In a small south St. Pete office, campaign volunteers’ chairs lined the room’s perimeter as others set up food and drink. A minute or two after seven — when the polls closed — Lisa Wheeler-Brown walked in. Everyone cheered for the candidate as she made her rounds.Wheeler-Brown had run against four primary opponents for the St. Pete City Council seat representing perhaps the most disadvantaged part of the city, a predominantly African-American area dealing with poverty, tense police relations and a stark achievement gap.
But it looked good for the medical billing specialist; poll numbers and not-so-shabby fundraising put her at or near the top.
Returns flew in; most of the 2,672 people who actually voted — a 14.45 percent turnout — had weighed in by mail.
Wheeler-Brown topped the polls with more than 37 percent of the vote and is heading into the runoff against Will Newton, a union leader, retired firefighter and brother of the termed out incumbent they’re seeking to replace, Councilman Wengay Newton. He pulled in 34.5 percent of the vote.
Wheeler-Brown attributed her victory to her message.
“People see me out here fighting for families every day,” said Brown, who announced her run months before the primary. “I just did not wake up and decide to run for City Council. I’ve been doing it for years. So people know me.”
Now, she has a much tougher challenge to surmount. The primary was fought completely within the bounds of District 7, which comprises several neighborhoods in south St. Pete. The general will be fought citywide, and many voters will likely care less about the southside Community Development Area than the Pier or the Rays.
Even in the primary, her opposition (and some media outlets) attempted to hijack the race to make the candidates’ positions on the Tampa Bay Rays’ use agreement with the city to play at Tropicana Field the main issue.
“Her opponents are distorting the issue and making it a singular race to be about that, and they are doing a disservice to the voters who care about a lot of other things,” said Councilwoman Darden Rice, a Wheeler-Brown supporter.
Susan McGrath, head of the Pinellas County Democratic Executive Committee, said she’s happy both candidates are Democrats. She hopes debate over whether or not to let the Tampa Bay Rays explore stadium sites in Hillsborough County won’t dominate the debate in the weeks leading up to the November 3 general.
“I expect that there’ll be a lot of conversation about the issues,” she said. “I’ve lived in St. Petersburg a long time and I don’t remember a time when there’s been more going on in our city and more where it’s a crossroads for us for such big issues.”