey "Follow the Money"...actually two of the 7 remaining Unindicted Co-conspirators have filed...

Ms Seel and Mr Welch...

Mr Welch is in a relatively safe and stacked district which, as I have mentioned before, is why it was so easy for him to come out so early in relation to the others.

Ms Seel will be dealing with voters who are more in line with the entire demographic with no other personal issues that would cause them to blindly walk in to the booth and re-elect Mr Welch as voters in his district most likely will.

Ms Seel will be a better bellweather as to how much the broader cross-section of voters will and would have held Messrs Stewart and Duncan accountable for the Jim Smith Deal.

This is a change election, I believe, and Ms Seel will more than likely have to deal with this fallout.

The Chickens Should Definitely be Coming Home to Roost...

Thinly veiled racism from noneoftheabove. Not at all surprising.

[For Better Government]

I can't wait to see Nancy Bostock serve on the CC. The addition of a thoughtful, inteligent mainstream conservative is just what the board needs. The county faces many challenges so electing a person like Bostock who has been tested in local government with a proven track record is a no brainer. She is right there with the mainstream of Pinellas County. Elected countywide three times!

8:45... errr... Nancy!,

Hows that drop out rate going for ya?

Clueless and incorrect opinion from 8:11. Not at all surprising... that's what hacks do!

...dope

[For Better Government]

9:08 wrong again as usual! I would not buy that lottery ticket.

[gordon]

Seel will get a pass, like she always does. She needs to go, but people are afraid to run against the establishment, and Seel is the establishment. She is biding her time until Bill Young retires, and nobody will cross a future Congresswoman. She is not held accountable, but needs to be, and for lots more than the Jim Smith debacle.

We DO NOT need anymore School Board members on the CC. We got one, and she's an empty suit. The School Board is a joke. Fix that, and maybe you earn some respect.

In a Seel vs. Roche contest, Seel wins by a mile.

[For Better Government]

gordon, a little bit of a sweeping generalization there. I think you need to evaulate candidates a lttle more deeply and on an individual basis if you want to elect the best people. Rice, Sebesta, Bostock? Rice? - get serious. Sebesta? A good record of public service, but not the right peron for the job. Bostock? Clearly the best choice of the three.

Nancy Bostock is an extremist and puppet. She has does nothing original, but she does aspire to rather stunning new heights of hypocrisy.

[For Better Government]

10:51 I love people like you. They make me laugh. Lots of name calling and accusations without any facts. You always make the other side look a lot better. Please keep it up!

[Tom]

Good point (for better government)...

"Bostock? Clearly the best choice of the three."

That statement is loaded with facts!

And, 9:40... I wouldn't count those chickens. Seel has been given a pass since being appointed by Jeb, and weather you like him or not, Roche will be a formidable challenge.

Tom, that's funny. Roche lost EVERY precinct to Calvin Harris, did he not?

[Erik Libby]

The days of being elected without having to be accountable for your voting choices are coming to an end. All the County commissioners voted to give property appraiser Smith the green on land sale to the County.Duncan and Stewart see the hand wtriting on the wall apparently.
Norm Roche advocates for careful and accountable spending of County funds. Any candidate who can bring in better access and accountability will provide real leadership, and not rubber stamping and parrotting which has long been the norm. Go Norm and others too!!

[Beamer]

How refreshing that Darden Rice is running for County Commission. This is a person who knows how to build support for an idea, demonstrate its importance, understand others' points of view without undermining their core goals, and, ultimately, find the points of agreement that will allow them to cultivate a true consensus. Rice knows how to listen, and cares deeply for the communities in Pinellas County, let’s hope area wide voters invest in forward-thinking people like her!

[None of the Above]

"For Better Government"

With all due respect to your opinion of my Opinions, just because you assume that I am a white person (you are correct) your further assertion and implication that my opinions and criticisms as they relate to Mr Welch are even remotely racist are incorrect at the very core of the assumption itself.

There are many reasons that I criticize Mr Welch, not the least of which is that I view his pomposity and arrogance with some disdain and that his actions relating to the Smith Land Deal and his statements afterwards are grounds for my current criticism.

He is in fact one of the unindicted co-conspirators that have not recieved any punishment for their questionable actions, actions that I consider render him, Ms Seel, Ms Latvala, Mr Harris, Mr Moroni, Mr Stewart, and Mr Duncan both UNFIT and UNDESERVING of re-election.

Mr Duncan and Mr Stewart have removed themselves from the equation by choosing to spend time with their families instead of spending time before the electorate defending their positions in the heat of a campaign.

What you choose to read into my comments is entirely up to you.

That does not necessarily make it so.

I am many things to be sure...

Being A Racist is not among my faults.

Bite Me...

After Darden Rice supported Republican Darryl Rouson, I can't bring myself to support her. If there are no other dems in this race, I will skip voting in this race in the fall.

