Wheeler-Brown Campaign for St. Pete City Council suffers another blow

Tampa Tribune Pulls Lisa Wheeler-Brown endorsement for St. Pete City Council

St. Petersburg, Fl

Opinion by: E. Eugene Webb PhD
Coauthor of: So You Want Blog .

The Tampa Tribune has pulled its endorsement of Lisa Wheeler Brown for District 7 City Council member. Tribune endorsements: Gerdes, Kornell, Newton for St. Petersburg City Council

From the Tribune:

"District 7

Term limits prevented incumbent Wengay Newton from running for re-election, leaving the race to the two candidates who polled the most votes in the August primary.

Lisa Wheeler-Brown is an activist and former president of the Council of Neighborhood Associations who says she supports the Rays stadium deal and will work to improve safety and employment opportunities in the district, which includes some of the city’s poorest neighborhoods. She faced petty theft charges as a young adult but says she learned from her mistakes.

Will Newton, the brother of outgoing council member Wengay Newton, is a district vice president of the Florida Professional Firefighters organization and has a solid resume of public service that also includes serving as a neighborhood association president. He is against the Rays stadium deal because he doesn’t think it adequately compensates the city. He says he will work to bring jobs and foster home ownership in the district.

The candidates share similar priorities, and we favored Wheeler-Brown in the primary because of her support for the Rays. But recently revealed discrepancies in her campaign finance reports raise questions about her judgment.

Newton assures us he will work collaboratively with the council and is open to considering a different Rays offer if one is brought forward.

For District 7, the Tribune recommends Winthrop “Will” Newton."

The Wheeler-Brown Campaign began to unravel following a series of Posts by Janelle Irwin in saintpetersblog:

Lisa Wheeler-Brown used campaign funding for dental procedure; claimed payment for office that didn’t exist

Lisa Wheeler-Brown fails to report in-kind contributions for office space

Lisa Wheeler-Brown campaign files trove of finance reporting amendments

Lisa Wheeler-Brown campaign finance reporting amended — for third time this week

Midtown nonprofit may have illegally given office space to Lisa Wheeler-Brown

From the Newton Campaign web site: Will Newton for St. Pete City Council:

"How often does a career call for determination, hard work, trust, compassion and the courage to save lives? If you’re a St. Petersburg Fire Fighter, the job demands no less! Will Newton is the real deal, trusted by his colleagues to lead as their association president a dozen years, named Florida’s Fire Fighter of the Year by the Governor and Cabinet, founding a union of professional fire fighters, and serving as an instructor across the U.S. and Canada. But Newton’s commitment doesn’t stop at the end of a long shift.

He’s served as President of his Neighborhood Association, played a leading role with the Community Change for Youth Development (CCYD) program in Childs Park, and volunteered with the Juvenile Welfare Board and the Rays Baseball Foundation too. Respected as a tough negotiator, professionally accomplished, and committed to the people of his home town of St. Petersburg, Will Newton will be a City Council member dedicated to you, your future, and your family’s future!"

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Disclosures:
Contributor: Waterfront Charter Amendment (Vote on The Pier), Carly Fiorina for President