In the District 8 race, Richie Floyd and Jeff Danner finish neck and neck

Richie Floyd, a first-time candidate and Democratic socialist, had a narrow lead over a veteran of St. Petersburg politics, Jeff Danner, by just a handful more in the race for District 8’s city council seat in Tuesday’s elections.

Nevertheless, the gap between the two candidates is so small that they could be in the possible zone for a state-ordered recount.

Floyd went into the general election as a strong favorite. Of the 13 city council candidates and eight mayoral candidates on the ballot for the area code, Floyd was the only one to receive more than 50 percent of the vote. In the area code, Danner received about 27 percent of the vote.

But in the general election, in which all of the city’s voters could cast their vote, Floyd ended up with 50.10 percent, versus Danner’s 49.90 percent of the vote. If two candidates are within 0.5 percent of each other in a race, the state law requires a machine recount. The race is too close for the Tampa Bay Times starting Tuesday night.

With 100 percent of the counties reporting, Floyd Danner led the way with 124 votes. Recounts will only be ordered if the profit margin in an unofficial vote count is 0.5 percent or less of the total number of votes cast after the first set of unofficial results.

A machine recount is simply done by feeding ballots back into tabulating machines to see if the vote totals change, whether because of an incorrectly calibrated machine or some other problem. The machines must be tested before the recount begins. If the profit margin after a machine recount is 0.25 percent or less of the total votes cast, a manual recount will be ordered.

In the parliamentary elections, voters were allowed to vote in the race across the city, instead of just in the central district of St. Petersburg. It is a system that will not change after a proposed constitutional amendment that allows district voting is failed.

Floyd, 30, would be the youngest person elected to the city council and the first black council member to be elected to represent a district north of Central Avenue. His campaign built on the ideals of democratic socialism, a political philosophy of US MP Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and Senator Bernie Sanders that seeks to revive policies that focus on class hierarchy and inequality. He relied heavily on door-to-door advertising and received many small dollar donations from around the country to support him.

“For now, I would just say that breaking the status quo is difficult, and so we shouldn’t be surprised that we fought so hard and so closely,” said Floyd on Tuesday evening. “But I am proud of what we have achieved, no matter what, and we have shown that we have a model here that we can continue to build on.”

Danner, who is not registered with any political party, said he was surprised the race was so close. He said it was a good campaign and he was proud to have support from Democrats and Republicans.

“It’s not partisan, it shouldn’t be partisan, and the city just has to go beyond partisan politics and do what’s best for the city,” Danner said.

Floyd raised nearly three times the campaign donations than Danner and raised many small dollar donations from across the country. By the last campaign report, Floyd had raised nearly $ 110,000 while Danner raised about $ 39,000.

It was Floyd’s first campaign, but not his first experience in organizing – the progressive activist had campaigned for Florida’s constitutional amendment to the $ 15 minimum wage, which was passed with just over 60 percent of the vote last year. He moved to St. Petersburg in 2018 and is on leave from his position as a science teacher at Azalea Middle School. His campaign highlighted ideals like higher minimum wages, tenant rights, getting the city to use entirely renewable energy, and social justice.

Danner, 61, who was on the city council from 2005 to 2013, jumped into the race because he said he saw a shortage of experienced candidates. After leaving the council on tenure restrictions, Danner worked as a building inspector for the city, and he has a building background.

While in District 8, Danner said he helped set up the Central Avenue Trolley that takes passengers from St. Petersburg Pier to Pass-a-Grille Beach. Danner came here from Ohio after visiting his family for years and has lived in Kenwood since 1993. He worked in construction and construction, specializing in the renovation and preservation of historic houses.

He said some of the top issues the city should focus on are management of the development and maintenance of the city’s character, the high cost of housing, and the redevelopment of Tropicana Field. Floyd said he wants to address issues such as affordable housing, move the city to fully renewable energy and increase community services.

District 8 includes 49th Street and I-275 and extends from Fifth Avenue North to 40th Avenue North and includes the neighborhoods of Historic Kenwood, North Kenwood, and Disston Heights.

The District 8 race wanted to replace Amy Foster, who was first elected in 2013 and is leaving office due to tenure restrictions.

The Times writer, Allison Ross, contributed to this story.

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