Mall First, Polls Later

Joan Nickchen is planning to vote; she just needed to get her weekly walk in at  first.

While Republican voters select their choice for a presidential candidate, Clearwater voters also will choose their next mayor and make changes to the city charter.

George Cretekos and Christine Marketos-Cuomo are vying for the city's top seat. Voters also will decide charter amendments including adding time that councilmembers can serve on the city council and extending the time between making changes to the charter.

Nickchen, 72, said she was going to support Cretekos in the mayoral election because of his experience and Mitt Romney in the Republican presidential preference primary for his business background.

"I hope to God he can get the country back on track," Nickchen said outside the mall Tuesday morning.

Nickchen said she still was teetering about extending councilmember terms. She said more time has postive and negative aspects.

"If you're in there too long and you're bad ... But if you're good, you can't run again," Nickchen said.

Theresa Johnson, 50, is a Clearwater resident but she said she is not voting for mayor or on charter changes. 

She just wants to support Newt Gingrich for the Republican nomination.

But first she was going to catch a movie at the mall.

"You got to have priorities," she said.