St. Pete Beach Cancels Municipal Election

Following routine procedure, the city of St. Pete Beach has canceled its March 13 municipal election because the two commission candidates who are running are unopposed so they will automatically win.

Terri Finnerty, District 1, and Ward Friszolowski, District 3, will retain their seats and be sworn in on Tuesday, March 27 at 6 p.m. in the commission chambers at the St. Pete Beach City Hall, 155 Corey Avenue, according to the city’s website.

In addition to St. Pete Beach, six other municipalities in Pinellas County have also canceled their elections “because the number of qualified candidates did not exceed the number of offices up for election,” according to the Supervisor of Elections website.

In 2016, Finnerty won the municipal election with 60 percent of votes cast by 935 District 1 voters. Her contender, Lorraine Huhn, received 40 percent of the vote.

Also in the 2016 election, Friszolowski won by receiving 54 percent of the 1,135 votes cast in District 3 race. His opponent, Deborah Schechner, received 46 percent of the vote.

Friszolowski has served the city as a volunteer and elected official for nearly 30 years including eight years each as the mayor and as a city commissioner. For five years, he was the vice-mayor.

Finnerty was first elected to the commission in 2014.