Campaign Phone
(727)314-3450
Education
BS in Radio/TV/Film, University of Wisconsin-Oshksoh
Professional Experience
I've worked in front of and behind the cameras for most of my career, starting the morning guy at a mid-west radio station where I also wrote and produced ads for station sponsors and outside ad agencies. I moved to L.A. and worked at Universal, Paramount, and CBS before moving to San Diego to work in TV News.
Public Service
I served on the Clearwater City Council from 2020-2024, I sat on the city's Pension Board during those years as well as the Downtown Development Board.
I would first protect public safety and essential infrastructure. I would not start by cutting police, fire, emergency response, stormwater protection, or road maintenance. Those are core responsibilities.
We should look at delaying lower-priority capital projects, reduce outside consulting fees, pursue state and federal grants aggressively and look for shared-service opportunities with the county and neighboring cities.
We need to continue growing the tax base through responsible redevelopment, affordable housing and small business growth. I would not pretend we can keep every service exactly the same.
I support real tax relief, but it has to be done responsibly, avoiding panic cuts, keeping residents informed at every step.
Affordable and workforce housing must remain a top priority. During my time on council, I supported affordable housing projects that moved forward even as costs rose during COVID, and I backed changes allowing ADUs so families have more flexible options.
I would continue expanding partnerships with nonprofits, responsible developers, faith groups, and county/state programs to build more rental and ownership opportunities.
We should use city-owned land where appropriate, reduce unnecessary barriers, support ADUs and missing-middle housing, and look at creative models like tiny-home communities and first-time homebuyer assistance.
People who work in Clearwater should be able to live in Clearwater.
Helene and Milton showed that storm recovery must be faster, clearer, and more coordinated. I would strengthen stormwater and drainage projects, harden critical infrastructure, improve debris removal planning, and make sure residents get timely, accurate updates before and after storms.
For recovery, the city should create a one-stop storm permitting team, expand temporary staffing after disasters, publish clear checklists, and assign case managers for residents dealing with the FEMA 49/50% rule so they are not bounced from office to office.
We should also push FEMA and the state for clearer guidance and more flexibility, while helping homeowners rebuild safely, legally, and as quickly as possible.
As someone who has been standing up to Scientology for close to 30 years, I urged the city to make sure Scientology came through with their end of any bargain before the city gave them a reward. After years of leaving buildings vacant, Scientology is now promising to give the city a vibrant, thriving downtown. I hope they come through.
If they do, the next concern must be Scientology's control of the businesses they allow to operate downtown. They are hand-picking what businesses will operate in their properties.
David Miscavige micromanages every aspect of Scientology and is ruthless as a leader. Scientology has long put pressure on businesses downtown. The question now is, "will this Clearwater's downtown or Scientology's?"
I support exploring a public utility because residents deserve lower, more stable electric bills and more local accountability. Clearwater’s franchise agreement with Duke is ending, and the city’s study found this could potentially reduce bills, but this is a major decision involving hundreds of millions of dollars, legal risk, and long-term responsibility. I would not support a blank check or a rushed breakup. I would support a transparent, independent review with St. Petersburg and regional partners to determine the real cost, savings, reliability, storm resilience, and clean-energy options. If public power can save residents money and improve service, we should pursue it. If the numbers do not work, we should not.
Clearwater’s top two challenges are affordability and resilience. Too many working families, seniors, and young people are being priced out. I would expand affordable and workforce housing through nonprofit partnerships, responsible redevelopment, ADUs, use of city-owned land where appropriate, and support for small businesses that create good local jobs.
Storms, flooding, infrastructure needs, and rising costs are putting more pressure on residents and city services. I would prioritize stormwater and drainage projects, harden critical infrastructure, improve disaster permitting and recovery, and review every major expense to protect core services like police, fire, roads, parks, and libraries while keeping taxes and fees fair.
Campaign Phone
727-422-1269
Professional Experience
Marine management since 1987, Industrial Safety Training 2005-2021
Public Service
45+ Years as a Community Theater actor and volunteer. 10th year Clearwater Marine Advisory Board, 2nd as Chairman.
Passage of Amendment 3 by the voters would cut billions statewide from payments for city services. Largo is talking of outsourcing their Police. Clearwater does not have that option. Increases in fees will drive up renter costs hurting citizens and businesses. It will hurt new home buyers already disadvantaged by SOH. Real estimates put the sales tax as high as 12%. Increases in water and sewer estimates are 10-15%. Otherwise, where do you cut? Police? Flood Mitigation? Fire? Utilities? There is no plan to replace the estimated 38% drop in ad valorem revenues and 14% drop in city revenues. While Dunedin has held two emergency sessions discussing the future. Clearwater has done nothing. Bond servicing in jeopardy and future bond cost soars.
Lagging use of HCV's is due to the lack of Section 8 Housing. Amendment 3 will complicate it even further. There does not seem to be any real plan to build the housing Clearwater needs, or even in Pinellas.
Lagging use of HCV's is due to the lack of Section 8 Housing. Amendment 3 will complicate it even further. There does not seem to be any real plan to build the housing Clearwater needs, or even in Pinellas. The opening of Clearwater Gardens will prove a success and a recent tour of The Indigo showed a clean, livable environment close to the city center and there are many more. Yes, it works, but we need more. The HCV waiting list is presently closed. Recruitment of property owners is limited. Workforce housing rises along the US19 corridor. These are not considered affordable, prove quite transitory. Lagging construction of ADUs, on the other hand, is due to rising construction costs. The slim return on investment is slim, at best.
