Sheriff Candidates Reveal Changes They'd Make

Four of five remaining Pinellas County Sheriff candidates participated in a forum last week touching on topics like high-speed chases, human trafficking, budgets, non-violent drug offenders, synthetic drugs, pensions and prostitutes.

A crowd of more than 100 citizens learned what Pinellas County Sheriff's candidates think about issues impacting the county during a candidate forum last week. Four of the five remaining candidates participated: Interim Sheriff Bob Gualtieri, Greg Pound, Everett Rice and Scott Swope. Randy Heine did not appear. Tim Ingold announced he would drop out during an April 18 forum at VFW Post 2550 in Dunedin.  The forum consisted of pre-selected questions followed by audience-submitted questions. Topics included high-speed chases to human trafficking, budgets, non-violent drug offenders, synthetic drugs, pensions and men soliciting prostitutes. One question revealed issues that candidates feel are important when it comes to possible changes. …

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Give a Little, Help A Lot

Drop off canned goods at food collection boxes in your neighborhood, and help Florida Patch collect a ton of food for needy families in our region.

Gulfport Patch has partnered with some local organizations for the Give-A-Ton Food Drive. Our goal is to collect a ton of food for the nonprofit, Feeding America Tampa Bay, and help nourish local children and their families this summer, when school is out and free and reduced lunch programs are not available. Gulfport Patch, along with 18 other Patch Florida sites, is working to collect nonperishable food items. Feeding America Tampa Bay will distribute the food through its partner agencies. We've made it easy for you to help. Just drop off your canned food items at these neighborhood shops or the Gulfport Area Chamber of Commerce. While you're there, check out some of the wonderful products and services these organizations offer: How Your…

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Henderson Elected Gulfport Vice Mayor

After an initial vote failed to get Barbara Banno a majority and with a plea for unity by Mayor Yakes, Sam Henderson is unanimously elected as Gulfport's Vice Mayor.

After a contentious split and a request for unity by the mayor, the City of Gulfport finally has a new Vice Mayor. In the second vote of the evening, the council named Ward 4 Councilmember Sam Henderson to the role previously held by former Ward 1 Councilmember David Hastings. Hastings lost to Dan Liedtke by nine votes in the March 13 municipal election. The additional voting was needed after Ward 2 Councilmember Barbara Banno failed to get a majority in the first round. The main issue was availability. Ward 3 Councilmember Jennifer Salmon, who originally backed Banno, was concerned about the time commitment. She felt scheduling conflicts would prevent Henderson from being as strong a vice mayor as Banno. Henderson, who is a college …

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Recount Complete, Dan Liedtke Wins Ward 1

The Canvassing Board conducted a complete recount of the 1,867 poll and mail in ballots for the Gulfport Municipal Elections Ward 1 Councilmember race. The recount shows that the results are correct and Dan Liedtke wins by nine votes.

The Pinellas County Canvassing Board conducted a machine recount and manual recount at 1 p.m. on Wednesday, March 14. Just before 2:30 p.m. the official results came back as follows: Dan Liedtke David Hastings City Clerk Lesley DeMuth says this is the only city council race recount in the City of Gulfport. DeMuth estimates that the election will cost the City of Gulfport about $18,000 without the recount. Nancy Whitlock, Communications Director for the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office says this is the third recount at the county since the new voting system was installed in 2008. Dan Liedtke and his wife Michelle were present during the recount. After hearing the results Liedtke said, "I'm just very thankful that I've been …

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Voters Choose Dan Liedtke and Jennifer Salmon for Gulfport City Council

The unofficial results show Dan Liedtke and Jennifer Salmon as the council members for Ward 1 and Ward 3 with Liedtke's race winning by only nine votes.

Update Wednesday 8:48 a.m.: After this story was published Tuesday night Liedtke received two provisional votes changing the lead from seven to nine, according to City Clerk Lesley DeMuth. According to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office unofficial results, Liedtke received 938 votes, Hastings received 929. Earlier According to the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office unofficial results, Dan Liedtke won Ward 1 with 936 votes, only seven more than Incumbent David Hastings. Hastings received 929 votes. Liedtke told Gulfport Patch that he's excited and ready to hit the ground running. "We're just so happy, we only needed to win by one, we'll take a win by seven. We're very happy, very thankful." Hastings thanked his …

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Meet The Candidates

Candidate Question of the Week Recap

Gulfport Patch asked City Council Candidates David Hastings, Dan Liedtke, Jennifer Salmon and James Perry about several topics, including reserve funds, human rights, city services and more in our weekly series "Candidate Question of the Week."

For several weeks we asked Gulfport City Council Candidates what they thought about the issues facing the city and it's residents. Let's recap our questions which are all included in our "Meet the Candidates" series on Gulfport Patch. Question 1: How can the city and its leaders help lure new businesses to Gulfport? Ward 1 Candidates: David Hastings & Dan Liedtke Ward 3 Candidates: Jennifer Salmon & James Perry Question 2: How have you given back to the community? Ward 1 Candidates: Dan Liedtke & David Hastings Ward 3 Candidates: James Perry & Jennifer Salmon Question 3: Are there underused services in Gulfport? If so, what are they, and how would you promote those services so that they provide a greater benefit to the entire community? …

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