By Anne Lindberg, TB Reporter

Six candidates have qualified to run for the two open seats on the Seminole City Council. The two top votegetters will take office.

SEMINOLE – Voters here will have a wide range of folks to choose from when deciding who will represent them on the Seminole City Council.

At the close of qualifying Monday (Aug. 13), six candidates had qualified. Four are well known to Seminole voters. The other two are political newcomers.

Among the well known candidates are incumbents Chris Burke and Trish Springer. Also running are former Seminole council member Dan Hester and Tom Christy, who is making his ninth try for office. The two politcal newcomers are Thomas Marrah and Kelly Wissing.

Burke, who formerly served as vice mayor, has served on the Seminole council since 2012. He is seeking his third term. Burke is a Largo police officer.

Springer has served on the council since 2015. She is seeking her second term. She owns Springer Electric and has 30 years; experience in the insurance industry. She served on the recreation board for eight years and is past president of the Seminole Kiwanis Club. She has two children, two dogs and one cat.

Hester served on the Seminole council from 2005 to 2010. He spearheaded the countywide ban on dog tethering and successfully lobbied for Pinellas County to pass a TNVR (trap-neuter-vaccinate-return) law as a way of controlling and reducing the feral cat population. He is the founder of Meow Now, which provides TNVR services for Pinellas’ feral cats. He recently stepped down as head of Meow Now because of eye problems that have since been resolved. He is a retired banker.

Less information is available about Marrah and Wissing. Wissing did not reply to a request for information. Marrah indicated he would send information later.

Seminole has a council-manager form of government under which a seven-member council – consisting of a mayor and six councilors – sets policy, passes a budget and hires a city attorney and a city manager. The manager runs the day to day activities of the city.

Council members are elected citywide in a nonpartisan election. They serve three years and are paid $8,200 a year. The two top votegetters will take office.

The election is Nov. 6.

For information about Seminole, go to myseminole.com.

Photo shows Ccockwise from top left, Trish Springer, Chris Burke, Dan Hester and Tom Christy. Not shown, Thomas Marrah and Kelly Wissing.

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