It is 17 buildings and 22 County properties. In the presentation to citizens, after issuing a Request For Negotiation, the County Commission stated their intent of ‘maximizing profits’ on these properties. At the CNC Candidate Forum on June 1st, I stated I trusted County officials to have Downtown Clearwater’s best interest at heart as much as I felt a church down the street had. The next day on my FB Kevin For Clearwater page, I was told that was ignorant. When their reaction goes that low, my faith in them goes lower. I repeat! If there has been inclusion of City Council in these decisions, it has not been in the open. A major parking and beach transportation hub at Chestnut and Court Streets and our beach traffic can be saved.
The misconception of FL's established MEU’s is that they broke away from a power monopoly to successfully manage their own power grid. Actually, they are home-grown, as in, they never let the monopolies in. That is not to say it can’t be done. Clearwater is in a unique position to have the population and wealth to overcome most any obstacle, but obstacles are many. Duke's outrageous value of assets and their willingness to sue. Their media reach will be wide and condemning of Clearwater’s efforts. Our irregular borders and unincorporated pockets need to be involved. Top of the World, for instance. Next, we would be tied to Duke’s technology, as in transformer and line configuration, generation sources and pass-through downstream. Edited.
The pending destruction of The Landings for tax profits and the profiteering of County properties by the Commission without solving the Downtown problem. Look to Jacksonville and the fully autonomous public transportation system. Bridged between the top of Court St and the coming Beach Marina Garage, all weather transportation would be a thing. Connection to the proposed Intra-island beach transit system would reach Rockaway. It all starts on the bluff and the County Commission's plan. 7 County Commissioners will decide the downtown and the beach access future.
Campaign Phone
7276676655
Education
Bachelors Degree
Professional Experience
Congressional Staffer
Public Service
Clearwater Housing Authority
Lower property taxes have been at the center of my campaign because too many families, seniors, veterans, and first-time buyers are being squeezed. I welcome real relief, but it must be done responsibly. For too long, the city has refused to roll back the rate. The answer is to make government live within its means, not to gut services. That means no pay raises for politicians, no $90 million buildings, and a top-to-bottom audit for waste before anything residents rely on is touched. Police, fire, water, roads, and storm readiness come first. We make up revenue by growing our tax base through a revitalized downtown and private investment, not by quietly raising other taxes. Manage money like families do, and we can do both.
Housing affordability comes down to supply. I serve on the Clearwater Housing Authority and see it up close: when we do not build enough, prices climb, and our teachers, first responders, and service workers get pushed out of the city where they work. My approach is to make it easier to build by cutting red tape and updating outdated zoning along corridors like US-19, while partnering with private builders and employers instead of micromanaging the market. But growth must pay for itself, so I will insist developers cover their own roads, pipes, and schools rather than handing the bill to taxpayers. More supply stabilizes rents, and lower property taxes plus first-time buyer support help young families & seniors put down roots and stay here.
Clearwater must prepare before storms hit, not scramble afterward. I will invest in storm-hardening our critical infrastructure, pair it with nature-based defenses like living shorelines and dunes, make sure every city worker knows their role, and coordinate closely with state emergency management. I will use my experience in a congressional office to fight for beach renourishment and the federal dollars behind it. On recovery, permitting cannot be what stops a family from rebuilding, so I will set guaranteed review timelines, fast-track storm rebuilds, and add surge staffing. The FEMA 50% rule is crushing families, so I will push for fair appraisals, clear guidance, and common-sense reform to get people home faster.
Downtown Clearwater is not for sale. My focus is revitalization and more open-for-business signs. Rather than chase giveaways or backroom deals, I will help activate the vacant properties we already have and recruit the small businesses that bring downtown back to life, with the city and elected officials leading the conversation. It is already working along Cleveland Street, where historic buildings have been refurbished, and private investment is returning, and projects like The Bluffs are adding energy to the waterfront. I will build on that by updating zoning, offering targeted redevelopment incentives, cutting permitting red tape, and putting county-owned buildings to good use, all in the Sunshine.
Residents are right to be frustrated. Energy prices are among the highest in the state and keep climbing, which hurts affordability. We also should not let massive data centers strain our grid and push everyone’s costs even higher. I am glad the city studied its options, but I am cautious about a government takeover. Why expect government, with no expertise running a power company, to do it cheaper than businesses that do this for a living? Buying the system could cost at least $572 million, with estimates above a billion, plus the risk of owning storm restoration. I will demand independent verification, protect taxpayers from a billion-dollar gamble, and meanwhile press hard for lower, fairer rates and better reliability.
The two challenges I hear about most are affordability and resilience, and they are why I am running. On affordability, I will roll back the millage rate, bring real spending discipline to City Hall with no politician pay raises and no $90 million buildings, and expand housing supply while making developers pay for their own infrastructure. On resilience, I will storm-harden critical infrastructure, use nature-based defenses for our beach and neighborhoods, coordinate with emergency management, train every city employee, and fix permitting so families can rebuild fast. I will also push to reform the FEMA 50% rule, restore our pier, and keep renourishing our beaches. Affordable and resilient: that is the goal.