[Gene Smith]

Given the high level of the comments on this thread to date, this should be REAL fun to watch.

4:42,

Very interesting point. I'm concerend that Rice will quickley fall right in line with business as Usual.

She has some provin to do... we'll see.

Eric Libby = Ed Helm

[in the know]

And who should have Darden Rice supported? Rouson supported her in her city council run in 2005. You can't expect her to back Earnest. McKenzie never reached out.

6:07 = moronic wannabe

6:26, She could have supported a Democrat for one! A*s kissin political wannabe's we got plenty of.

And you dipsticks wonder why the R's keep on a'winnin!

Hahahahahahahaaaaaaaa....

I meant ... 6:21 of couse!

... damn, now I can't eve spell.

Do you see what being a D will do to you!

That's okay 8:28, we understand you're an idiot.

[For Better Government]

None of the Above - you obviously have me confused with someone else. I suggest you go back and read the posts to try and figure out who it is you are actually responding to.

9:10,

idiotisasidiotunderstands

[Mr. Gullible]

Noneoftheabove is right, there was nothing racial about him quoting Jeremiah Wright ('Chickens coming home to roost'), or noting that Seel's district is "more in line with the entire demographic" (i.e. less black) than Welch's distict, or that the voters in Welch's district have "personal issues" that will affect their vote.

Nothing racial at all about that post.

You are indeed "Mr. Gullible"... now, for Heaven's sake, go to bed before you hurt yourself... ya dope!!!

.. as for the "Smith Seven"... 2-down-and-5-to-go!

Bostock is a party hack right wing nut who can't even take care of her own family. What is she going to do on the commission? Sell our wet lands and lead the prayer breakfasts? She's already sold our kids short and done her best to replace science education with religous rhetoric.

There is nothing mainstream about Bostock and nobody likes working under her brand of leadership.

Wow, 11:58 you sure spend a lot of time disliking Bostock. Got nothing better to do? Your vicious personal attack reflects more on you than on her. Pinellas voters have elected her three times countywide and she defeated that sitting School Board member who foolishly challenged her last time over 2:1. Ouch!

[None of the Above]

First, My Sincere Apologies to "For Better Government" -- I must have missed the break line...

As to Mr Gullible...

Yes, the Racial makeup of Mr Welch's District is what I was refering to, but that is a fact or better yet, a statistic.

I think that in the racially charged context of the current Presidential Race, for one, making an assumption that the African Americans or Blacks in his district will blindly (not a perjorative statement mind you) support Mr Welch is just that, an assumption and again, not perjorative, slanderous, or racially motivated.

Another fact is that Ms Seels District is more diverse which is an assumption that I am using to support the previous statement of a statistic.

As to Jeremiah Wright, I haven't the fanitest idea as to whom that is, but, not wanting to be ignorant I will look that up so that I can be better informed.

In debate or civilized discourse, citing Facts and using them as Facts and not Slurs, is generally acceptable if not demanded when trying to make ones point.

You can't hang with me, so don't bother trying.

1:39am- gee, you blog in the middle of the night and then act indignant about what other people do constructively with their time? Are you sure you've put the school yard fights behind you and that you're ready for the big time, "1:39"?

[Multiple Choice]

Good to see noneoftheabove acknowledging his race-based post for what it was. Given that admission, it's unbelievable that you had no idea who Jeremiah Wright was when you ended your admittedly race-based post with Rev. Wrights "chicken's coming home to roost" quote, which has been played about 1000 times on television over the last several days.

Noneoftheabove, my 3 year old could hang with you. You "don't bother trying" statement is very funny though. Thanks for the morning chuckle.

[TRUE BLUE]

Darden Rice for County Commissioner??? What a joke. As a Democrat?? An even bigger joke. She has supported every Republican hiding as a Democrat in recent elections. Her and her puppet master, Karl Nurse, should just go ahead and join the G.O.P. where they would feel more confortable with the money class and the rest of the slezebags. Oh! The fact that she's a lesbian keeps her in the Dem.party.

[Just an Observer]

Multiple Choice = typical party hack. I feel for your 3-year old. It's unfortunate he/she must grow up under the tutelage of a race-pimp Party hack who lacks any semblance of substance, and believes whatever the Magnavox tells him to. I feel for you, my friend.

What is truly pathetic is that you’re so malleable, you actually beleive that Wright coined the phrase “chickens coming home…” Perhaps you should re-evaluate your desire to procreate… our world has enough intellectual midgets as it is.

I think Darden's hot!

[TRUE BLUE]

Who thinks Darden is hot?? That must be Carrie Wadlinger or Lois Frees because only them or their likes would make that statment. Darden is a cold fish trading on her uncles name. Wrap her up in yesterday's Times and throw her overboard as chum.

I think Carrie Wadlinger and Lois Frees are hot!