Election 2020: Hibbard Declared Mayor Of Clearwater

CLEARWATER, FL — With all precincts reporting in, former Clearwater Mayor Frank Hibbard was unofficially declared the new mayor of Clearwater.

Hibbard received 55.18 percent of the vote with Elizabeth Drayer coming in second with 23.94 percent. Contenders Bill Jonson received 16.14 percent and Morton Myers 4.74 percent.

With Clearwater Mayor George Cretekos bowing out due to term limits, four candidates were vying for the post.

In one of the biggest campaigns the city has seen in two decades, nine candidates also ran for two city council seats. The next largest election was in 2010 with six candidates for city council.

Vying for Seat 2 on the council to replace council member Jay Polglaze, whose term was up, Mark Bunker garnered 27.10 percent of the vote with Michael “Mike” Mannino running just behind with 25.95 percent. Lina Teixeira received 19.87 percent, Eliseo Santana Jr. 14.80 percent and Bruce Rector 12.28 percent.

In the contest for Seat 3, Kathleen Beckman was named the winner with 48.87 percent of the vote. Bud Elias received 21.66 percent, incumbent Bob Cundiff 17.12 percent and Scott R. Thomas 12.35 percent.

During a series of two candidate forums, the biggest issue facing the city quickly became apparent — Imagine Clearwater, the city's ambitious $64 million plan to revitalize Clearwater's downtown.

What began as a plan to expand park facilities and add green space to lure Clearwater families downtown has evolved into a project far beyond what voters approved, said mayoral candidates.

"Imagine Clearwater was supposed to be a park for residents and it's changed into a performance venue," said Johnson. "The community was 75.76 percent in favor of the plans as originally presented but changes were not made in a collaborative manner with rest of community."

"I think the Imagine Clearwater plan has lost focus," agreed Myers. "It needs to represent the neighborhoods and small businesses more."

"I served on the Imagine Clearwater stakeholders committee and supported creating a park to bring people downtown," said Drayer. "I don't support a 4,000-seat amphitheater, a $6.5 million renovation of the downtown library and the gas fires, light show and waterfalls that have driven up the price drastically."

Candidates for all three seats said Imagine Clearwater needs to be scaled back.

To help fund Imagine Clearwater, the city council is proposing to sell the former City Hall property and the Gulfview Boulevard property that once housed the Harborview Center, Clearwater's event center.

Several candidates said it would be a mistake to sell those properties and most said they didn't think any city properties should be sold without voter approval.

Hibbard was the exception. He said he could envision a scenario in which the city would partner with private developers to create developments on properties like the old City Hall site that would enhance the city.

Other city-owned surplus properties would be ideal for affordable housing projects that are desperately needed in the city, he said.

"There are a couple of sites like the old Clearwater Automotive site and the Royal Palm Hotel on Cleveland Street that was once used for prostitution that would be perfect for affordable housing," said Hibbard.

The elephant in the room for Clearwater has long been the Church of Scientology, which has its international headquarters in Clearwater. The revelation last year that the church spent more than $100 million over the past three years to buy up huge sections of downtown Clearwater property was especially alarming to residents.

Candidates said the presence of the Church of Scientology was the biggest concern of residents on the campaign trail. The church's overwhelming presence has made some residents uncomfortable, they said.

"Eight out of 10 doors we knocked on brought up this very subject — Scientology," said Mannino. "Being born and raised in this city, it's disheartening and frustrating to see where our city is now and where it was. It's almost frozen in time. Our citizens do not come down here nor do they want to."

"Start enforcing our codes," he said. "If they're leaving buildings vacant, start charging vacancy fees."

Hibbard said there are plenty of reasons to come downtown like the Capitol Theatre and the Clear Sky Global Bistro that have nothing to do with Scientology.

"Scientology is not contagious," he said. "You won't catch it by coming downtown."

Myers, who said his father and brother are members of the Church of Scientology although he is not a member, believes the key is more transparency and better communication between the city and church.

Bunker agreed.

"I'm not talking about the members you see on the street. These are good, smart people who are trying to save the planet. I'm talking about the management," he said. "We need transparency and accountability. No more secret meetings. We need to know who owns the more than $113 million of property that was purchased."

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