Clark, Stern to Face Off in November

Incumbent Janet Clark collected 34.52 percent of the vote on Tuesday, which is not yet enough to secure her seat on the Pinellas County School Board.

Now Clark and Elliot Stern, who came in second in Tuesday's primary, with 25.81 percent of the vote, will have a runoff in the November general election.

Had she received more than 50 percent of the vote, there would have been no runoff.

Clark collected 43,363 votes; 34.52 percent of the vote on Tuesday. Stern collected 32,418; 25.81 percent of the vote.

"I'm pretty honored to have made the runoff," Stern told Patch.

Stern says this is his first time running for any political office and he's very pleased with how well he did. He hopes to take this opportunity to reach out to voters and encourage those who didn't vote to head to the polls in November.

"I would be less than honest if I didn’t tell you, I’m disappointed in the lack of interest in school board races. People don’t realize that our future is in the hands of our children," Stern said referring to voter turnout.

“If you believe in our community and that the country is in the hands of our children, then you have to be concerned with who’s going to be on school board,” he said.

Stern says he hopes to bring his strong business background and management skills to the Pinellas County School board if elected in November. To learn more about Elliot Stern visit his campaign website.

Janet Clark told the Tampa Bay Times she was pleased with the results, but didn't go into detail about the votes.

"I don't know how to call it, I truly don't," she told the Tampa Bay Times. "I don't know if it's luck or the job I've done. I hope it's the job I've done," she said.

For more information about Janet Clark, visit her campaign website.