By ANNE LINDBERG, Tampa Bay Reporter

Jim Olliver and Thom Barnhorn were elected to the Seminole City Council.

SEMINOLE – Mayor Leslie Waters fended off a challenge by first-time candidate Darren Clark in Tuesday’s (Nov. 5) election for Seminole mayor.

In the race for the two available seats on the Seminole council, political newcomer Jim Olliver and incumbent Thom Barnhorn outpaced Kelly Wissing to take office. This was Wissing’s second try for a Seminole council seat.

“I am pleased that the citizens of Seminole realize that positive leadership and real results matter,” Waters said on her Facebook page. “We ran a fun campaign; we walked hundreds of homes door-to-door since July and received a lot of good feedback about life in Seminole. It is an honor to serve as the mayor of Seminole.”

Waters far outpaced her opponent. Waters garnered 2,201, or 66.7 percent of the 3,299 votes cast in the mayor’s race. Clark received 1,098, or about 33.3 percent, of the votes cast, according to unofficial results from the Pinellas County Supervisor of Elections Office.

Waters has been Seminole’s mayor since 2012 when she was chosen as interim mayor. She has served on the Seminole council since March 2009. She served as vice mayor from 2010-2011 and was chosen interim mayor in November 2012 when then-Mayor Jimmy Johnson stepped down because of health issues. She was elected mayor in March 2013.

Before serving on the Seminole council, Waters served in the Florida House of Representatives from 1998-2006. From 2006-2008, she served as speaker pro tem for the State House. She left the house because of term limits.

Olliver was making his first run for public office. But, as the former provost for the Seminole campus of St. Petersburg College, he is well known in the community. He polled the most votes in the race for council with 1,886 votes, or 36.9 percent, to Barnhorn’s 1,675, or 32.8 percent, and Wissing’s 1,544, or 30.2 percent. The two top votegetters were elected. A total of 5,105 votes were cast in the race.

Photo shows, from left, Leslie Waters, Thom Barnhorn, Jim Olliver.

Leslie Waters | Politics | Elections | Jim Olliver | Thom Barnhorn | Tampabay News | News Tampa

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